INITAL IDEAS FOR MUSIC MAGAZINE

I will be designing a music magazine based on Urban music which covers R&B and Hip Hop. The purpose of my magazine will be to entertain young people with interest in the music genre and enjoy reading the latest gossip about celebrities, plus getting insight on the latest music. Because of this, straight away my magazine is going to have an audience of young people, the ages of 16-21, I know this because I conducted a questionnaire which identified this age group as being the strongest. The fact that my magazine will be for such a young group of people, I need to make sure that it is fresh and current and will entertain them.  In terms of what will feature on my magazine, I will need to take into context things such as the title of the magazine, cover lines and tag lines. Ideas for my cover lines will be lines such as “the hottest new music” “fresh artists” and “drama between Rihanna and Beyonce”. These are all cover lines that will grasp my audience’s attention as they make my magazine sound extremely exciting. It is important that I engage my audience as they are so many, already existing music magazines which claim to offer the same things mine will. I will take strengths from a wide range of magazines in order to apply them to mine and make it as effective as possible. Additionally, I have had to consider possible titles for my magazine. I need to pick a title that will instantly grip people and make them want to purchase it. titles like "music" or "rhythm and rhyme" have no originality to them which is why I chose 'BASS'. it stands out and directly appeals to the public and makes the message being put across easy to understand and identifiable to music.  The presentation of my magazine is vital as things such as the front cover image, colors and dimensions all contribute in making it visually appealing. Because my magazine is going to appeal to a broad audience, I cant just have gender specific colors or images as this wont make it as marketable. In terms of where it will be taken, either in a simple setting or a blank canvas will work quite work. I particularlly think a white canvas as a background will be the best option as it allows the coverlines of the cover to stand out and it allows you to edit the image and be more creative with it.

The next thing is the publishing of my magazine. I would publish it fornitghtly as through my questionnaire I discovered this was how often people bought music magazines . It will also need to to be up to date with seasonal changes and any events that take place, this will help in keeping my magazine relevant and utlimately keep my readers interested.

This is my inital flat plan of how I would like the front cover of magazine to look like:

Flatplan for my contents page:

Flat plan for contents page:

CONTENTS & DOUBLE PAGE SPREADS INSPIRATION

For my third and fourth pieces of research, I decided to do research on existing contents pages and double paged spreads. I decided to do this as I felt it would give me additional help in understanding the type of look I'll need to achieve in order to create a successful magazine.

The two contents pages are from Vibe magazine and the reason I chose to specifically use examples from Vibe because I liked the simplicity of it and the ability to easily allow its readers to read the information but also be unique with its design. Elements such as the text font flows as it is the similar style used on Vibe's front cover. This helps readers to easily identify the magazine and also make it more visually appealing

For the double paged spreads, I took examples from Ebony Magazine. One of the main things which appealed to me about both spreads is how captivating they are. In both spreads they have used very powerful images which have appealing qualities to them. This is something I'll need to capture for my own magazine as the image is what initially makes the first impression.

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR MUSIC MAGAZINES

To also contribute to research for my magazine, I conducted a questionnaire to a range of different people in my college and the public. In total I asked 30 people as I didn't want a large scale questionnaire but something I can easily use and analayse. From my questionnaire I found that the strongest age group is between 16 and 18 and the type of music magazine they enjoy is urban which is great news as thats what I'll be basing my magazine on. Through my questionnaire I also found out the type of content which the public would most be interested in. This is all very useful information as it helps me to make a even more effective and enjoyable magazine.

RESEARCH INTO URBAN MUSIC MAGAZINES

I've decided to do my music magazine based on a urban genre. This covers music such as r&b and hip hop. I specifically chose to do this kind of genre because its the kind of music that im already very fimilar with and I feel I would be able to embrace it better and make a magazine based on it to a higher level. In order to get inspired in making my magazine cover, I researched magazines which already specialise in this genre and found magazines such as vibe, ebony, r&b and billboard. In terms of the covers that really grasped my attention, I chose the 3 on the left hand side. These will hopefully, along with others inspire me to make a strong cover.

By looking through at all the different kind of magazines I know the element which i'll need to make the strongest is the main image. A music has to make sure that its image is really strong as it what ultimately uplifts an artist and make them appealing to an audience. Its different to a fashion magazine as their selling point is the clothes however in this instance the selling point is the artist themselves. 

The next thing to take into mind is my coverlines. From the magazines I've researched, they tend to name other big artists on the cover as this helps readers identify the selling point and hopefully entice them into buying it. In terms of the structure, my coverlines have spaced out porportionatley making sure the main image isnt covered, their visible and easy to read. I specifically looked at the Billboard cover of alicia keys as inpsiration as I like how it plays on her latest single "girl on fire" as the main cover line. This instantly stands out and fans across the world can pick up on it.

After looking at the visual elements, I need to go into

more depth about my audience and the group of people who would be interested in my magazine. Covers like both my Vibe magazine examples would appeal to males as Lil wayne is a notorious rapper famous for his music group young money but also his own solo career. Just from the design to how intimidating and powerful he looks, its not something a young female would be appealed to. Just as the cover with Beyonce, it very much plays with the male gaze through how lustful she looks. You could also argue it appeals to females as Beyonce over the years has built herself up to be role model therefore female readers would envy her looks and read in the magazine in admiration. I need to make sure I do further research into my target audience so I know the age group.  I can do this by conducting questionnaires and making sure I ask a variety of people with different ages, gender, perspectives etc but with the same interest in Urban Music.