Title Block Poll Analysis

Title Block Design Options

Below are 4 options for the design of the title block for my music magazine:

All 4 of the designs are different in terms of the style but I feel they all have some link to the genre of my magazine. I wanted the colour of my title block to be black as I feel it coincides with the genre of my magazine.

Title Block Analysis

 

I think the genre is pop due to the design of the title block. It looks young and fresh which relates to the target audience.

 

With red being the main colour, it reflects on the type of artists that are involved in the magazine. Red is a bold, striking colour which means that the artists involved in the magazine are popular and mainstream.

The way the title block has been designed is similar to the way American jock uniforms are designed. So with that being said, the target audience for the magazine would be teenagers, starting from the age of 16.

I think the genre is popular music because ‘Q’ has another connotation of ‘que’ which means to wait in line. So if you were to put these definitions together then it can be suggested that the magazine may deliver new up to date music and releases of new albums, songs, etc without the need for people to wait for visual adverts, i.e. television.

 

With red being the main colour, it reflects on the type of artists that are involved in the magazine. Red is a bold, striking colour which means that the artists involved in the magazine are popular and mainstream.

 

So in terms of the genre, we can say that the target audience would be between the ages of 16-25 as that is the age group who relate to the genre. However, as the magazine talks about other things such as, gig reviews and live concerts it could also appeal to those of an older nature.

 

Due to the Rolling Stone being the name of a mainstream band in the 60s, from that you can tell that the music genre of the magazine would also be mainstream rock.

 

The boldness of the red used highlights the fact that the music genre of the magazine is rock. It comes across as strong which could reflect on the type of artists that appear in the magazine.

Due to the name of the magazine, I would feel that the target audience age-wise would be those who were born around the 60s. Also those who are into rock would be the target audience for the magazine as the music genre for the magazine is rock. However, it doesn't mean that the artists that appear in the magazine are all from the 60s or fit into the rock genre category. For example, one issue had Lil Wayne who was not around in the 60s and doesn't do rock. So based on all this, I would feel the target audience would be for those from the age 16 and above as they are the ones who would buy music magazines and would be interested in finding out more about their favourite artists.

Final Proposal and Audience Profile

FINAL PROPOSAL

 

Below is the final proposal for my music magazine. I have answered a range of questions which will help people understand what my magazine will be about.

Evolution of Britney Spears Analysis

Analysing the different cover issues of Britney Spears helped me understand how a person can be portrayed based on the angling of the camera, the lighting, the person’s facial expressions as well as their costume. It made me think about how I want the cover star of my magazine to be portrayed as well as the portrayal of my magazine.

The image angle is a bird’s eye view. You can tell this as she appears to be lying on a bed and in order to get the image taken while she’s lying on the bed in to take a bird’s eye view shot. With this shot, you can see most of Britney’s body, along with a costume, the props used and the pink bed spread that she is lying on.

Britney is wearing her lingerie which consists of her underwear and bra and she has a white school shirt on which is unbuttoned and opened so you can see her bra and her toned body. Her underwear and her bra contrast in terms of representation as the black bra gives of a more mature representation whereas the underwear reminds people that she is still young. The picture suggests that she is trying to provoke a sexual reaction from the audience as she is not fully clothed. This image will be appealing to the male audience as they picture was obviously taken this way to get men to like her. However, females, especially teenage girls, might also use this image as a body inspiration. As Britney was 17 years old when the picture was taken, they might aspire to that body as she is of similar ages to teenagers and as she is in the public eye.

The props used in the image are a teletubies teddy which she is holding. This prop tells people that she is still young as teletubies is associated with a kids television programme. The telephone that she is holding up to her ear in the other hand however conveys a different message to the audience. Her mouth is opened which again shows she’s trying to be sexy.

The setting of this image is on a bed with a silk, pink bed sheet. This connotes a sexual image to the audience.

Men would be attracted sexually to this image whereas females would be envious Britney is young, beautiful and she has a body that most females would aspire to have.

The black bra compliments the polka dots on her underwear. Some fashion experts say a woman wearing black implies submission to men, which would make sense as she is dressed and is posing this way to a get a reaction from men rather than females.  The white on the school shirt she’s wearing symbolises innocence and purity which contrasts the way she is being represented through the rest of her outfit. The pink on the bed sheets represents romance and charm. It may also convey playfulness or tenderness. This colour is commonly preferred by young girls to show that they tender and soft.

 

Britney is less than half naked. She is wearing white underwear with a pink lining and is covering her chest with a sheet. In this image she is trying to get intimate with the reader.

She’s in a closed room, which adds to the intimacy of the shot.

The high key lighting makes the picture more honest which adds to the intimacy.

The only colour used is white (and the pink on her underwear lining). The white symbolises innocence and purity. The little pink used represents romance and charm. It may also convey playfulness or tenderness.

The use of black and white is useful as it shows the emotions on her face and makes her look innocent. The image is in low key lighting which makes the image appear dramatic and conveys a lot of atmosphere and tension which is reflected through the text alongside the image which says ‘BRITNEY SPEARS INSIDE AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY’.

Britney wants a close relationship with the audience and is shown through the close up of her face. She’s baring her emotions to the audience so they can understand how she’s feeling with everything that’s happened to her.

Focus Group and Response

Below is a video of the focus group that I recorded. I asked the focus group questions that I am going to take into consideration when it comes to producing my magazine. With my focus group within my target audience age range, it means the feedback they give me on my magazine plan will help me to attract my audience even more.



The focus group told me that setting the price at £2.50 and making the magazine a weekly release was to expensive especially because of my target audience being teenagers. They said I should either lower my price or extend the issue release. Due to this feedback, I am considering to change my magazine release to either a fortnight release or a monthly release.

Audience Questionnaire and Results

The question ‘what gender are you’ has given me the information that I shouldn’t produce my magazine towards a specific gender as there have equal amounts of responses from both males and females. Producing my magazine this way will increase my target audience and allow both males and females to read my magazine.

From this question, I can design my magazine towards a specific music genre. For example, RnB, Rock and Indie were the 3 popular music genres that my respondents listened to. Using this information, I will include articles and stories that involve artists from within these music genres. However, it doesn’t mean that I can’t use any of the other genres as the options that I had given are popular music genres and none of my respondents had selected the ‘other’ option which means these genres are popular within my respondents.
 

‘Social media’ was the popular option from my respondents. I can use this information in the contents of my magazine. Seeing as social media was the popular response, I can include a social media page which includes media sites such as Twitter, and include people’s tweets about the song they are currently hooked on or include tweets from artists letting their fans know about upcoming singles and albums.

Most people from my respondents don’t read music magazines but there was only a difference of two. I can use this information to attract readers to my magazine by making it more eye-catching and make sure there is something for everyone in the magazine. With more people not reading music magazines, I can at least produce my magazine on more platforms than a magazine. I can make my magazine accessible online and on an app as well.
 

 

Kerrang was the most popular music magazine read by my respondents. I have to make sure I include something for those who like the rock genre as Kerrang is a rock magazine which was the popular option and also rock was one of the top three music genres listened to by my respondents.

‘Artist on the front cover’ is what attracts my respondents to a magazine the most. I have to make sure that when I am designing my front cover, I have to include an artist(s) that is currently big in the charts or popular within the music industry or someone who is up and coming into the industry.

‘Free goods’ was also popular along with ‘design & layout’ so I have to enforce these options in the magazine somehow. E.g. if I was to put an up and coming artist on the front cover of the magazine, I could give the readers a free CD which would attract readers to reading my magazine and also promote the artist at the same time so they would have more of a listening/fan base.
The design & layout of my magazine must stand out to my audience and attract them to reading it. I have to make sure I don't go overboard with the colours and make sure the font is readable and doesn't cheapen my magazine.

A monthly issue was the most popular option from my respondents. So if I was to make my magazine a monthly issue I would have to include a lot of articles and stories, etc. to make sure that my readers keeping reading my magazine every month. 

However  a weekly issue was the second popular option and if I was to make my magazine a weekly issue, I would be able to include all the latest stories and trends which will keep my readers hooked onto my magazine, which will make them more eager to read my magazine every week.

£1-£2 and £2-£3 were the popular options but the price of the magazine will depend on how often the magazine would be released. If the magazine was to be a monthly issue, I would charge my readers around £3-£4. If the magazine was to be a weekly issue then I could charge my readers around £2-£3. The price would also depend on how much things would be included in the magazine. But also the price I end up making my magazine will have to coincide with my taget audience. As my target audience is between 16-24, I have to make it afforable as majority of them would be students and so wouldn't have the budget to afford paying more than £4 for an issue.

 

‘Interviews with artists’ was the popular option form my respondents. In order to find out what artists my readers would want to be interviewed, I would include a twitter account (which is one the popular social media sites currently) and allow the readers to tweet me their answers so I know who my readers like and so I don’t waste my time and their time with an interview people don’t want to know about.

Looking at the responses to the question, I think I would use all these options in the magazine as they seem to be wanted by the respondents and also enforcing these in my magazine will gain me more readers as there would be something for everybody.

Most of my respondents want the magazine to be accessed online which I would do so my magazine can be accessed on different platforms. Also, with my magazine being accessed online, it means that my audience will be getting the latest information in the music and won't have to wait weekly or monthly for the magazine issue.

Initial Magazine Plan

Below is a screen shot of the plan for my magazine. As you can see, I have thought about what I want in my magazine but I haven't been able to decide on the price I am going to set for it. I am going to ask my focus group what price out of the options below would be better for my magazine and decide on from then.

Magazine Institution Research

Below is a power-point of the research I have done on Bauer Media Group, IPC Media, Immediate Media and Development Hell Limited. This research was helpful as it would help to decide which institution will publish the magazine I'm going to produce.