Plan and research for music magazine I am designing.

1. Music mag

2. Clear colour scheme
Black, red and white
Pull quote
Title on the left hand side
(Oasis clearly are the main
story in the magazine)
Clearly stick to the same font
throughout the cover and is an
effective, bold font instead of a
boring font.
He is dressed in a sheep wool jacket
and is seen as a fashion icon towards
mods, he is dressed informally and
this is shown by the jacket being un-
buttoned, this could speak words for
his character showing that he doesn’t
care and is not phased by much.
Titles and features down the side
which may appeal to other
customers with a different music
taste but it clearly shows the main
feature of the magazine with the
largest bit of text on the left hand
side and the main photo in the
middle.

3. The main picture is in your face and
appealing and because he is staring
at the camera it looks like he is
staring at the reader when they see
the cover so it will also catch their
eye.
Collectors sticker which will
encourage fans to want both covers
as they have sold two magazines
that are the same but both have
different colours.
The layout and organisation is very
fixed and there is not a bit of text
that goes against the picture or the
colour scheme
The masthead is the Q in the top left
corner and where it says ‘THE WORLD’S
GREATEST MUSIC MAGAZINE’ this could
cause the reader to see why the
magazine believes it is the worlds
greatest music magazine. Also the font is
very simple and bold but effective, I
believe the simplicity of the title makes
the magazine look professional.
The strapline is ‘WHAT’S THE STORY? THEIR
GREATEST TRIUMPH. IN THEIR OWN
WORDS.’ this will draw in fans of Oasis and
because Liam and Noel are both
interesting characters people will want to
know what they have to say on the album
and what they were doing and thinking at
the time the album came out. People also
see WHAT’S THE STORY? As one of the best
albums the UK has ever produced and it
means a lot to fans of Oasis so this will
draw them in to buy the magazine and
make more sales for Q magazine.
The magazine looks glossy and
professional shown by all aspects of
the magazine as they have stuck to a
certain layout, colour scheme and
font.

4. All cover stories are shown down the right
hand side of the magazine, these can also
be used as a factor to draw the reader in
and make sales to people who don’t even
like Oasis. For example, if someone is a fan
of one of the names down the right hand
side of the magazine they will be drawn in
and will want to know what the interview
is about and what the artist has had to say
in the interview, this is why they would
make a purchase.

5. What style I want my magazine
•Alternate/rock music
•Certain colour scheme
•Stick to a certain font (range from 1 or 2)
•Masthead in the top left
•Title

6. Target audience
• My target audience would be probably 16 upwards although younger
readers will have the option to buy it, there would probably have to be a
warning on the front or back of the magazine that it may include explicit
language, then it will be the parents decision to decide whether their child
has the magazine or not.
• I’d say the age that will most likely not buy the magazine would be around
26-30 although readers can purchase the magazine.
• The main target audience is the fans of the certain style of music that I
decide to base my magazine on which will most likely be alternate/rock.
• Q magazines median age of readers is 32, 70% are male and 73% are
known to be mostly middle class. Q sell around 65,000 magazines each
issues but believe they have around 370,000 readers.

7. Language
As it shows in the picture the first
paragraph is speaking from the
perspective of the magazine
informally. They are speaking in
first person.
As you can see in the first paragraph the magazine addresses the reader as part of an ‘in’ crowd and makes the
reader feel like they are part of something, in the text they use vocabulary such as ‘us’ and ‘we’ which suggests
that they are all part of one thing.
From the second paragraph down it is a person speaking or writing a blog in the magazine about themselves.
There are a few sentence variations for example at one point he will write a long sentence then after he will put
a really short sentence.
In the first paragraph some complex vocabulary is used like ‘plush’ and ‘excerpt’ and from the second paragraph
down most is basic vocabulary but there is the odd bit of complex vocabulary like ‘incongruent’ and ‘unsolicited’.

8. “What will the style and tone of your music mag be?”
My style will be old fashioned and the main theme will be indie/mod rock, the tone will be relaxed but in your face at the same time for example I am
planning my cover picture to be a close up of my models face to try and catch readers eyes and insist that they must read the magazine.
“How will it fit alongside existing publications?”
Only a certain group of people are interested in this genre and for older people with mod rock there will be an element of nostalgia. Because the main
trend for teenagers is rap and American styled music, people who are actually interested in British indie/mod rock do not get as much publicity of their
genre of music and they are missing out on opportunities to extend their knowledge about up and coming bands. Although Q and NME do publish
occasionally about these certain genres it is not often enough for people who crave new kinds of music in the same genre.
“Who is in your target audience/market? Make a profile of your potential reader.”
My target audience is people interested or people who want to be interested in this genre of music. (Profile of reader on next slide).
“How will you appeal to your target audience?”
I will ensure them that the magazine will be what they want to know about people they idolise by advertising short but effective quotes from the
magazine.
“Which magazines have the most relevance to your own? Are there any aspects of their style that you could borrow or use as inspiration?”
NME and Q are two good magazines to use as they are both professional and indie rock and mod rock are both cultural and collectable music genres and
whenever they are published through Q and NME it gives readers a first hand view of what they want to read like personal experiences and what was
going through the artists heads when they were writing songs and albums that are now famous.

9. Reader Profile
Jimmy is a 40 year old male from Salford in Manchester. Jimmy first became passionate about music in the late
80’s when he first saw the Stone Roses perform their song ‘Waterfall’ on ‘The Other Side of Midnight’ and since
then he has been into the same genre of music. Jimmy got hooked on Ian Brown’s swagger and confidence and
said it made him feel better than ever and that his attitude was uplifting for all teenagers watching at the time.
Jimmy is into expensive good quality clothing and wears brands such as Fred Perry, Lacoste, Pretty Green etc.
Jimmy listens to bands such as Oasis, The Jam, The Who, The Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines, The Stone Roses,
The Courteeners, Babyshambles, Happy Mondays and because the majority of his favourite music is now in the
past he is begging to know what new bands are around and wants to have something to be excited about
instead of re-listening to the same music hoping his favourite bands will re-form. Jimmy subscribes to Q and
NME magazine but thinks that they speak too much about American music and rappers which he does not like
and it frustrates him paying for things he doesn’t particularly like. He says that the needs to focus more on
publishing the best music in British history in which people can actually go and watch perform instead of
speaking about the same boring American overhyped artist. Jimmy still loves the buzz of live music and says
nothing will top the feeling when the Stone Roses came out at Spike Island in 1990, the main reason Jimmy is
looking for another band to smash the British music industry is so he can get the same buzz and excitement he
got from the Stone Roses who are no longer together. Jimmy also has a second passion which is football he
supports Manchester United and regularly watches them perform live which gives him equal excitement to live
music, Jimmy believes the football crowd were the main influence for his interest in music.