Feedback about whats expected to feature in my rock magazine

The following displays feedback that I received from asking a series of questions to a range of different people. I carried out this task in order to get a better idea about people want from music magazines, ultimately to make sure my magazine is realistic and appeals to my audience.

Front cover mock ups

The following are three mock ups that I could possibly use as the design for my front cover. I have tried to use three completely different layouts so that I am able to identify what might work well and what would be unsuccessful. I feel that the first mock up will be most successful, however when I actually start to create my cover I may incorporate features from all three or change my mind completely.

These are some more photos that I have taken which I may include in my music magazine.

Rock photos from ellisputnam

Questionnaire feedback and possible photo for my rock magazine

In order to get a better idea of who reads music magazines, what they expect to see and what appeal's to them to make my music magazine stand out, I created a questionnaire for people to answer over the internet. It includes some basic questions which will hopefully give me a better idea of where to start on my magazine. The following are some graphs which display some of the answers gathered from participant's who answered the questionnaire and what conclusion I am able to make from them.

Media questionnaire one from ellisputnam

After much consideration I have decided on rock for my music magazine genre, I will have to look over  my format research so that I portray this genre well.  During half term I took some photos which I could possibly use for my magazine with the rock genre in mind. I think that the above image would be successful and is one of my favourites.    



Evaluation of Double page spreads

Double page spreads were the final part to my format research, other key features could be added to the analysis and the earlier research help me with this. As a result of looking at the front covers, contents and then the double page spreads the branding of the magazines became clearer to me as I could see the development. Furthermore, it meant that I would see how the main story identified on the cover was then listed on the contents and finally all written up over the two pages. I could see the flow of information form each of the pages. Similarly colour from the front cover is again used for the masthead of the double page spreads; likewise the same font is used, all supporting the creation of branding.

One immediate similarity identified between the three double page spreads is that the images all used rule of thirds, this is effective at making the image more visually appealing and also resulting in the title being seen clearly as the main focus is based towards one side.  I would like to incorporate, yet challenge this convention, as I want my magazine to be unique, I could do this by using rule of thirds but including more than one image. Moreover a drop cap is another feature that appears in two of the magazines, I think this is successful because it clearly shows the start of the article, I want to include this in my own magazine as I feel it works well where it has been used.

In addition I have learnt from my format research that the music magazines try to reinforce their brand through repetition, in this case they have used the same colour for the titles throughout the front cover, contents and double page spreads. The colour used not only reflects on the genre of music but is also evidence of the repetition. I will consider this in the creation of my own magazine, sticking to colour scheme and house style that I decide on. Another norm that I have found is that the lexis used throughout the magazine articles found on the double page spreads reflect on the genre of music and who is reading it. Although they are all written in columns and paragraphs, unusual words and informal language can be identified in both the NME magazine and Keerang. This may be aimed to appeal to the younger target audiences.

After all this research I now have a better idea of what genre I would like to base my music magazine on, that being either rock or alternative/indie music. I need to take into consideration features such as anchors, photo captions, drop caps, colour, font and layout that I will use for my double page. Furthermore the content of the article, making it appeal to readers and being relevant to the subject. All of the format research has demonstrated to me that everything found on the front cover, contents and double pages contributes to the branding of the magazine and that I need to do this to ensure my magazine stands out from the others.

Evaluation of Contents pages

When analysing the contents pages I wanted to make sure that I used the same magazine as the front cover, however I wasn’t able to do this for both Classical Music magazine and NME. This meant that I had to use a different contents from another issue of the magazine, and in the classical music case I had to use a magazine contents that simply shared the same genre. Although this maybe doesn’t make my research as accurate I was still able to establish the same idea of what each magazine includes in order to target their audience.

I found that the magazines continued to use similar features in their contents from their covers to help create a brand for their magazine; this included the repetition of the masthead from the cover, just in a smaller size. Moreover this makes sure that the readers are constantly reminded of the magazine branding and the reinforcement is made. Another similarity that all three magazines share is that not all the page numbers are listed, only the most relevant stories. Likewise they all split the pages so that they go under different categories; this makes it easier for all readers to identify which areas they want to read. The difference between them however is that the classical music contents is kept very simple with plain colour and layout. Whereas the other magazines which are based around more modern genres of music have busier and more complex layouts.   

The images used on the contents also have different effects, for example NME has taken its photo so that it looks for the reader as though they are in the audience. This is more appealing to them as it becomes more personal, giving readers the inside feel of what it would be like and enabling them to imagine themselves being there. Furthermore, Keerang magazine used a large image of a band member signing an autograph, this is again effective at engaging the reader’s attention and appealing to them, as they want to know how to get one themselves. I think that these are both successful ways of appealing to the audience as the magazines challenged the norm.

In addition I found that the magazines also shared different use of lexis in the contents, slang and abbreviated words were used throughout the contents for the rock magazine. This reflects on the genre and the audience that it targets, that being the younger generation and people who are into rock music and come across the language frequently. Moreover different symbols and use of bold and colour are used to make certain information stand out. The classical music lexis on the other hand is all formal and sophisticated with no use of abbreviation, reflecting on the genre of music and suits the target audience well. This highlights to me that lexis can be very important in appealing to a certain audience, I need to consider who will be reading my magazine and what they may and may not like to be included in order for it to be successful. This may require that I do some further research based on language used by the genre of music I choose in order for me to include correct terminology relating to that genre.  

By looking over other contents pages from each of the magazine I can recognise repetitive features, these include the fact they shared the same font, layout and colour scheme so that people know what colour to relate to the magazine. For example NME magazine has a band index each week, this is a technique that supports the magazine branding as it is repetitively used and readers then expect it as part of the magazine. The presumption of some features by the readers it key to highlight successful branding. In my magazine I would like to create some unique features that I can use throughout in order to create my own brand and so that the magazine is recognisable even from the contents as well.

Overall, these contents pages both challenge and support convections and the research has enable me to develop a better understand of what norms to include in my contents. It has also made me more aware of the little things on the pages that can contribute to making the genre clear and suiting the target audience. I will be using this gained knowledge in the development of my own contents.