music magazines research

MUSIC MAGAZINE PRESENTATION TASK

Lauren Iball

CLASSIC ROCK

• Who do you think the core target audience is for this product?

I think males around the age 25-35 would be the target audience for this magazine due to the straight forward mode of address and font used. The typical rock fans would be males with long hair who have a less groomed appearance, similar to the idols on the front cover. The colours are dark; black and gold that resemble sophistication as well as masculinity. The layout is to the point and organised to reinforce the idea that males like things simple with no detailed information to draw their attention. Reinforcing this idea, there are no other images that anchor the text of the puffs except the main image.

CLASSIC ROCK

• What in fo rmat ion can you lea rn about the l i f es ty le p rofi le / in te res ts o f the core ta rget aud ience f rom the f ront cover. G ive examples to suppor t your ideas .

The typical target audience for this magazine would be into the good old fashioned rock that was on in the older generation when these rock bands were at their best; not the latest more stylised rock. They like going to Rock festivals with a small group of friends to enjoy the 60-70’s jams. They manage a small business company but enjoy Classic Rock in their spare time to escape and fantasize about the life of the rock star they always wanted to be when they were younger and played an instrument. They spend time going to music stores to buy the CD’s and even DVD’s of the concerts to add to their collections, spending money on the real music and not downloading it on the computer. They drive a motorcycle and own a leather jacket inspired by their favourite rock artist to make them have that ‘tough’ appearance that is reinforced with the simple tattoos up their arm.

CLASSIC ROCK

• What music magaz ine genre codes and convent ions can you ident i fy?

Many conventions of Rock are being conveyed such as the stereotypical image of a care-free idol with long scruffy hair that hasn’t been stylised or groomed to ‘perfection’. The colours are dark with a heavy font to resemble the strong base/beats of music. The font of ‘Aerosmith’ is gothic and similar to those of tattoo fonts that are another convention of rock stars. On the cover and possibly featuring inside the magazine is language that isn’t necessarily censored, this is a connotation of Rock music as the artists stereotypically do drugs, crash hotels and are ‘breaking the rules’. For this reason the magazine is for an older target audience and would not be suitable or safe for families with younger children.

CLASSIC ROCK

• W h a t e l e m e n t s o f h o u s e s t y l e c a n y o u i d e n t i f y ?

The house style of this magazine is continued throughout the magazine as well as each issue. The red, black and soft beige are repeated so create a house style of darker colours which is stereotypical for the male gender. The masthead ‘Classic Rock’ font is also a house font as it is used various amount of times so the magazine is a well known brand as it is easily recognisable by the audience in each issue.

TOP OF THE POPS AND CLASSIC ROCK

• S imi la r i t i es and d iff erences between the mise -en -scene

These two magazines have many differences such as the stylised outfits that feature on the front cover. On TOTP Britney Spears has been stylised in purple with a floral necklace to show off her femininity that reinforces her as a young, white and beautiful star that is classed as ‘perfect’. The small smile on her face is strengthened with her pose to convey confidence that the asymmetrical dress reinforces. The girly outfit appeals completely to the younger female generation. Juxtaposed to this, the Classic Rock idol has been stylised but in a more relaxed and scruffy way to convey a care-free appearance that is a convention of the rock genre. Being topless along with his arm-wide pose reinforces this idea of being care-free and also shows that he is just embracing the music.The similarities between the mise-en-scene in these two magazines would be the plain and simple background that is a soft neutral tone, therefore drawing your attention to focus on the main image only with no distracting pattern or images behind.

• L a y o u t a n d s t y l e o f l a n g u a g eThe layout of TOTP is similar against the Classic Rock magazine as they are both quite simple. As the audience for TOTP magazine is for younger females, the cover consists more of images as the brighter colours and graphics make the appearance more exciting and appealing for the audience. The Classic Rock cover is more sophisticated as the target audience is for older males who are interested in short and to the point text. The layout itself is quite similar as the main story headline is large and placed with the main graphic to draw attention to it easily. The style of language contrasts strongly with these two magazine covers as the TOTP magazine constantly uses explanation points and buzz words such as ‘FREE!’ and ‘PLUS!’ whereas the language on the Classic Rock cover is simple in short sentences that don’t contain buzz words. The buzz words for the younger generation make it more exciting, that is emphasised with the bright colours to fit the mood and draw attention. The language on TOTP is friendly and informal to make it come across comforting and not intimidating to the younger readers. Due to the institution of the magazine being the BBC, it is immediately known to the audience that it is safe with no explicit language, this is a plus for parents to know that their children are reading suitable language and could lead to more buys of the magazine. This is actually shown on the cover with a puff that reads ‘Another [BLEEP]-ing Eminem interview’. The language of the Classic Rock cover however doesn’t contain explicit language but could inside or throughout the magazine as one of the main headlines reads ‘death, drugs and dinner with Jimmy Page’. This is an insight to the articles inside that may not include explicit language, but the articles themselves could be about negative things such as drugs. It reinforces that the audience is for the older generation who are rock fans as drugs is a well known connotation of the rock music genre.


• M u s i c g e n r e c o n v e n t i o n sThere are many pop music genre conventions on the TOTP front cover. One of these is the colour scheme, the purples and pinks with a touch of striking yellow is all very bold and bright to resemble the ‘happy’ and ‘cheerful’ pop genre. The idol of Britney Spears is chosen as she fits the young, beautiful and white theory that is used on pop and mainstream magazines to show ‘perfection’. She has been stylised so her appearance is well groomed and neat, also most likely to be wearing the latest clothing and accessories to appeal to the female readers. At the time, she would have been one of the favourite female pop stars so is used on the front cover so appeal to the younger female audience who are inspired and want to be like her. Having a female on the cover also shows girl power which is reinforced with her pose and fashion to show confidence, what every girl wants to have. Lots of images and other graphics are used to anchor the puffs that are made exciting with buzz words. Another convention would be the features about other pop artists, such as Eminem, promoting their brands and music with interviews.Classic Rock shows many signs of music genre conventions such as the main image being of a well known famous rock singer from ‘Aerosmith’. He is shown as he is part of one of the longest and best rock bands from their generation, inspiring many rock fans. He is styled so he is topless with baggy jeans and rough boots, along with his untidy long hair and male jewellery so he isn’t seen as perfectly groomed like the pop magazine. This is because rock is more carefree with head banging and the crazy rock life of ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’. The colours are strong and dark to appeal to the male audience with a hint of red that could be a connotation of danger that fits in with the rock life. However, because it is classic rock the colours are also quite bleak with the soft beige to almost calm it down a bit and bring it back to when rock was simply rock without the exaggerated stylised bands; this could also be resembled with having his top off. The front cover also shows features of other rock artists such as Jimmy Page and Ronnie Wood, to tie in with the rock theme. The ‘high voltage rock ‘n’ roll’ is in black to show bold power and to relate to the loud music.


• Music art ists featured and the audience they appeal to

The music artist on the TOTP front cover is Britney Spears. This is because she was one of the most famous and well known female artists of her time so is shown as the audience of younger females idolise her and aspire to have the life she does. They would be interested in reading about her to find out the latest gossip and also to see what she is wearing. She is also classed as young, beautiful and white to show ‘perfection’ and her confidence appeals to the younger female generation as that is what they want to be like.The Classic Rock magazine shows the singer from Aerosmith. This is the perfect artist for classic rock as they are still playing and have been around for a long time. This therefore appeals to the target audience of older males as they want the same wealth and fame as they have.


• Spec ia l features and art ic les in both ed i t ions

The special features on the TOTP magazine would include the free pop badges to persuade you to buy the magazine, as well as the ‘Plus! Look whose being interrogated’ article to make it feel exclusive and that you are the only one who will know this piece of gossip.The special features of Classic Rock would be the free CD that is shown brightly in yellow to draw attention from the audience, persuading them to buy the magazine. A special and very different article on this magazine would be the main headline of ‘our weekend with Aerosmith’, showing that it isn’t just a regular interview that many competitor magazines contain, but a whole weekend with the band. This means it is more likely to contain a lot more interesting content and would create a better relationship with the readers as they almost feel as if they have been on this weekend with the band too.


• What overal l techniques are used to make you read the complete magazine

The house style is conveyed continuously throughout the magazine so nothing is unexpected and clashing. It makes it feel more comfortable and also recognisable for each issue so the reader knows what to look for. Another technique would be showing the best articles on the front cover in puffs so the audience want to look through the magazine to read and find them.


• M o d e o f a d d r e s sOn the TOTP magazine, one of the puffs reads ‘win a call from your favourite pop star!’, this is creating a direct mode of address to the young audience of the magazine. There is an exaggeration on the ‘your’ to make it more personal to each reader as if they are speaking directly to you.


music magazines research

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