Colouring Of My Magazine Research

While researching and investigating into existing music magazine covers I have noticed that they all use roughly the same colouring for the formatting of the magazine and also the fonts; Red, White and Black - Kerrang! Also likes to use yellow. These colours are especially evident in the 'indie scenester' type of magazine that I have been enquiring. To the left is an example of a Kerrang! magazine using all these colours together in a successful manner.

This is proving to me that when designing my front cover, I should use these colours; especially white. They seem to appeal best to the 'indie scenesters' tribe so it would be a wise move to include them on my magazine. Also, these colours are clean and can look formal. Obviously when taking my photos i'll have to avoid wearing clothing with these colours on so they do not overlap and then become hard to read.

These are various other different editions of magazines that clearly use the red, white and yellow colour schemes. This are all different brands of magazine too, 'Vibe' 'NME' 'Q' and also 'Kerrang!'; The colouring is very popular in the 'Indie Scenester' target audience. This colour scheme is very popular because it stands out to the reader; these ablaze but adept colours attract the reader but also provide a formal outlook as well. These colours also collaborate with the background images the majority of the time, they do not ensconce within the clothing colours etc. 





 

Font Research

Currently, the font that appeals best to my target audience is probably Accidental Presidency. It is neat, tidy and quite formal, even though I will be writing my double page spread informally to create a rapport with the reader, I want my font to look formal. Most of the fonts above would probably be sufficient but I believe that the Accidental Presidency has the most character. Also, I believe that using san serif makes the magazine look more professional and formal. A serif font can look tacky and take away the 'professional' look to my magazine. Accidental Presidency is a great san serif font to use because it is formal and easy to read.

Survey On what Font to use

Current Music Magazines Fonts

As shown above are very popular music magazines that are still being published. They all appear to be using red, white and yellow in their logos, except the Billboard logo which uses a blue inside the 'A' this all though is its unique selling point (UPS). Each of them are using either red, white and yellow, either all three, two or just using one of them colours on there own. These are all very successful magazines so it would be worth while using these colours in the logo of my music magazine.

Photo Shoot Film Strip

These are all my intial photo's I took for my Front Cover, Contents and Double Page Spread. I took these all against a white background because my research has shown that a clear, white background is most effective for front cover pictures especially. Although, I do not have access to a fully equipped photoshoot studio like the big brand music magazine companies like NME and Q I have tried to effectively use the equipment I do have.

The Photo Shoot

The Photo Shoot

For the shots I made sure that I had a clear white background, the only white background I had access to was a wall, I also used a big worksite light to fully light up the subject and eliminate the shadows. The extra light and the flash of my camera dramatically improved the quality of pictures and also allows me to work with my pictures on photoshop more.

The camera I used for my media shoot was a Canon 550D, I had changed the lens from my usual 18-55mm lens to my 28-105mm lens, I did this because it allowed me to zoom more and also it lets in more light so I could adjust the aperture to suit best.

I used a fairly basic tripod for steadying my camera; this was because I had no access to a tripod of  a higher standard. The tripod I used was a hama star 61, although it may not be the best tripod on the market; it still effectively steadied my camera while taking the shots.

Also, to film the photoshoot I used A GoPro HD Hero, I used this because it has a very wide angle lens pre-built onto it. It has a 170 degree angle of view; this allowed me to fit me and the subject into the video, although the camera doesn't have too good aperture so the filming was bad in the low level light conditions I had at the time.








 The video light I used was a 500W portable halogen light it couldn't be plugged into the mains electricty to start with so I had to plug it into a transformer. I used this video light to effectively brighten up and enhance the subject. It also gave my camera more details to pick up when taking the shot.

 This is my actual camera and tripod set-up to the left, I haven't included the work site light because it ruined the  picture I was taking with my other camera - the brightness was blinding my camera, you couldn't see the set up very well.

Kerrang
Music Magazine Analysis

 General

Kerrang! is produced by a company called Bauer Media Group. The target audience I found on the bauer media groups website is; 'Our spectrum of readers. From the younger teenage readers who are more open to different genres of rock music - from EMO to Thrash etc, to the readers who respect Kerrang!' The magazine averagely costs about £2.20,it is also published weekly

Kerrang!'s weekly circulation is 42,077. Unfortunately unless you are a paying subscriber you cannot access the data on the National Readership Survey's website, although this is what The Guardian had to say about the Kerrang! website; 'Kerrang! may have lost focus in recent years, but the fact that it continues to thrive after three decades is cause for celebration' If all magazines in circulation were each purchased by one person then the weekly revenue would be £92,569.40, monthly this is £370,277.06

The Cover

The title is called that because it is onomatopoeic of the high pitched 'screech' that comes out from a guitar when strummed incorrectly or highly. This illustrates and works well with the target audience for the magazine.

All three subjects (Muse) all seem to be smiling and have a happy expression. They are all looking directly at the camera and the person on the far left is pointing at the camera; they are all similarly dressed - in a leather jacket each. This creates a rapport with the reader which is ideal for the specified target audience. They are juxtaposed to the right of the magazine; this allows the editor of the magazine to fill the left side of magazine with editorials. These editorials are put in place to beguile the readers of the magazine into reading further in.

Although, another 7 images appear on the cover of this edition. They are here to concede to the reader what is inside of the magazine without them even turning a page. The magazine states there are 5 posters inside, 'your ultimate rock hero revealed' , also different competitions that could be won.The colours of fonts are either black, white, red or yellow. Their is one unchanged font on the cover of this magazine; this helps to achieve a unified 'house style'. The cover talks to the reader by addressing it as if the reader was its friend. The magazine is written informally to create a rapport and a relationship with the reader, writing informally helps this happen because its as a friend would speak. The cover of this Kerrang! magazine is unlike any other music magazine, it offers a more rugged feel about it, there is barely any space left on the cover once the text and images are placed on. The unique selling point (USP) of this magazine is the dishevelled feel about it.  The cover is very trashy and messy, but this portrays the target audience bests likes.

Inside

On the inside of the magazine there are 63 pages,18 of these pages are advertorials, the advertisements include; Album releases, live concerts, music festivals, subscription deals and health care products. You can tell a lot about the target audience of a magazine by the adverts; these adverts are clearly assigned to appeal best to the readers of the magazine. Judging by the adverts that are contained within this magazine they are tailored to people who listen to rock music.

The artical topics inside the magazine include;

Rock Music News
Live Reviews
Posters
Featured Articles
Album Releases and Reviews
Gig Guide
The Ultimate Rockstar Test

There are 7 double page spreads inside this edition of the Kerrang! magazine which talk about a variety of topics varying from interviews with bands, to the line ups of upcoming concerts. Kerrang! achieves a unified house style in all of its magazines by keeping the fonts and the colour changes to a  minimum; there are only a few font changes and three main font colours - red, white and yellow. The language throughout the magazine is informal and the colour schemes remain similar - black, red, white and yellow. All graphical elements are very similar too, each drop down quote is formatted the same and images on a page are usually circled. The house style is appropriate to the target audience because it is very messy, which is stereotypically implied about the listeners of rock etc. it is appropriate because it helps back up and strengthen the stereotype.

 Current Indie Music Magazines

These are current magazines to which fit the 'indie' steriotype. The people in the 'indie scenester' tribe would most probably buy magazines like this and follow the specific music genres that are discussed inside the magazine. I will have to try and make a unified house style in correspondance with the rest of the magazines above, this will help develop my understanding of the target audience and what the target audience desire.

Personally, I prefer the Q magazine to all the rest. It is neat and tidy and very formal. The rest of the magazine follows on this same unified house style. I do not believe that a messy magazine will best suit my target audience, even the Kerrang! magazine clearly is liked by the 'indie scenesters' I've researched that they would rather read a magazine like Q with a neat and formal approach, as apposed to a trashy one.

Typical Indie Bands/ Musicians

General Research On My Selected Target Audience

Indie music is very big at the moment it has grown progressively over the last couple of years, and now it is starting to make its way into the 'mainstream' charts.

The website 'uktribes' had this to say about the typical Indie Scenester;

Typical Indie Scenester

'The Indie Scenester still likes to be ahead of the game when it comes to discovering new music. They still can’t quite shake off the skinny jeans though.'

 

 

I chose to use indie as my genre for my magazine because it is a big scene at the moment. I found this information out through studying the youth market on uktribes website. They are also keen on purchasing magazines as shown on the figure on the right. This type of youth market has one of the highest media consumptions for magazines than any of the other 'types' of youth.


Below is the comparison between the 'chavs' magazine consumption and the 'indie scenesters'






It would not be worth while trying to find the music genre for the steriotypical 'chav' because they barely ever puchase magazines; they have a light media consumption of magazines as shown above.

The 'indie' look  according to uktribes '– skinny jeans, Converse, stripes and Americana T-shirts – shifted for a while when nu-rave came on the scene, but has come full circle as the genre became too mainstream, reflecting the fickleness and speed of quick changing trends in music having an impact on fashion. Currently labels such as American Apparel, Topshop/Topman and Uniqlo are high street staples, with House of Holland appealing to more affluent members of the Indie Scenester crowd. '

The word 'indie' arouse from individual, 'indie scenesters' see themselves as individuals and don't follow the crowd when making there media related choices. Surprisingly enough there are a lot of individuals in the UK; all of which believe they are unlike any one else, this is a good reason to base my magazine on this type of genre. When an indie scenester finds out about a new band or new music, they like to brag about it, therefore getting my magazine out there.

An Interview with an 'Indie Scenester'

What is your name?

Leigh Peterson

Favourite band or artist?

Probably Metronomy or Bombay Bicycle Club, I like their smooth acoustic guitar sounds and their calm voices.

How many music magazines do you purchase or read? If any?

I try to purchase one every fortnight, it helps me keep up with the latest music info and tour dates etc.

Most read magazine? If any?

The music magazine that most appeals to be for content and formatting is Q, I do occasionally buy an NME magazine though.

Where do you shop?

I shop predominately at Topshop and Urban Outfitters; I like their unique style of clothing. If not I try charity shops or at Camden. 

An Interview with an 'Indie Scenester' 

What is your name?

Luke Black

Favourite band or artist?

I quite like Mikill Payne, he is a rapper who likes to tell subliminal messages behind his raps. I enjoy the meaning and thought behind his lyrics.

How many music magazines do you purchase or read? If any?

I rarely purchase a magazine as such, I like to purchase the magazines online, it gives a better user interface and easier access to the information.

Most read magazine? If any?

I like to read the NME magazine online, it is superbly laid out and easy to read.

Where do you shop?

I like to shop at Topman or H&M, although there is an online website called dopechef where I like to buy some of my clothing.

An avatar representation of an 'Indie Scenester'

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