By Catherine Martin

1. Evaluation of
My Music
Magazine
By Catherine Martin

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
Front cover
In order to create the realism of a real media product, I made sure to include a number of iconic codes and conventions
of a real product. Therefore, I did this by using a bar code, issue date, masthead, main image, cover lines, main cover
line and a price. Also, all my pages follow the same house style.
Real media product My media product
Issue
Masthead date and
price
Other Other
cover cover
lines lines
Main
cover line
Main
image
Bar code
Other cover
lines

3. Contents page
On my contents page, I made sure to order my text in columns in order to create the realism of my product. I also used
a traditional heading/masthead ‘CONTENTS’ however I did this in my own individual way by making it different to other
usual magazines. I also included page numbers to inform the reader of what is available to read on which page in my
magazine so it is more efficient for them to find what they would like to read. These codes and conventions of a media
magazine come together and add to the realism of my product.
Masthead
My media product for
Real media product
contents
Columned Page
text number

4. Double page spread
On my double page spread, I have followed the codes and conventions of a real music magazine by using a main
heading of ‘NOTORIOUS’ like there is on the real product where it is ‘Alexandra Burke’. I then used a quote from my
article in bold on top of my image to show it is significant and also, in magazines in general, this convention tends to
appear. Therefore, I am following this. I then have a columned
interview on the opposite page which is also following the Main heading Columned interview
codes and conventions of media magazines as proved by
looking at the real media product. I also included a My media product
‘thought section’ where the reader can email their
thoughts on the interview etc. I thought that this would
be good to include because I have seen this in other
magazines. I also didn’t forget to include page numbers
in order to add the realism of my product even further.
Real media product
Eye-catching
quote from Thought-section
article
I used an image for the whole left hand side of my double page spread because of
research such as this magazine as I think it looks appealing and attractive.

5. How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
I made my magazine so that it would be in the genre of an indie, R&B genre
which could come under the category of artists such as Rihanna, Nicki
Minaj, Cher Lloyd, Emeli Sandé, Chris Brown, etc.

6. I made my magazine to fit both genres so as my magazine could have a
bigger audience. This is called an unconventional genre as the target audience is
wider therefore creating a larger market- a market of indie and R&B. Because of
this, I believe that this puts my magazine ahead of others. This could therefore
diminish competition with other magazines of several genres in the magazine
industry as my magazine would be more likely to have larger sales as my
audience is bigger than others.
I have ensured that my magazine fits the indie-R&B genre by replicating Cher
Lloyd’s album cover image for the front page of my magazine, as she is a key
person of the particular genre I went for:

7. In order to suit my genre, I also used 3 different colours in particular as a
theme on my front cover and also my contents page. I used a bright lime green
and hot pink, and then black as I thought all three are all quite dramatic colours
and could be seen as individual (particularly hot pink and lime green) as they
are extravagant. These colours put together made my magazine eye catching
and different to other magazines which could be seen as more ‘mature’ e.g.
fashion magazines such as COMPANY and VOGUE. As my magazine seemed
different to others, this creates a laid-back manner and made it clear that my
magazine was for a fairly young audience as it is represented as quite wild.
Can clearly see the lime
More subtle way of
green, hot pink and black
representing social group-
colour scheme on both pages
clearly less extreme audience
of my magazine

8. With my main image, I ensured that my model would look like a typical
representation of my indie-R&B genre. In order to do this, I made sure that the
clothing and pose was correct for my particular genre. Therefore, I felt that a
feeling of youth should be expressed to my audience; hot-pants, converse, a
vest, hoody and cap. These are items of clothing that would not necessarily be
associated with an older social group who liked country music or pop music
etc.
Converse, Signifies
and hot- ‘plus’ so is
pants to short for it-
represent expresses
being that the
young audience
and fresh may be
familiar
Vest & with this
hoody style of
represent speech
youth
Old style New Era cap which are
tapes and up-to-date accessories
records- well-known in R&B
indie

9. What kind of media institution might distribute your
product and why?
In order to create a NEW and SUCCESSFUL magazine
product, it would have to not only meet the demands of the
target audience so they can relate to it, but also the
distribution, consumption and profit must also be key
things to reach success.
To distribute my product to a suitable media institution, I
would need to carry out a considerable amount of research
in order to ensure that this was done efficiently.
Therefore, the media institutions I researched were Bauer
Media, IPC Media and Development Hell Limited.

10. BAUER MEDIA
The Bauer Media Group is one of Europe‘s leading media companies. The Bauer family has managed the publishing
company since its inception 136 years ago. The executive management transition from one generation to the next has
always been carefully planned and prepared. This continuity in corporate management is a unique feature of the family-
run Bauer Media Group, and a contributing factor in its stable growth and success.
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/
Bauer media seems like
a very successful media
institution which is well-
known and also suitable
for my magazine as it
covers a diverse range
of interests. Therefore, I
feel confident that my
magazine could easily
apply to this institution.
Also, as this institution
distributes a wide
variety of popular
magazines, the success
is evident.

11. IPC MEDIA
IPC Media produces over 60 iconic media brands, with print alone reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 42% of
UK men – almost 26 million UK adults – while our websites collectively reach over 20 million users every month
(Omniture).
IPC's diverse print and digital portfolio offers something for everyone, with a focus on three core audiences: men, mass
market women and upmarket women.
http://www.ipcmedia.com/about/
IPC media looks like an impressive
distributing company to me due to
their hugely recognizable brands
e.g. LOOK, marie claire, what’s on
TV and Now.
However, I do not think that this
media institution would be
suitable for my magazine because
it is segregated in terms of male
and female audiences. They do not
necessarily distribute magazines
which apply to males and females
in one type of magazine, and for
my magazine I aimed it at mainly
females but males too in order to
have a larger consumption.

12. DEVELOPMENT HELL LTD.
Development Hell Ltd is an independent media company based in Islington, London.
We currently publish two monthly magazines, The Word and Mixmag, and their accompanying websites. In April 2009 we
acquired DontStayIn.com, the world's biggest clubbing social network (download press release). We have provided
consultancy for some of Britain’s biggest publishers such as Dennis, Future and IPC and were hired by Paul McCartney to
produce the souvenir magazine for his 2002 World Tour.
Among the Development Hell team are some of the most experienced and respected operators in British magazines
including The Word’s editor Mark Ellen, and former Editorial Director of Q and Smash Hits, David Hepworth.
http://developmenthell.co.uk/
Development Hell Ltd looks like a
good indie institution which is
well-known throughout that
genre however I have concluded
that it would not be suitable for
my magazine because this
audience would be too niche for
my magazine which does not
appeal to a niche audience. This
is evident as they only release
two monthly magazines and one
online whereas my magazine
would be a mainstream weekly
magazine.

13. Who would be your audience for your media product?
In order for my magazine to be successful, I would need a definite target audience so as I could use that to
make sure my magazine met the demands of my audience. Also considering that it would need to be different
to other magazines so that it would attract my audience- I should show them why they should buy my
magazine and not others that would also meet their demands and apply to them. My audience would be big as
the genre of my magazine is indie-R&B, therefore it could attract a large amount of people. To expand this
further, I decided to aim my magazine at both genders.

14. My magazine would be aimed at a young audience of about 16-24.
Therefore, people at sixth form/college up to students at
University would be my audience. I decided that this age group
would be suitable for my magazine because they are in their
youth and although would be fairly mature, would have a ‘wild’
side e.g. Be young and therefore go out etc.
My audience would be mainstreamers who prefer to be like other
people and listen to radio stations such as Capital Radio.

15. I feel that these are the types of people/accessories that
would suit my audience. I have determined this from
several factors which surround my images which all link to
my magazine’s house-style.

16. I believe that the following music videos represent my audience for my magazine in the ways of
style represented, personality and genre.
http://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=tg00YEETFzg&
ob=av2e
I think that this music video by Rihanna- We Found Love is an accurate representation of my audience
because as shown in the video, it shows a sense of freedom, youth and atmosphere due to the
fireworks and also the hot-pants which are also present on the cover of my magazine. Freedom is
shown as parts of the music video are presented in a field where it is peaceful and abandoned. There
are also drugs in the video which can be related to being lively which is the kind of atmosphere my
magazine gives off- there is a playful sense to it. Also, when they are ‘raving’ this presents youth as the
youth are well-known for partying with loud music etc. Fast, speeding cars are also presented in the
music video which show a sense of danger and excitement. Foolishness is also displayed in the video
through the use of cigarettes which are shown several times- also adding to the danger.

17. http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=KlyXNRrsk4A&ob
=av2e
I think that this music video by Katy Perry- Last Friday Night represents my audience well because it is
basically about a huge party last Friday night. Therefore, as I have previously said, the youth can be
associated with parties as there is loud music etc. Also, featured in this video there is extravagant
clothing such as bright colours, short skirts, crop tops etc which mostly young people wear as a sign to
show that they are young and wild and express themselves through what they wear. The music video is
not boring or plain and therefore very appealing to a young audience.

18. How did you attract/address your audience?
My magazine is aimed at a young audience interested in mainstream R&B music and have an
individual sense to their style. I therefore think that my magazine attracts this audience just
from looking at the front cover. This is because it looks like it would be for a young
audience due to how playful the front cover looks and also my model looks like a typical
youth with hot-pants and a hoody on.
The exclusive interviews on the celebrities is aimed at a young audience interested in
celebrity gossip. Also, it says ‘Everybody goes mad for…(Alesha)’ to suggest that everyone
wants to know what she is doing etc and so this lures the audience in to reading the
magazine as it is the ‘norm’ as everyone ‘goes mad’ for her. Therefore this attracts my
audience into buying my magazine.
I also used as a strapline ‘THE UK’S BIGGEST MUSIC MAGAZINE’. I feel that this convinces
my audience that it is a good magazine as everyone must like it, therefore encouraging them
to buy this product.

19. What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
&
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel
you have learnt in the progression from it to the full
product?

20. Once I had finished my preliminary task of creating a school magazine, I thought about
how this task would help me succeed in my next practical task- creating my own music
magazine.
In creating my school magazine, the
process of this gave me an insight as
to how I would appeal to my target
audience, and how to follow the
codes and conventions of a magazine
e.g. Using a barcode, price, page
numbers, adding to the realism of
my product. Also, the research done
beforehand gave me a better idea of
how to produce my magazine and
how to be successful in doing that.

21. I put my two magazines next to each other here in order to show the development made.
Personally, I feel as though my photography has improved and also my imagination in this
task. I enjoy photography as a hobby generally, so I feel as though this could have
contributed to my imagination and determination to produce a suitable picture. Also, in
my preliminary task, we were restricted into using a medium shot for our front
cover, however with the music magazine we were permitted to use any angle or shot we
wanted, therefore I used a long shot. I feel that this also benefited me as you can see more
of the body, therefore there are more things I can add which could appeal to my audience
e.g. I can show the legs and therefore she is wearing hot-pants, attracting a young
audience.

22. For my contents pages’ I feel that I have developed my style since the preliminary
task. For example, with the masthead, I have been more adventurous because I
have not just put ‘Contents’, I have put it in a different style to other competing
magazines. Also, I have used more than one image on this page so that it looks
more attractive . I have also followed codes and conventions more as in my
preliminary task, my font for the contents is quite big however I have learnt that
in order to follow the codes and conventions of a magazine, you must use quite a
small font, therefore, this is what I did.

23. I feel that with my preliminary task, it showed weakness
and didn’t have as much identity as my music
magazine.
I think I have improved from this in terms of layout and
also appeal as this magazine doesn’t look particularly
exciting despite the bright colours used.
I don’t feel that this magazine followed the codes and
conventions particularly well. For example, I have a
masthead however I don’t have a main cover line which
is supposed to stand out the most. However, realising
this downfall in my production of my magazine, works
as an advantage to me because I can build up from it
and use it to create a stronger magazine with a huge
sense of realism.
For this magazine, I did not use a strap line, however, in
my music magazine I used images to act as a strap line
and also a small one at the top of my magazine. I felt
obliged to do this in order to follow the codes and
conventions of a real magazine in depth so as it was
comparable to other music magazines and therefore
was in competition.

24. Throughout the production of my music magazine, I used the websites www.dafont.com and
www.myfonts.com in order to present typography which looked like it would be present on a
magazine.
I found these font websites to be very useful due to the variety of choices available and also I
think that the quality and style of the fonts were very good. I always found a font that would
suit the particular area that I needed it for and therefore I was very pleased.
www.myfonts.com
I used myfonts.com for this
masthead ‘NOTORIOUS’ on my
double page spread

25. www.dafont.com
I used dafont.com for both of these
cover lines