Before I started making my music magazine, I researched into different music magazines to see the sort of layout and information music magazines contained. I made a PowerPoint showing the research that I had done, focusing mainly on the magazines Q, NME and The Rolling Stone. I also took pictures for my magazine before I started producing my magazine, as I thought this would enable me to produce my print piece faster with less hassle. I decided the name, genre, style, price and audience of the magazine before I started making the magazine.
I began making my magazine by making flat plans for each page of the magazine that I was going to make. This was so I could follow the flat plan design I had made previously which would make the making of my magazine easier.
The first page I made of my magazine was my front page. I used a picture which I had previously taken, and edited the photo on Photoshop and then made it the main image for my front cover, which was placed on the centre of the page. I then added the text which accompanied my image, a USP, magazine name, and magazine information such as barcode, website and price. I finished my front cover by inserting boxes around the text that I had previously written on the page. This was so this text would stand out, and make the page look less dull.
The second page I made for my magazine was the Contents page. For this I started to follow the flat plan that I had made. Whilst making my contents page, I realised that I had not taken enough pictures for my magazine, so had to take some more photos. I then looked at the contents pages from the magazines Q and NME and decided what I could put on my contents page to make it look more like a professional magazine. From this, I took the idea of having a band index on the page.
I started my double page spread by editing the picture that I wanted to be main focus on the page. I then inserted the picture on the page, and gave the page a title of what the double page spread was featuring. I then came up with some questions that I was going to ask in the interview which was on my double page spread. When everything that I wanted to be was on my double page, I moved text and pictures around so they were laid out in a way that I thought looked most professional.
I have aimed my magazine at people in groups C and B. This is because my magazine is using more complex language, and is a monthly magazine so it will be more expensive than the weekly music magazines.
The language used in my magazine was a more formal language, because it was a more expensive magazine, and the readers would want to hear more technical and sophisticated language. The language used fits my target audience of them being in groups C and B as they would understand the language used in the magazine.
The font used on the front page of my magazine is a simple font, representing the simplicity of my magazine that I wanted to portray. I wanted my magazine to be a classier magazine, so did not want to use elaborate fonts on the front cover.
My magazine would be sold monthly in most newsagents and supermarkets. It would be a monthly magazine as it is a higher priced magazine, being at £3.50.
My magazine represents the younger people of the music business, and shows new singers that are new to the industry. My image on the front page shows my model looking down on the camera, which represents the fact that she is a new singer that people can look up to and admire.
The purpose of my magazine is to entertain and inform the public, which is based on the music industry. I have aimed my magazine at both genders, but I have realised that the magazine I produced would suit more of a female readership. The age that I would like my readers to be would be between 16 and 30 years.
The typical reader of my magazine would be interested in all types of media, such as the film, music, magazine, and informative media such as the news.
My magazine fits in with the Maslow’s triangle of needs. It fits in with stages of Love and Belonging, Esteem, and Self-actualization. It does this because my magazine will make feel as if they belong to the music industry, and have some involvement in the music industry. My readers will feel as if they have more self-esteem, as they feel that they fit in a certain group, which will make them feel similar to other people.
I have learnt new skills on programmes such as PhotoShop from making my music magazine. It was my first time using PhotoShop, and I now feel confident on the programme. For my preliminary task, the only programme I used was Microsoft Publisher, on which there was a very limited barrier of what I could do to develop my magazine.
Looking back at the final product I produced for my preliminary task, I feel that I have improved a considerable amount. My final product for my music magazine task looks much more professional and classier than the magazine I created for my preliminary task.
