Draft 2 of Magazine Cover (Music magazine)

Draft 1 of Magazine Cover (Music magazine)

Mock up of Front Cover using google images (Music magazine)

I created this draft using google images to give me a brief overview and test which features of of my magazine that i wanted to include would work. Although the picture quality is not very good and slightly burred (because the image has been copied and pasted) the overall layout of the splash is really simple but effective. Also the mise-en-scene in the photograph promotes the Indie genre through the clutter and rebellious theme of the messy room. The use of the guitar prop directly indicates to the audience the product is a music magazine. Also the image of the model and setting itself gives a very relaxed atmosphere which relates to my target audience (C1 and C2 SEG groups) as they are more likely to buy a magazine which they feel shares the same view point as themselves. I did not have to alter the image itself when creating my draft, I only outlined the areas where specific conventions would be positioned on my potential magazine cover. Some may argue the cover is very plain and boring however I disagree and think in this circumstance the image itself attracts the customer sharing this indie genre. When taking my photographs I will try and relate this image in my own to convey the same connotation's presented.

Possible Cover Lines (Music Magazine)

Cover lines I might include:

• 100 most shocking music moments!
• Artists name, "unsensored" followed by the name of the photographer. 
• Artists name, Full tour UK report" (in bold)
• Guitars gone wild, 2 door against wombats!
• Lady Gaga, Independent + Individual making her Indie?
• Live Chaos! KASABIAN
• Angles VS Wetsuit. Battle of the Debut Albums!
• Mike Snow Comeback interview exclusive!
• Rock and Roll! Your guilty pleasures!
• White Stripes - The legendary band returns!
• Your prayers have been answered, The Carpenters Return!

Font Styles (Music Magazine)

I have already researched the style and name chosen for my masthead however the font of the writing in my magazine (including cover lines and my main article) are equally as important.

The website http://www.dafont.com provides font types with alternate and unique styles which could look good on my magazine. The text types I choose for should reflect the genre of my magazine; continuing the house style.

Questionnaire (Music Magazine)

This was the questionnaire I used in the previous year as a source of audience feedback. This was quite useful however I have found that the system of using polls is much more effective and reliable. I am still going to consider the feedback I gained last year however simply include further evidence I gain from my new source of audience feedback.

Hand Drawn Drafts

Polls

I have created a number of polls on my blog to give me valuable information about the characteristics of the audience I am targeting and what conventions/styles they favour over others. Audience feedback is very important and the results will affect the overall appearance and changes of my magazine.

Further Research into Cover Lines

First of all I must research the current bands which could be included as cover lines on my music magazine. The following artists follow a to date trend:

• Foo Fighters
• Kasabian
• The Wombats
• The Strokes
• Munford and Sons
• White Stripes
• Kings of Leon

For a cover line I could also advertise the articles relating to fashion as clearly the whole concept of the music including style must be considered, not simply the popular music songs themselves.

• I could promote the opening for new vintage shops such as Beasleys, Chinease Laundry and Vintage.com, which all provide popular clothing worn by Indie artists mentioned inside the magazine. 
• Perhaps I could mention the debate (obviously using informal vocabulary or slang) between the youth converting the whole ideology of Indie (independent/unique) to mainstream and popular. This would attract both the old style and new readers. 

I could also mention new released albums which are due out soon. If not a cover-line, this could be shown as a splash to advertise and promote bands. Theoretically speaking this could give the magazine sponsorships and funding from different artists as they would be promoted in a positive way, providing the magazine proved to be very popular. I could use typical slogans used on conventional magazines such as "Top ten hits", "Exclusive" or "Best CD's of the year" ect.

Finally the feature of seasons could be included with a list of different activities the consumer could participate in during the month. For example the promotion of different summer festival such as Glastonbury or Leeds Festival 2013. This incentive will tempt the audience to buy the magazine and win the change to get free festival tickets. 

Target Audience (Music Magazine)

During my demographics research post in made clear comparisons regarding the institution of LEAD and NME. NME follows a similar conventional style and aspect of genre that I am following making this brand my magazines main competitor. Hence the target audience of my magazine will be very similar, this is useful when researching how NME targets its audience as it should give LEAD the opportunity to promote the magazine in ways NME have not before.
I have chosen to target the SEG groups C1 and C2 which provides the main difference between LEAD and NME  (they target groups A,B and C1). It is important that my magazine appeals to a wide range of social class groups giving the magazine a mass audience and enhancing its promotion. However I think it would be more benecifial to my magazines popularity to target a lower class in society giving this segment of people the opportunity to afford a music magaizne of a certain content and genre. Although my magazine will be printed more cheap for certain members of my audience the magazine will be promoted for all classes and SEG groups ensuring all members of the public can access the magazine.

Chosen Font for my Cover Lines

Font: Neuva Std (from the default Photoshop font choices)
Condensed Appearance
Size: 48pt
Sharp
Colour Deep Red
Also added effects will be used to change the appearance using the Photoshop tool "blending options".

Examples of Indie/Rock bands

 

 

Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Marytn

 

 

The Blackout - Higher and Higher

 

Arctic Monkeys - Brainstorm

Foo Fighters - The Pretender

 

 

Alternate Photographs for Front Cover (Music Magazine)

This long shot of the male model is slightly blurred therefore I will not be using it.

I really like the use of the rock guitar in this long shot as it clearly show the rock genre of the music magazine. Also the model has a very dominant stance which connotes his control and prominant features.

Again this image is blurred therefore I will not be using it on the front cover of my music magazine.

This long shot is in focus however I do not think it is appropriate for the front cover. The use of the long shot creates a very distanced feeling for the audience when reading the magazine. Also the model is not making eye contact with the camera.

I really like the use of mise-en-scene in this image however it is quite blurry so not suitable for my magazine.

I am considering using this image on my music magazine, the model is making direct eye contact with the audience. I also really like the use of the shadow on the image as it could connote a darker side to the rock genre. 

The lighting on this image is not suitable for the front cover. 

This image could be used as a thumbnail for my contents page however it is not suitable for my front cover as  the camera has been positioned too far away from the model.

All of the images above are of the landscape oriantation immediately making them unusable for my front cover. Few are blurry therefore cannot be used. Others show the model directly looking at the camera whilst playing the guitar which adds a dynamic nature to the magazine.

For these next images I rearranged the lighting in the photo shoot to make the quality of the image much more clear. 

Alternate Photographs for Double Page Spread (Music Magazine)