Analysing a music article double page spread

Ed Sheeran Q Music magazine

The articles design links well with the front cover as Ed Sheeran is predominantly the main focus of the page in both of them. The main image in the front cover and the double page spread has many recurring themes that are clear links for the audience to see. One example of this is that Ed Sheeran's guitar is clearly portrayed in both photos. This shows the reader exactly the type of music Ed is known for and gives the reader a quick and easy idea of whether they will like him or not. As well as that in the images Ed is never looking at the audience. This gives the idea off that Ed is no more powerful than anyone else and just a normal guy, which is an image that Ed likes to be portrayed of himself.

Whilst looking at the article there are certain things that stand out for example the background of London. This connotes Ed Sheeran's past and how he lived on the streets in London before he became a superstar. As well as that the ever present colour of red across the article stands out and shows the audience certain key words. Also the colour of red connotes Ed's personality of being bold and strong like a lion.

The article supports the artists image as the guitar in the picture shows the audience the type of music Ed Sheeran is well known for. As well as that the simple but stylish clothing Ed is wearing in the image shows the audience the style he likes to portray of himself of being a celebrity that is no better than any other normal person.

The article has been published on Ed Sheeran because of his sudden success and rise up the charts. The article has been brought out to inform the audience of his success and how he has gone about improving his style of music so much. The article has also been used by Ed to inform people more about his image and how he is proud to be ginger and wanting to make it cool.

The way that the article is set out suits what the target audience likes as it has simple but detailed information however does not overload the reader with unnecessary facts. The article also is based on an artist who is liked by both a male and female audience which suits the magazine Q because a even share of males and females read the magazine.

I believe that the intention of the magazine article was to show the audience how far Ed Sheeran has come in only a short amount of time. However I also believe that the article has aimed to show the readers how Ed has stayed grounded even though he has gained so much fame. I think that because in he article he is not showing off designer clothes outside a massive house he just looks like a normal guy with a guitar like he once was. As well as that the tone of the article is positive and helps to show how Ed want to be represented and looked upon by other people.

I feel as though the article does not involve the reader very much there is very few reasons when the article actually uses words that include the reader in it. Also Ed does not look down the lens of the camera in the image which makes the audience feel even less involved. I think that this is done to promote the idea of Ed Sheeran being a normal person and not feeling like the camera is actually on him.

The layout of the article is very simple on the page with the large image of Ed on the first page. I believe that this is done deliberately as people usually read from left to right so therefore people will see the image of Ed before the article and therefore be attracted in to read the article. I think that the image helps the text as it helps to attract people into the article as it doesn't just look like a boring lump of text.

  The design of the double page article and the front cover link together in a few ways which help to show off Nicki Minaj's personality. The bright pastel colours in both the background of the article and on the billboard masthead give the idea to the audience that Nicki is a bit of a girly girl and likes to be portrayed in that way. As well as that the clothing Nicki is wearing in both images is somewhat different to what would be described as normal clothing. This suggest that she likes to be different and not just follow what everyone else is doing but create her own path. The final link i have picked out that link both the feature article and the front cover is that Nicki likes to be portrayed as a powerful almost goddess like person. This is shown as the title of the feature article is the gospel according to Nicki Minaj and the title of the cover is Nicki vs the world! Another thing that makes Nicki come across as powerful like a goddess is that in both images she is staring down the camera. This comes across to the audience that she is powerful and strong   as she is almost intimidating them.

The article connotates how it is good to be different as it shows a celebrity who is very different to most over people but being successful in not being like everybody else. It also shows that girls can be powerful and counteracts the stereotype that girls are very delicate and not strong etc. The article shows this as Nicki is looking straight at the camera intimidating the audience, this shows her power.

The way the article is set out supports the artists style as the article is quite quirky and different to how most articles are set out just like Nicki. Also the article is set out in an interview format which gives Nick Minaj the chance  to portray her image the way she wants it to be looked upon.

The purpose of the article is to inform the audience of how Nicki Minaj has changed from being a quite flirty teenage orientated sex icon. To being a lot more up market and a more classy women. however the article is quick to tell the audience that Nicki is not going to change her "different" personality.  


The article suits the magazines target audience as the article focuses on a teenage orientated celebrity. This suits the magazines target audience as a lot of the readers of billboard are teenagers and just above. As well as that the article suits the target audience as it is set out in a quite classy way. This suits the audience as a lot of the readers have a high household income ($212,000). The magazines target audience is also involved in the article as Nicki is looking right at the camera also some of the language used e.g. "bow down mortals" gives off the idea to the audience that they are being talked to giving a more direct mode of address. The way the audience are being talked to however is a friendly attached manner in which the maker of the article wants us to feel involved in the article and not to detached.

In the article Nicki is represented as being a powerful but mature person. I believe that this has been deliberately put across to show the audience more the evident change in how Nicki is now behaving on and off stage. The tone of the article also shows how Nicki now wants to be represented. As it is a quite relaxed interview in which Nicki is formal compared to her normal self and not to over the top.

The article is set out in a very professional way. As it is easy to navigate around the page in a chronological order this makes for easy reading and keeps you interested in the article.

Overall the image supports the text as it shows in short what the text is trying to say. For example the icon ring on her hand shows that she wants to be a female celebrity icon. The clothing she is wearing is different which shows her philosophy of not being the same as everyone else and her staring at the camera shows her power.

Evaluating a music magazine cover

Audience reactions to the front cover:

• The bright colours attracted them in.
• The large text in certain places made them read that part first.
• They thought that from a distance some of the text was difficult to read.
• It was clear what the front cover included.
• At times they thought the front cover was a bit busy. 

Audience reactions to the front cover:

• The audience thought that there was a clear order you could go round the front cover in.
• They liked the use of direct address with the muse character looking down the camera lens.
• The cover is not to crowded.
• They thought it was clear what the masthead of the magazine was.
• The audience said that it was very rock based and put some people off the front cover.

Media Pack Target Readership

Music Press

Music Press

Music magazines have had a huge drop in sales over the past few years. This is shown as Q (a monthly magazine) has seen its audience dropping from 200, 000 copies a month in the 90’s to about 50,000 now. This is also backed up by the fact NME an iconic music magazine has seen readers drop as low as 20,000 a week.

The blame for this is largely heaped on the digital age as now people no longer have to buy a magazine to see the latest news, reviews or interviews when they can get it for free on the internet.

Another reason for loss of readers is thought to be the content within the magazines. As many magazines eg. NME ditched large, detailed features for snazzy but simple top 100’s in the early 2000’s. This led to a loss in sales for many magazines.

Also the decline of music press could be down to the improvement in transport, no longer do people have to read a magazine to see what the big bad world really is like as they can easily travel to places all over the world quickly and relatively cheaply.

Or maybe the death of musical press is down to the new generation. No longer is it seen as cool to go out and buy a music magazine or is it to even go out of the norm and try and get yourself noticed as a budding musician so nobody does it.

1950’s music magazines

A lot longer articles were used and more simple information was portrayed for example band name and age etc. Also bright colours were often relied on to try and attract the reader in.

1970’s music magazines

Were based on one topic e.g. Punk as a lot of people listened to the same type of music instead of a variety. A house style was also conveyed a lot more.

Early 1970’s

Glam Rock, Progressive Rock in their prime e.g. David Bowie

Mid 1970’s

Punk in prime

Magazines started not just to be about music but politics etc.

Late 1970’s

Readers start to abandon NME as they want magazines more about music.

1978 music magazines

Smash hits magazine launched this brought a new type of magazine to the fore. It was focused on trivia, food, pop musician’s lifestyle etc. It also tried to keep in touch with readers views and had pages based on readers’ comments. Smash hits was a big reason fashion in media became so popular.

1980’s and 1990’s music magazines

New layout to music magazines was created e.g. Blitz magazine. These magazines had better editing meaning a more stylish magazine than something like NME.

Video technology within music

New singles now come with video (Sometimes the video even costs more than the single to create.) MTV launched and was one of the reasons that little known bands could get big easier.

Today

Digital Technology has exploded and changed the industry. Audiences now discover new music online and pop culture is everywhere e.g. newspapers and TV’s. Does a music magazine even serve a purpose?

The differences between music press in the 1950’s and now:

·         No longer is the magazine focused on large celebrities etc. As anything can be found about known people on the internet. So now to get readers magazines are largely focused on new talent so then readers may actually find something they didn’t know.

·         There is now less advertising of records to buy as downloading music has taken over.

·         Magazines are no longer focused on long articles about bands and are more likely to do top 100’s etc.

·         They are focused on added information to musicians as simple information is already known.

·         The content in the magazines now have a larger variety as music people listen to is a lot broader. E.g. in the 1970’s magazines were largely focused on Punk as that is what most people listened to. Now the magazine is based on hip-hop, pop, grime etc.

·         Magazines now are published on the internet more than print e.g. NME as they are more accessible for people.

·         The magazines target audience have changed to older generations as they are now people who still enjoy reading magazines unlike the new generation.

How has the internet affected magazines?

·         Social Media (so people can interact with celebrities more.)

·         It is easier to access than magazines.

·         It is cheaper to look on the internet than buy a magazine.

·         You can get more information on the internet.

·         Breaking news comes a lot quicker on the internet.

What are magazines now used for?

Pre- internet                                                                                                          

-          Find out about favourite artists

-          Be introduced to new artists

-          Get general music news

-          Get information e.g. Release dates

-          Get related information e.g. where to buy a guitar

-          Exclusive content

-          Merchandise

-          Free Gifts

-          Sense of community

-          To see latest charts

-          Fashion

-          Images

-          To be cool

Today

-          As a souvenir

-          Something physical not just something on the internet

-          A lure e.g. concert tickets.

-          Nostalgia

-          Exclusives e.g. interviews

-          Gossip/ rumours

Preliminary- My Evaluation

The conventions I have used is a Masthead for the branding of the magazine so that it is recognizable for loyal people to pick up quickly. A slogan to be catchy for the audience and to try and attract them in. Bright coverlines to give people an idea of what is in the magazine so they know whether the magazine is right for them. A bright NEW! image on the front cover so people know that the magazine is new and that they should try it out. A lure at the bottom of the page so people want to buy the magazine to have a chance of winning the prize found inside. Other ways of interacting with the magazine eg. Instagram so people can keep in touch and send in new ideas for the magazines viewers to enjoy. Finally I included bright colours to attract people in and make the magazine stand out compared to the other competitive magazines in the market.

I decided to base my magazine on the idea of travel because there is not many travel magazines in the market and people of my target audience are very much interested in travelling now and in the future.

During my magazines production i feel as though i dealt with problems well. For example I had a problem as i could not use the photo i wanted to from my holiday in Greece as it was taken landscape and could therefore not cover the whole cover and would therefore look unprofessional. I dealt with this problem by in the short amount of time i had going out into the woods behind my house and taking a picture of something that signified travel and a trip. Which ended up being a long path that showed the long trip and adventure that travel is.

Overall I believe that my magazine was reasonably successful as I included lots of good conventions and did a good job of making the magazine bright and therefore it will stand out. I was also happy with my coverlines as they were simple but therefore stand out to the reader and do not overcrowd the screen and make it look unprofessional.  I also feel as though i did a good job with my time management and have managed to achieve all my ideas in a reasonable amount of time.

On the other side of things i feel for the real coursework portfolio i need to improve on a few things. Firstly i need to improve on my photography skills as i believe that the image i took was a bit dark and dreary. Therefore the image drowned out the other colours and made it hard for the slogan and masthead to stand out. I also need to improve on my editing skills as if i was able to i would have made the image brighter so the slogan could stand out more and therefore make the front cover more accessible and interesting for people. Finally i need to get better at making the cover look professional as i believe that the main problem with my magazine cover is that it looks unprofessional and therefore would be not good enough to go onto shop shelves.
Finally i believe that this was a good experience as i got a chance to develop my designing skills and also have had a chance to see what my weaknesses are so i can improve them for my actual magazine cover.      

Preliminary- Final Front Cover

Mock Preliminary front cover

Preliminary- Planning my magazine

I have decided to do a sixth form travel magazine because after my questionnaire i found that everyone from the target audience enjoys the idea of travelling now or in the future. As well as that i felt as though the topic of travel is not going to be covered by many people so therefore the magazine would be unique therefore creating more sales for the company.

Name: The TDS Traveller
            Travel
            Trip




I decided to go with trip for the name of the magazine. I did this because Trip is a simple but effective name which does not ramble on and sticks well with people. I also chose Trip as i believe it would look clear as a masthead therefore making good branding and generating a good amount of income for the company. I prefered Trip to the TDS Traveller as it sounds more professional and would look better as a masthead.
           
Slogan: We travel not to escape life but to live it.
              The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page. "St Augustine"
              Travel is like a Dorito it can be hot, it can be cheesy but overall its a good experience.

I decided to do the slogan "We travel not to escape life but to live it." As it is short and sharp but also has a serious and professional tone to it. I chose it over the other slogans as i felt that the second one was a bit deep and could distract people from the actual magazine cover. Finally the third slogan was not proffesional enough and too long to catch peoples attention.

The colour scheme of the front cover is going to be predominantly bright colours as that it was the target audience prefers. I believe that bright colours will be good for the cover as it will make it stand out so when people are looking for magazines in the shop my magazine will stand out.

The magazine is going to be published once a fortnight as my target audience said that is about the right amount of time. Also every 2 weeks would be good as it would give me enough time to find out about new good travel tips and not drown people with new content too often by bringing the magazine out once a week.

The magazines content is basically going to be focused on warm mediteranean places and sporty holidays. I have chosen this because the target audience of 16- 18 years old normally enjoys relaxing in the sun or doing sports. This means that at least some of the content will suit some people in the sixth form and mean that more people will read the magazine within sixth form.


Overall the front cover of my magazine is going to have a large Trip masthead at the top of the page with a bright picture of a beach i took in Greece. I will also have coverlines of what is going to be inside the magazine and finally at the bottom a competition as a lure and my slogan will be presented.


Planning my photography
I have decided that i am going to do a portrait image for my magazine cover as it can then cover the whole cover without being stretched and going out of sync.
I am going to take the picture in my local woods where two paths go their separate ways. This is going to link in with my slogan that travelling is a choice, it also shows that choosing the easy way isn't always the best way (as one path is easy to walk down and the other has a lot of foliage etc.
The image is not a very busy shot which is good as it provides room for the coverlines without much distraction. The shot is going to be a long shot as it will fit everything in it and give perspective of the image.
Overall i believe the shot will suit my target audience as it shows adventure which is what a lot of teenagers are into.

Planning what will be inside my magazine
I am going to have very few coverlines on my magazines to keep it simple and attractive looking for people. I will have all of the magazines social networks on there so people can keep in touch with the magazine and get latest info etc. I will also have the 50 cheapest travel destinations in the EU on the magazine cover as i believe it will be relateable to the sixth form students. This is because at the age of 16-18 lots of people are looking to be going on holiday but do not have much money so the magazine will offer a great deal of advice on how to get the most out of a cheap holiday. I will finally have a competition in the magazine on how to get a free holiday to New York. This will help get more people to buy the magazine as teenagers are short on money often and would love to go to New York so they will buy the magazine to try and get the free trip. This works as a lure.


         

Preliminary Readership Profile

My Target Audience, Questionairre

The age range is going to be aimed at 16- 18 year olds as that is the normal age of sixth form students who are our target audience.

                                                                                                               1 / = 1 vote for that option

1. Gender?    

                    Male: / / / / /

                    Female: / / / / /

2. How would you describe your personality?

                   Funny: / / / 

                   Chatty: / / / / 

                   Quiet:

                   Calm: /

                   Mad: /

                   Other (please specify): / (Banterous)

3. What things interest you? (you can choose more than one)

                   Sports: / / / / / / /

                   Gaming: / /

                   IT: /

                   Shopping: / / /

                   Travel: / / / / / /

                    Other (please specify):

4. What would you want from a sixth form magazine:

                  Gossip: / / /

                  Tips on sixth form life:

                   Cheap travel info for holidays: / / /

                  Sports results: /

                  Comedy sketches and stories: /

5. How often would you want the magazine published:

                  Once a week: / /

                  Once a fortnight: / / / / / /

                  Once a month: /

                  Once a term: /

                  Once a year:

6. What sort of colour schemes do you like?
                 Bright Colours: / / / / / / / / /
                 Dark Colours: /

7. What sort of places do you enjoy going on holiday?
                 Warm places in the Mediterranean: / / / / /
                 Cold, spectacular places: / /
                  Sporty places eg. skiing: / / /

8. Do you enjoy the idea of travelling in the future?
                 Yes: / / / / / / / /
                  No: / /

Collage of things my target audience like!

I designed a questionnaire for 10 people in my target audiences age range of 16- 18 years old to test what content they like in a magazine and what they like them to be about. From my questions i found that there is a broad amount of personalities that i have to tend for in my magazine. I also found out that the target audience seem to be interested in sports and travelling in their free time. The type of magazine the target audience wanted was again varied but they seemed to be mainly interested in the idea of school gossip and travel ideas for during the holidays. The questionnaire showed me that every fortnight would be about right for the magazine to come out according to the target audience. As well as that bright colours were much preferred to dark colours and the target audience enjoy doing something sporty or relaxing in a warm place on their holidays. Finally it was clear to me that the target audience like the idea of travelling in the future so i believe travel would be a good thing to base my magazine on!