FINAL PRODUCTS

Evaluation Question 7. Look back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you've learned in the progression from then to the full product?

What skills and knowledge did I learn in order to produce a music magazine?
Talk about the importance to carry out research.

Looking back at my preliminary task, I have effectively improved my knowledge in using Photoshop to create products. Since the preliminary task, I have learnt more about the codes and conventions of different genres. This was important to make my magazine appealing to my specific genre. In both of these magazines I used feature stories that appeal to the target audiences which is crucial. I improved my knowledge of fonts and design taking inspiration from famous magazines (NME, Q, Mojo...), this looks more attractive and I was also able to put more stories on the front cover without overcrowding. I like both of the main images for both tasks as they both suit the genre and are posed in manners that reflect the attitudes of the magazine. I also learnt why costume was important and how this can affect the audience completely. My pull quotes on both magazines are the second largest font on the page, this is so that it stands out and is noticeably relating to the main image. You can also see that I kept my colour schemes to a minimum, this is conventional for looks and branding purposes and that we recognise this magazine over and over. However, I like the background in my preliminary task in comparison to my final product as there is already a lot of white on the page, my final product would have looked more effective with a background as it would stand out more (for example, a brick wall), although this would mean changing fonts and the colours of the fonts so that they are clearly visible.
The preliminary task was useful because it taught me the basics of everything I needed to know when starting the main task. I also became more confident and found it less pressuring because we had 'practiced' a much smaller version of the main task beforehand.

Evaluation Question 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The construction of my front cover:

The construction of my contents page:

The construction of my double page spread:

Evaluation Question 5. How did you attract/address your audience?

My magazine will appeal to my audience because I took my audience research into consideration when constructing my magazine. I included the artists suggested and who are also in the top of the Independent Music charts. I used feature stories based on these artists that will appeal to my audience as their latest music and gossip are some of the type of features they are interested in. I also included many male artists and bands that females will like and be attracted to. I attracted the audience by adding a plug which offered the top 40 tracks for free. This download would persuade the audience to buy the magazine because the aged audience I mainly wanted to attract was between 16-25 so they are young and know more about technology. They wouldn't usually miss the chance to listen to a new band that belong to the genre of music they like. This also fits in with digitalisation and also means that there will be less illegal downloading of the song. I also included a second plug with a chance to win Download Festival tickets. This advertisement will attract the audience because they are young, this means that they will most likely not have £200 to spend on a weekend at this festival so the chance to win free tickets is a good way to persuade them buy my magazine. Also this festival includes a lot of Indie music which of course will attract my target audience.
A pull quote on my front cover taken from my double page spread will also attract my audience as they will want to read more and hopefully buy it. The quote gives an insight of the text inside and what we are going to find out about the artist.

I included feature stories that are aimed at my audience. I have chosen that main story to be about a girl so it is more clear that it is a female's magazine. I also included a review story based on an album by a young male. This is good because girls often have a celebrity crush and would like to read about the latest music of an artist they find good looking visually as well as their music. I included plugs which address my audience because they offer a prize that young adults are interested. Most of the people that attend festivals are teenagers and young adults therefore by offering free tickets of a festival that includes music of the same genre means that more people will buy the magazine for this offer. I also have included free music with the magazine from the top of the indie charts. My secondary images are of male artists which again attracts females. I also included an image from a story including photos taken by the fans. Although to show this I used an image of three teenage girls because stereo-typically they take a lot of photos and in the modern day 'selfies'. It also shows that they are having a good time. I also used the subscription to persuade the audience to pay a cheaper price if they buy more magazines, which in the long run is more money than if they were to buy only a few. This includes social media which is great in the digital age because the younger generations use social media as a big part of their lives so it is great to advertise my magazine and for them to find out more.

I used a feminine font for the title so that it looks pretty for the target audience which is females. It looks like a handwriting effect which is girly. The background is also addressing my audience as it is a British magazine so I have used the Union Jack flag aiming it around a British story and artist. I used clothing appropriate for the genre. It attracts the audience because they are wearing nice and basic clothes that appeal to the younger audience. The artist's clothes are also casual and inexpensive which means the audience can be inspired and engage with the artist by her not being too flashy, her image shows she is more down to earth and realistic which means the readers can afford similar clothing. I also used informal text from the artist so that my audience are able to understand it and read it easily. I addressed my audience by making sure the magazine had high frequency grammar so that it appeals to a wider audience as they won't be bored or confused by the grammar.

I also asked a group of people if they would like an electronic copy of my magazine, or even prefer it to a paper copy. The results were that they would rather have a paper copy so that they can keep it forever rather than look at it for a short while online, they can also cut out the images or keep the posters to put on their walls - which is something a large number of a younger audience does. Although the perks of having an electronic/downloadable copy is its portability. It is on a smaller screen although people can read it wherever they go guaranteed that they have the electronic device with them. Below is how my product looks on my own iPhone. You can see from these images that although it is portable and looks clear (as you can increase the brightness of the screen and zoom in), it is quite difficult to navigate and is very small so the audience wouldn't get a clear view of the images or text.

Above is the focus group video before I made my products. I asked what they expect to see from my magazine and my chosen genre. I then constructed my products and made another focus group video which is shown below. I showed them my final products and asked what they thought of my magazine and whether it linked to my genre, It gave me results such as whether they would buy it - I used the previous video for the price of my magazine. I also asked if they knew of any magazines that mine related to, this had a positive outcome because I took inspiration from Q and NME for a similar outcome.

Evaluation Question 4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation Question 3. What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?

The media institution that would distribute my magazine is BAUER Media Group. Bauer Media Group is a large European-based media company, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. They manage a portfolio of more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world. The portfolio extends to include print shops, postal, distribution and marketing services. Bauer Media Group has a workforce of approximately 11,000 employees in 17 countries. Below you can see that they published magazines such as Q, Kerrang and Mojo; magazines that I based my own upon. I have taken their colour schemes into consideration but with a wider genre range of artists so that my magazine is more original.
Q is the UK's biggest selling music monthly magazine, at the heart of a cross-platform brand that celebrates the biggest stars in rock and roll. The Q brand has developed a worldwide reputation as a trusted and premium quality voice of musical authority amongst fans, musicians and the music industry alike, world-beating exclusives and outstanding production values. This is extended through radio, online and events such as the Q Awards.
BAUER also own 4 Music and Kiss FM, this could be another way to advertise my product. Mentioning my magazine on TV or the Radio will spread the world, especially to an audience interested in the Indie genre. If people hear an artist's music then find out they can read more about them in my magazine, they will be more inclined to buy it.

BAUER Media Group's Brands

After researching how BAUER Media Group distribute their products, I found the information below on their website. This shows that their management company is one of the largest in the world - the largest in Australia. Also the production services manage all inputs from the editorial, advertising and creative through the print production process. This means that i would be working with a team for the best possible outcome.

I would like BAUER to distribute my magazine as they are one of the most popular magazine distributors and are currently distributing magazines in Rock and Pop, this works with my genre (Indie-rock & Indie-pop). They have prior knowledge of these genres which means they are well experienced for my magazine to succeed. I also know that they will be distributing my magazine to a mass audience rather than a niche audience, which means that it will be more global and recognised. This is bringing a smaller genre to a wider audience. As my genre is all about independent music, there will be more people interested in a wider range of music rather than simple 'metal' or 'RnB'. A good thing about distributing with this institution is that they are very weathly, this means I can include better, more expensive prizes and giveaways which could further the stretch of an audience. BAUER can also attract a bigger audience through the use of synergy, compromising with other magazines, TV channels and Radio stations where they can promote my magazine.

With BAUER I will distribute my magazine through stores such as HMV and newsagents, also big supermarkets such as Tesco's, Asda's and Morrison's. This gives me the opportunity to spread the magazine to a mass amount of consumers, young adults go shopping as they will be living on their own, also teenagers go to look at magazines with their friends meaning they are likely to buy it if they associate with the genre. I will have an app with the name 'Waves Magazine' and it will be distributed under the 'Mapp' section (shown below). Apps are more accessible for the younger audience as they are the most common to have iPads and phones that include apps, they also have a lot of free time to read magazines. The app will be free so they can find out more information about the magazine before they decide to read it. I will advertise a subscription fee or they can pay separately per issue by filling in payment details on the app, the prices will be the ones included on my magazine - £2.49 per issue and £4.79 per month subscription.

BAUER would also create a website all about the magazine, it will include smaller versions of the feature stories (I wouldn't want to expose the entire magazine so people would read more), photos from concerts, links to artists and their merchandise and gossip, also about the previous issues. This will also advertise the magazine as the website informs globally reaching a mass audience. An example of an existing magazine's website is shown below, this is also the same genre.

However there are disadvantages of distributing my product through this institution. BAUER publishing group is a large organisation that publishes over 300 magazines. This vast number means that the promotion BAUER could give my magazine over it's other brands will be limited and the magazine may not get enough recognition.

Overall we can see that because of digitisation there are more social media users now than ever, this is because mobiles and computers are now portable meaning we can access them anywhere. This means my magazine has a better chance of being successful if it is also published electronically, as well as building Waves' identity.

Evaluation Question 2. How does you media product represent particular social groups?

The choice I made in social class and age group.

My target audience for my music magazine is females aged 16-25. I reduced the age group shown above as it is a very large scale resulting in different life stages, education/work and interests. Stereo-typically people of this age group are interested in gigs, social networking, downloads, parties, festivals, latest technology and the latest trends. I have included artists of different ages so that they can appeal to a wider target audience. For example, I have included artists such as 30 Seconds To Mars which are aged 30+, as well as Dionne Phelan and Remenitions which are aged 17-20. I have done this to keep the audience up to date with the hits currently as well as make the younger audience aware of older music legends such as 30STM. This will not only benefit my target audience but by using age specific artists this will also reinforce the indie genre. I have also included links to subscribe for my magazine which reinforces the stereotypes of my genre.

I aimed my magazine at the class E of the social class table. This section appeals most to students and young adults. The artist on my front cover are more familiar to this population. My focus group video taught me that I needed to include decent competitions and freebies, also interesting feature stories. I also found out that my target audience are comfortable paying about £2.50 for a simple music magazine. As shown below in my social group response.

Reader profiles include the percentage of males and females who read the magazine to show how popular the magazine is to each gender. Ages are included in reader profiles to show if NME need to improve their target audience by aiming their conventions, stories, artists at a different age group. The purpose of a reader profile is so the institution can request feedback and fix any problems. I stereotyped my audience by the type of clothing they wear, the hobbies they have, the music they listen to and their interests. I displayed this through images in my reader profile and then chose the outfit I wanted my artists to wear according to my outfit/style research. I then chose famous artists that are stereotypically appealing to the indie genre to include in my magazine. I created a competition where the readers can win free Download Festival tickets, this is a big festival that appeals to this and other genres. This will make more people buy the magazine especially as it is aimed at a younger audience, as the majority of people who go to music festivals are young adults.
I also chose feature stories that will appeal to my particular social group. Such as the interview with Dionne Phelan, referring to her as 'American's Baddest Girl'. The older, more educated social groups are not likely to be interested in this story, stereotypically. Also I made a feature story reviewing an artists new album, although if the album is what my target audience relate to then social groups other than E will not want to read this as it is about music that isn't aimed at them.

My initial reader profile I made before I
made my magazine, still based on the
Indie genre.

Past reader profile research on NME Magazine.

Evaluation Question 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Throughout my front cover, contents page and double page spread, I have achieved continuity to display the conventions of a modern media product. I did this by using the same fonts, colour scheme, page numbers, artists and more. For example, on my front cover and my contents page I have used 'Edo' to represent the pull quote. I chose this font as it is bold, chunky and it stands out to the target audience. It has a paintbrush effect which looks rather grunge, suiting my genre. On these two pages I also used 'Times New Roman' for smaller features such as the date, price and captions; the reasoning behind this is to make it easy for the audience to navigate around the page, making the more important features stand out. I used 'Arial Narrow' for all of my headings to keep the continuity so that it looks like the same magazine on both pages. Also, as this text is only used for headings, the audience will see this text used throughout my magazine and they will instantly recognise that it is a heading.

I have also used the colour scheme - black, white and red - throughout. This is iconographic of my magazine and will make it easier for my audience to relate too. Famous magazines such as Q Magazine and NME use this colour scheme and they are very successful. This appeals to the indie-rock genre as they are heavy colours but stand out against any other colours used (such as images and plugs). However my double page spread is slightly different, I have used the same colours although not as dramatically. I haven't used any headings so it is therefore lacking this boldness, although it still looks effective and I have still used the same colours (along with blue, matching my DPS image). I did this so that the text and main image matches. Using the same colours creates a fluent and continuous brand identity. This matches the conventions of popular magazines, which emphasizes the professionalism of my product.

The page numbers on my contents page are identical to the page numbers I have on my double page spread. This is crucial otherwise the reader would be navigated to the wrong page. On my front cover, contents page and double page spread I have used the same artist. The issue is all based around the same person therefore the artist needs to be on all of these. 

The following conventions analysis is what I learnt at the beginning of the year based on an existing magazine.

Here is my final conventions analysis on my final product.

Constructing My Final Products

Front Cover

Contents Page

Double Page Spread