Front cover sketches

Here I have done 2 rough drafts of the layout I would like my magazine cover to be like, I have chosen to put the masthead at the top so it can be easily recognised, and obviously the main image in the middle as I think that it is the most appealing thing to my target audience. I have also chosen to put the dateline and price at the top so the buyer knows that this is a recent issue of my magazine.

Mood Board

Here is a mood board I have produced showing the kind of style I would like my music magazine to be in, as I am looking at an indie/rock genre for my magazine, I think that using an instrument such as a guitar would go well with my theme, showing that the artist featured in my magazine is independent with their music. I have looked at existing artists such as Florence and the machine and Kasabian whilst producing my mood board, this is because when I organise my models, I would like them to be styled like these types of artists. The style I choose for my model in my feautured article will be a very important aspect of my music magazine, because this will be the representation of the music genre. I have also looked at different kinds of fonts which I would like to use for my masthead, I think that the bottom one works the best as this goes with the genre the most. I am also starting to think about the colour scheme I would like to use for my music magazine, at first I was thinking about using red, but then I changed my mind as many other music magazines such as Q and NME use this colour scheme, I have decided that I would like my magazine to be different in some ways, and will choose a different kind of colour scheme for my front cover etc.

Analysis of double page spreads

Here is the first double page spread I am going to look at, on this one the artist, Lily Allen, is taking up one full page of the double page spread, showing that she is the main focus of this article. The clothes Lily is wearing in this image are quite eye catching, this is because the colour scheme, not including her clothes, is quite dull. The company may have decided to do this as the way she stands out makes her seem quite confident, which by the headline, she would need to be as it sounds like she is defending herself. The way that she is stood also reflects from this, with her hands on her hips and the way she is looking straight into the camera, is possibly the way of telling the audience that she can stand up for herself. The headline in this article is very eyecatching, and takes up a lot of the page, this is to grab the readers attention. The headline used is a quote from the article, which would make the readers intrigued and want to know more about what the artist is referring to.

Q magazine cover

Here is a recent front cover of Q magazine, the masthead on this magazine is clearly shown in the top left hand corner, which helps readers to easily identify the magazine, and regular readers to easily recognise it. As you can see along the top of the front cover, it states 'The UK's biggest music magazine' which I know is true from my previous research of top UK music magazines. Along with many other music magazines like NME, Uncut and Kerrang! Q uses the colour red on its cover, as all of these magazines seem to represent rock/indie/metal music, possibly because it is a colour that easily stands out against other darker colours which are usually used for these genres of music.
The main image on this magazine cover is a close up image of Cheryl Cole, the way that she is portrayed on this image suits the genre of rock. Even though big fans of Cheryl will know that she usually sings pop music, and her fans will also know that she has a very successful career, and does many different things from singing and dancing to being a judge on the TV show, The X Factor. So with Cheryl having this 'rock' look on the cover of Q magazine, this may appeal to people even more, as they may think that she is going to try a different genre of music in her successful career. Also as Q magazine usually focuses on rock and indie music, having Cheryl Cole on the cover, who is known for her solo pop music career, and also her music with her band Girls Aloud, this may make Q magazine appeal to a wider audience. Which is obviously a good thing as this magazine is made for a commercial purpose (to make money).
On this cover of Q, there doesn't seem to be many coverlines used, but the ones that are used, in my opinion, they are enough to make the reader want to buy this issue, if they are interested in this genre of music. One coverline includes 'The 10 best new acts' I think that this is a very strong coverline, as it is introducing new artists to the reader who will obviously appeal to them as the magazine is all about the genre of music they enjoy.

Research into similar products

When I began looking for similar music magazines, I wanted to look at the most popular ones at the moment, I found the top 10 music magazines on this website http://top40.about.com/od/top10lists/tp/musicmagazines.htm. This gave me an idea of the type of things I needed to include in my magazine. Some of the most popular music magazines included Q, NME, Vibe etc.

Target Audience

After researching similar products as what I am going to produce, I have now decided on the music genre, and the potential target audience I would like to focus on. The genre of music I have chosen is indie/rock, the key features of the indie/rock culture, is being independent, meaning writing, and possibly publishing your own music, rather than relying on major record labels. Also avoiding the expected behaviour of artists in major labels. The way I am going to portray this genre is by making the artist(s) who will be featured in my magazine seem to be quite rebellious etc. The target audience I would like to aim my music magazine at would be ages 17+, and to both males and females.

Vibe magazine cover

Here is one front cover of Vibe magazine. The main image on this magazine is Chris Brown, the way he is dressed in this image is a very important aspect of the representation of this magazine. The clothes that he is wearing show his genre of music, which is R'n'b/hip hop. Although Chris Brown is a very famous artist, someone who may not have heard of him or his music before may buy this magazine just because of the way he is dressed. So the institution must think very carefully about the appearence they wish to present to their target audience. The way that Chris Brown is portrayed in this image is quite moody, but also quite confident at the same time. Suggesting that his music talks about himself and his personal experiences quite a lot.
The language on this front cover is also very important. R'n'b/ hip hop, and rap artists seem to use 'slang' words quite a lot, so if the correct language is used on the front cover, this will appeal more to the potential target audience. There are quite a few coverlines on this magazine cover, and they seem to be quite short. The company who make this magazine may not have wanted to use slang words on their magazine cover, obviously because not everyone would understand it, and as this is a commercial magazine, they would like to get as many buyers as possible. So instead of using slang language, they have shortened the sentences to make the language fit in more with this genre.
I think that the target audience for this magazine would be age 18+, this is because if you think about the genre of music this magazine is portraying, a lot of this music uses quite a lot of taboo language, and also the main coverline being 'I'm still a virgin... in your eyes' This article may not be appropriate for younger age groups.
In my opinion, I think that the masthead also contributes to portraying the genre of music across to the readers. There are some quite bright covers on this magazine cover, the reds, greens and whites could possibly resemble strobe lights, which fit in with the genre of R'n'b and dance music, as people aged 18 and over will know from nightclubs etc.