House style

Double Page Spread Analysis

Audience Research Analysis

Audience Research Analysis

I asked 20 people from various age groups to tell me how they felt about music magazines. For some of the questions they were given the option of two or more answers.

 

How has the internet changed the Music Press?

How has the internet changed the Music Press?

There are many different ways that the internet has changed Music Press and these are the key ones that have changed it for the better, making it easier for new artists to get recognition and fame.

Online Sales
Before the internet was as big as it is today, selling a product over the internet was incredibly difficult. This meant that big companies were not very interested in selling products over the internet and did not see the use, however due to entreprenerus it meant that websites were created that made the selling of CDs easier which helped create a new way of getting a product from the musician and to the audience. The internet has also had more changes in the online music selling world as Napster (which is still operational today) was once a peer-to-peer network which meant that people could join the network and share or download music from others. This meant that more independent artists,or hard-to-find music could be shared among friends, but as this grew in size and popularity it meant that bands and artists got upset over their lost avenue and the peer-to-peer network was eventually shut down due to copyright of songs. The Napster incident actually began to make people have to pay more for albums due to the loss in money due to the peer-to-peer netwroks sharing songs between eachother without having paid for it. ITunes was eventually created which gave people the option to buy just a single from an artist instead of the entire album and as the internet increases in size today there are even more ways of optaining music online.

Websites
In the early days of the internet websites were not as advanced as they are today and often did not have anything special on them, such as graphics, however as technology evolved eventually to the stage it is at today. Websites have altered the face of music marketing  due to the ability for an artist to direct their fans to one website means that there is an ability for them to build their own community and share information about an album or single. All of this did not exist before the World Wide Web. Along with advertising through websites there are still more traditional routes such as the paper, TV, radio commercials and so on however it means that independent artists cannot get the same amount of publicity as artists with a music label and this makes the internet a great place for independent artists to advertise their product.

Social Media
There have been many social media sites around however the earliest most important one would be Myspace when it comes to music marketing. At the height of Myspace's popularity many bands were on the site trying to get fans to buy their album or go to tours. The site meant that bands and artists could interact with their fans and try to bring in more fans on the way. Myspace eventually had a fall in popularity and artists ended up going on sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to show fans their music and interact with them. This shows that as technology evolves it shows that music belongs on social media and how it has a huge impact on music marketing.

The main reason for music magazines leaving print form is due to the accessibility that information is on the internet. Information that would only be in a music magazine is now on the internet, where it is easily acquirable. This meant that the loss of money from print media meant that more jobs were being lost in the newspaper industry therefore meaning the cost efficient method would be to make magazines solely online

Conclusion
The internet has a lot to do with the internet now then it ever has before, and it will only increase in the coming years. Many bug companies are taking less risks with artists nowadays, therefore meaning that new artists are using sites such as YouTube to prove themselves and create a fan base for themselves. Having a social media account means that artists are more likely to interact with fans which means that the experiences and connection with the fans and vice versa is sometimes more important for a music artist.

Analysing Magazine Contents Pages

Vibe Magazine

Masthead of the contents page:

There is a large letter ‘V’ which stands for the magazines title, which is ‘Vibe’. The ‘V’ is always present on all Vibe Magazine covers and content pages, and usually is placed on the top of the page in order to keep consistency within the product. The consistency makes the magazine look more professional which means that more people are likely to purchase the magazine; also it makes the magazine more recognisable just by using the letter ‘V’. A lot of the content pages from ‘Vibe’ use a grayscale colour scheme, which although not eye – catching, makes the magazine seem more elegant in the design therefore making more people purchasing the magazine week in week out.

The dominant image:

The dominant image is an image of Kanye West with an arm over his shoulder. The hand is holding a red heart, which is the only colour on the page which helps draw the eye of the reader. The hand holding the hand could mean that women are trying to win his heart. The image dominates the page and will help bring in his target audience as well as their own, as his music is in the same genre as the magazine which means that they will have a similar target audience. He is looking straight into the camera, with an angry expression; which could associate with rap music due to the connotations of rebellion of the genre. Kanye is the main image on the contents page and the front cover which means that he is the main article in the magazine, therefore meaning people will purchase the magazine in order to read about him, he is also smartly dressed which helps make the magazine look elegant with the colour scheme.

The word contents:

The word content is written in a large black font that stands out from the rest of the background, which makes it seem original and eye catching. Like with the masthead most of the Vive issues have the word contents written like this helps with the consistency of the product.

Subheading:
As well as the word contents the subheadings are written in large black writing which helps show the audience where the main areas of interest are on the page, under features and fashion. The font that has been used is fancy, which again links with the elegant style of the colour scheme and Kanye’s clothes, but it also makes the contents page look more interesting.

Articles;

They are placed under the subheading which shows the category that they will be under; they show the reader the main parts of the magazine and what pages they are located on. The font colour is grey, which makes them stand out from the subheading but keeps them to the colour scheme and the elegant style that they are.

Music Magazine Target Audience

Q Magazine

This issue of Q Magazine has Ed Sheeran on the front cover as the dominant image. For the magazine the gender of the target audience would be both due to the colour scheme and the dominant image. The colour scheme of the product is darker colours such as greys and reds which are mostly associated with a male audience; however the dominate image is of Ed Sheeran who mostly has female fans due to his music style therefore meaning that for this issue Q Magazine is trying to appeal to both male and female readers. The age of the readership would be older teenagers and young adults due to the artist that is the dominant image and his target audience for his music. Due to the young target audience agree the occupation of the readership. The main occupation for them would be either as a student or a part time job alongside their education. For the magazine the readership will be interested in modern music that would feature in Q Magazine and because of this it would mean that it would target a younger target audience. In order to draw in more readers they have got a recognisable artist that people would know to be the dominant image on the magazine. They will like the artists on the coverlines and will want to read about their favourite artists and aspire to be like them. The target audience of the magazine would be internet users due to their young age; this means that the magazine could advertise their product to people over the internet.

Based on Q's sales records the main buyers of the magazine are males in their 30s to 40s. This is because when Q was launched in 1986. It was made by Mark Ellen and David Hepworth as they belived that there was not a magazine for the older generations

Black Music & Jazz Review

The magazines dominate image gives a clear indication of the type of readership that this magazine will have. For the magazine the gender of the target audience would be male due to the type of music featured is stereotypically that of a male. The colour scheme of the magazine is stereotypically linked with Jazz music and this will help the readers to fully understand what the magazine is about without having to read the masthead. The age of the readership for Black Music & Jazz Review would be middle aged people who are a part of the black community. Due to the age of the readership the occupation of the audience would vary in their occupation, they would be a part of C and above in order to afford the magazine. The magazines readership will be interested in Jazz music that would be featured in Black Music & Jazz Review and because of this it would mean that it would target an audience that likes this music, which would be middle aged men, possibly from the black community. They would also feature artists that the audience would know of, as the dominant image or as a part of the coverlines. The target audience of the magazine would not be avid internet users due to their age and this means that the product will not get as many readers if they decide to advertise through the internet.

Billboard

This issue of Billboard magazine has Taylor Swift on the front cover as the dominant image and therefore the gender of the readership would be mainly female due to the colour scheme, the dominant image and the coverlines that feature on the front cover. Although the colour scheme has darker colours, which often is associated with a male audience, the use of yellow and lighter shades of blue shows the target audience to be female. Also the dominant image is of Taylor Swift who has a lot of female fans who will purchase the magazine in order to read about their favourite artist. The age of the readership would be older teenagers to young adults due to the dominate image having a young target audience that will transfer to the audience. Due to the age of the target audience, the main occupation of the audience would be as a student. The music that is featured in Billboard will be similar to the music that the target audience will enjoy listening to and therefore it will draw in their readership. The dominant image has an artist that is very recognisable which will draw in more readers due to her popularity, which will also help people want to be like her and aspire to be on a magazine front cover. The readers will also like to read about other artists that are featured on the front cover through the coverlines. The target audience, due to their age, would be internet users that use new technology, and therefore the magazine would try to advertise using it.

Billboard has a younger target audience that is from young teens to young adults, this is because the magazine includes the latest updates of the charts, which younger people would be interested in, however it also includes a variety of types of genres which means that it can appeal to a wider audience.