My original concept was to use a 'cog' design for my icon, anchoring to the magazine title 'crank'. However, I have decided to redesign the icon as I believe it does not match the style of the magazine, and will not have a punchy effect when on the shelves amongst competitors-brand identity is hugely important in the magazine industry.
I then decided to use a simpler, clearer font style, which spread across the whole page, making the icon larger and easier for the audience to recognise amongst competitors, with bolder colours.
I then edited the logo further, with a shadow to extend the text out of the page, making it more aesthetically pleasing, and more prominent on the page. I also changed the colour of the font to silver, which has connotations of being modern through technology, and relates to the unique concept of my magazine: to consider how modern technology has changed music and make use of it throughout the magazine.
2)How often do you read music magazines or other publications?
3)Do you own an iPod or other music player?
4)On average, how often do you attend music concerts per year?
5)How much would you be willing to pay for a monthly music magazine?
6)Would a pre-release album review interest you in a music magazine?
7)Do you regularly use social networking websites?
8)How often do you listen to music each day?
9)Would you be more inclined to read a more interactive music magazine?
10)Would you be more interested in the magazine if it contained longer articles, or more images?
I can then collect these results, which are automatically sent to me as a form, and use them as extra research information for my music magazine.
I have tested using some photoshop effects on some of my 'On Location' shots. I have tested certain font effects, including the 'Cogs' font, imported new brush effects, that give a 'Paint Spray' effect and I have also practiced with changing the contrast and brightness of the picture itself, whilst cropping it to fit into the front cover.
This double page spread was featured in ‘Kerrang’ music magazine, Issue November 14th 2009. These two pages may be considered an advertorial, due to the way that the writers have emphasised the band as being “the best”, where they also advertise the band’s new album (by teasing the audience with the “New Tracks” section on the right hand side, and describing the tracks with words like “epic”), set for release next spring, which begins to create a sense of anticipation for fans, where the article both entertains and promotes the band. This positive promotion of the band may also be down to the writer’s ideology about the genre of music and their coherent system of values within modern society. Within 'Kerrang', the majority of the band members that are presented seem to be male, suggesting a 'Male Superiority' view of the writer's opinion, particularly within this double page spread, where the main picture is a low angle shot of the male, lead singer, giving him dominance (reflected throughout other articles in the magazine). The meditation of the magazine would also have had an influence on the content included within the article, because the publisher of ‘Kerrang’, ‘the Bauer Media Group’, would impose their ideology onto the product, to insure that consumers that buy it are entertained and informed, in order to make the magazine profitable for the company-e.g. if the article was to insult a certain group of customers, or make a statement that is not generally acceptable to the multinational audience that ‘Kerrang’ attracts, the consumers be less inclined to re-purchase the product, and the company will lose profits.
The punk/emotional rock influence on the magazine is instantly recognisable within the setup and pictures of the double page spread, where the article is expressed as a “World Exclusive”, making it seem unique and special, where it is only available to the readers of ‘Kerrang’-it is also emphasised that the band has “invited” the magazine specially to their recording studio, so that readers can get an insight into the life of a famous band and the ‘celebrity lifestyle’-increasing fandom for the band. The majority of the two pages are used up by images, where there is only a small amount of text on the second page. Each of these pictures has been manipulated, to create a black and white effect, which matches the dark (almost gothic) emotional rock style of the band and its music. This is complemented by the bright red colour of certain text on the double page, which also relates to the bands style, with connotations of anger, blood and excitement. The font used for the title is very clear, using a ‘worn out’ effect, again relating to the punk style of the band. This title has then been set at an angle, and “best MCR” has been highlighted by using a larger font than the rest of the title, in white rather than red. This gives a subtle hint of informality to the double page spread, giving it more entertaining feel as the mode of address.
Language is also used as an advantage to the magazine, differentiated from other music magazines by its unique mode of address to its readers. The way the main picture has been framed, with the singer looking down while on stage, with a serious facial expression, almost reclining away from the audience is again associated with the emotional rock style of the band, and almost conveys an uninviting connotation to the picture, which readers will recognise as being ‘My Chemical Romance’s’ approach to their music. The title of the article is a quote from the band itself, which uses specialised language, such as “MCR”, that only certain groups in society will understand, creating a sense of community within the magazine. Other language used in this short article is often professional within the music industry, relating to the affluence of the young audience that may take an interest in the magazine, yet contains a personal element due to the number of long quotations used, made from an interview with the band. This more professional language, using phrases like “epic grandeur and theatrics of the quintet”, may have been used in order to underline the professionalism of the band itself, and describe the particular, new style of music that the band will adopt in its new album and contrast it with the old style, so that the audience can understand “what’s to come”, and get an exclusive ‘preview’ of it. This type of language is not often included within ‘Kerrang’, because language that is usually used is so that the audience can ‘skim read’ the contents. This text has been set out in columns, being a convention of magazines to do so, although it is a very short article and so could be related to looking like a story. Among the more serious tone of the main article, the captions of the pictures seem to add an anecdotal and humorous element to the double page spread. Adding elements such as “Oh no! I’ve forgotten to lock to bloody front door...” makes the article more entertaining for the reader, and may appeal to the young type of audience that would read the magazine.
All of the factors used to produce a double page spread relate to the ideology of the writer and the publishing company, relating to the set of values that the majority of the audience will have. The producer’s intent is to inform, entertain and change opinion, while making the magazine profitable to the company. Consumers that buy the magazine are of a young audience, who take interest in the particular style of music (emotional rock/punk) that has been adopted by ‘Kerrang’, where they invest their own money and time into the magazine. The medium of presenting magazines that readers can flip through and skip is very important, and must be acceptable for the fans of the bands that are mentioned and contain their interest, adapting to fit the opinions of the niche groups that read it.
Billboard Music Magazine, January 1936:
The introduction of the music magazine has been an important contributor in developing the modern music industry, and the social elements that surround it. ‘Billboard’ magazine was the first notable magazine that was devoted to the music industry, and was first printed in 1894. The front cover of the magazine was presented in a newspaper style, with black and white text, though it still contained photographs in order to draw in the audience. Similar techniques were used, as in the modern day, to increase sales, like styled fonts and interestingly manipulated images. As the magazine developed during the mid 20th century, it began to feature professional elements, such as the music charts, which also had an impact on music consumers, introducing a more competitive element into the music industry. The magazine focused on varying genres of music and has developed over its time-span, recently using new technology to its advantage, featuring DVD extras and internet music downloads.
Billboard.com, November 2009:
Since ‘Billboard’ was launched in the 20th century, the music industry has grown massively, developing dozens of new sub-genres such as rock, R & B and heavy metal and has had an increasing influence on the way the audience presents itself. In the modern social community, music inspires emotions, being a large part of life, and is evocative to moods and actions. It often has a large influence on other divisions of the media and can dictate codes of behaviour, fashion, friends and cultural norms among sub-cultures.
Introduction of Fanzines
Audiences of the music industry develop passions within their musical preferences and often want to express themselves further into the genre of music. Music helps to target a member of the audience’s identity, where they can take part in social activities, like going to clubs, watching live performances and creating their own media texts concerning it. In the 1960s, one way that fans began to do this was by designing their own amateur publications, known as 'Fanzines'. These booklets made it possible for musical enthusiasts to document a 'scene' or story that the music press would not publish, and allow them to be creative in doing so, letting other fans hear and understand this experience. These fanzines began to develop and recognise various sub-genres, so that other fans would be included in the community being created, meaning new cultural groups based on tastes and fashion rather than class, ethnicity or gender.
One example of a 'Rock' fanzine is 'Crawdaddy!'. Most fanzines are unprofessionally designed, and backed by no substantial amount of finance, however 'Crawdaddy!' soon developed into what is known as a 'Prozine'. These publications included advertisments to improve the content, and could have been categorised as magazines. It continued to be published throughout the 1970s, often competeing in the national mass market of magazines, and was partly successful due to the popularity of the 'Rock' sub genre, and the large cultural and social groups surrounding it.
Since the 20th century, fanzines have begun to fade out, but fans of musical genres continue to document these amateur stories on the internet, where other fans can easily access the information, and take part in social gatherings, discussions and activities, where these communities can continue.
Examples of names of rock music magazines:
After investigating these names, I have concluded that most of them are short, so that they are simple, and easy to remember, but also ‘punchy’ and will have a large impact amongst a selection of other magazines.
I have developed a mind map of magazine titles that I could use, which I believe follow a similar style to other modern magazines:
I removed certain names, such as ‘Adrenaline’, because although it relates well to this genre of music, the word is too long, and will not have a strong impact on consumers.
