Music Magazine Research

For my Evaluated work i was asked to research different types of music magazines to help me with my coursework. I was asked to find out a number of different things about the magazine including the

Price

• Issue size
• Feature articles
• Regular content
• Frequency

The first magazine i researched was a magazine called Q which focuses on bands and artistes from all over the world and which are new and old. Q is an English music magazine sold at a price of £3.90 monthly. The content includes new releases, music and concert reviews and interviews.
The first issue was first published in 1986 and the issue size is about 162 pages.

Here is an image of a previous issue;

The second magazine that i researched is another English magazine called NME which has been around since 1952. the price is £2.90 and includes content similar to Q magazine including posters, interviews, reviews and new releases. the magazine is out weekly and the issue size is about 70 pages.

Here is an image of a previous issue of the magazine;

The third magazine i researched is called Mojo which was first published in 1993 and costs £3.80 monthly. the content includes a free CD or DVD,reviews, interviews etc. the issue size is 170 pages.it is very popular because it looks more in depth and focus more on music legends than any other music magazine.

Here is an image of the magazine;

Evaluation

For my Media prelimiery work i was asked to design a front cover and contents page for a weekly school magazine. First of all i did some planning in which i made a list in my notes of all the titles my front page would include and then i decided on my magazine name and what imagesi would need for my front and contents page. The name of my magazine i named teamwork but spelt diiferetny like team wk to realte to young people as it is a popular way of spelling and writing. I used a variety of colour including pink ,red, black, yellow and green because these are popular eye catching colours and make my coverlines stand out. the images i used where also relevant as they matched the text i.e. healthy eating and i added an image of healthy pasta/noodles. The contents page had a simple layout with the same images used on my front cover. I choose two colours that i used on my front page which were red and black as they go well together are popular and look professional.

Designed front page and contents

Once i had created and photographed my sketches i used Quark Express and Adobe Photoshop to put the final piece together. I used a variety of different colours including Red Green Black Pink and Yellow. I used these colours because they are eye catching and popular. i also used a number of different fonts to make my magazine stand out and to highlight the different coverlines. I called my magazine team work in the end spelt in a text style because this relates to teenagers and students because it is used frequently by teenagers than adults. i used the images i taken around school and put relevant coverlines with them i.e. SALE INSIDE which has a picture of school books. the contents page contained the same images and colour. here are the pictures of my final design of my school magazine;

preliminary task - school magazine sketches

Before i could start creating my school magazine front cover and contents page, I was asked to create two handdrawn sketches to show what i hope my magazine will look like. Here are my sketches;

preliminary task - planning

Here are the images that i have taken around school during two of my Media lessons. I used a number of different locations around school including the Library, Dining area and the Break out area. The Library has lots of resources which helped me greatly. I used the computers and books to get the images i needed. The Dining area was really helpful because there is lots of posters advertising food and healthy eating some of these posters included pasta/noodles and fruit. Whilst i looking for locations i came across the break out area which has lockers placed there and this instantly gave me an idea to photograph the lockers as they are popular and essential to students. Here are the images i taken;

Codes and Conventions of a contents page

Codes and Conventions of a Contents Page(s)

· Editors letter (Editorial included with a picture of the editor and signature).
· Pictures of contents with page numbers.
· Magazine title is placed in the tip left hand corner.
· Main image is alongside smaller images.
· Subscriptions included.
· Date and Issue numbers shown.
· Index list.
· Headings to divide up contents.
· Consistent colour scheme, only a few colours used.
· Page numbers shown on the pictures anchor image to written contents.
· Laid out into around two or three columns.
· Plain/white backgrounds.
· Word “Contents” at the top of the page.
· Page number and then text arrangement.
· Text (one or two words, mainline – bold, slightly larger than the other text).
· Sub line – smaller text.
· Regular content – appears in every single issue of the magazine.
· Features – one off articles which appear only in the one issue.
· Same font used as on the front page.
· Bottom of page – page number, title, issue date, website.
· Contact details, website address.
· NME Magazine contents arrangement differs for bands index, as it is a weekly magazine, so band index is shown as band/artist title then page number – shows what page each artist review is on, makes it easier.