Reader Profile

My magazine readers are keen music fans with an urge to hear the latest gossip from the Indie world! Most of my readers frequently attend Gigs so Gig Flyers/Offers will be included in the magazine.  They are highly interested in the latest Indie fashion trends and films and therefore spend £150+ a month on this!
From the questionnaire results, I can conclude that 85% of readers are aged between 15 and 21, with the other 15% being between 22 and 28. From these results, my intended audience will be aged 15+. The majority of readers would fortnightly pay £1.00+ for a magazine that includes: advertisements, special offers and interviews. Readers favourite Artists include the likes of:

• Florence & The Machine
• Klaxons
• Arctic Monkeys
• The Cribs

All of these results from the questionnaire will help me to create my Indie magazine.

Pop Magazine Contents Page Analysis H/W

Mizz Magazine is a childrens pop magazine with an intended audience of ages between 10 and 14. With a young intended audience, the fonts used are simple and easy to read. The layout is also simple and different colours are used to differentiate between each title and article. The bright colours used are usually associated with a young audience which is why they are suitable. The conflicting colours also help the page to stand out. 'Welcome!' is written in a curly font which gives the effect of it being handwritten. This creates a warm, welcoming feeling for the audience. Informal language is used to appeal to the young audience. If formal language was to be used, the audience would be bored and possibly not interested. Mizz Magazine would be more aimed at girls because of the colours, images and the layout. With disney images, girly colours, Zac Efron and curly fonts. This would not necessarily appeal to a young boy. The main images used are famous people that young girls usually love. The image of Zac Efron is suitable because he is from the popular, well loved film of 'High School Musical'. Young girls love Zac Efron so his image will attract a broader fanbase and even more young girls. The image of the young girl modelling inspires young girls to possibly want to be like her and have an interest in fashion.

Indie Magazine Contents Page Analysis H/W

This contents page is from Q Magazine. This is an Indie/Rock Magazine and from looking at the layout, I would say the intended audience is males aged 16+. The colours used are dark and dull and the image also contributes to this. The image is very large and just slightly off centre. Having a large image shows the focus on the Band and their importance within this music genre.The heading 'Features' has a red background, and this is so it matches with the 'Q' logo and also stands out amongst the rest of the black text. The articles all have their seperate headings which makes it easy for readers to choose what they would like to read within the magazine. The font is simple and easy to read which appeals to the male audience as they wouldn't want to read anything too over the top, complicated and fancy.

R&B Magazine Contents Page Analysis H/W

This Contents page is from the R&B magazine 'Vibe'. R&B magazines have a different approach towards women than most other music genres and this is shown on this page. R&B music is very much orientated towards sexual women and appearance. The image used on this page represents this. The image of the music artist 'Ciara' is used as she is very popular and this could attract more readers. Her minimal clothing, sexual pose and high heels add to the R&B music stereotypes. Vibe magazine is read by both male and female from a teenage age upwards. This image used can appeal to both male and female in different ways. Women can look at the image and do one of two things; either idolise Ciara or feel negatively about the image. Men can look at the image and admire Ciara. The layout of this contents page is detailed but basic. With just a faded grey background and black and white text, everything is easy to read. Although the font is quite small, everything has a heading and the layout of 'Contents' is big, bold and white to stand out. Ciara's clothes and the colour scheme of the whole contents page match to make the magazine more formal.

R&B Music Magazine

My R&B/Hip Hop magazine cover is very different to the other two. I chose to use a white background to enable me to use bright text colours for my foreground. Having a white background allows all text on the cover to really stand out and catch the readers' eye. I felt that using bright colours will not only attract the usual fans but also potentially attract a new, broader fanbase. This magazine has a younger target audience which slightly made the magazine easier to do. I chose to use the title of 'Stacks!' to again target the intended audience. 'Stacks' relates to the genre of the magazine as it is a slang word relating to money. Money is a very powerful, important feature of the R&B/Hip Hop genre so I thought relating my title to money could be effective. R&B/Hip Hop magazines usually include lots of interviews and stories; due to this I chose to use my main story as an interview. R&B/Hip Hop magazines also include lots of gossip so 'Is Nicki Minaj's ass real?' is a suitable article too. For this genre of music magazine, I decided that using formal English language wouldn't accept or fit the stereotypes of this genre. Using words like 'ass' and 'sexy' are suitable for this genre of music magazine whereas it wouldn't be for a Metal magzine for instance. I chose to use this image because of how it represents the music genre. This is a sexualised, slick, immaculate image with a sexual pose, black powerful minimal clothing, big body features, and a powerful facial expression. The black clothing on a white background makes the image striking and powerful. The minimal clothing also shows that this genre is all very much about your image, especially within the female gender. The image strongly conveys the power and importance women have within the R&B/Hip Hop industry.

Metal Music Magazine

I chose to use this image for my Metal magazine as it fits the heavy metal, punky stereotype perfectly. The image shows a woman with a pale white face, long bleach blonde straggly hair. This shows death and coldness which relates to the stereotypes of this music genre. The black leathers and black eye makeup show masculinity and the tough personality of the woman. I thought this image was suitable, not only because of her image but also because of the setting. The image is set in a cold Cemetry like environment which fits the whole genre and stereotype of heavy metal. For the name of the artist 'Katie Assassin' I chose to use the colour red as the connotations of red are danger, warning and blood. These three things are also associated with the heavy metal genre. Dark colours are also what you would associate with metal which is why I used those rather than bright, pretty colours. I used more advertisements and articles on this magazine as I feel music is an important factor within metal/rock. The artist could possibly be holding the Guitar in the image to portray her love for music too. I used bold fonts and capital letters to give the tough, angry impression. I always feel as though I am being shouted at when reading wording in capitals, so I also wanted to give this feeling to readers.

Indie Music Magazine

For my indie magazine cover, I chose a stereotypical image of an indie style music artist.With the long scruffy hair, casual style clothing, skinny jeans, brogues, tie and blazer; this artist represents indie style stereotypes perfectly. By using this image, the intended audience of the magazine are immediately addressed and targeted. I chose to use simple, calm colours to not only match with the artists clothing but also, because I felt they would fit the stereotype more. The indie style isn't as in your face, loud and bold as the other magazine types. The colour scheme appeals to both male and female of different ages. I chose to use minimal text as I felt lots of text was unnecessary.  With a simple font and basic left to right allignment, the text is all easy to see and read. I chose to name my magazine 'Century 21' as I felt that the indie style is becoming more and more popular in the present day. It is a simple title with a slight edge, just like the indie style. I placed 'The Independent Music Magazine' under the title as it could possibly attract more readers to the magazine and increase its fans. I used my main story as 'Exclusive interview with the Klaxons' to also attract and increase the magazines fanbase as the 'Klaxons' are a popular indie band. The indie style is usually very music based which is why my magazine is focused on music. My sub-title and main article are music orientated rather than image focused. I feel that this is my best magazine cover, however if I was to improve my magazine I would make a few changes. I would possibly add at least one more music article and maybe advertise upcoming Gigs and make a magazine logo.

Music Magazine Questionnaire