Final Double Page Spread

This is my final double page spread. I have included lots of images of my band to show that I have taken them in different locations. By including my CD cover it also promotes it so when it is released people will know what to look for. The double page spread contains an interview that I have come up with and produced.

Final Front Cover

I changed my front cover because I thought with the big green writing it wouldn't really appeal to my target audience and looked a bit tacky. I have changed it to these fonts because I have used them for my double page spread and on my CD cover and they look more professional and are more appealing to my target audience.

Different Front Covers

After using the fonts for 'The JACS' and 'The New Boys In Town' on my CD cover and my double page spread I thought that I should use the same fonts for my front cover. I am still unsure of which one to use though.

By using a transparent box where my article will be it still allows the readers to see the main image. Also it doesn't look tacky, so looks more professional.

Making my Double Page Spread

This is the beginning of my double page spread. I have put other image of my band on the page because it gives the audience an idea of what my band are like in different perspectives. I have also included a picture of the bands new album 'The New Generation'. By doing this it is promoting the band and encouraging the audience to go out and buy the CD.

The Beginning of my Double Page Spread

I want to use one of these as the main image of my double page spread. I was unsure of which one to use because the top one my band are looking into the sea and the bottom one they are looking at the camera. I am going to use the bottom one as the main image because it is closer up and by the artists looking at the camera it will attract the audience because it shows that the band are friendly. 

Double Page Spread Analysis

This double page spread has a main article about a band called ‘The Teenagers’, which is near the top centre of the page in big black bold letters on a bright blue background, this stands out from the rest of the page and shows this is the main article. The main image is of the band ‘The Teenagers’ and takes up all of the left page of the spread and is the main focus point of the double page spread. The image makes the band members look very normal and ordinary, just like any teenagers, which plays on their band name ‘The Teenagers’. Just to the left hand side where it says 'The Teenagers' it reads 'NME LOVES'. This important because the NME is a big music magazine which most people would recognise. All three members are lying on a bed surrounded by posters and images; mainly of young women. The room looks quite old with floral bed sheets and old looking wall paper. The posters create a cluttered messy effect which makes use of the stereotype that teenagers are messy and untidy. In the top left hand corner of the same page is a bright blue box with the word ‘Radar’ in bold white letters and under that in a small black box is the text ‘The best new music’. This informs the reader that these are a new band and the ‘best’ in new music. The word radar implies that the magazine writers have searched for the ‘best’ new music for their audience which makes the audience feel that the writers and editors of this magazine care about their satisfaction, which may prompt them to continue buying the magazine. In the bottom left hand corner is a small fact box about the band which is in a blue box. This gives the audience some basic knowledge of the band before they even read the article and is an ‘extra’ for the reader. The main colour scheme of this double page spread is blue, white and black. The important pieces of text the editors want to stand out are in bright blue boxes as this highlights and attracts the audience to these parts and shows their importance. On the opposite page is the article about the band with a small image of one of the members performing live. The article is laid out in two vertical columns and is broken up by a small quote by one of the band members, which is highlighted in a bright blue box. The article itself is not in-depth as it is only a small feature of the magazine about new bands so it does not have to be; it mainly relies on the image and the highlighted text to engage the audience. Next to this is a small column containing an article about three new bands, each with an image of the band and a small paragraph about them. This column is black to separate it from the main article on the spread which has a white background. The text in this column is white which contrasts to the black background so that it stands out and can be easily read. The target audience for this magazine based on this double page spread is probably teenagers and people in their early 20′s as the band the double page spread features is even called ‘The Teenagers’ and all the bands mentioned seem to be relatively new bands, the language used is also quite informal and chatty suggesting that an audience around this age reads it.

Album Cover

I created an album cover for my band as a give away in my magazine that I will be creating. I used Photoshop to create this simple but effective album cover. The fonts were taken from dafont.com. On Photoshop I cropped the image to make it the right size and shape and then increased the saturation and contrast of the image to make it bolder and brighter and stand out. I chose to use this image as the cover because it shows that they are active and they are all smiling and happy which shows that their music will be fun and exciting. This will increase the chance of it being bought then if they were sitting there looking angry or sad. 

Semantic Field

Words that could be associated with my artists

Hip-hop/ Pop/ Rap

Fun

Exciting

Loud

Individuality 

Confident

Young

Original

Active

Social

Style

Intertextuality

What would my band be interested in.
The band I have created were inspired by 'Rizzle Kicks' a new boy new duo. They sing songs which are hip-hop/ pop/ rap and always seem to come across as happy.

From my reader profile and questionnaire I have found that my target audience are quite active and enjoy socialising with friends. So therefore I have made my band to be interested in different types of sports such as football, boxing and athletics.

As for socialising with friends that speaks for itself. My band will enjoy going out with their friends and making sure that everyone around them has a good time. There are a few images of my band where there is a member smoking. This means that my band shouldn't be for a young audience.

Making of the Contents Page

I am sticking to the red and green and red colour scheme throughout my magazine. I am trying to stick to my original flat plan as much as possible, so I have it up on the computer to see what to do. I have changed from 'contents' to 'this month because I feel that it is more attracting to the audience as they will want to know what is happening inside of the magazine.

I used this clip to help me edit out the shadow on the middle boy. This is my final front cover

This is a clip of myself editing part of my magazine. 

Different Front Covers

I made two different front covers and was unsure of what one to choose. I asked my target audience which one they liked better and they chose the one on the right hand side. I have also darkened the colour of the title because I felt that it didn't really go with the rest of the cover and was too girly in comparison to the other colours used.   

Essentials for a Music Magazine

After reading through the power point there are things that I did no realise which were essential to put onto the front cover:

• As the front cover is the first thing that the audience will see of the magazine it has to be attractive and unique so that people are willing to buy the magazine. We read from left to right, top to bottom so the best place to put important information is in the top left hand corner of the cover. 
• There are different sentence structures used on the cover as well: Declarative - making a statement, Imperative - giving orders, Interrogatives - asking questions and Exclamatives -  surprise or alarm.
• There are tricks with language; Rhyme, alliteration, sibilance and assonance which are used to catch the eye of the audience. 
• Intertextuality is often used also. This is when we are reminded of another form of media or saying e.g. 'Boys r us'. 

Making of the Front Cover

This is what my front cover looks like at the moment. My main image is of my boy band 'The JACS'. The boy in the middle has actually be photoshopped into the image because the one of him in the middle was of him holding a cigarette so I was unable to use this as my main image. I have increased the contrast of the image so that the colours are bold and stand out more. The name 'BEAT' for my magazine is original and is easy to identify as a music magazine. I chose the name "The JACS" for my boy band because it is the initials of the members of the band, and is short and easy to remember. The fonts that I have used for the title and the anchorage text are taken from the site 'dafont.com' and are bold and eye-catching for the audience.

Flat Plan for Front Cover, Contents and Double Page Spread

 This is what my front cover will look like. The main image is of my band the 'The JACS'.

 This is what my contents page will look like. It includes everything that will be included throughout the magazine.

This is what my contents page will look like. It will include an interview with my band 'The JACS' about how they got their record deal and their new single 'The Shock'

Reader Profile

Reader Profile Questionnaire

Name: _______________
(Circle where appropriate for following questions)

Age: 12- 15
        16- 18
        18 +

Gender: Male / Female

How often do you watch TV each day?: 0-1 hours
                                                              2-3 hours
                                                              4-5 hours

How often do you listen to music each day?: 0-1 hours
                                                                   2-3 hours
                                                                   4-5 hours

How do you get your music?

• Buy the CD
• Itunes 
• Youtube converter
• Limewire

What's you favourite genre of music?: _______________________

Who is your favourite artist/band? : ________________________

Do you use the internet?: Yes / No

Do you have a mobile phone?: Yes / No

How often do you use social networking sites each day?: 0-1 hours
                                                                                      2-3 hours
                                                                                      4-5 hours

How often do you buy a music magazine?:

• Never
• Once a month
• Once a week

Photo's for Magazine

History of the Music Press

Melody Maker and New Musical Express - 1950s/1960s
Included charts, singles and gig listings.
Changes in the society in the 1960's with the arrival of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, drug culture of the 1960s - changes with the nature of the music and writing.

1970s - First of all was "Glam Rock". Musical papers still largely uncritical of groups until the Prog Rock bands begin to spend too much money on staging, lighting and lasers etc.
NME was produced

1978- Smash Hits was produced for catering a younger audience who were interested in music.

 Late 1970s / Early 80s - Style in the pop music become more important than content: make-up, clothes, the video, fashion and hair.

1980s- Independent music labels wanted their own voice and began producing fanzines. The Face and Blitz were produced.

1990s- Every single came with a video and sometimes more money was spent on the video than the single.

2000s- Limited "music press" because "everything is pop culture".

Youth Sub-Cultures

What is a youth sub-culture? 
A group of individuals who are united through common value system and taste ( clothes and music)
OR
A group of people who are positioned outside of the mainstream, and who unify as a response to the mainstream.

The Postmodern View- Plenitude
Grant McCracken took a different attitude:

• The postmodern world is full of diversity, dynamism and creativity
• CCCS's view ignores this - assumes basically that all sub- cultures have similar origins (reaction to mainstream)

There are two views of the relationship between pop music and youth..

• Pop stars are constructed to appeal to specific market with specific values
• The audience are also unpredictable in their likes and dislikes that record companies can never truly know how to target them