Music Magazine

Magazine HistoryThe word ‘magazine’ comes from the French word ‘magasin’, which means ‘storehouse’. The word storehouse is a fitting word to use as magazines tend to be storehouses of information to do with certain interests or subjects. The first magazine was ‘The Gentleman’s Magazine of London’ which was started in 1731. However the first ever music magazine was launched in 1926 which contained the honors list, which was the first ever music charts.

Differences between magazines and newspaper

Magazines• Smaller

• More expensive

• Thicker, printed in colour on glossy paper

• Gossipy

• Less formal

• Published less frequently

• Cover a large range of topics and is still broadening

• Higher degree of audience fragmentation

Newspaper• Fresher content

• More variety of content

• Costs are low

• Newspapers don’t have a specific audience

• Newspapers have a resolution of 200dpi, while Magazines are at 300dpi.

• Less flexible design layout

• Compacted information

• Gives an impression of something firm and strong, also keeps you up to date with current affairs

Magazines are an important form of print media, as well as newspapers which are both read by millions of people globally. It allows them to access information on different types of genres for example sport, wedding or music. Many of the millions of people are so interested about the content that you do not pay any attention to the differences between magazines and newspapers.

Different types of magazine genresMagazines cover a wide range of titles, and the number of genres is increasing frequently as society is always changing and growing. For example twenty years ago there was no such thing as lifestyle magazines specifically directed at men and now there is such a large market with different titles such as “Loaded”, “GO”, “Men's Fitness” and “GQ”.

The magazine market has seen a high degree of audience fragmentation. The publishing costs are low so very small readerships can be catered for at a profit. For example, fishing was originally covered in one whole magazine but now a days there are different types of magazines for different types of fish, for instance “Trout”. This is that there are magazines to cater for different peoples needs and wants in order to generate as much profit as possible as magazines sales have been decreasing due to people have online access from tablets and computers.

Front CoversA front cover is a key aspect to a magazine in order to create an identity and differentiate it from other magazine competitors. The front cover needs to resemble the genre in order to make it clear for the target market.

When a potential buyer walks into a news agent or past a magazine stand, the front cover is the first thing they see. This means that the front cover has to be eye catching and stand out from the others in order for it to be the one that everyone buys. When the consumer looks at the cover in more detail it is important to have the contents of what is to come on display and therefore the customer then knows what is to come inside. The cover allows the magazine company to get one chance to impress its consumers and gives them a list of reasons on why they should buy this specific magazine other than the others.

Four Key ConceptsRepresentation- How is the magazine presented? What image is it portraying( about life) How do you know?

Institution- who made the magazine? Was it big, powerful company or a small independent company?

Genre- what is the magazine mainly about? How do you know?

Audience- who would read the magazine? Age, sex, gender, location, specify In more detail if possible

InstitutionBillboard is a worldwide magazine company owned by Prometheus Global Media. It is the most influential music media brand and was founded by William Donaldson and James Hennegan.

GenreBillboard is a magazine that doesn't’t have a main focus on a genre. Therefore, Beyoncé is a good idol to put on the front cover us she doesn't’t necessarily focus on one genre of music.

RepresentationThe magazine is presented as modern and up to date with current artists. This is portrayed as the front cover is in black and white. Also, Beyoncé is staring into the readers eyes making it engaging. As well as this using Beyoncé makes the magazine more popular as she has a large fan base

AudienceBillboard has a varying target audience and genre, relying on what is in the charts at the current time. Its target audience is both male and females, depending on who is featured on the front cover. However, it has an age range of around 25-54.