AS Media Studies

Research Summary

A. Summary of Research done into general information about music magazines

In order for a music magazine to be successful, it has to match the time that the magazine is being released and written in.

In order for the magazine to sell, you must give them what they want, and you can do this by asking the target audience what it is that they want to see in the magazine and what they would like to read. This can be done by doing background research.

The articles in the magazine have to be linked to the genre of the magazine and have to match what is on the front cover; by looking at other magazines with the similar genre you can get an idea of the conventions.

My individual magazine has to be unique and have its own style so that it stands out from the rest of the magazines and catches the audience’s attention.

They need to have something in it that will entertain the reader, such as gossip or an interview with a top celebrity.

The most important thing that magazines must be aware of is something called AIDA.

A – Attract, the audience, the use of bright colours, images and text.

I – Interest, articles and sell lines should persuade the audience to buy the magazine.

D – Desire, lure the reader in by giving free gifts, competitions, posters etc.

A – Act, motivate you’re the audience in purchasing the magazine e.g. create something that shows urgency such as having a limited offer.

B. Research into Music Magazines (A summary of my findings) Generic conventions of a music magazine

Front covers must have:

A masthead at the top of the page. A barcode and the price of the magazine. The issue and the date of the magazine. A dominating image that takes up most if the page that matches the genre of

the magazine. A few sell lines telling us what the magazine holds.

Hoorie Begum

AS Media Studies

Contents Page must have: The word ‘Contents’ at the top of the page to establish what page it is. About 2-3 images matching the genre. The title of the magazine has to be in the page somewhere. Page numbers with what is on each page with subheadings such as band

names, gossip, concert dates etc. The contents on the contents page have to be linked with the genre of the

magazine.

Double Page Spread: The text to be written in paragraphs. The title to be catchy and play on words. The image to be on one half of the page and the article on the other side. The title to have a dramatic heading and have a sub heading telling us what

the article will be about. It should be about a particular artist or band.

Elements that the whole magazine uses: Same colour schemes. The title and/or slogan will be on all of the pages. Same font and text size throughout the magazine about 2-3 different types. Same attitude throughout for example a rock magazine will have the artists

being rebellious and breaking the rules. The contents of the magazine is consistent throughout the magazine i.e. a

pop magazine will feature pop artists/ pop music/ concerts.

Summary of Research into My Chosen genre:My chosen genre is R&B/Hip Hop and I found out that:

The clothes that my audience would wear are caps/snapbacks, bling/jewellery, necklaces, watches.

They would wear their trousers low, wear hoodies and jackets

Summary of research into the magazine that I am using as an example Below are images of VIBE magazine, which is the magazine that I would like to base my magazine on.

Hoorie Begum

AS Media Studies

Below are images of contents pages that I would like to follow and use as an examples for my music magazine:

These are articles that I would like to use as an example for my music magazine:

I have also found out from my questionnaires that my audience would like to have the top 40 singles charts on the article, and they would like to see women looking sexy, with nudity. The men to be wearing chains, and snapbacks,

looking like a gangster. I would like to include these elements in my music magazine as this is what the audience would like to see, and have requested in the questionnaire.

The types of images found in VIBE magazine are serious, very sexy, not joking; they are majority artists, and actors. Women looking sexy, showing their body with nudity. The men look very serious, don’t smile, wear snapbacks, with chains, and rings.

C) Target Audience Research

The overall target audience of my music magazine is mean and women aged between 16-24 and I got this from my research that I did the questionnaires. I will summarise how this will affect the making of my magazine.

1. The Cover Should: Feature a top R&B/Hip Hop artist. Have attractive images of the artist/ band. Have bright colours so that it looks interesting and appealing.

Hoorie Begum

AS Media Studies

Have interesting sell lines that have gossip about the artists in the magazine.

Offer freebies, such as posters of artists that link the genre of the magazine or band merchandise.

2. The contents page should: Have a serious attitude. Have a guide about concert dates. Have gossip about the artists that are featured. Have a variety of R&B/Hip Hop images with a bit of information. Have information about what other artists/bands will feature in the

magazine. Say what artists they have an interview with, such as Drake, Chris

Brown, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj.

3. The double page spread article should: Be informal, chatty and laidback as it isn’t serious. Be about the music that the artist produces, and what music they are

releasing in the future e.g. new album. Be about relationship status, e.g. who they are dating. Have a main dominating image on one side of the page. Be written in paragraphs. Use subheadings to separate the writing. Talk about fashion.

4. General Information

From my questionnaire found out that none of my target audience buy magazines at the current moment because they are not really interested in them, they are too expensive, and because they don’t really buy any magazines in general. The majority of my audience said that they would buy a music magazine if it was priced between £1-£2.

I also have to attract the audience into buying the magazine, and I think that I could aim my music magazine which is R&B/Hip Hop at men and women aged between 16-24. I have analysed my questionnaires so know what the audience expect to see in a music magazine and what they want to see, and I will use that to see what I will put into my music magazine.

As I have summarised my results I and now ready to create my formal proposal, and start planning my music magazine.

Hoorie Begum