Analysing Questionnaire Results

I handed out copies of my questionnaire which helped me find useful information for when i make my magazine.

These questions helped me find that most people prefer to buy a magazine that is released weekly, this would be quicker for the audience to purchase the magazine after reading an issue. I found that out of the following music genres: Punk, Indie, Reggae and RnB, most people would prefer Punk. This has helped me decide to stick with using Punk as my magazine theme. I found that most people would like to have badges free with the magazine but also that most people are interested in a magzine with free posters. As most people are drawn to magazines with posters, i will include this feature in my magazine. Most people are willing to pay £2.00 for a magazine. I find this a reasonable price for a magazine and is different from most music magazines which charge slightly higher. Most people do read other magazines which tells me that more of my target audience will be most likely to buy my magazine. Most people would like to see both old artists and new artists. However, as my magazine will be based on old artists i will also include new artists inspired by the old artists in my magazine.

Proposal and Questionnaire

The genre i have chosen for my music magazine is 70's Punk, featuring other genres from this time such as Ska and Reggae. The audience i have chosen is 16-30 year olds, both male and female. This audience will be interested in punk, reggae and ska music. They will be located in the United Kingdom. This magazine is needed in the market as there are no magazines based on these genres today and many audiences seem to find this era of music appealing .


Questionnaire

1. Which magazine do you prefer to buy?
a) Monthly b) Weekly c) Fortnightly

2. Which genre of music do you prefer? (you can tick more than one)
a) Punk b) Indie c) Reggae d) RnB

3. What freebies would you like to get with the magazine?
a) Posters b) CD’s c) Badges

4. What interests you in buying the magazine?
a) Band reviews b) Interviews c) Posters d) Gossip

5. How much are you willing to pay for a magazine?
a) £1.50 b) £2.00 c) £2.50

6. Do you read any other magazines?

7. If yes, please state which ones.


8. Which do you prefer to see in a magazine?
a) Old artists b) New artists c) Both

Preliminary Task- School Magazine

Preliminary Task- Images

These are the possible images i may use on the cover of my magazine.

Analysing Title Blocks

Q magazine logo: The target audience for this magazine is 16+ males. The logo is red and white featuring a large white Q in a read square. These colours are the same as the English flag which tells readers that it is a British magazine. The loud red and simple white connotes that the readership may be a contrast of loud and quiet artists. The title of the magazine 'Q'; originally it was meant to be called Cue (as in the sense of queing a record, ready to play). This makes the logo stand out from the other one word titled magazines.

Mixmag logo: The target audience for this magazine is 16+ year old male and females. The colour of the logo is orange in funky, bold lettering which makes it stand out. As orange is a stand out colour it tells the audience that the readership may stand out with a colouful theme. The title is two words put together which tells readers that the magazine is different in its readership. Another part of the logo is the writing underneath which reads 'the worlds biggest dance music and clubbing magazine'. As the font is small it draws in readers to take a close look, its bold black letters make it stand out so it is noticed by readers letting them know what sort of music their magazine is based on.

Kerrang magazine logo: The target audience for this magazine is 15-25 year old male and females. The magazines name is onomatopoeic and refers to the sound made when strumming a chord on an electric guitar. This reflects the genre of the music which is rock. The font seems to be disorted on the edges with a blood stain on one letter. This lets the audience know that the readership will be on hardcore bands as blood relates to death and the rough edges connote that the magazine is edgy. The logo seems to have cracks as if it has been smashed which connotes the recklessness of its readership. The font is in black and white and capital letters which connotes the boldness of the magazine. It tells the readers that the bands inside will not be colourful, the colours black and white are stereotypically 'emo' colours.

NME magazine logo: NME stands for 'New Musical Express', this would make readers curious about who they are and if their kind of music will be inside the magazine. The target audience for this magazine is 15-22 year old males. The colours on the logo are red, white and black and the font is big and bold. The colours red and white also represent the english flag which tells readers that it is a British magazine. This makes the logo stand out which tells the audience that the magazine is different from the rest. The 3 colours are bold which makes it easier for readers to find it. The magazine is pronounced 'enemy' which tells readers that the readership may be anarchic with other music as its enemy.

Analysing Magazine Covers

NME (New Musical Express) is a magazine which has been sold in the UK since 1952. The title clearly states that it is a music magazine, revealing articles on new artists and genres. Looking at the front cover we learn that there will be articles on the bands featured on the cover. These bands/artists are old and new. As the lead singer of punk rock band My Chemical Romance is on the cover we know that the main article will be on this band. The magazine is aimed at 15-26 year old males. This audience will be interested all types of genres related to rock music which the magazine is well known for such as punk, indie and metal which gives readers a wide choice of music so they are more likely to find the artist they like. The puffs on the cover show this with punk bands like My Chemical Romance and indie bands like Vampire Weekend.

The man on the cover is using a direct mode of address which tells us that the magazine wants a personal relationship with its reader. However, the way he is standing is not meant to be friendly. The long shot shows him standing with the left side of his face showing. This could connote the 'other side' of music or alternative. His facial expression makes him seem mysterious as he is not smiling and the other side of is face is dark.This could connote that there is another side to him that we are unaware of. The central image on the cover shows Gerard Way, lead singer on punk rock band My Chemical Romance. This is because My Chemical Romance have a new album and have changed their style of music. The anchorage text reads 'My Chemical Romance on their Punk comeback album'. This shows what the artists target audience will be interested in: Punk. It shows that their style of music has changed and that they have not been seen in the music world for a while. This will attract readers who know of the band as they will have been waiting for the release of this album. The overall message given by the artist is that there is more to him that meets the eye. His mysterious facial expression and the way he is standing shows that he doesn't want to be like other artists, and he wants to connect with the audience but keep part of his personality hidden from them. The way he is dressed also gives us an idea of his stand out character as the outfit seems to be different from most rock stars. His grungy hair style and vampire like make-up shows that he doesn't care about what people think. The buzz word 'New' hints to the audience that they are going to see something exclusive in this magazine making them want to buy it. The title block is red, white and black and as these colours represent different meanings it shows that the magazine is made up of different genres. The colours red and black stereotypically represent the 'goth, emo' genre but white is a peaceful colour and this matches the different genres featured on the cover with bands such as My Chemical Romance, Maccabees, Kid Cudi and Vampire Weekend.

The slogan at the top of the magazine reads 'New Gorillaz Art & Interview'. As this band have not been seen in the music world since their last album release 'Demon Days' in 2005 this draws in readers who may know of the band as this is their long awaited comeback. This shows that the magazine will be about new genres and new music which relates to the title 'New Musical Express'. NME use a wide choice of bands and artists from different genres to attract a wider audience. This a successful selling point as people with different tastes in music are more likely to find this magazine interesting. The many bands and artists shown in the puffs, the exclusive interviews and special features are all good selling points as they make the readers feel as if they are getting their moneys worth.

Q is a music based British magazine published monthly in the UK. The title of the magazine 'Q'; originally it was meant to be called Cue (as in the sense of queing a record, ready to play. The magazine is aimed at 16 plus, due to the variety of music they cover. This audience will have interests in different genre's of music which Q cover as we see on the magazine a wide range of artists from Snow Patrol to 50 Cent. They will also be interested in reading more serious articles and we can see on the cover that the main interest is new releases, upcoming artists and interviews.

The woman in the main image is using a direct mode of address. As she is looking straight at the audience it tells us that she wants a personal relationship with its reader. The woman on the cover is a famous Pop singer named Cheryl Cole. Although she is known by readers as a star from the pop group Girls Aloud she is portrayed as a more serious artist. She is on the cover as her image has changed over the years and this would be a good way to show people. The anchorage text reads '3 words... Cheryl Cole Rocks'. This implies that the artists music rocks which portrays her as a rockstar. This different image draws in an audience who aren't interested in her pop music.

The overall message the artist is giving is that she is much more serious and her sex appeal. This is shown on the image as she is'nt smiling, the dark colours such as black and red suggest a mysterious, darker side to her. She is wearing red lipstick which can be seductive making her seem sexy. This new 'rock-chick' look is inspired by the film 'Sin City' which is known by readers. The horror movie styled image shows her in a different way to the audience which attracts them to the magazine. She is licking a sharp pointed ring making her look more sexual. This could also represent her independance and reflect the new style of her music.

The image represents women as independant and sexy as Cheryl is shown in this way. It may also show that the rock-star look is more powerful than the pop-star look. This is shown by the new style of Cheryl Cole making her appear much more powerful than she was in her pop career with Girls Aloud.

The title block is a loud red and a simple white which shows that the magazine may have a contrast of loud to quiet artists. The two colours could also represent the English fag which appeals to the magazines British audience. This goes well with the image of Cheryl Cole who is portrayed as a rock-chick, typically loud, and yet she is well known for her pop music. The title of the magazine is a one letter word which stands out on the news stands as most magazine titles are a one letter word. This may suggest that the artists in the magazine stand out along with the image of the magazine.

The puff words shown such as Vampire Weekend, Muse and 50 Cent suggest that the magazine will consist of a wide range of artists. This tells us that the magazine expects to get an audience who are interested in more than one genre, this audience are usually older and more mature. Another puff tells us that the magazine will feature new acts, the puff reads 'The 10 Best New Acts' and also already successful artists such as U2 and The White Stripes. The buzz word 'Best' lets the audience know that the magazine will be worth buying as they are giving only the best new acts. The slogan positioned across the top of the magazine reads 'The UK''s Biggest Music Magazine'. This states clearly that the magazine is targeted at a British audience and is based on music. It is also a good selling point as it attracts readers with the term 'Biggest' which suggests that Q is the best selling music magazine in the UK.

The colours on the magazine are red, black and white. The red matches the sex appeal of Cheryl Cole and the black matches her powerful image. As these colours stand out on the cover so does Cheryl. These colours create a scary and dark atmosphere which highlight Cheryl's new image making her appear much more powerful.

The font is bold and simple making it easy and quick to read which is good for people walking past the news stands who will easily spot the magazine. This font appeals to everyone so will attract many readers. The magazine uses a range of different artists in the puffs which targets audiences with different tastes. There is an artist for everyone which is a good selling point. The magazine excites the audience with a preview of the best new acts of 2010 before the year has begun which makes the audience feel ahead of everyone else.

Don't judge a book by its cover (unless it's a magazine....)

The editor's main concern while producing a magazine is the front cover. This is very important as it tells the audience what the magazine is about. The front cover projects the magazines image and to catch readers attention it needs to be appealing as possible as it is the first thing the audience see.

To make the magazine appeal to the whole of the audience the editor covers different types of music. As Kerrang! is a best selling rock magazine the editor would use different sub-genres which in this case would be emo, punk, goth and indie rock. This way the magazine appeals to all of its audience and no one is left out.

As Kerrang! is aimed at young people who like rock music the selling points would be the band on the cover, freebies such as stickers and posters, and current events.
A cover-mounted CD is also used four times a year which draws in 40,000 more readers than usual editions. To keep this audience with them the editor then keeps adding special features each week such as exclusive band interviews and free stuff such as giant posters.

Mixmag magazine's typical features on the front cover are Ibiza as this is a place based on clubbing and dance music, and a CD mounted cover on each issue.

Bauer Media:
Bauer Media is a division of the Bauer Publishing Group, Europe’s largest privately owned publishing Group. The Bauer Publishing Group is a worldwide media empire offering over 230 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations. Bauer Media is a multi-platform UK-based media Group consisting of many companies collected around two main divisions – Magazines and Radio - widely recognised and rewarded as being industry innovators. It reaches over nineteen million UK adults across multiple media channels. They have more than eighty influential media brands spanning a wide range of interests, including heat, GRAZIA, Closer, MCN, FHM, Parker's, MATCH, Magic 105.4, Kiss 100, Kerrang!, 4Music and the Big City Network.

IPC Media:
IPC Media produces over 85 iconic media brands, with their print brands alone reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 44% of UK men –almost 27 million UK adults – while their online brands collectively reach 20 million users every month. IPC's diverse print and digital portfolio offers something for everyone, with a focus on three core audiences: men, mass market women and upmarket women. IPC Media publishes a huge range of magazines and websites across many different sectors. Magazines such as NME, Country Life, Nuts, Look, TV & Satellite Week and Ideal home are published by IPC Media.

BBC Magazines:
BBC Magazines is the UK’s fourth largest consumer magazine publisher, selling around 85 million magazines every year. They publish over 30 regular publications, including several market-leading titles across a range of sectors. One in four adults reads a BBC title every month, extending their enjoyment of BBC radio and television programmes through the pages of such famous titles as Top Gear, Good Food, Gardeners’ World and Radio Times. They produce magazines across a wide range of interests to appeal to all ages. As the largest and most trusted Pre-school publisher in the UK, they titles provide a unique environment where parents and children read together. Their adult titles are centred around our readers’ passions – from inspiring ideas for beautiful homes and gardens to entertainment and education.

Development Hell:
Development Hell Ltd is an independent media company based in Islington, London. They currently publish two monthly magazines, The Word and Mixmag, and their accompanying websites. In April 2009 we acquired DontStayIn.com, the world's biggest clubbing social network (download press release). They have provided consultancy for some of Britain’s biggest publishers such as Dennis, Future and IPC and were hired by Paul McCartney to produce the souvenir magazine for his 2002 World Tour. Among the Development Hell team are some of the most experienced and respected operators in British magazines including The Word’s editor Mark Ellen, and former Editorial Director of Q, Mixmag and Smash Hits, Andrew Harrison.