MUSIC MAGAZINE CONTENTS PAGE DECONSTRUCTION 2

This contents page is for 'Kerrang'. Kerrang creates music magazines devoted to the genre of Rock music. The magazine is published by the Bauer Media Group. The institution is one of the largest publishing companies and also owns 'Q'. This means that the magazine has the ability to attract a mass audience. The circulation figures for Kerrang were 24,000 from June-December 2015. From analysing this contents page, I can clearly see that the style conveys the forms of the genre due to the structure and layout. The Mast head in this example is located in the middle of the page. This does not follow the forms and conventions of a normal contents page. This could be used in order to emphasise the rock genre in how it is different to everyone else and unique. 'CONTENTS' is in a large yellow font at the top left of the page. This is follows the forms and conventions of  contents page. The yellow contrasts with the black background and therefore stands out to the reader. This makes it easier for the reader to locate the page. The word is edited to make it look shattered. This effect is a major part of the Kerrang logo and makes it stand out from the crowd. The editor may have chosen to use this feature on the contents page for audience identification. The colour palette of yellow and black directly associates with the rock genre. Another feature that conveys the ideologies of the rock genre is the layout. The director purposely intended to make the contents page vibrant and saturated by adding lots of secondary images, quotes, editors notes and page numbers. This effect conveys the Rock genre as being all over the place and unpredictable. By adding sub-headings like 'SWAG' and 'GIG GUIDE', the narrative begins to convey the rock genre. People stereotyped to be in this genre would use words like 'gig' or 'swag' so the use of these words help represent the genre to the audience. The main image is of a popular band called 'Young Guns'. This band is popular in the Rock industry and the editor placed them there so that the audience would see the picture and then use the page number to go to the article about them.  The way the contents page is arranged, represents the forms and conventions of the rock genre.

MUSIC MAGAZINE CONTENTS PAGE DECONSTRUCTION 1

This contents page is for the CQ magazine. The magazine is aimed at male, middle class readers and this is supported by the use of a female model as the background image. The photo is framed for the male gaze due to the lack of clothing and her direct gaze to the camera. The clothes she is wearing and the lockers in the background imply that she is a young school girl. Commonly in the media, these school girls are depicted as sexy and naughty. The background image is probably used to highlight a main article in the magazine. When the reader sees the image, they want to read on discover what the story is about due to the fact that she is positioned for the male gaze. The model clearly depicts the ideologies of the 'perfect woman' being thin, sexy and a brunette. The contents page conforms with the house style of the front cover. The mast head GQ is in a black, bold font and placed at the top left of the page similarly to the placement of the mast head on the front cover. This form of audience identification is repeated in order to familiarise the reader with the layout of the magazine. The page numbers are located in red circles in order to make them stand out and easier to read. This way, the reader will be able to find the page they are looking for more easily. The rest of the text is in a rather small font which conveys a rather formal and professional mode of address. This links in with the target audience being middle class men. The colour palette is white, red and black which again conveys a rather classy and formal tone. The sub-headings contain different techniques like repetition and comedy in order to attract the readers attention. The text is split in to white, transparent boxes in order to emphasise the model and to again, add to the formality of the magazine.  

MUSIC MAGAZINE CONTENTS PAGE CONVENTIONS

As I was not familiar with the features of the contents page, I decided to analyse an example and determine the features. By doing this I would have a greater understanding on what to include in my own contents page.

Main Image
The contents page consists of a single background image, very similarly to the front cover. The main image in the contents page also has a direct link to the information provided on the magazine front cover. For example, if the front cover had a tag line saying 'THE BEETLES', it would be appropriate to include a picture of the band in the main image. The main image commonly links to the main article in the magazine.

Secondary Image 
Despite not being in this example, secondary images are used in the contents page to relate to an article or topic. They usually contain a page number in the corner. This however, is not being used as much and editors tend to now stick to a single image.

Masthead
The masthead for the contents page usually relates to the masthead on the front cover. It is usually a smaller version and in the top corners. In this example, the 'Q' masthead is positioned in this area every issue creating a sense of audience identification.

CONTENTS
This main heading is used in every contents page so that the audience know what page they are looking at. Commonly, this is in a large bold font and dominates the majority of the upper part of the magazine.

Brief Headings
Brief headings are used to make it easier for the reader to locate what they are looking for. Examples are like 'Features'.

Page numbers
Usually before the information about whats on the page. They are usually rather large and in a different font so that it makes it easier for the reader to locate the page.

Sub-headings
These sub-headings are commonly very short and in a bold font to attract the readers attention. They explain what the article is about in a few words.

Summary of Content
Commonly, below the sub-headings is a sentence of information about the article and summarises what you will find. This is usually not in a bold font and doesn't really stand out.

MUSIC MAGAZINE FRONT COVER DECONSTRUCTION 2

This front cover is extremely minimalistic which is important as it draws the attention to the male model in the middle. The minimalistic design also highlights the simplicity of the artists genre. In this circumstance, Skepta is an extremely popular artist within the younger generation for his contribution to the genre of grime. Grime is usually a simple beat with a 'one take' rap over the top. This simple idea of grime therefore directly relates to the minimalistic design of the front cover. Due to the increase in popularity in grime and Skepta, the editor clearly chose to keep the content simple with no strap lines and just a single cover line reading 'SKEPTA'. The white colour palette is used effectively to highlight the face of the celebrity. In the photo, he is in a direct gaze and he is saluting. This engages the audience as they feel involved and recognised by him. However, due to the mise en scene of Skeptas clothing, it does not follow the stereotypes of the grime genre. Grime is represented as from West London and the people that listen to it are portrayed to wear tracksuits and branded shoes. In the picture of Skepta however, he is wearing very formal clothes with a shirt and blazer. This is used to anchor the idea that Skepta is the father of the genre and he sets the trends. The mast head 'FADER' is an example of audience identification and is located at the top right of the magazine every issue. This also agrees with the forms and conventions of music magazines. The front cover all together is extremely enigmatic and the unsaturated use of text makes the audience wonder what the magazine will include about Skepta. When researching the institution that creates the magazine, I discovered that the production company is named 'Fader Media Group'. The magazine is the only product of the company and the social media/website handles are created around the magazine.  

MUSIC MAGAZINE FRONT COVER DECONSTRUCTION 1

After completing my research on music magazines and how they are represented, I began to analyse examples. By doing this, I will be able to understand the ideologies portrayed through these products and improve my understanding on what to include on my own magazine.

The GQ magazine focuses on the male audience. The magazine is mainly centered around the pop genre but it also contains fashion, sex, movies and more.

The brand 'CQ' uses audience identification in the way they layout the mast head at the top left. The mast head is also effective due to the colour palette. 'CQ' is gold and 'British' is red. These two colours connote royalty and luxury which therefore evokes the sense of importance in to the reader. The editor chose Rita Ora as the background image due to the fact that it is framed for the male gaze and as she has a large fan base. Male readers are immediately attracted to the magazine as she represents the perfect woman being naked and seductively, directly gazing at the audience. The background image is also rather minimalistic which therefore emphasises the model. The large, black text reading 'Rita Ora' anchors the idea that the pop star will be inside the issue. The mode of address portrayed through the magazine front cover appears to be centred around a youthful audience. I can tell this by the use of cover lines like 'Kanye West or Jesus?' and 'The tweet that killed comedy'. These cover lines all contain relevant topics like 'twitter' and 'Kanye West' and both appeal to youthful audiences. The overall colour palette is gold, black, white and red. These colours all contrast one another which therefore makes the magazine stand out. There are various buzz words like 'EXCLUSIVE' which are used to attract the attention of the audience to make them feel as if that they are involved within the story. This is because the audience see the word and subconsciously feel that they are going to hear the story before any of their friends. The strap line in the top right corner, 'ELVIS LIVES!' is a form of retro culture as Elvis Presley was extremely popular back in the 20th century so when readers see this, they almost relive the past and want to read on about their childhood hero. The institution that creates the magazine is Advance Publications. They create worldwide, mass media productions like magazines, newspapers and websites. They usually produce content aimed at the older generation like 'golf digest' and 'architectural digest'. This example of a magazine clearly links to this idea of a middle class, middle aged male due to the taglines like 'real men don't wear shorts' and 'Elvis lives'.  

HOW TO UNDERSTAND A MEDIA TEXT

It is important to understand how key media concepts are used to create a deeper meaning within a media product.

Magazine institutions are companies that create and distribute magazine products. Examples are IPC, Bauer media group and EMAP. These three companies are some of the biggest in the UK. They have the power to determine what is published within the magazine. For example, Bauer Media Group produce Kerrang and Mojo. Both of these magazines have similar forms and conventions. Companies like this grow their circulations of the magazines by large amounts every year.

Ideology is understanding society and peoples beliefs. With regard to the music press, the magazines are promoting the values and beliefs of the particular genre. For example magazines like 'Q' are expected to convey the ideologies of the pop genre.

I have already posted about genre in music magazines and it is important to understand how different magazines convey different genres through the way they address the audience. Also how different genres have different stereotypes attached to them.

Representation in media is extremely important. Representation is the who, what, where and when of a media product. Editors use different techniques in order to represent their ideologies through the narrative and the media language of the magazine.

As mentioned before, it is extremely important to determine a target audience for the product as without a target audience, the views and figures of the magazine will decrease as the content will not be relevant. With an audience determined, the editor can adapt the mode of address and the narrative to fit the stereotypes of the audience.

The media language is everything inside the product and how it is represented to the audience.

The narrative is the way that the different elements of the magazine combine to represent a story. The narrative changes in characteristics due to the influence of different genres.

AUDIENCE REASEARCH

A target audience is a particular group of people that the production is centered around. It is important that analyse the target audience in order to determine what the magazine should include to appeal to the reader.

There are various ways to categorize people to determine the target audience for the magazine. The process of analysing the audience is called audience reasearch

ABRAHAM MASLOW - 

Maslow created the 'hierarchy of needs' in 1943. It is a pyramid shaped table that categorizes human needs. Maslow used this table to help understand what motivates people.

Physiological - food, water, warmth, rest
Safety - Security, safety
Love/belonging - Intimate relationships, friends
Esteem - Prestige and feeling or accomplishment
Self-Actualization - Achieving one's full potential, including creative activities.

By determining what the majority of the target audience is categorized under, you can add information that directly appeals to their human needs. This can include specific advertisement, competitions and pictures.

LIFESTYLE - 
The lifestyle of the consumer also greatly effects the target audience. I discovered that creating a magazine that directly relates and mirrors the attitudes and lifestyle of the chosen audience, you can engage them in to the magazine and attract new readers that share similar norms and values.

PSYCHOMETRICS - 
A very important measurement used in audience research is that of Social Class. Psychometrics or British Social Grading Scales are used by magazines in order to determine the demographic classification of the readers. This market research is commonly used by magazines in order to determine what content the magazine should include to attract the largest social class. The system is graded as follows:

For example, if the majority of the audience is grade 'A', you would include specific content related to upper middle class citizens. An example is including classical music or jazz in the magazine as the media stereotypes this social class to listen to this music.

PSYCHOGRAPHICS-
Psychographics is the classification of people depending on their attitudes and values.


Sucseeders - People that are successful in what they do and because of this they are self confident
Carers - People that have a social conscience
Reformers - Seen as caring people that do not have a brand conscience.
Aspirers - People that just get on with life.
Mainstreamers - Conformists that buy branded products in order to stay safe


These characteristics can help determine a target audience. For example, you could include advertisement of large brands in the magazine in order to appeal to the mainstreamers if the majority of the audience is this.

From this research I am now able to understand what audience research tactics I can carry out to determine the target audience for my product.

MUSIC GENRES

There are various genres of music and all have different stereotypes attached to the audience that

listen to the genre. There are two categories that the genres can all be listed in to:

INDIE MUSIC -  Music produced without large record labels and companies. Regarded as 'do it yourself music', indie music is commonly created by bands themselves and not other people tied in with music labels.

MAINSTREAM MUSIC - This kind of music is commercially based and uses record labels to help promote the music. It is played everywhere and is the kind of music you listen to on the radio or on television. 

The three main record labels are the Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. These three groups work closely with their signed artists in order to help them when it comes to marketing their products. They are also an example of oligopoly as they are the main dominant companies. 

EXAMPLES OF GENRES / STEREOTYPES OF AUDIENCE INCLUDE - 

Rock: 16-30 years old, male, tattoos, spiky hair, smokes.

Reggae: 20-50 years old, male, Jamaican, smokes marijuana.

Pop: 5-18 years old, male/female, white, mainstream.

Country: 30-50 years old, male, beard, American.

Classical: 70+ years old, male/female, old, respected, dresses smartly.

Grime: 15-25 years old, male, tracksuits, branded shoes, West London, black.

House: 18-30 years old, male, like parties, alcoholic, smokes, branded clothing, heterosexual.

There are various other genres that all have different stereotypes attached to them. Sub-genres are smaller genres that are associated with larger genres. These kinds of genres also have specific stereotypes. For example:

GENRE - Electronic

SUB-GENRES - Glitch hop, Trance, Crunk.

GENRE - Country

SUB-GENRES - Cajun, Bro-Country, Bush band.

Researching music genres helped me understand what needs to be considered when creating a magazine. I now know that I need to research my audience to see which genre is preferred and take the stereotypes of the genre and incorporate them in to the magazine.

EVALUATION

I am extremely pleased with my final product and I feel that the way I used PhotoShop to edit the images, helped me understand the forms and conventions of a Sixth Form magazine. I used different techniques to convey my ideas and to appeal to the young, middle class audience. From completing the preliminary task, I have learnt more about the forms and conventions of magazines and how different techniques are used to influence the target audience. I have a greater understanding of how to use PhotoShop to edit the magazine which is a key aspect when it comes to designing the final piece later on.

After completing the preliminary task, I started the main task. Creating a music magazine front cover, contents page and a double page spread. I began by researching the music magazine industry and how I would be able to determine a target audience.

CONTENTS PAGE DRAFT

I feel that my contents page accurately represents the forms and conventions of a sixth form magazine. It also accurately resembles the characteristics and themes of my front cover. It contains the mast head with the same design, the pictures with the same layout and the text contains the same information as the front cover. I used photos and short bits of information to appeal to the youthful audience.  

FINAL FRONT COVER

        After re-thinking my layout, I created my front cover on PhotoShop. This is my final piece. 

1) Firstly I had to choose my background image. After analyzing the photos, I decided to use this photo. I felt that the photo I chose was ideal as it is in mid-shot, direct gaze and accurately portrays the forms and conventions of a sixth form magazine being professional interesting.

2) I then started on writing the mast head and the feature article cover line. I chose large, bold red writing for the mast head as I felt that it would stand out more and give the magazine an identity. The feature article cover line is in a white/silver colour in order to again, stand out from the background and grab the audiences attention. For both of the texts, I used a slight gradient in the letters from dark to light and also outlined them in order to make it stand out more and gain attention. I also put the text behind Kieron as this is common in magazines. I also added a slogan under the mast head in order to make the magazine seem to stand out. Text is very important in drawing in new readers

3) After applying the text, I added pictures appropriately. I could freely move them about and rotate them in order to make it feel 'youthful' and interesting. I also added a white border to again frame it and stand out.

4) I then decided to add the parts to portray the conventions of any magazine. This included a barcode, QR code and the issue number. These parts are extremely important as they further help the audience recognise it as a magazine. I decided to place them near to the corners as this would take up less space and not draw the audience away from the text and pictures. I decided to use a QR code as they are popular with the youth as they are quick and easy ways to access the magazines website.

5) I then added the cover lines. They are important as they advertise what is in the magazine. I decided to use a different font and colour to make it interesting and appealing. I felt that the colour yellow was a strong choice as it contrasted well with the dark background. I chose to use short pieces of information like 'NEW LAPTOPS' and 'TOP TEN TIPS' as it has more of an effect. I used alliteration in 'TOP TEN TIPS' again to add variety and appeal to the youthful audience.

6) I then added extra text under the cover lines with key words highlighted in red.

FRONT COVER SKETCHES

After analysing various effective front covers, I decided to begin to design mine on paper.  Being my first effort, I will deeply analyse the layout and improve it until I believe I have the right front cover that portrays the appropriate form of a Sixth Form magazine.


Positives of this front cover is that it denotes the form of a typical Sixth Form magazine. The mast head and Feature article cover are central and this is common in all forms of magazines. The magazine contains all the appropriate components in order to label it a Sixth Form magazine. This includes the issue, price and barcode. I decided to also use a competition in order to appeal to the youthful audience.

However, there are negative points of my draft. I felt that there was a large amount of blank spaces that reduce the impact of the front cover. I also felt that the slogan should be under the mast head as being on top would draw the audiences attention away from the mast head. I also felt that I could move the cover lines around the free space as having them underneath one another is not interesting.

Because of this I decided to recreate a design.

PHOTOS AROUND SCHOOL

After analysing magazines and their main photos, I decided to take a few around the school that are well lit, in mid shot, have a direct gaze and accurately convey the form and conventions of a sixth form magazine.

I used a single student that was very formal and smartly dressed. I also appropriately chose locations that were relevant to sixth form life and that were aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

This photo is of a student with a direct gaze standing outside of sixth form. This photo is well lit and in mid shot. This fits the brief and in my opinion, accurately represents a sixth form magazine.

Here is another picture of the same student in the same pose. This photo similarly relates to the conventions of a sixth form magazine and has a direct gaze. This photo however has slightly darker lighting. This however is not noticeable and can be altered in Photoshop. The student is not central and is slightly to the right to emphasise the sixth form campus to his right.

This photo is of the student on a laptop. This emphasises that he is positive and enjoys work. The photo is well lit and in mid shot. It is not in direct gaze. This is because he is not addressing the audience and is in fact working and looking at the screen. The laptop is marginally out of focus to add further emphasis on the student. The photo accurately conveys the conventions of a sixth form magazine and promotes work and effort.

Here, he is looking for food to purchase at the sixth form shop. This shot is well lit and in mid shot. I feel this shot is not as effective as the others as the student is not facing the audience and part of him is cut out. I feel that this photo is good but probably will be used in another part of the magazine as it does not provide much attraction.

The photos I took all fit the brief and are well lit and appealing to look at. I feel personally that I will use one of the photos with the direct gaze as the photo on the front cover as they have more of an attraction to the audience and contain the ideologies of a Sixth Form student being prepared, formal and happy.

However, as the main background image I have decided to use the second photo as I feel that it connotes a deeper meaning of the student being intelligent and revelling in Sixth Form life.