Diary Entry

Today i have finished researching into music magazines focussing on the titles and front covers.
i have also done a mind-map into what i want to call my magazine.

Title Mind-map

Music Magazine Titles

Why are music Magazines called what they are?

Kerrang! - sound a guitar makes, Onomatopoeia, short, striking 
NME - Abbreviation (The New Musical Express), short
Metal Hammer - Brutal, masculine, mentions the genre (metal)

Further Music Magazine Research

Who are the following Covers aimed at?

The first cover (Metal Hammer) depicts Joey Jordison, the drummer from Slipknot. This cover is aimed at Metal fans, especially those who like Slipknot. It is not aimed at a specific age group as the metal genre appeals to people from all ages.

The second cover (NME) depicts Damon from Blur and Paul Simonon from The Clash. This cover appeals to more of an older audience because both of the men featured are from older bands. However it also appeals to the younger audience because music is ageless and also the colours used re vibrant which appeals to a younger audience. This contrasts to the plainer colours used on the third cover (Q). This cover depicts Take That. This appeals to a female audience because they are an infamous 'boyband'. It also appeals to an older audience because the colours are plainer (Red, White and Gold).

Diary Entry

Today i started researching into the music magazine industry and have looked at who publishes what, how much individual magazines cost and what they include.
next lesson i will continue analysing different magazine covers for target audiences and also analysing the different shot types etc.

Music Magazine research

What genre of music are you going to use for you magazine?
I plan on using the rock/metal genre for my magazine. Even though most of the music magazines out there are based on this type of music, personally I listen to this genre more than any other therefore I feel it would be appropriate if i was do design a cover for this genre.
In the rock genre you rarely come across a single artist like in pop, you mainly see bands who all play an instrument or sing. Rock music is often guitar based with an accompaniment of drums and synthesizer. 
What media currently exists for the rock genre?
There are various magazines like Kerrang!, Mojo, Rock Sound, NME, Uncut and Q magazine, most of which are accompanied by a television channel or radio.
Who produces these magazines? How much do they cost? and How often are they published?
NME is produced by IPC Media. It is published weekly and costs £2.30.
Uncut is also produced by IPC media. It is published monthly and costs £4.50.
Kerrang! is produced by Bauer media. It is published weekly and costs £2.20.
Mojo is also produced by Bauer media. It is published monthly and costs £4.10.
Q is another magazine produced by Bauer media. It is published monthly and costs £3.90.
Rock Sound was originally produced by a french company called Editions Freeway but it was then brought out by Patrick Napier in 2004. It is published monthly and costs £3.90.
What is included in these publications?
Various things are featured including news, reviews (of live gigs, festivals, new releases), interviews, posters, letter from the editor and also letters/photos from the readers.

Paramore 'Rock Sound' Cover Analysis

First Cover

Second Cover

Here are two covers from the magazine ‘Rock Sound’. They are both of the band Paramore. Both of the images used are very similar in composition as the lead, Hayley Williams, is positioned in the middle with the rest of the band surrounding her. The colours used are very different one has very bright and vibrant colours, which creates a fun, hyper, pop-punk mood to the cover. However the colours in the second cover are more neutral and this is also reflects in the more sedate cover image.

The layout of both magazines is very similar because the masthead it situated at the top of the page and the image is situated along the intersection of the top and middle thirds. The faces of all the band members, in the first cover, are roughly in one section and on the second cover their eyes are all along the same line.

When using a picture of a band, magazines are more likely to use this layout because if they were to try and put all the cover lines down one side the cover will look very one sided so they tend to put all the cover lines toward the bottom of the cover, which is shown in both of the covers above. Although both of the covers above have placed the main cover line around the middle: with the faces of the band.  This helps draw attention to the cover line because the eyes are drawn to the middle third of the magazine cover. And by placing the eyelevel of the band depicted along the top line of the section the attention of the reader is draw to that first.

The first of the two magazine covers is cluttered with a lot of smaller images and cover lines, which also helps suggest the busy/ hyper feeling that the cover has. However it detracts the attention from the main image. The second cover is plainer and the typeface used is generally smaller than that of the first, which reflects the reserved feel of the cover. Although the colour used for the text is more vibrant which contrast with the general feeling of the cover which helps draw the reader’s attention to read the magazine. Also the only other image on the second is the logo of the Reading and Leeds festivals. This focuses the attention on the main image.