Instantly from the cover I feel as if I am indulging in a magazine by the fireside. The radiance and warmth of the pink tones on the ENVY logo, piggy bank and font feels soothing and eases the readers mind. I feel that these certain tones have connotations of a warm fire side and are rather appealing. They send off simmering vibes making the reader feel relaxed and making it more pleasurable for them to read. Pink has many connotations that add emphasis to both the singers' presence and music. Pink combines the sauciness of red yet the calmness of the white which ensures that the cover doesn't come off as too innocent but then again not too provocative. Although pink is often associated with females, I feel like I have captured just the right tone that suits both male and female audiences. As Ellie is a new artist, I don't want to throw her straight onto the market and in people's faces as this could cause people to have an immediate dislike to her. The subtleness of the pink has a warm, caring and tenderness approach making the readers feel obliged to read about her. To contrast with these pink tones are deep blue tones which give the magazine it's depth and boldness that it requires to stand out. Having fresh and revitalising connotations, blue will clean the reader's mind instantly when they see the cover on the self and encourage them to purchase it.
Taking centre stage, my artist has a cheeky yet adolescent look which shows she doesn't take herself to seriously and can present herself as the joke if and when she has too. Rather then having her looking directly at the audience like the usual generic conventions, I wanted to break these especially for this edition of the magazine. Ellie focuses her attention towards the piggy bank that she is holding in her hand with a smoldering stare that has some comical value. This is where my magazines adds it's variation to the current music market and doesn't have that sexy and provocative look that many other artists do. As stated before, this brings down the confidence of the magazine's readers and I don't wish to achieve this. The piggy bank connection allows my readers to just laugh at the cover; enjoying it's comical value before the magazine has even been opened. Furthermore, there is nothing that makes the image ‘out of this world.’ This allows the readers of my magazine to associate more with the music act of the magazine as apposed desiring and craving the things that the artist has, however the reader doesn't. Also, I have dressed Ellie in black and white stripes as they are also a revitalizing feature then can clear the audience's mind, making them want to pick it up and read it.
In all sections of the magazine, font and textures of the writing stay pretty constant with there only being two different variations. The font has some similarities to the font Arial however it has that slight more cartoon-style appearance. This cartoon appearance is more visual on the main story line which is forecasted with a drop shadow to make it jump out of the page more. Text that features on the cover of the magazine features in both the contents page as well as the double page spread. This brings sections of the magazine together as apposed to making it feel fragmented; an error that can often put many readers off of the magazine.
At the top of the page is my masthead that is presented in a very bold and defined font; really standing out and jumping out of the page. Rather then having a bold solid cover to fill the insides of the text, I have chosen to have a ‘gradiented’ and bokeh effected blue which is once again soothing and more indulging to the magazine audience. At the same time, the jet-black border provides the edginess and catchiness that the title needs to catch the audiences attention. As this edition of my magazine features a lot of blue and pink tones, I decided to use the same colors in the masthead. Like many other magazines, as the different editions are released with a different house style, their title of the magazine also changes in style, shade or color that will reflects the designated house style; allowing sections of the magazine to become more co-ordinate and brought together. In conclusion, in future editions of my magazine, if the house style for example has blue tones, then the title of my magazine will also have blue tones.
On my cover, I feel that there is some synergy that marks the comings together of the two establishments; the artists and Envy. At the very top of my magazine is the "exclusive" banner which depicts the new behind the scenes material within my magazine. Not only does my banner entice the audience to desire purchasing the magazine but it also encourages people to see his new video. Here, not only I am selling more copies of my magazine, but I am also advertising his new music video, which when watched many people will end up buying the music track that goes along with it. Furthermore, on the right hand-side of the page there is a header that mentions 'lost albums of 2010.' This causes the audiences to feel a lot of curiosity within them which then makes them more obliged into purchasing the magazine. Not only will this cause more sales within my magazine, but it could also inhibit a lot of sales within the 'lost' albums that are presented in the article.
Although the denotation of the animal that Ellie is holding is a Pig, it also has a lot of connotations that reflect or emphasise a lot of elements within the article. Firstly, pigs are often associated with 'piggy banks' which of course behold money and fortune. The pig is there to emphasise the money and fortune to be made through singing, however in some cases it doesn't always mean that you will make the fortune. If anything, it is an extremely risky business as it could make you, or break you. The title beside the image would re-enforce the idea about money as she has her eye on the 'prize.' At the very top of the page is some small but exciting tasters about what is to come within the magazine. In stores and shops, magazines are stocked in away that makes it hard for readers to see the magazine. Having short and snappy tasters at the top of the magazine are going to bring it more revenue. Readers will in some ways only see this section first before any of the other magazines.
The main headlines "eye on the prize" is the only example that I have offered in my magazine of intertextuallity. With such a family phrase, audiences would be able to relate to it much easier as it is a iconic reference that is recognized by people globally. Rather then using more intertextuallity, I decided to stop here as I didn't want my music magazine to come across as un-original which could and would put off my audience members.
Having the exact same font styles and tones of color, the contents page reflects the continuity of my ‘Evny’ magazine creating a house style; something that prevents my music magazine from appearing too fragmented. In the shadow of the contents title at the top of the page are gentle light rays that either have light black or light grey tones. They have very elegant and stunning shapes which feel soft and soothing on the readers eyes, encouraging them too read on. These light rays seep into sections of the contents page almost acting as a background image. I didn’t want to use an actually .jpeg image that acted as a shadow in the background as this would over-complicate things.
As apposed to using complicated icons or images besides writing on the left-hand side of the page, I stuck to just using large and bold numbers that don’t feel too simple but then again don't feel too complicated. As it is a first new edition of magazine on the shelves, first impressions that are given need to be both fresh and simple with small tints of excitement which will encourage readers to come back, and thirsty for more.
Following the conventions of most regular music magazines, I have used the magazine logo and put it in the top left-hand corner to ensure even more continuity. As styles and colors are part of the house-style, they share the exact same features as the magazine logo meaning it fits in perfectly on the page. Generically, contents pages are only focused onto one side of A4 paper as apposed to a full double page spread. I decided to follow this convention to allow my audience to dig straight into the magazine. Reflected on the opposite side of the page I have attached an advertisement to demonstrate how this would look in an official magazine.
The denotations of the page is the singer Ellie looking up at her own article, however the connotations of this extend into so much more. Butterflies have connotations of both freedom, innocence and peace. This would reflect the freedom that Ellie had now as an artist, creating the music that she loves and selling it. Almost hibernating, maggots spin a cocoon for themselves, turning into the most beautiful creatures; butterflies. This would reflect how her life has gone into a cocoon and hatched into the most spectacular and stunning career. Furthermore, the butterflies wings are only slightly open instead of being fully spread out. This would show how she has only showed some of her beauty in her latest song and has much more to offer in the future.
I decided to have the singer of my magazine walk across the double page spread in her bare feet as it reflected a natural appearance. On Photoshop I darkened the edges of her feet using the burn tool which would give the audience the illusion of her trekking mountains. I wanted to prove that you don't get places or achieve things in the world with putting in hard work and 100% effort,
Once again, text styles and color tones have continued on from both the contents page and front page of the magazine. This has all together as a whole, created a house style feel to the magazine making it feel complete and more readable. Also, my magazine logo is used across the full layout of my magazine; this ensure that when my audience picks up the magazine to purchase, the whole layout and house style iconic and instantly recognizable. Very much like the Billboard magazine, my double page spread has a flush ‘gradiented’ background the makes it look professional.
Following the conventions of generic music magazines, my exclusive story with Ellie Gould has a chatty and gossipy side as well as an intellectual aspect which is given my metaphoric images and powers of three. If it were to of had more full stops and shorter sentences, the article would of lost it's sense of readability putting my interested audience. Having been written in such a tone, the story is a joy to read and can be read with such a passion. It doesn't talk about how she lost weight or such stories, it's a genuine story about how her career evolved into the massive thing that it is now. Images that have been used in the double page spread have all been given a black and white overlay layer, only a few sections of the images such as the singers dress for example have been left with their original color. Their original color is of course pink which links in with both the front cover and contents page, giving my magazine a feeling of consistency.
In a lot of ways I feel that my media products both develop, challenge and break forms and conventions of the usual generic products. With this product I wanted to create something new and fresh that no one had ever seen. Particular with the change of physical to virtual conversion do I feel that I am ahead of current magazines and newspapers. Many of them are not wishing to co-operate with the changes that are occurring in both the future and the present. By already setting up my magazine's website and section on the iBook store have I already set myself ahead of many establishments. If I were to redo sections of my magazine for a final time, i would perhaps put back in generic conventions. I was thinking that, perhaps towards the start of the release of my magazine would I go along with casual conventions then as the weeks went on would I casually break away from these conventions and adapt along with my readers into something a little more different then when I initially started.
One aspect of my music magazine that i am really strong on is the looks and attitudes towards the artists. This is definitely something that challenges many other music magazines as I am offering something more genuine and real to the audiences. As stated in my research, I wanted to achieve a magazine that allowed readers to feel confidence and happiness within themselves. Hopefully, this will challenge other magazine conventions into realising that negative and bias media products aren't the way forward. Currently, magazines are just creating content that is what the audience supposedly 'wants.' However, if audiences and readers haven't been exposed to anything other then negative and bias media that they're now, then how are they ever to realise what is genuine and what isn't.
In a sense, I have made a balance of both the current music magazines and also how I would like them to be. My music magazine still produces those juicy and exclusive stories that any other magazine does, however I don't create spin off stories that are entirely untrue or full of lies. Looking back through the development, I do wish I would of incorporated a larger amount of 'exclusive' stories so that I could really win a lot of audiences over from other magazines. Not only does the content of my magazine challenge other magazine's content, but it also challenges their prices which are rather hefty. Perhaps, this is one large development within a lot of music magazines; who can create the best magazine however at a lower price. After all, the cheaper magazines are, the more sales will sell, making a larger profit solely through the advertisement that is focused within those magazines.
One aspect of my music magazine that i am really strong on is the looks and attitudes towards the artists. This is definitely something that challenges many other music magazines as I am offering something more genuine and real to the audiences. As stated in my research, I wanted to achieve a magazine that allowed readers to feel confidence and happiness within themselves. Hopefully, this will challenge other magazine conventions into realising that negative and bias media products aren't the way forward. Currently, magazines are just creating content that is what the audience supposedly 'wants.' However, if audiences and readers haven't been exposed to anything other then negative and bias media that they're now, then how are they ever to realise what is genuine and what isn't.
In a sense, I have made a balance of both the current music magazines and also how I would like them to be. My music magazine still produces those juicy and exclusive stories that any other magazine does, however I don't create spin off stories that are entirely untrue or full of lies. Looking back through the development, I do wish I would of incorporated a larger amount of 'exclusive' stories so that I could really win a lot of audiences over from other magazines. Not only does the content of my magazine challenge other magazine's content, but it also challenges their prices which are rather hefty. Perhaps, this is one large development within a lot of music magazines; who can create the best magazine however at a lower price. After all, the cheaper magazines are, the more sales will sell, making a larger profit solely through the advertisement that is focused within those magazines.
Generic Conventions In My Music Magazine:
Masthead
With audiences and readers being so naturally adapted to seeing a masthead on any form of magazine, it would of been silly to break the convention. Located across the full span of the top of my music magazine is my Envy logo which is sharp, bold and eye catching. This really is a compulsory element to a magazine as this is what we as an audience first glance at. As it’s the same literally everywhere, it’s just something we do naturally without hesitation. The first glance hopefully at my music magazine will then develop into a stare due to the coloring, shape and texture of the masthead. It’s deep boldness really sets the audience back and provides my magazine with the great edge that many others do.
Exclusive Section
Focused once again at the top of my magazine is one of two exclusive pieces. Each magazine has their own specialized scoops which makes them much more appealing. With me having two; the Justin Bieber ‘scoop’ at the top of my magazine; and then finally the MTV ‘scoop’ which is about their legacy deteriorating. These are the type of hot and exciting scoops that are going to get my magazine to sell. Using all three house style colors of my magazine within the main scoop at the top of the magazine, attracts and catches more people’s eyes as they’re walking by.
Images
Another main convention of a music magazine is the large image which is positioned across the full cover. Often enough, the main image on the front cover of the magazine is a medium close-up which provides the magazine with that intimate feeling and entices them to pick it up and read further.
Synergy
Synergy is a large convention which happens within music magazines on a regular basis. It highlights the comings together of two or more establishments that are trying to achieve a goal that isn’t possible independently. With my main headline being extremely eye catching, many people are going to feel intrigued and view the ‘exclusive’ content that is on offer. As people feel enticed to buy the music magazine after seeing the exclusive, many people are going to see his content. When they view the music video material, the majority of these people will purchase his song. So not only am I selling more magazine copies through this ‘scoop’, but he will also be selling more sales.
Barcode/Price
Focused towards the bottom left of my music magazines is the barcode which is where many conventional barcodes are featured.
Head-banner / Title
Once again, the regular convention of the head-banner never fails to impress and summarizes the main pieces of material that the magazine has to offer. To make sure that each title felt a part of my magazine, I incorporated the same colors that were used in my main image on the front cover.
Intertextuallity
The main headlines "eye on the prize" is the only example that I have offered in my magazine of intertextuallity. With such a family phrase, audiences would be able to relate to it much easier as it is a iconic reference that is recognized by people globally. Rather then using more intertextuallity, I decided to stop here as I didn't want my music magazine to come across as un-original which could and would put off my audience members.
Decks:
This is often referred to as the number of lines in any headline. Conventionally, any magazine will only have one or two decks in a headline as apposed to having several. This is because headlines need to be direct, exact and provide short, snappy and informal information that will encourage the audience to purchase the magazine.
Lead:
At the beginning of a story on the double page spread the writing for the first paragraph is often bold. This is a large conventional feature that allows the readers to have a quick skim over the summary of the story so that they know what is to be introduced within this specific article.
Mediation:
This is the process in which an institution comes between events that happen in the world and the audience who receive the re-presentation. I attempted to do this for many of my stories so that readers would get a chance to read a story they already knew about but from a different perspective, so that they could see how much better hopefully and different my music magazine is.
Strapline:
Like on many music magazines in the contents pages, straplines provide that small amount of relishing information that will allow that reader to decide whether or not that is the story for them. I did this beneath each main header on my contents page which will allow my readers to skim which specific story they’re looking for and go directly to it.
In a sense, I feel that my media product doesn't represent stereotypical or particular social groups as it provides great content for many ranges; I haven't specialized into too small a gap on the market. In general, audiences that are going to be reading my magazine are the ones that have a sense of sophistication and have detached themselves from that below 16 years old medico pop. I just want anyone to read my magazine that feels the need to be cheered up and feel that they can be accepted as themselves in society.
To attract my audience to first purchase my magazine I intend to advertise my own magazine within other music magazines. The deal would be, if they advertised me in a section of their magazine, then when the time would come, I would advertise their magazine. Also, now that Facebook & Twitter is at the height of sophistication i decided to create a Facebook group about my music magazine and offer thousands of people across the UK to join my group. There would it be that I offer them specialised discounts to the already reduced magazine which would be the first edition. Like we see on many adverts on tv, many magazines are willing to initially make a loss but to then only gain much more in the future. This is also a section of advertisement that I decided to take upon, allowing readers to get the first edition for such a cheap price, then after two-three weeks would I raise the price to the now £2.50,
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