Critical Responses Task 2

By Craig Cassidy

MIXMAG

Mixmag’s target audienceMixmag is a magazine which is based around the electronic music dance scene and the artists involved in them, it also covers events such as dance music nights and festivals. Mixmag have a popular YouTube channel which gets over a million views a month, this will also help boost their potential target audience.MixMag’s target audience is aimed at both men (72%) and women (28%), aged primarily from 19-30’s the majority of readers are said to be around 24.Qualities of Mixmag’s target audience:• Disposable income• Enjoy socialising with friends• Fashion• A love for EDM• Enjoy night outs & festivals• Have the latest technology such as

Phone or MP3 Player• Spend very little time watching TV

especially on weekends• Potentially producers themselves

ImagesImages on the front cover of Mixmag magazines, there is usually one large image of an EDM(Electronic dance music) artists, this helps attract the audience because people who read this magazine should be bale to recognize who the person on the front cover is straight away. The image of the person on the front cover is usually a person aged around 24 so the audience feel as if they can relate to them as the audience are usually the same age as the people featured, if the person is aged over 24 then it is usually a huge name in the EDM scene so it doesn’t loose its appeal.

Other images on the front page will also most likely be images of scenes from clubs, just to play upon the dance music element again

On the inside of Mixmag all the images seem to be heavily orientated around partying such as all the four images on the page to the left seem to be images taken from clubs., with all the people in the photo’s appearing to be having a good time. Also In all the images there seems to be emphasis on the lights in the clubs making the EDM scene look fun.The biggest image on the page is an image of two females which is placed there to attract the male viewers which is who the majority of the target audience as stereotypically the males are attracted to images of females.

WordsThe words which are used on the front cover are all used very cleverly for example the words which seem to stand out the most when you first look at the front cover are “P Diddy & Felix” which is a big name in the music scene so this would instantly attract the target audiences attention and secondly the word “disco” also stands out which ties in well with the theme that the target audience enjoy going out and partying. This would attract the target audience because their eyes would be instantly attracted to the big words and once it has caught their attention they find out that the magazine featured artists who they liked and want to read on.

Again it follows the same kind of style on the inside with one or two big headings to attract the reader such as on the page featured to the right it says “Some of the best things I have done have been in concert halls”, this would immediately make the target audience read on as they would be able relate to having a goof time in similar venues. Also there is a lot of text usually featured on the page as the majority of articles will be about events or interviews and its not possible to describe them briefly.

Colours

The colours used on the Mixmag cover are usually bright and vibrant colours on a darker background to help attract the audiences eye such as the titles are commonly in the colour yellow or purple to really get the readers attention. The colour scheme is also very euphoric which ties in very well with the target audience who are people who like to go out a lot. Finally there seems to be colours used which I would closely associate with the lasers and lights in clubs/venues in the way they are presented, which again is made to appeal to their target audience.

On the inside of the magazine I think the colour scheme is supposed to represent a club again with the darkness and the few bright colours which helps with the appeal. The text also is a nice contrast on the black background with it being white it stands out very well.

Font

The font from what I can find which is used throughout the Mixmag is called “EmBauhaus Bold” .

I think that this font was picked for its simplicity and how easy it is ready especially when its used for interviews. Even though the font appears to be very simple it still looks professional and I think just ties in very well with the whole theme of the magazine.

Also you have the choice when using this font for the dots above letters such as “I” to be a symbol, which you can see showcased on the title, it just adds another interesting here element to the font and helps it stand out above all the other fonts they could have used.

LayoutThe layout of all the Mixmag’s cover are similar in the aspect that they will have the title in the same position all the time, they have the title central and at the top because when people look at a magazine that is usually the first place they will look., then the main featured artists or image usually central on the page on this front page and many other the image of “Steve Aoki” goes over the tile also he appears to be floating maybe suggesting his superiority. Then the text is placed around the main image, it appears to be quite messily placed which gives it a relaxed feeling, this would appeal to the target audience because its aimed at people in their early twenties and he relaxed feeling might appeal to them.

The layout on the inside of the magazine follows the typical structure of having one big image to get the readers attention the image usually has a caption in it to further attract the reader. Then the text follows what appears to be an unorganised structure again, like I said for the cover it gives it a more relaxed feeling. Finally on the inside of the magazine there is usually another feature down at the bottom or at the side so the page doesn’t seem to be focused too heavily on one thing.

CaptionsThere aren’t really any captions present on the cover pages of Mixmag apart from there is usually a heading which says who is featured on the front such as on this cover is says “Groove Armada” this is to attract the audience in case they know of the artist but wouldn’t be able to recognize them by face. There are sort of mini captions all around the main image tough which explains what will be in the magazine, normally the majority of them relate to the main image for example you would associate Groove Armarda with “Festivals” “Mix tape” and “EDM” which are all featured on the cover.

On this page spread there is only one caption present and that is “Some of the greatest things I’ve done have been in concert halls” this gives the image some meaning and would attract the audience who it is aimed at, this ties into the target audience as one of the profiles for the target audience is that they enjoy going out to clubs or venues, so the audience could relate to them as if they have been out on nights out they will relate to the caption.

AnchorageThe anchorage which is shown on the front cover of Mixmag, I think is the phrase “Festival special” because I that the image of Groove Armada is of them at a festival so the term “Festival special” gives the image some meaning and without it the reader wouldn’t be that understanding of the image. This anchorage would appeal to the target audience because they would see the anchorage and understand that it was a scene from a festival and they would be able to relate to it as the target audience is more than likely to have been to a festival.

I don’t think there is any really anchorage on the inside pages of Mixmag because the captions usually give the image some meaning, so there is no need for anchorage. I think that if they did put anchorage on then the page would become overcrowded and look unprofessional.

Codes and ConventionsColour Scheme’s

The main colour scheme’s of the magazine are on this cover, the colours yellow, orange and black from what I can see. The choice of these colours are good because yellow and orange are complimentary and when put together they give a gold effect, to make the cover look high end. Also the black is a nice contrast to the bright colours so they information that they want to stand out, does stand out. They have done all this in general to attract the target audience because if you create a magazine with dull colours they you won’t catch anybody's eye.

The colour scheme isn’t really continued in the inside of the magazine, it follows a darker scheme of colours, this might be to represent the lighting in clubs maybe. This is to attract the audience because it gives variety throughout the magazine and the target audience it is aimed at would get bored with the same colour scheme throughout.

Codes and ConventionsPhotography

The photographs used on the front cover, appear to be high quality professional photo which you would expect to be taken in a professional environment, which would attract the target audience if you spend your money on something then you expect the best quality. But on the other hand there is a kind of aspect to this photograph which looks like it’s a photo that would be taken by your friends of you, this would attract the target audience especially with it being a festival special because they would be able to relate to it and it might even trigger memory's of photos taken of them at festival which would make them want to buy it even more.

Again the standard of photographs continues through out the magazine with that professional aspect about it, but there is still that aspect that it is just a photo taken by friends of people you having a good time, the fact that this is carried on throughout would make the reader even more interested.

Codes and ConventionsWriting style & Language

The writing style is usually quite formal throughout the magazine, as with it being aimed at students at University students, they will expect a formal writing style but at the same time for it be an easy read. Another writing style which is used in mixmag is the style which is used in interviews with artists, this will usually have an informal element to it, such as an interview with Dusky, the majority of the questions are quite informal and the whole piece of writing is just portrayed as quite relaxed such as the question “What do you hate at the moment” this just seems like an unintelligent question to ask and usually the answers which are given are quite informal this gives everything a more relaxed feel, this would appeal to the target audience because the magazine just tries to portray them as a normal person and this important so that the target audience feel as if they can relate to them more.

The tone on the front covers usually quite relaxed but very straight to the point, so the content of the magazine is clear to who ever happens to pick up the magazine to look at it.

The content on the inside of the magazine, can vary a lot usually in length as some of them are usually very substantial in length and fill one page and other ones can be very small with very little text on them at all.

All of the different writings styles would appeal to the target audience as with them being young a constant writing style would probably bore them, but with the variety that is used it makes everything more interesting.

Codes and ConventionsText and Picture ratio

On the front cover of all the Mixmag, there is always a higher image to text ratio, this is common in the majority of magazine though to attract their audience, it is used in mixmag because with it being aimed at 24 year olds they wouldn’t want to see too much text on the front cover because it would put them if by them thinking that the whole magazine would follow in suit and there be too much text

The pages on the inside usually have about an equal text to image ratio I would say, for example the image to the left the top half of the page is just image and the bottom half text with a little image, also of double page spreads such as the one I have used in previous slides its about half and half again, they also use big images so the text looks small compared to the images so the reader doesn’t think that there is that much text there compared to the size of the one image. I think they do this to attract the target audience as with the target age range being primarily 24, the audience will expect the magazine to be broken up well with images so that it is pleasant to look at but at the same time with the right amount of text.

Codes and ConventionsFont

The font used throughout the magazine is kind of EmBauhaus Bold style font which suits the target audience well because it has a relaxed feeling to it, but also a formal tone as well this would be appealing as with the target age range being 24 I expect the audience to expect some form of formality but also have a relaxed feeling to it which is portrayed well by the choice of font used. If the font isn't EmBauhaus Bold the it is a very similar looking font so that the same style is used throughout giving the magazine more professional look. I also think that the more “delicate” style of font kind of portrays the work put into EDM as it’s a very long and complicated procedure were you basically compile lots an lots of different sounds, comparing to font to another music magazine such as “Kerrang” which used very jagged fonts to try and put across the rough side to rock music.

Codes and ConventionsMode of address

The front cover of Mixmag’s magazine seems as if it luring you in , by addressing the reader by saying thing such as “Meet the young things that run tings” this is addressing the reader directly and kind of acting as an invitation for the reader to buy it but not in a common way such by using words such as “you’re” and “you”. I think that this would appeal to the target audience the mode of address seems to make the audience feel as if they are being addressed on a personal level as an individual and not as a market, this relates back to the magazine being about mainly young artists and the magazine is aimed at young people, this would appeal to the audience because they may be young and aspiring producers and it will make them feel involved more in the EDM music scene.

I think that the mode of address on the inside is a more direct approach at addressing the audience, it almost seems like it is talking to you personally and giving you information about the latest clubs and listing facts about upcoming artists.

Audience Reception

All magazines are tailored for an audience, so they must get some form of feedback on their products to make sure that their audience are happy and satisfied with the product they are creating. Before the product is released they will test the product first, using different methods this is to ensure that the product that they release is good enough.

The ways which you can get audience feedback on products are:• Focus Groups• Audience Panels• Trailing• Complaints

I'm going to explain them in the following slides.

Focus GroupsA focus group of when a group of people all varying in age but still around the same age as the target age range for the product, they will all view the product and give feedback. Once they have collected all the feedback then it will be recorded and then taken into consideration for the product and changes will be made accordingly.

Audience panelAn audience panel is when a group of people are asked about the magazine the difference between this and the focus group is that the audience panel is a group of people who’s opinion is asked regularly for example if a magazine is released monthly then the audience panel will be asked monthly.

TrailingThis is mainly done with new products which haven't been released before, so its basically were a product is released to a select few from the target audience, then the company will receive feedback and make changes were necessary.

ComplaintsThis is direct feedback from the audience after the product has been released, in the forms of complaints, with the rise of social media sites a lot of the feedback is received on sites such as Twitter or Facebook

Audience Reception