Research for
magazine
Analysis of magazine (Hammer)
Design / content – The magazine cover uses on big
photo that takes up most of the page. The photo is of Randy Blythe who is the
singer from Lamb of God. He is being used as the background for the cover as he
is the main focus and story of the magazine. He is also an artist who relates
to the magazines choice of music genre. The house style features black, red,
and white. The names of bands included on the front is written in a black
scribbled and messy font. Information below it is written in red.
Masthead – “Hammer” very big and bold, aggressive looking
red font, looks hand written and scribbled.
Headline – “The resurrection of Randy Blythe” Stands out on
the cover, slightly hinting at what the story involves.
Contents page:
Contents page:
Visual style,
layout, design:
·
Clear, tidy layout, all information is easy to
find and read.
·
Far right side includes names of editors and
people involved in creating the magazine. Editor’s note is on the right page,
with the main contents and page numbers on the left page, shows clear
information.
·
Different content is in columns, lots of photos
used of different famous artists who are included in the magazine. Under each
title of a band is a brief description on what the page / story. It lets people
to see what the page is about before they go to it.
·
Uses more aggressive language / swear words.
Suits more to the heavier choice of music genre and their target audience.
Range of content
on offer:
·
Deals displayed over pictures “Subscribe and
save £££s! Page 112” included in a big red circle which stands out and attracts
readers.
·
A page for a note from the editor, page for all
of the different stories in the magazine, multiple photos on show.
·
“What’s on your free CD? Page 14”, CDS and
posters are included in the magazine.
·
Exclusive content on the digital IPAD edition of
the magazine which you can’t get anywhere else, could convince people to go and
buy the magazine again digitally to get more.
Double page spread:
Design / content – Dark, black style being used for
this story. Black pages with white being used for the main text. A pale green
is used for drop caps, quotes, and the titles / questions being asked. It
starts off with a question to Randy Blythe, with his answer being quoted below
it. Afterwards, it includes extra background information on the artist, with
another question being featured further into the second page. A quote is
featured in the middle of the first page “I’m experiencing life again” this is
written in a bigger font and colour which allows it to stand out in the page,
it has also been put into a box which allows it to stay away from other
content.
The tope halves of the pages features photos of Randy Blythe
who is the main focus of the article, with information included about what the
photo is showing, sometimes including quotes about the moment. The bottom
halves of the pages include the main article and story of the artist.
NME – 9th June 2012
Design / Content – Black and white theme / house
style, not featuring many stories or text. No pictures being used other than
one big photo of David Bowie, being used for the background of the cover. All
information being displayed is clear and easy to see + read. It is clear that
the main focus / article in the magazine is David Bowie as the majority of
information is relevant to him. Three other topics and stories are included on
the left side of the cover, giving small information on what else is featured
in the magazine. The barcode is located in the bottom left corner. Dateline is
positioned on both the barcode, and on the side of mast head. Issue number is
not displayed on the front cover. Does not include a skyline as the masthead is
positioned right at the tp.
Masthead – NME, big bold white font, in the very top
left corner of the cover. Size and boldness makes it eye catching and lets it
stand out. Fits the house style of a black and white theme.
Main cover line – “Ziggy stardust” included in a
different font to the other titles include on the cover. Goes across the width
of the cover. Written underneath the photo of David Bowie as it relevant to
him.
Cover line – “40 years on… The inside story of Pop’s
greatest Masterpiece” this is giving a brief idea of what is included / the
contents in the main story about Bowie. The font used for this text is the same
as the font used for the main cover line above it.
Contents page:
Design / content – Contents page is laid out well,
with all information being split up into separate boxes in a tidy design across
the page. Information is easy to read and is not being cluttered together.
Simple style, white background with black text. Big bold heading at the top to
display that it is the contents page. Dateline is underneath the page title. Does
not include a note from the editor. Main stories / highlights are included in
the separate boxes, with a picture of the bands and artists. Includes a quote
from the artists from the story underneath the picture – Pull quotes.
There is a brief note included which gives an idea on what
is included in the story / what it is about. Extra features such as posters and
crosswords are included in a smaller and separate column towards the left side
of a page. Page numbers are positioned next to the pictures of artists. There
is also an advert in the bottom left of the page, using a yellow colour which
attracts attention and stands out on the page, it’s showing how to subscribe to
the magazine and how much it costs.
Double page spread
– Feature article:
Design / content –
Includes photos of David Bowie in the top halves of each page as he is
the main focus of this article. Old photos of him from photoshoots, or music
rehearsals. All text and information is laid out in columns, displaying the
story clearly. Throughout the pages and in-between the article are quotes from
people who have performed with Bowie, and quotes from Bowie himself. These are
being highlighted by the magazine as they use bigger and bolder fonts compared
to the rest of the text. On the right side there is another column used which
has direct questions to David Bowie, this includes direct questions and answers
which not related to the main topic featured below. Next to each of the photos,
there is a small bit of text which has information on what the photo shows,
where and when it was taken.
Product placement
Publisher: Bauer Media – I have chosen Bauer media as
the publishing company for my music magazine as they are also the publishers of
Kerrang, Mojo, and Q magazines, which are all magazines based around Rock
music. As I plan to do my magazine based on Rock / classic rock music I feel
that Bauer media may be more appropriate as a publisher as they already publish
music magazines based around this genre. The Bauer media group also covers 16
countries which allows them to open up into new markets. They reach over 22
million adults in the UK which means that they already have a wide audience and
market. Bauer media are also partnered with many different radio stations,
along with owning a few radio stations themselves. This could allow for extra
help with advertising the magazine as they would want to advertise their
branded magazines more.
Distribution: I plan to have my music magazine
distributed through stores such as WHSmith as they sell a range of their
magazines in their stores. They sell magazines based on many different interest
and categories. For example, the sell magazines for art, computing, news, and
magazines focused on music. The music category on the WHSmith website includes
around 62 different music magazine brands, including Kerrang and Mojo. WHSmith
also offer subscription services for the magazines that they sell, where people
can pay more money in order to get a certain number of issues of a magazine
over a period of time. For example, you can spend £82.00 to get 51 different
issues of Kerrang magazines over the next 12 months. WHSmith is one of the UK’s
leading retail groups, with over 600 stores in towns, and over 600 stores at
airports, train stations, hospitals, and motorway services. They continue to
open up stores across the world. This makes WHSmith a widely available and
accessible retailer to distribute my magazine through as they are able to reach
a very wide market.
Target audience: The target audience for my magazine
would be around 18 – 40 year olds as it will be focused mainly on rock music.
Featuring rock music and artists from today and more modern times, also
including more classic rock music and artists from older artists. I have chosen
this age range as my target audience as people who are aged around 18 may find
that the more modern rock music featured in the magazine appeals more to them
and their style, whilst audiences of an older age range may find the older
classic rock more appealing to them.
What I can use from the analysis for the construction of my magazine.
From doing an analysis of other magazines, I can use this to help me gain ideas on how I could structure my cover, contents, and double page spread. It has given me an idea on what content and colour schemes that I could feature within my magazine.
