TASK 5

3 genres I may choose for my final magazine

RnB-I am familiar with RnB music and know some of the artists that come under this

genre. Being aware of the music and artists that come under this genre, I may be able to produce a magazine containing the codes and conventions a typical RnB

music magazine would contain however I may not know enough information/gossip/news etc about this genre to satisfy the RnB target audience. I

like using colour for magazines and I have noticed most RnB magazines are dark with black as the main cover. The codes and conventions of the colour scheme is a reason I may not choose this genre for my final magazine. I have also never read a RnB music magazine, therefore I do not know the typical content which should be

included inside, this would put the target audience off buying my magazine.

Classical-I do not tend to listen to classical music however I have

chosen this genre as a possibility as I know a lot of music from this category. I am also aware of classical music news

and artists. However I have never read a classical music magazine , therefore I do not know the correct codes and

conventions which would draw the target audience in.

Pop-I am very familiar with pop music and it would be the first

genre of music I would choose to listen to. I am aware about pop music, artists and what is going on within the

news and gossip, so would feel most comfortable writing about this genre as I know what the target audience would be interested in. I have read pop music magazines before so I would know the codes and conventions that should be

included. I also like the layout and presentation of pop music magazines and this is a strength that encourages me to create a pop magazine. Pop music is a popular genre as research shows purchases of pop magazines is very high

compared to other genres like Latin, jazz etc.

I have decided on creating a pop music magazine for my final magazine as I am interested in this genre and know a lot about it to provide appropriate content for the target

audience.

Choosing a mastheadWhen choosing a masthead for my magazine I will

choose a name which is easy to say and rolls off the tongue as the audience may be more inclined to

remember my magazine this way. I will also choose a masthead which goes with the genre of pop as the

audience will then have a clue what my magazine will be about. I will use the codes and conventions of a masthead and make sure it is big, bold and stands

out to catch peoples attention. I will position it at the top of my magazine as this may be the first feature

the audience are drawn to.

HarmoniseHarmonise is a word you associate with music and I

thought it would be good for my magazine as people would straight away know it is a music magazine. The word ‘harmonise’ can be used to be in agreement in

action, sense of feeling and I like this definition for my magazine as the target audience will be reading my magazine in an unity. You can associate ‘harmonise’ with pop music as it means adding notes to make a harmony- which is what pop music does. My target audience age will also understand this word and be

able to say it easily.

Fusion The word fusion is the process of

joining two or more things together to form a single entity. I

thought this would be a good name for my magazine as I will be joining different kinds of content

together e.g. news about new albums, gossip about artists and

headlines from tours, this creates a fusion as different topics will be

put together in my magazine. I also think the word ‘fusion’

symbolises pop music as it makes people think of a ‘mix-up’, which is what popular music is-mixing

different beats and tunes together. I also like the word as it

is fun, short and snappy.

MelodyI liked this possible masthead as ‘melody’ is musically related and the word itself is simple with a ring to it

and would stick in the audiences head. A melody is a sequence of single notes that is musically satisfying and I thought this would work well as my magazine

will be satisfying to the target audience. ‘Melody’ fits into the pop genre as a sequence of single notes is

found in pop music.

At bottom state I will use this question in my questionnaire to get others peoples opinion

ChorusThe chorus of a song is the main part and is

usually repeated after each verse. This symbolises pop genre as all pop music has a

chorus. Using this masthead makes my magazine sound important, like it is the main

magazine out there and compared to our music magazines (referred to the verses) my

magazine is the most important and the one you want to pick up and read. This may work for my magazine if I choose this masthead as the target audience will know what the word

means and may buy it because the name signifies its significance.

FantasiaA fantasia is a thing composed of a

mixture of different forms or styles and I felt this would be a good name for my masthead and relevant to the genre as

pop music nowadays is formed with different styles of music in the song.

Fantasia also sounds like ‘fantasy’ and this is a word you could associate with target audience- teenagers, as at that age you fantasize about improbable

things. I also like this masthead as it is fun- which is one quality I want my

magazine to be.

Choosing my masthead font and colourOnce I have chosen the name for my

masthead I then need to choose a font and colour. The font should be big and bold and

this is a convention in most magazines to make the magazine stand out and be easy to identify. A convention of the colour scheme is that the masthead should go with the genre

of the magazine so the target audience have a clue who the magazine is aimed at.

I have chosen this font because it is big and bold and this fits the codes and conventions of a

masthead on a magazine. The spacing between each letter is not too far apart or too close

together, which makes the word easy to understand and identify. The lettering is simple block letters and the word runs in one height which makes it recognisable and easy for my

target audience to read when positioned on my magazine.

Instead of black and white- bright colours are associated with pop music and this is one of the reasons I am going to use a colour for my masthead. Pop music is fun and popular so I will use a colour that stands out and goes with the overall look of my magazine. As my target audience is

aimed at girls from the age of 15-18 I will not use a bright pink as this is associated with younger girls and therefore may put off my older target audience. I am going to use a teal blue for my masthead as I feel this colour is feminine and symbolises female teenagers, however it is not too girly to put

the older teenage target audience off buying the magazine. Teal blue is a colour that goes with most colours so I can be sure my magazine will work well, choosing a standard colour like this, I can also

be sure it will be popular and therefore symbolise the pop genre.

On my masthead I am going to include heart symbols around the ‘U’ and the ‘O’.

These will be the same colour as the masthead so they are shown as part of the

masthead and logo. Hearts are an icon which symbolise femininity and detail on

m masthead will draw my girl target audience in as they will recognise that the

magazine is for females.

Research into similar music magazines

Billboard is an international weekly music magazine focusing on chart music and artists which are popular at the time. I have chosen to research this magazine as it is a pop magazine which is what I will be using for my magazine. The front covers all consist of the ‘Billboard’ masthead and a main image of a male or female artist. Although the masthead colour and font stay the same, the background and colours of cover lines change through each edition. The content pages all use a consistent layout throughout every edition, with only the content on each page and images differing.The double page spreads in ‘Billboard’ are all of current popular artists or news. The fonts, colour scheme and position of images change however the layout is fairly similar with one main image and a block or writing. ‘Billboard’ seem to match the font and colour scheme of the article to go with the artist.

‘We love pop’ is another pop music magazine and I researched this as it is a magazine I could base mine on. It is a monthly magazine and ranges from a target audience of 13-15 year olds. As well as being a music magazine, the content also ranges from fashion, beauty, films and technology. From my research I have noticed that all the front covers are jam packed with images of artists, big bubbly writing and things to give away. The front covers are presented with lots of bright colour and no dead space, they are generally exciting and draw the reader in. The contents page and double page spreads do the same and contain lots of bright colours and lots of images. The contents page seems to be consistent with a consistent layout of what's on what page, whereas the double page spreads are all mainly laid out differently, however still showing a consistent theme of bright colour and images.

Looking at articles

Q&A ArticleI like this article as it has been carefully presented and it is very clear to read. The white

background makes the article stand out which would make the reader want to read it. I like how the written article is only on one page and it is not too long to read which makes the article more

appealing as too much words would put me off. The main image is big and takes up the whole page and it could be used as a poster which is a positive for the teenage target audience. I like the colour

scheme for this article, with pops of pink adding interest to the overall black and white look. The main headline is also big and simple to read which would draw me into the article.

Behind the scenes articleUnlike the last article, this article is much more packed with images and no dead space. Although there is

more going on in this article the amount of text stays the same as the last article, or maybe even less. I like this feature as too much text would put me off. The images are big and make the article interesting to look at. This article would be very interesting and likeable if you knew the band and wanted to find out about

them as you can see clear images of what it’s like behind the scenes with them. In this article you can notice straight away what it is going to be about as the heading is clear and stands out. The borders

around the images also add interest to the article as it makes them stand out whilst looking presentable.

What’s hot this week articleI like this article and I could use this idea for my own magazine by presenting albums,

concerts, musical gadgets etc that are popular ‘this week/month’. The images are placed clearly with the same amount of space around each image showing that the article is well

presented. The white background also makes the article easy to read. There is a main title on this article, along with a smaller cover line and annotations around each image. I like this as it

is easy to quickly read.