Music Magazine "Artists" Moodboard

This is a mood-board consisting of various artists that could feature in my media product. There is a mixture of both male and female artists, due to the genre of pop being popular with both genders. Artists such as Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Sam Smith and Adele are all examples of artists most commonly associated with the genre of pop. By using a variety of these artists, I will be able to attract a wider demographic due to the relevance these artists have with my genre.

Music Magazine "Contents" Moodboard

This is a mood-board consisting of various items that enforce the ideology of my magazine. This is done via the inclusion of a variety of aspects that reflect a fun and vibrant "Pop"atmosphere. Artists, musical equipment, streaming services and social media sites are just some of the items that are included in this mood-board. I hope to use several of these items for them to feature in my magazine. This in turn will help flesh out my brand identity and ideology.  

Collection of magazine covers

These are a collection of magazine covers taken from Billboard, NME and Q respectively. This collage of covers are all different, but follow the same conventions found in other magazines. Billboard, NME and Q are pop magazines, which is the genre I'm focused on. Through studying and observing a wide array of covers form different magazines, it has enabled me to have a greater insight into what is effective on a front cover. I hope to take inspiration form these covers and use what I've learnt in my final media products.

Analysis of different genre

Through analysing a different magazine genre, I have learnt about the importance of conventions and brand identity. I chose to analyse a front cover from “Kerrang Magazine" who are well known in the heavy metal industry. This, I felt, was a good genre to focus on as my chosen genre is Pop. These two genres of music are extremely different which in turn would allow me to identify features that would be inappropriate for a magazine of my chosen genre. For example, this Kerrang magazine has an extremely striking main image which adheres to a theme of horror. This would be inappropriate to feature in a pop magazine as it doesn’t follow the vibrant and bright conventions typically found in a pop magazine. Other features such as the headline and straplines also had features such as a splatter of blood. This, combined with the low key lighting really enforce this dark atmosphere that many heavy metal magazines have. Overall, through observing a different genre of magazine I have been able to identify why different features and conventions are used to portray their genre and how some are more appropriate to feature in different genres than others.

Q Magazine Front Cover + Contents Page + DPS Analysis

LIIAR Analysis + Front Cover + Contents Page + DPS of Billboard

Target Audience & Brand Identity for my Music Magazine

Target Audience

My chosen genre for my Music Magazine is Pop. This is due to its mainstream appeal and the wide scope that is its audience. The genre “pop” also encompasses a variety of other genres, due to it being the popular music of today. This, I feel, is the ideal genre for me as my musical taste spans a variety of genres, and isn’t just specific to one. In terms of target audience, I feel that the ideal age range to target would be young adults aged 20-35. I have decided to target this age group because of the appeal pop music has to these people. In terms of gender, my magazine will be targeted at both due to pop music being liked by both sexes.

I aim to appeal to my audience’s interests in a variety of ways. For example, things like clothing, beliefs and the lifestyle of pop will be presented in my magazine. This way, I will appeal to my audience in not only the contents of my magazine, but the identity and the brand behind it. Common conventions such as interviews, reviews and news will all be present in my magazine along with a variety of pop artists. Some artists I could include are Lorde, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Drake, Adele, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith. These artists are well known among the age group I’ve chosen, thus making the magazine relatable and able to attract the right people.

Brand Identity & Values

I want my magazine to have an identifiable brand that really relates to the audience I’m trying to entice. I want it to be instantly recognisable and trusted among the readers. Other magazines such as Billboard and Q all share qualities I hope my final product will have. For example, Billboard is a vibrant, enticing magazine, and very much adheres to the pop genre. This is a quality I hope my magazine will follow to ensure it represents the type of music I’m targeted at. These magazines, I feel, are a good influence when considering the construction of my own magazine. This is due to the experience these brands have and the massive following that is their audience. I want my Brand to be trusted among the readers and have a deep insight into the pop industry. In terms of conventions, I feel it is important my magazine follows the main conventions of a typical magazine. This is because I want my Brand to be recognised as a magazine as soon as people look at it.

I want my magazine to be social, and thus have conversational aspects to it. To achieve this, I hope to include articles that appeal to my target audience which will make them think about the world around them. I feel a more informal tone will be best for the magazine I’m trying to create. This is due to my target audience being fairly young and sociable. This in turn will make the magazine more engaging and relatable to my audience which, I hope, will make it an enjoyable read. Artists such as Taylor Swift, Eminem, Beyoncé and Jay-Z are all prominent pop artists that frequently appear in most pop magazines. These artists are mainstream and very much adhere to the audience I’m targeting my magazine at. These artists are also big fashion icons – an area I hope to explore in my magazine. People often want to dress like their music idols, so by including clothes from various retailers (i.e. Top man, River Island, Urban Outfitters) will hopefully create a strong relationship between my magazine and the audience.