Title Ideas

1) SAME JEANS
This is a song title by The View. It plays on the idea of the magazine having more of a fashion edge as that is what my target audience want. I like the idea of having a song name as the magazine is aimed at people who really know their music and so they should recognise it. However, I feel that this goes against the idea of having the magazine based on up and coming artists as that band are already very popular.

2) INDIE MONSTER
This idea is very simple, many people responded to the questionnaire suggested that ‘indie’ should be included in the title. Also the ‘monster’ also shows that it is more aimed towards males than females. I feel that this idea is catchy, immediately shows what the magazine will be about whilst having a unique edge, as monster would possibly not normally be used as a magazine title.

3) FANTASTIC!
This idea immediately creates a sense of energy and excitement. I really like the idea of a one word title as it is very catchy, but I feel that this could be too vague and possibly end up confusing the reader.

4) YELLOW LEGO
This idea is playing on the theme of indie being individual. The complete randomness is likely to stop somebody who will want to discover what the magazine is about by looking at the image and cover line’s. Also, having “lego”, suggests that the target audience is male dominated as it is more a boy product. I have discovered that unfortunately I would probably not be able to use this name because Lego is a trademark and therefore there could be issues with copyright.

Reader Profile for Music Magazine

They are seventy per cent male, on average, and are little earning, students at college or university. At the age of sixteen to twenty-one they are at the stage of their life where education is important, yet they can’t help wishing that they was somewhere else, shops, gigs and bars perhaps.

Their part time jobs earn them little money, but they also receive income from student loans. They work an average of fourteen hours per week, which earns roughly seventy pounds a week. With little money to spend they are more likely to download music online or get their friends to send them some music every now and then.

They love indie music and like to take credit for discovering the next best thing before they were famous. They listen to music ranging from The Wombats to Muse. Their bedroom walls are entirely covered with posters of their favourite bands.

They come from a middle-class family and attended an average comprehensive school. They began to listen to music at the age of thirteen when they were constantly told to “turn that music down!” Now forty per cent have moved out of home where the other sixty have gained more trust and freedom from their parents.

They constantly have the most recent mp3 and mobile phone and usually log in to MySpace or Facebook at lease three times a week. They normally hear about all the newest tour dates through the internet and spend on average ten hours each week online.

Online doesn’t stop at ordering concert tickets but goes on to online shopping. They spend on average £50 a month on the latest clothes and their style is constantly on trend. They spend a further £30 a month on concert tickets and £40 on going out to clubs and pubs.

They aspire to become the next big indie act as they have been playing drums from the age of eleven. Constantly moaned at by their parents for the “racket” they where making, they now want to show off their talents. Growing up music has always been important, but now it is more important than ever.

Music Magazine Questionnaire Results

Music Magazine Questionnaire Results

I asked two males and two females from each age group (16-21) to complete my questionnaire. Here are the results:

What is your favourite genre of music out of the following…
Rock 3
Metal 1
Indie 11
Electro 1
Techno 2
Rap 0
RnB 1
Classical 0
Other (please specify) Dance

Would you read an indie music magazine?
Yes 18
No 2
This shows that the idea of having an Indie music magazine is a good choice.

Can you name a current indie magazine?
Yes (if yes, please say which magazine) 6 (NME, ArtRocker, Q)
No 14
This shows that people are likely to read the magazine as they are unaware of any otheres that are around.

a) What type of magazine would you usually read?
Ranges between fashion and gossip to cars and music
b) Why do you choose to read this type of magazine?
Mainly answered as because it interests me
This shows what I should include if I choose to have other sections within the magazine.

How many magazines do you buy a month?
None 1
1-3 15
4-6 3
7-9 1
10+

How many music magazines do you buy a month?
None 3
1-3 13
4-6 3
7-9 1
10+
Shows that monthly will probably be best when it comes to the dateline.

Name three of your favourite artists.
The Wombats, Foals, Maccabees, Panic at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, Maximo Park, Kaiser Chiefs, Kings of Leon, Mystery Jets, Cage the Elephant, The Pigeon Detectives, HelloGoodbye, Arctic Monkeys, The Enemy, Muse.
Shows what bands I should include on the contents page.

What do you feel is the best feature of a music magazine?
Photos, Interviews with bands, gig reviews, discovering new bands and song releases.
Shows what I need to include for features and the double page spread.

Do you feel that there is a specific feature that is missing from the current music magazines? Please explain.
Posters and the idea of being able to vote for what poster comes in the next article, idea of linking fashion with music, but most people said no.
I can use these ideas to make my magazine different from current indie mags like NME and ArtRocker etc.

What, do you feel is the most effective USP (unique selling point) for a music magazine?
Posters 6
Free CD 8
Extra magazine 2
Stickers 0
Gig or festival guide 4
The bands being interviewed 0
Other (please specify)
What the USP should be so that my magazine can stand out from the rest.

If you were to start an indie music magazine, what would you name it and why?
Most along the lines of I.N.D.I.E. or Indie Cindy etc. others include SoundSystem, Stereo and Microphone.
I feel that I need to spend longer working out a name for the magazine.

Do you go to live gigs? If so, how often?
Never
Once a year 2
Once every few months 5
Once a month 12
Once a week 1
More than once a week 0

How much is your disposable income (how much spending money you have) and what is the source of this? (I.e. pocket money, work etc.)
Ranges from about £30 a week for 16 year olds to a few hundred a week for 21 year olds
This helps me to decide the price of the magazine, it needs to be affordable but also profitable.

How do you get most of your music?
Download from the Internet 4
Buy from i-tunes 8
Buy actual CD’s 3
Sent from friends 5
Other (please specify)
Shows what form new music needs to be advertised in, i.e. there is not much point advertising actual albums because only 15% of people buy the acual albums.

What, other than music, are your interests? (state at least three)
12 people said fashion and about 5 said cars, money, art, film, raves and 1 or 2 people said football, reading and study.

What would usually draw your attention to a music magazine?
Colourful cover, what artist is on the cover, the image, different and unique image and bold colours.

Do you like the front to be…?
Busy and bright all over 8
Busy with parts that are bright 11
Not too busy with parts colour 1
Not too busy with very little colour
Other (please specify)

Please make any comments for the magazine.
- Have a fashion section.
- Have a punk rock section.
- Have a range of colours.
- Make it unique.
- Have a really different cover image.
- Make it stand out.

Questionnaire

Age:
Gender:

What is your favourite genre of music out of the following…
Rock
Metal
Indie
Electro
Techno
Rap
RnB
Classical
Other (please specify) _________________________________

Would you read an indie music magazine?
Yes
No

Can you name a current indie magazine?
Yes (if yes, please say which magazine)
No

a) What type of magazine would you usually read?
________________________________________________________________
b) Why do you choose to read this type of magazine?
________________________________________________________________

How many magazines do you buy a month?
None
1-3
4-6
7-9
10+

How many music magazines do you buy a month?
None
1-3
4-6
7-9
10+

Name three of your favourite artists.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

What do you feel is the best feature of a music magazine?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Do you feel that there is a specific feature that is missing from the current music magazines? Please explain.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

What, do you feel is the most effective USP (unique selling point) for a music magazine?
Posters
Free CD
Extra magazine
Stickers
Gig or festival guide
The bands being interviewed
Other (please specify) _______________________________________________

If you were to start an indie music magazine, what would you name it and why?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Do you go to live gigs? If so, how often?
Never
Once a year
Once every few months
Once a month
Once a week
More than once a week

How much is your disposable income (how much spending money you have) and what is the source of this? (I.e. pocket money, work etc.)
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

How do you get most of your music?
Download from the internet
Buy from i-tunes
Buy actual CD’s
Sent from friends
Other (please specify)

What, other than music, are your interests? (state at least three)
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

What would usually draw your attention to a music magazine?

Do you like the front to be…?
Busy and bright all over
Busy with parts that are bright
Not too busy with parts colour
Not too busy with very little colour
Other (please specify) ________________________________________________

Please make any comments for the magazine.
___________________________________________________________________

Thank you!

Music magazine article analysis

I am looking at the article in NME, where Barry Nicolson interviews and discusses the new album, themes and issues with Kings of Leon.
When reading the article we can tell that the audience is probably aged between forty and fifty. We also get the impression that the target audience is predominantly male. We see this in many ways, from the sophisticated sentence structure to the use of profanities within speech; the audience is very much into rock music.
The heading, “The regals have landed”, is a pun. This immediate play on words suggests that the article is likely to be read by an older, possibly more intelligent people and mainly, those who know the bands music well.
This sub heading immediately shows us what the article is about and also what sort of person should read it. The sentence “but will their new found maturity destroy them?” suggests it is a serious article about the band and their music. It shows that it is chiefly based on the comeback of Kings of Leon, and not their social or personal lives. It also gets straight to the point, naming the band within the sub heading. This shows us that there is not likely going to be excessive amounts of unnecessary information contained in the article.
The start of the article focuses on a photo shoot of which the band is taking part in. This is also how the article ends. This is a good way in which the journalist is showing a clear start and end to the article. The ideas throughout all flow together and towards the end the reader notice that the article has gone in a full circle and is now backing to the start.
The style of the article is question-answer; however, this isn’t very obvious due to the constant use of asides and additional information. This gives the interview, and for that matter, the entire article a more sophisticated feel. Also the idea of having the language written in the exact dialect that it was spoken in makes it all seem more authentic and realistic. This allows the reader to believe it more, which will make the article more interesting to read.
The actual wording of the article includes predominantly more structured complex sentences and the use of a larger range of vocabulary. The range of verbs, for example, “nods” and “enquires” are all substitutes for the word ‘said’. All of these things are suggesting an older, more intelligent audience.
The mixture of direct speech and paraphrasing throughout the article shows how the band really feel without dragging out long and unnecessary sections of direct speech. This keeps the reader interested and makes them want to read on.
The article is set in the present tense which offers a sense of immediacy and importance. This is effective as the reader isn’t going to want to be reading articles in the past tense, as it suggests that it is now quite old and dated. The present tense shows that there is something new and different to read, in this case, the new album from Kings of Leon.
The influences of the journalist in this article mainly come from the common link between Kings of Leon and “regal”. He sees the band as royal which shows a great amount of respect for them. With this idea running through the article, the reader can see them in the same light.

Reader Profile Analysis

I am going to compare the reader profiles of two different music magazines. These magazines are NME and Word. They have two very different audiences and so their reader profiles are going to be very different. A reader profile is written by the magazine producers. They are mainly there for the advertisers, so that a product is advertised in a magazine where the target audiences are the same.

The NME reader profile is bright and colourful which immediately suggests a younger more visual orientated audience, where as, The Word is just plain writing in paragraph structure. This suggests a more educated, slightly older audience.

Word is aimed at males and males only, where as, NME is aimed at mainly males, 69% to be exact. This indicates to advertisers that it is best to advertise products that are targeted more towards males than females. Where Word uses “He”, NME uses “they” which shows NME has a wider audience in the sense of gender.

The age ranges are stated as Word being for 30-55 years and NME being for on average, 24 years. NME’s reader profile seems to be a lot more accurate than that of Word. This shows that NME’s advertisements will definitely relate to the target audience, however, it could prove harder for them to get advertisers willing to pay to show their adverts. The age range of the two magazines will show advertisers where to advertise though. For example, if a young indie band were touring, it is more likely to be advertised in NME, however, if there was a brand new plasma screen TV, it would be more likely advertised in Word.

The idea of what can be advertised and where continues into the theme of disposable income and technological capabilities. The Word reader is very much into technology and has a disposable income of £90 a month. The NME reader is more likely to have £120 per month. Where as the Word reader spends their money on books, music and films, the NME reader spends most of their money on audio equipment.

The leisure habits of the reader are made clear in Word. The reader has moved on from their younger years of listening to music constantly and now has a wider range of hobbies. These include new forms of technology and also books and film. The NME reader’s leisure habits are suggested to be in the form of shopping, as they like to dress well and also the use of the internet.

Overall, these two very different reader profiles will appeal to different advertisers. Reader profiles are important, and although I won’t need one as there will not be adverts in my magazine, I do need to clearly establish who my reader is and what they like to do, spend and listen to. Without this my magazine could end up as a miss-match of different things that each appeal to a different audience.

Word reader profile can be found at: http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/advertisers/reader
NME reader profile can be found at: http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:hkaBONybgfYJ:www.ipcmedia.com/mediainfo/nme.pdf+nme+reader+profile&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=uk

School magazine cover and contents page

Cover

Contents page

Evaluation of school magazine task

Evaluation of school magazine cover and contents page

For this piece of work I had to construct a school magazine aimed at one of three audiences; the whole school, a specific year group or the sixth form. I chose to aim my magazine at the sixth form as I thought it would be interesting to have a less academically based magazine.

Overall, I am happy with the way my magazine has turned out. A couple of things, however, did go wrong and I did not have time to put them right. This includes the quality of the photos on the contents page as they seem quite blurred and the colours also seem quite dull. I am still pleased with the layout of the contents page and I feel that it works well. If I did have more time I would have taken the time to style and position people for photographs, rather than just walking around the common room during a lesson. This is something that I will take on to the music magazine and hopefully to make it better.

I have also found that usually contents pages are white with black text. I have used a blue background with white text which goes against the usual style of a magazine. I feel that the white box at the top helps to balance the amount of white space; however, for my music magazine I will have to consider what magazines are usually like a lot more. If I had more time for research, which I will have when I make my music magazine, I would have looked into school magazines and the normal layout a lot more than what I did.

I feel that the image on the front cover is very effective as it symbolizes and relates to the main featured article. The fonts are all the same, with variety on the size and colour. This works well as it enables the viewer distinguish between the text but also allow it to all look as if it belongs there. The four topics stated at the bottom are all related to the results of the questionnaire as these were among the favourite things to read about. Also because they are all quite different it means that the magazine can appeal to a wide variety of people, and therefore, the whole sixth form.

Another problem I had was resizing the photos to the correct size. This means that they become distorted due to the constant stretching and shrinking of the images. I am now used to what size an image needs to be for a specific task. This means that this shouldn’t be a problem when I make my music magazine.

I feel that all of the problems that I have had have helped me in going forward to make my music magazine and although there are some problems, I feel that with the time I was given and the fact that this is my first task, I feel that it went very well.

School Magazine Title Questionnaire

I have carried out a further questionnaire because the titles question was not specific enough. I used all of the ideas that came back from the last questionnaire and added some of my own ideas as well.

Question:
What is your favourite choice of title for the school magazine?

Results:
Sole = 0
YourSpace = 14
Read It! = 4
Shrew News = 0
Sofa = 0
Brentwood County High Sixth Form = 0
Gossip Girl = 0
LOL = 1
Other = 0

I feel that these results prove my theory of people just being too lazy to think of a title. This is a much better idea and so I can therefore learn from my mistakes and use this knowledge for when I start my music magazine.

I am going to call the magazine YourSpace. This is because I like the idea of using something relatable to the students and changing it slightly. It also suggests that it is what they want inside. Also, because the students themselves have agreed, with 70% of people choosing YourSpace.

Magazine Title Ideas

I have come up with three titles for my magazine. I am going to submit a questionnaire to the sixth form to see what is the favourite option.

Option 1:
Sole
I like this idea as it is short and simple. This means that it will grab the viewers attention and it will be memorable. It also suggests it is one of a kind, which it is, but this will make the viewer want to read it.

Option 2:
YourSpace
This idea came from the social networking site, MySpace. As most of the sixth form use myspace I think this is a good idea as they can easily relate to it. The title is longer, but I think that as it is so similar to MySpace it will be eqaully as memorable in the viewers mind.

Option 3:
Read It
This idea came from the questionnaire results. This was my favourite choice from the sixth form and I feel that it is short and memorable. It speaks for itself really which could reflect in the magazine being an easy read. Obviously you don't want to get too confused when reading a magazine.

Questionnaire Results and Analysis

I have collected all of the results from the questionnaire and carried out a small analysis of the data I found.

1. State three article themes, for example, sport or music, that you would be interested in reading about in the school magazine.
   With 15 people saying they would like to read about music, this was the most popular by far. I could use the school band for this or have chart music reviews from the students themselves. Other popular options included fashion, comedy and film. For this I could use various different techniques such as, jokes publised by students, pictures of students talking about their own fashion and film reviews. 2 people said gossip and real life. Obviously gossip couldn't be about the students themselves as people could get upset but I could use celebrity gossip.
2. What would you rather there was more of on the front cover?
   Options: images; text; equal combination.
   Half of the students said images and 8 said a combination. This tells me that there must be a majority of images on the cover with some text.
3. Would you prefer the colours to be:
   Options: Dull; bright; a mixture.
   With 9 people saying bright and 9 saying a combination I feel that I have to make the cover bright and eye catching but equally have enough blank space so that the cover doen't look to over the top and busy. I could achieve this by having bright text, as this obviously won't take up too much space. Contrasted with a white background, this could give all of the sixth formers what they want.
4. Suggest a title for the magazine and why you have chosen it.
   Most people said something along the lines of "Brentwood County High Sixth Form", which I feel is mainly to do with lack of imagination. Other ideas included "Read it", "Sofa", "Shrew News" and "LOL". These are all imaginative ideas, however, I think that i am going to make another questionnaire so I can use a list of titles. I will include all of the ideas above and add a few of my own ideas and an other section.
5. What, in your opinion, would work best on the front cover?
   Options: the school; the students; other (please specify)
   The majority of the students said that they wanted the students to be on the cover. This shows me that I should have a photo of a sixth former on the cover of my magazine.
6. How often do you think would be appropriate for the magazine to be released?
   Options: weekly; monthly; seasonally; annually.
   The majority of students said monthly. I agree with this and think that this would be best for any school magazine.
7. What usually draws your attention to a magazine?
   Dominantly images but also the headline, colours and boldness. This tells me that the image should be large and take up a lot of space with bright and interesting headings and sub-headings surrounding it.
8. Would you prefer the font to be:
   Options: modern; simple; traditional; elaborate.
   The majority of students wanted simple and modern text. This shows me that the students probably relate more to more modern fonts and therefore, I should use modern fonts. I think that the reason for this is because students use computers a lot of the time and are used to the modern fonts on a pc.
9. Would you rather read about:Options: extra-curricular; academic; a mixture.
   Most people said both so I need an equal combination for the cover and contents page.
10. Part 1) What is the most important part of school life?
    Most popular answers included friendship, education, art, happiness and fun. This will help me to think of articles and features for the contents page.
    Part 2) How do you think this could be reflected in the magazine?
    To have articles and images about the above topics.

These results will help me a lot with the school magazine and will count as primary research for my magazine. This means it should be exactly what the students want.

Questionnaire

I handed this questionnaire to a total of 20 sixth formers. 5 female year 12's, 5 female year 13's, 5 male year 12's and 5 male year 13's. This was to get fair and evenly distributed results.

Here is the questionnaire:

1. State three article themes, for example, sport or music, that you would be interested in reading about in the school magazine.
2. What would you rather there was more of on the front cover?
   Options: images; text; equal combination.
3. Would you prefer the colours to be:
   Options: Dull; bright; a mixture.
4. Suggest a title for the magazine and why you have chosen it.
5. What, in your opinion, would work best on the front cover?
   Options: the school; the students; other (please specify)
6. How often do you think would be appropriate for the magazine to be released?
   Options: weekly; monthly; seasonally; annually.
7. What usually draws your attention to a magazine?
8. Would you prefer the font to be:
   Options: modern; simple; traditional; elaborate.
9. Would you rather read about:
   Options: extra-curricular; academic; a mixture.
10. Part 1) What is the most important part of school life?
    Part 2) How do you think this could be reflected in the magazine?

I feel that all of these questions will get me a better understanding of what the sixth form want from a school magazine.

Contents Page Ideas

These are my initial ideas for the articles shown on the contents page. They are mainly based on question one of my questionnaire. I have not yet thought about categorizing articles.

1. School band review.



2. Chart bands and student reviews.



3. Film reviews.



4. Revision guides.



5. How to beat common room boredom.



6. Fashion trends.



7. How to dress for school.



8. Sixth form, extreme Frisbee competition review.



9. Girls football advertisement.



10. Boys netball competition review.



11. Photos from the sixth form.



12. Jokes page (submitted by the students).



13. Upcoming events.



14. Road runner trip review.



15. Newly released films.

I am probably going to end up cutting down on this amount of ideas, however, this will help me to categorize and check that this is what the sixth form really want.

I will then take this list and transform it into a contents page.