Indie Music Magazine Analysis

General

The 'Indie' music magazine is produced by its own company; Indie Music Mag. It is a music magazine, but also a fashion and style magazine. Both of these topics are highly associated with the 'indie scenester' tribe. The target audience is specifically for people in the 'indie scenester' tribe; the slogan is "for the individuals". The adverts inside are also tailored to best appeal to the target audience. Evidently the manifestation of the model on the front cover is an 'indie scenester' this appearance is only evident within this tribe; this would lure the reader right into the rest of the magazine. The photographer of the magazine would have dressed the subject appropriately to best suit the target audience. The ideal reader to this magazine according to uktribes website "The look – 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". 


The magazine is published weekly and costs £4.89 in the UK. It is distributed all over the world so it gives different pricing depending on what currency your country uses. The magazines weekly circulation in the UK is 8,422.Unfortunately, unless you are a paying subscriber you cannot access the data on the National Readership Survey's website, and due to the low scale of the magazine there is no data readily available.

The weekly revenue from the circulation of the magazine is £41,183.58 approximately, monthly this amounts to £164,734.32 and yearly £1,976,811.84. This tells us that the magazine is low key in regards to rival magazines for example 'NME' and 'Q'; they do not have as many magazines in circulation so therefore make less money.

The cover

The title is called INDIE because that is the genre and the target audience for the magazine; the title itself connotes all these things. It is a perfect title for this particular target audience, the possible buyer of the magazine knows exactly what genre it is, purely by looking at the masthead and the headline. The masthead of the magazine is very bold and outgoing; it requisites to the reader immediately. It is easy to read and fits in with the unified 'house style' very effectively.


The main image is as expected, very individual. The average person usually doesn't see someone like the model on the front cover everyday. The facial expression is antagonized, the photographer for the magazine has clearly instructed the model to pose like this in order to fit into the stereotypes associated with an 'indie scenester'. The subject is looking collinear into the camera, this formally address the reader and lures them into turning the page. The only part of the body other than the face showing is her hand, her hand is pressed tightly against her face and suggests a catechism feel about it.  Her clothing is very individual, someone wearing this is very rife. All these reach out to the stereotype because they are very indie and unusual in a way, idiosyncratic even.

There is barely anything promoted by the cover lines on the magazine, the only thing that is said is 'Don't don't you want me'; this could act well for the magazine though. By the use of minimum content being displayed, it entices the reader to get engrossed and read deeper into the magazine. No other images are displayed on the front cover, this is so the subject is completely consolidated and the reader is immediately focussing on her. It is quite a colourful magazine; although this is only through the picture used. The fonts on the front cover are either white or yellow, no other colour is used. The model's clothing and make up gives the magazine its colourful edge. The font is san-serif because it is more  informal, this helps create a rapport with the reader, rather than give them facts and figures. There are no graphics evident on the front cover of this magazine. The only language feature evident on the cover is the question to the reader 'Don't don't you want me', apart from this, there is no other text on the front cover of this magazine. The cover talks to the reader through the use of the question.

This cover doesn't look very similar to any other magazines that I have researched. It is a very devoid
front cover, there isn't really anything on it. This all goes towards the unique selling point (USP). the other unique selling point is the model herself, she is very peculiarly dressed and her make up is somewhat intrinsic, this helps differentiate between different magazines. This magazine also offers fashion, style and music; instead of just music. This will bring along a wider range of people and will encourage more people to purchase the magazine.


Inside
There are 64 pages within this magazine; an optimum amount for 'indie scenesters' as proven by my other research. Within these 64 pages there are 9 advertisements evident. These advertisments are all specifically tailored for the 'indie' stereotypes. There are 5 advertisments that are non musical or fashion related, one of these advertisments is a  health product - spot cover up; this would appeal higher to the younger, teenaged readers of the magazine. Just by looking at the advertorials of a magazine you can assume a target audience, the target audience judging on the advertisments in this magazine is for younger listeners of indie music or younger indie dressers.   


The magazine achieves a unified house style by keeping a congruent language throughout. It is written informally to create a contingency with the audience and keep them reading on further into the magazine. The use of drop down quotes and pull out quotes to create a consociation between the reader and the magazine. The colour schemes stay interminable throughout the magazine to keep a unified house style these also coincide with the graphical elements throughout the magazine. The house style is appropriate to the target audience because it is informal; just like an 'indie scenester' and it further proves this while studying the formality of the magazine. It assumes that the target audience prefer an informal bond with the magazine in contrast to a formal one.