Music Magazine EvaluationKerry Coogan

Initially my group was supposed to record our evaluation but because of other commitments we found it difficult to find the time to actually record it so we thought it would be best to do

our own evaluation. I think at the time it was a good idea to work as a group because we could help each other out and then create the same house style magazine, but coming to the end of the project I think it would have been better to work on our own

so that we wouldn’t of had to rely on other people.

1. In what ways does the magazine use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of media products?

I think our group magazine uses, develops and challenges existing magazines. So does my own magazine. We agreed that there was a gap in the market for the genre of live music. There are magazines that incorporate live music but doesn’t solely on live music. This is why our magazine challenges existing magazines because its completely different and there’s not a magazine like it. My magazine uses existing magazines because my magazine issue was focused on indie/rock genre of music. These genres of music magazines are already currently on the market so when analysing these I could see what would work well on the front cover. So even though the front cover might look like existing rock magazines, it develops them because again it is live local music and focuses on just that rather than a range of other things.It also develops existing magazines because the band/artists that are used in the magazine are not well known. Other magazines would focus on artists that they know everyone would recognise, whereas my magazine focuses on the talent that people might not know about but should!

This front cover is similar to mine with the main man of the band in the centre of the page. However the layout of mine is clearly different.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine clearly represents what genre this issue is promoting. With it being indie/rock you can obviously tell that the people that would be attracted to it would definitely listen to that type of music. I think my magazine is aimed at both genders because it features things that would attract both genders. However with the front cover, more men would go for it because it has the stereotypical live male band member. People that look like him or are similar to him would definitely be attracted to it more than what girls would.You would also stereotype a live band by looking like the band I have used in my magazine. This again stereotypes the type of people that would read this magazine and also stereotypes other live bands.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I think the best institution for my magazine is ‘Bauer Media’. Bauer Media distributes lots of music magazines, some of the popular ones such as Q, Kerrang and Mojo. This would be the ideal institution for my magazine because they work with most of the magazines that are similar to mine which means they have experience in selling music magazines which is why I think this is the best institution to go for.They are also a UK based institution which is another important factor in choosing it because my magazine is all about local. So because the institution isn’t in another country, it makes it more reliable when selling and also represents the concept of local music.They also have a gap in their market for my genre of magazine, live music. My magazine is all about live music so this would definitely fit in their institution as they haven’t got one like it.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

My magazine would appeal to people from the 17-28, because I think the genre of music I am promoting is the most popular for this age group. My magazine would appeal to university students and young adults that are always looking for cheap nights out to see live bands play the music they enjoy listening to. They love to go out and socialise and enjoy being out, having a good time.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

The first thing I did was created a questionnaire to find out exactly what my audience wanted. I then tailored my magazine content from the feedback I got from the questionnaire.

The models in the image are of a similar age to my target audience which will interest my audience as they can relate to the models.

Even though you cannot see the price, I have made it £2.40 so it is affordable to my target audience. This will also attract their attention as they can buy it without it being too expensive.

Also because there is a gap in the market for this genre, people can’t follow it so by promoting this genre and telling them where different gigs are, this will attract my audience.

Most of upcoming gigs are on posted online, on the internet. Not everyone might have access to the internet so by putting all the information in a magazine it makes it easier to find out that information and easier to follow.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?Continued…

People that are well known as well as unknown talent are included in this magazine which would attract my target audience of finding out local talent as well as finding out the gossip of celebrities.

Competitions will also attract them because they will want to win stuff as they might not have that much money.

A sneaky peek preview will also attract my audience because they might want to know what is in the next issue and will encourage them to buy the next issue and the one after that etc.

Images that are used again are similar to my audience, the people in the images are of a similar age. The images are also representing the genre of music indie/rock with people showing they are having a good time. This will attract the audience to look to that page and find out where they should go to have fun like that.

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

I have learnt that modern technologies have made the production of my magazine so much easier. The quality of the work is so much higher by using Adobe in Design and Photoshop compared to using Publisher. There are much more techniques and actions that can be used to make the product better and look more professional.However, with the advantages of Adobe there comes the disadvantages. It took a lot more time to create my product in Adobe because I hadn’t used it before and I needed to practice learning how to work the programme before I started creating my product. If I was using Publisher to create my product, I would have achieved the finish of it in half the time because I am confident in using it and know how to work it. However with now using Adobe in Design and Photoshop I am now comfortable with using these so it wouldn’t take as long the next time I need to use them.

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

Continued…I have learnt how to manipulate images in Photoshop to make them look better. I achieved this by using layers to achieve the look I wanted.

This was my original cropped image which I then changed into this one. I used certain effects for the background, smudge look and coloured it in black and white so that the attention was clearly focused on the band member.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the

full product?Looking back to my preliminary task, I have learnt that there is a lot more software you can use that produces better quality work.I have also learnt how to edit photos in Photoshop to improve the look of the image if the original image didn’t fit well on the front cover of a magazine.

I have also learnt that their should be no empty spaces on the front cover because it looks empty and people will not be attracted to it.I have also learnt that the positioning of the image is important. The image I used in the school magazine was more positioned to the right side of the page, it suggests that the image isn’t the main focus so in the main task I put my image in the centre of the page so it can be clearly seen and people will know it is the main focus they should be concentrating on.

I have also learn that you need to consider a wide range of people to satisfy rather than just catering for a small group.