G321 Music Express Magazine

By Anwar Qureshi

The music magazine I have created can be seen to easily use and develop conventions and forms of real products. Immediately you would be able to spot the large main image of the artist which has been placed centre of the front cover which of course is an convention of a real media product. This photo is of a medium shot of the artist holding a microphone, looking straight at the audience and allows the reader to stereotype the artist based on his clothing and his pose. After the reader has glanced at the photo, they are likely to look around and spot the masthead. A masthead is a typical convention of a music magazine especially where its been placed (top left). The top right of the magazine shows a few more conventions of a real music magazine such as website, issue number, price and a barcode. I have decided to take this further by adding the blackberry barcode that allows readers to stay updated with latest editions of the magazine and this shows an advancement of technology. Another convention used on my magazine is the main cover line which gives the audience an idea of what the main article will be about. Typically most front covers place the artist image in the middle and text all around the artist, the same has been done for my music magazine however this has been developed to add the text on at angle and put the image behind the text but in front of the masthead for added effect.When the reader turns the page they will see another convention used in music magazine, an advert. I have developed the convention by creating a very simplistic advert that showcases the newest products available to consumers. Following on the reader would then notice a large shot of the artist which is on the contents page. The intention of a contents page is to tell the reader what else is in the magazine, the amount of images is kept to a minimum so it doesn’t distract the reader and gives them reason to carry on reading.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

After that the reader is then going to see the main article which is presented on a double page spread. The image of the artist is exactly the same as the front cover and this allows the reader to make reference to the front cover which again is another convention of a real media product. Text has been placed all around the image on both pages which gives choice to the reader on what to read first which is a developed convention. Included on the double page spread is an advert which isn’t so commonly used especially on the main article however I felt it would look appealing and adds more colour to the page.

Artist is placed centre of the page to catch readers eye. Image is placed at an angle but gives direct eye contact.

Masthead placed in similar location

Main cover line

Sub text used on front cover which gives reader an idea as to what’s inside

Simplistic but strong grayscale background that blends with any colour

Tag line

A barcode is commonly used on all magazines along with a price, issue number and website

By adding the original masthead to the contents page it appears to be challenging conventions of a media product

Simple but attractive advert

Centre of advert shows off the product being advertised

Main artist featured in centre of page to attract readers attention, this is a typical convention

Use of sans serif font

Person being interviewed is the main image which spreads across both pages

Page number has been included which is a common convention

Direct quotes from the person being interviewed

Use of different colours and fonts across both pages

Developed convention is an advert being placed on the main article of the magazine

Short biography of the person being interviewed

Main headline

Added my own little touch with an exclusive banner

Representation is the way which something is portrayed to an audience in a form of a stereotype. My magazine is aimed to target social group C2-E with the age group being 16-25 year olds. Its likely that young black males would be more interested to read this magazine as its fair to say the grime genre is strongly black dominated however recently a few white artists have appeared so there’s a possibility of attracting a new crowd. The magazine I have created looks to represent todays youth generation in particular those who are focused on rapping and having fun with their lives. To gain full attention of the readers, images have been kept at large along with particular dress codes and poses that the reader can relate to. Although this representation has a negative image in todays media, it is what the youth of today regard as “cool”. The language used in most hip hop magazines is informal but this has been developed to a more UK version where a lot of slang and more informal language has been used.Certain phrases such as “freestyle” and “holla init” all link to the genre of grime. Immediately once the reader sees the front cover photo of the artist, they will be attached to the rest of the magazine as they would be able to relate to it with ease. Especially with todays generation of youth all wanting to pursue careers in music. Although the main photo of the artist has no background, the use of prop draws attention and can give possible indication that the photograph was taken in a studio. This also gives the reader a few seconds to think about the artist and especially those aspiring to become artists would hope one day to be included in a magazine. The layout and colour of the magazine has been kept simple but eye catchy along with informative as those interested in learning about the artists life can do so.

How does your music magazine represent a particular social group?

The magazine I have created is likely to be published by Future. Future is a company that publishes magazines that targets niche markets. The magazine would ideally need to be available in urban areas where the grime genre is most popular. The areas that are quite fond of the grime genre are likely to be areas of low income and high unemployment, this would mean it would be best for the magazine to be available online at a small monthly subscription or be sold in normal corner shops. This gives the read choice over to own a paper copy or to just simply log on to a website and download the magazine within minutes. Online magazines are not only easier to view but also cost efficient for a distributer targeting niche markets. The magazine isn’t likely to sell in mass amounts but revenue earned would be sufficient to keep the magazine available for consumers. I also came across another well known publisher called Harris Publications. This of course is the publisher of the XXL magazine which is the magazine similarly designed to the one I have created however Music Express has been adapted to target a different sort of market. Harris Publications may be interested in targeting a UK specific market even though they are based in America. Its possible they may look into investing into other genres across the globe and grime may be of interest to them. The two magazines are similar in design and content so it could be possible that some readers who have no idea what is grime is, still buy the magazine because of brand loyalty to XXL magazines.

What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?

My music magazine has been designed to target a young audience with the age ranging between 16-25. Grime music is mostly dominated by male artists so its likely my magazine will be read by males however its possible some females may be interested in looking at the magazine especially if the front cover photo appeals to them. The magazine would be available in urban areas so people from the area are likely to be low class/working class people. This makes them classed between C2-E in terms of social class. C2 represents people from low income, followed up by D representing low skilled jobs and lastly E as unemployed. Peoples income from these areas are likely to be low so the fee for the magazine is going to be set at a very competitive price which is affordable for most living in these areas. Grime is more known to be underground, less mainstream music as compared to hip-hop and rap which is mainstream. Grime is a genre that is starting to diversify into different races and nationalities however its currently most popular amongst young black males. My front cover image shows that the genre grime gives opportunity to anybody who has talent hence why it may seem odd to see an asian male in a grime magazine especially as the main magazine image. Many people who listen to grime often look up and idolise many artists as they wish to become successful. In grime there are very few female grime artists so its possible by seeing a female featured in the magazine, it may aspire the female reader to create music and would make the featured females possible idols for them. Young males may be inspired and motivated to do well especially if they see unknown or local artists get featured, it gives them something to look up too and give them reason to keep creating music.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

How did you attract/addre

ss your audience?

Front cover is going to attract the most attention, the artist is looking at the audience and has been placed centre of the page. His appearance and pose is going to get readers interested.

Cover lines attract the audience as it gives little insight as to what’s inside the magazine.

A website has been included that allows readers to keep up to date with latest issues and exclusive online content.

I’ve used a mixture of colours that contrast well together to give the magazine a professional look along with a funky layout to keep the readers interested.

Use of slang and informal language is the language preferred by the youth of today which allows the reader to relate to.

I have used a variety of different fonts to create a better effect such as glow, bold lettering and I have also made use of italics.

Adverts that are eye catchy have been placed in the magazine to give the readers sometime to look at other things.

Readers may be able to recognise locations of photos or even relate to similarities to photo locations to the environment they are in.

Audience feedbackQuestionnaire consists of 4 questions being asked to 10 people to determine whether the magazine is appealing or not.

Throughout this project I have used and experimented with a large amount of different technologies which are either software or hardware. In terms of creating the final products, the main hardware used have to be the digital camera and the computer. For software it would have to be Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. The digital camera used was a canon 550d which is a camera I am very familiar with as I have been using it for over a year. The camera has a lot of features, some which were not needed for this particular project but it is in fact a great piece of equipment to use and fully delivered in taking great shots for my magazine. The camera actually belong to my cousin so I was able to use the camera whenever whereas many of my peers had to book out cameras from college which meant they had to wait until they were available. To actually create my final product I of course I had to use the computer along with a range of software. A computer allows you to gather all the data and put it together. Previously I had used a program called Adobe Indesign however I had found this program to have very few features and just didn’t seem to work well in creating an magazine effectively hence why I feel that wasn’t the best program to use when I had created my previous project. This time I decided on sticking to a Photoshop which is program I have been using for many years and my experience helped towards making my final products quickly and efficiently along with maintaining a professional look that would appeal to my audience. Photoshop has a vast amount of features that were used and in very easily to learn. The user friendly program meant that I was able to put together my product much quicker than when I had used indesign in the past. To edit my photos I used Lightroom which is another program that is very easily to use. Having used it before I knew how I wanted to edit my photos and how I was going to use them for my magazine. When I first created my project, getting hold of the programs was difficult as I was limited to only being able to work on my project in college however this time was much easier due to the fact I own a very powerful editing/gaming computer at home that has a vast amount of programs that can be used.

What have you learnt about the technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Immediately the first thing I must have to say is that creating a professional magazine is not something that can be done within a day. Hours of research must take place along with a larger amount of hours editing and creating the magazine to make it perfect. Compare all my magazines and you can see how I’ve clearly improved upon with time and more experience. My preliminary task was created within quite frankly must have just been a maximum of two hours. My main product which was created previously took far longer however I was able to manage time more effectively this time and managed to create a product not only appeals more but shows how my understanding of conventions of magazines has improved. When creating a magazine, a numerous amount of conventions must be implemented to your product otherwise the target audience simply will not be interested in reading it. Creating a very simplistic but professional magazine is always likely to be successful along with the correct content readers would like to read. The use of more appealing fonts, colour schemes and a better layout gives a better image of the magazine. My preliminary task consisted of creating a magazine that wasn’t at all appealing, it was very dull and lacked quality. My main product which was created before showed how I was able to pick up on these issues however this was understanding was not fully shown as compared to the final product I have created now. Of course not only has my editing skills improved, my noticing skills and research & planning skills have been improved which can be used in many different projects for the future. I am able to successfully pick up and learn different conventions of not just only magazines but other different types of media that can be used for A2.

Looking at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to your full product?

Preliminary task

Old final product

New final product