Magazine Proposal

What genre of magazine will you make and why? Who will be your primary and secondary audience (by age, gender and audience code)?

I am going to make a popular music magazine, comprised of the pop music genre. It will have a sub-genre of indie music, as some popular artists have music of that genre. I am going to do this because this is the music I have the greatest knowledge of, so will be the easiest for me personally to make. Also I think there are a number of magazines of this genre already on the market, so I can look at them for inspiration and can style my magazine based on those ideas. My primary audience will be people of around the ages 18-30. The secondary audience will be people of around the ages 31-45, as there may be some popular artists featured who were of an older generation. This is because most of the magazine would consist of ‘newer’ artists who had only been around for shorter periods of time, and would have music that was in circulation now. I am going to try to keep the magazine gender neutral, as I want people to read it because they are interested in this music genre more than anything else. The audience code would probably be C1 or B – people with an average income, who have some money to spend on their interests. This is because the magazine will be quite expensive, and as it is a music magazine this would be a purchase they made due to their personal interests. Also the magazine will refer to albums, singles and concerts etc., which they would need money to afford. The language of the magazine will be informal – to appear friendly to the target audience.

What will be in the magazine you make?

My magazine will have a front cover, a contents page and a double page spread. The magazine will have a pop artist of my choice on the cover, with an interview or article about them inside. They will probably be promoting new music, which will be discussed and/or reviewed by my magazine. It will also give information as to how you can find out more about the artist, such as their website or social media accounts. I will use my own images throughout the magazine.

Which magazines exist that is similar to yours? How will you research our magazine?

The two main magazines that are similar to my own are Q and NME. They are both magazines that focus on new pop/indie music. Q Magazine is published by Bauer Media Group. It features articles and interviews with new/existing artists, primarily of the pop genre (e.g. Lady Gaga). It also writes reviews of albums and concerts etc., and looks at music from the past. It is issued on a monthly basis. NME is published by IPC Media. It focuses more on indie music, featuring artists such as The Arctic Monkeys. It also updates its readers with news in the music world at that time. It is published on a weekly basis. I am going to use Q and NME for research, by analyzing their articles and features. This will give me ideas for my own magazine, as I will know what the audience finds appealing. I am also going to carry out a questionnaire with my target audience so that I have direct feedback from the people that would actually be purchasing and reading it. In the questionnaire I will ask questions such as how they find out about new music, how often they read music magazines, the features they would like to see and the content they want in the magazine.

Where will you get your images? What will they be of?

I am going to take all of my images myself. They will be of the artist who will give an interview to the magazine, and one image will also be used for the front cover. The images will be set against a blank background and the artist will be wearing simple clothes, as from my research I have found music magazines focus more on the artist’s music than clothing, and I don’t want it to become a distraction. I am going to use props, such as a guitar for the model to hold and a chair for them to sit on. The guitar will show that the interview is about their music (as this artist will play guitar as well as singing) and the chair will allow me to take photos of them from different angles and in different poses.

What will be the name of the magazine?

The name of my magazine will be Influence. I have chosen this because my genre is based on new pop/indie music. The music and the artists can have an effect on people – if you like their music you may be influenced to buy their album or go to their concert. If the artist is famous, you may want to copy them, for example emulate their style etc. It is also because the magazine itself can influence you to buy music – by promoting a certain band or giving an album a good review.

How will you ensure your magazine looks both original and professional?

My magazine will look original because it will have all of its own images and articles – I will have produced them. I am going to take inspiration from other magazines, but the content will be completely my own, and fictional in a sense, as the ‘artist’ featured won’t actually be a real musician. I am going to make the magazine in Adobe Photoshop, so the design of it will also be original rather than copied. Using Adobe Photoshop will make it look more professional than using software such as Microsoft Publisher, because it is more similar to software used in the media industry. I think I will struggle to use it as I only have very basic skills on Photoshop, however I think overall the appearance of the magazine will be better.