Media Magazine Evaluation

When analysing music magazines, we found there are many forms and conventions that make these magazines classifiable under the sub - genre of music magazines. We found that in 'NME' magazine, the average reader would be 16 - 35, male, single and looking, or having a girlfriend, would be someone who would be able to travel to festivals and performances regularly and be possibly working class. In my own spare time, I did an audience profiling for Vibe Magazine. I chose Vibe Magazine because I felt that Vibe Magazine is the magazine that is most similar to the magazine my group were going to make. My group's two music magazines (Swagga Magga and Bagga Magga) use forms and conventions of real music magazines. They both have a person on the front conver who are in, or are relevant to the music industry. Both covers have the people on the cover looking towards the audience, have the magazine name at the top and have sell lines to attract the reader who is passing by. We decided to use sell lines that would attract the reader, that included the latest stories and the biggest stars in the entertainment industry. The magazine covers include bar codes, issue numbers, prices and the magazine tag line. These are all conventions of real music magazines. Our magazine represents teenagers, as its title 'Swagga Magga' is something they can understand. Teenagers would realise that the term 'Swagga' is a slang term, and it would appeal to them, and to what many teenagers' way of living is. We have tried to make it as appealing to teenagers as possible, with pictures of their favourite stars on the front. We have used artists that would appeal to our target audience, the typical urban teenager who follows the latest in Hip - Hop, R'n'B and Urban culture. Our main audience ranges between the ages of 13 - 19, but our magazine has a secondary audience that stretches to 25. When making the magazine cover, we asked ourselves, 'What are young, urban UK teenagers looking for in a magazaine?' and 'How can we deliver this to them?'. We felt that our target audience are looking for a magazine they can relate to with the latest in music, fashion and T.V. We also felt that our magazine would be a good idea for a positive way to help / advise teenagers. Music magazines normally don't just offer a magazine talking solely about music. Music magazines push the boundaries of the conventions of a music magazine by including pages of the latest fashion, the latest film, or even in the recent case of Barack Obama, the latest political story. The media institution most likely to distribute our magazine are IPC Media, as they are based in the UK, but are owned by Time Inc. based in the USA, and they may see 'Swagga Magga' and 'Bagga Magga' as a magazine appealing to a similar audience as Vibe Magazine, which is a magazine they distribute, with a difference being that the audience of our magazines live in the UK. Our audience is addressed / attracted with bright colours such as black, yellow, red and white. Also, our audience is attracted by having a person on the front cover who is of similar age, and also through the use of slang. Also, we used ideas from other magazines (Young Vibes and Vibe Magazine) to see what is a convention that we can use that will appeal to the audience market we are aimed at. Through making our front cover, I have learnt that images can be easily manipulated. People who make magazine covers for a living can manipulate images in any way they choose, as we could maniplulate the images to a certain level, with a basic understanding of how photoshop works. I have learnt how to use some of the different tools in photoshop to edit and alter the images and put them in different places on the screen. Photoshop is a good program to use to take a simple image and twist it to make it appeal to the audience of your choice. If I were to make another front cover, I would have taken some of my pictures on a blank background, so it was easier to manipulate the image better. I would have also planned / pre - sketched my ideas to have a set idea of what my magazine cover was going to look like before I started. This would have enabled me to have used all the features and conventions of normal magazines more effectively. I felt that my group worked well in terms of coming up with ideas that were realistic to a music magazine, and a magazine that appealed the audience of our choosing. To conclude, I have thoroughly enjoyed making my music magazine, and would definately do it again.