Music Magazine Evaluation

My magazine uses a lot of the basic conventions, such as a masthead. I have made the masthead big, bold and brightly coloured. It takes up a lot of the top of the magazine, I made it this way so it stands out and generally catches the audience’s eye almost straight away, I also added a little twist to the masthead by changing the letter ‘o’ to an actual record, hoping to make the masthead more unique, creating it to be a lot more memorable to my audience. I have also included a left hand third; this is where I place my most important cover stories, due to the fact that if the magazine was to be stacked that is the only part of the magazine the consumer will see. By including my most vital cover stories on the left hand third it will immediately grasp the awareness of a potential buyer. My magazine also includes one puff; I made the back ground of the puff multi coloured as it’s distinctive and draws the consumer to the key piece of information I’m advertising. One downside I feel about my puff is that it’s not on the left hand third which it might have been better to put it there. I also decided to have a tag line saying ‘anything that is worth doing is worth overdoing’ although not all magazines have a catch line I decided to use one because I feel the audience can then associate my magazine with something, it brings a meaning to my magazine therefore creating more of a lasting impression.

The social groups that I believe my magazine hits are mainstreamers and aspirers, this is because the price tag is not outrageous and therefore the majority people can afford it. However I also feel my magazine doesn’t exactly fit into a social group as it is a very retro and 50’s theme; it doesn’t necessarily fit into a particular genre. But, the information inside is all very mainstreamers but still has the vintage feel to it. For example it includes information about The Beatles, however it still keeps a modern twist to it as I need it to attract to people, but it hits a new audience as it could prospectively cover a lot of the social categories.

The main media institute to distribute my magazine would be print as that is the category that a magazine falls under. Another one being the internet, this is because on my front cover the there is a website link ‘www.recordmusic.co.uk’. I feel that this generation expects things to automatically be on the internet so when they search something on Google it will definitely come up with a result; therefore I felt having a website was a necessity if I want to appeal to as many audiences as possible. I also feel TV would be another good institute to advertise the magazine, for example, saying when the next issue is and the types of things it would include.

The audience for my magazine ranges from teenagers to the older generation, I feel I can cover this big age gap because there is a real vintage feel to it but with a huge modernised twist. By including things like The Beatles, this would attract people who idolised them in the 60’s, who may now not buy magazines, but potentially would if it included the right information. Also for example The Beatles still have a huge effect on the music industry, and people who weren’t even around when they were out, still to this day download and listen to their music.  The style of the magazine would attract both a young and old audience due to the retro theme which has quite frankly come back into fashion over the past couple of years, so even though it’s not a set genre, I felt that there is a gap in the industry for a magazine like mine to really become successful and have a huge range audience.

I used bright colours and bold fonts to attract my audience. The bright colours will entice the eye of the consumer and the bold lettering will make it easy to read if it was to be glanced at. My cover star has direct eye contact with the camera making it look like she is looking into the audience’s eyes, this engages them lures them into the magazine. However one thing I didn’t use which would have been extremely useful would’ve been direct mode of address, this would have engaged the audience even more making them feel like part of the magazine.

The main thing I have learnt is how to use Photoshop properly. I learnt the correct techniques of airbrushing, and how to rid of imperfections, such as spots and blemishes, also how to make things look more professional. I’ve learnt the conventions of a magazine, and the main ways they draw in their consumer and the ways to persuade them to buy your magazine rather than competitors.  

My skills have improved greatly since the preliminary task, from picking the correct colour theme to taking the perfect photo. I have learnt how to add effects to things like the text which would make them stand out more and to pictures too, such as a stroke or drop shadow, and how some things work together and others don’t. My colour scheme is much better than my preliminary task one as I have used subtle colour that all go well together such as oranges, yellows, creams, browns etcetera, all the time staying constant with my retro, vintage theme.