Decisions for front cover and contents page and double page spread

My decisions for my Front cover, Contents page and double page spread have still stayed the same throughout my research it will still be at a price of £2.40 and will be published monthly in order for a whole month of information to be gathered for the magazine.
The issue size of my music magazine will be around 60 pages.
The regular content of the magazine will be;

• Gig information
• Band/artist information
• Top 10 indie songs
• Concerts
• Interviews
• New music
• Cd reviews

Feature articles

• The fans go wild
• biggest gig...EVER
• Road trip
• bring the oldies back - the first indie songs

Publication plan

Title: Muted

Positioning Statement: Turn up the volume.

Frequency of publication: Monthly.

Distribution: Newsagents and supermarkets.

Price: £2.40

Rationale: The magazine is for those who enjoy all aspects of indie music. It will focus on new bands and artists, articles, interviews and reviews of new and old songs. It is also for those that would like to be in music when they are older. They will also find out about concerts and gigs that will be on, it will offer a lot of opportunities for fans to meet the stars with monthly competitions.

Style: Informal and friendly. The magazine will offer advice and comments and also reviews and music. It will use fairly easy vocabulary and will use short – medium sized paragraphs.

Regular Content
• Editor’s letter
• Letter room – fans send letters into the magazine about concerts and their view on songs
• Wish you were there – Upcoming concerts and gig information page
• Listen to Nick- Nick Grimshaw monthly music advice column
• The Indie look – Monthly clothes tips and out fits we like
• Interviews
• What are you really into? (on last page) – Bands or artists tell us what they are really like Back cover. This week Biffy Clyro
• Road trip – one of our writers travels with a band. This week Muse
• Competition page – win something each month e.g. a day in a recording studio, meet a band etc.
• The truth behind…- find out about a star
• Top 10- indie chart

Feature Content
• The Letter Room
• Listen to nick
• Wish you were there
• Road trip
• Top 10 indie chart
• The indie look
• Competitions
• What are you really into?
• A ‘Daft Punk’ tribute
• Party on with Bloc party
• Woahh its Cobra Starship
• La Roux in for the kill
• Guess who we’ve been to see this week?
• What do you eat Biffy Cylro?
• Can you guess the song and artist?
• You’re favourite Gig? ‘Hippys on the Hill’- New talent!!
• Where are they now?
• The bands you need to know!!
• Bring the oldies back
• The top 10 concerts, WE recommend!
• Gigs Galore
• Who have you seen?
• Paramore Review
• Biffy Clyro
• 30 seconds to Mars
• It’s Official its The Arctic Monkeys
• Fan Interview on The Killers
• What’s with the cover?
• Road trip with Muse
• The Truth Behind ‘Florence and the machine’

House style
Cover lines: Arial Rounded MT Bold and Rockwell
Headlines: Century Gothic bold
Standfirst: Century gothic 14 pt. byline to be included in standfirst.
Captions: Century Gothic 9pt
Features first paragraph: Drop capital Century Gothic bold, 5 lines deep, and first two words in capitals.
News first paragraph: first two words in block capitals.
Body Text: Century gothic 11pt
Colour scheme: White, black and red

Questionnaire results

Question 1. This is standard question to start off with, in order to gather information for who my magazine should be based towards.A lot of the people I asked were younger, showing that they understand more what Indie music is.I will be basing my magazine towards 16-23 year olds.

Question 2. This is also another standard question, to start a magazine off.

MY magazine will be based towards both male and female, even though my results show that mostly females took my questionnaire.

Question 3. allows me to recognise how often a magazine is usually bought. The results show that most audience differ when buying a magazine, but I will be making my magazine monthly as the majority of the people I asked favoured to this answer.

Question 4. I chose this question to get an understanding of which indie bands are the most popular, this will when thinking of a double page spread and a contents page. This will also help with my front cover because I can then see how that band/artist would look on the front of a magazine. It also shows me who my audience would most like to see and read about in my magazine.

Question 5. My results show me what my audience would like to see in my music magazine. Looking at my results I can tell that my audience likes all of the following things in my magazine, some more than others. This will help me in deciding what information I will add into my contents page.

Question 6. My results show me that the bulk of people who took my questionnaire do know of other music magazines, which means that I will have some people buying my magazine, but the people who haven’t heard or read a music magazine will be the hardest to persuade to read my magazine because they must not be interested in Indie music magazines.

Question 7. These results show me that most people would like my magazine to be based around the price of £2.00- £3.00. It also helps me to see that if I make my magazine around that price I may have more people buying my magazine because it is not as high priced as others that are around.

8. / Would you like to receive a free gift in a music magazine?

The results of this question were only set on yes; this means that all readers of music magazines would prefer to receive a free gift.

Question 9. These result’s allows me to see who my audience would prefer to see of the front of magazine. so also said that if I use a band on the front cover, there is more to talk about and bands are more interesting. Because some of my audience did not have a preference I would imagine that I would not use a band on the front most of the time.

Question 12. These results allow me to tell whether or not my magazine should have plain colours or have brighter colours. If I choose to make my magazine colourful, my magazine will be different from other indie music magazines, meaning I may have a better reaction to my magazine.

My results have shown that the majority of people do download their music, meaning I know whether or not to add a list of singles and albums in my magazine, but because some people preferred both I will use both in my magazine.

Question 12. This allows me to see whether or not I should recommend music channels because half of the people I asked didn’t know any indie music channels.

This question allows me to see which music channels I could recommend, it also allows me to see who my competition lies with in the indie music world.

13. / If answered no to the above, do you watch any type of music channels?

I do not need to put graph results for this question because it is not entirely relevant towards my genre, but the majority of people did say they watched; MTV, Box, Kiss, Smash hits, 4 music and TMF. This is the competition I will be up against.

Question 14. This question helps me see whether or nor people visit music website more that they buy magazines, from my results I can tell that more than half of people do not look on music websites, meaning that I may have a better chance of selling my magazine.

Questionnaire tally of results

1.How old are you?

16-19- 14

20-22- 2

23-25-4


2.Male or Female?

M-4

F-16


3. How often would you purchase a music magazine?

Weekly-0

Fortnightly-4

Monthly-8

Other-8


4. List you top 3 favourite Indie artist/band and why?
Stereophonics- 6

Coldplay- 2

The Killers- 7

30 Seconds to mars- 1

The Arctic monkeys- 8
Newton Faulkner- 2

Muse- 6

Kaiser Chiefs- 3

Florence and the Machine- 3

The Kooks- 6

Paramore- 5

The Script- 4

The Kings of Leon-6

5. What do like to see in a new indie music magazine?

New Music-13

Interviews-15

Cover story’s-9

Gig information-12
Information on new bands-7

Reviews-12

Up coming CD’s-5
Upcoming albums-7

Interesting Headlines-6

Pictures of artists/bands-13

6. What indie music magazine’s have you heard of and have you read one?
NME-13

Q-8

Mojo-2

Kerrang-5

Dont read one-2

7./ What would you be the most you would be willing to pay for a new indie music magazine?
£1.00-0

£2.00-£3.00-16

£3.00-£4.00-4

£4.00 +- 0

8./ Would you like to see a free gift in a music magazine?(tick one)
Yes-17

No-3



9./ Do you prefer to see a band or an artist on the front cover?
Band-10

Artist-8

No preference-2

10./ Would your prefer an Indie magazine to have colour, or prefer it to be plain? Explain why.
Colour-15

Plain-5


11./ Do you listen to CD's or download music?
CD's-3

Downloads-13

Both-4

12./ Do you watch Indie music channels?
Yes-9

Kerrang-5

NME-3

Q music-2

No-11

13./ If answered no to the above, do you watch any type music channels?
Yes-11

No-9

14./ Do you look on music websites?
Yes- 8

No-12

Questionnaire

Magazine Questionnaire

1.How old are you?

16-19 20-22 23-25

2.Male or Female?

M F

3. How often would you purchase a music magazine?(Please Tick One)

Weekly Fortnightly Monthly if another please state

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. List you top 3 favourite Indie artist/band and why?

• ……………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………
• …………………………………………………………………………….

5. What do like to see in a new indie music magazine?(Tick Up To 5)

New Music Interviews Cover story’s Gig information

Information on new bands Reviews up coming CD’s

Upcoming albums Interesting Headlines Pictures of artists/bands

6. What indie music magazine’s have you heard of and have you read one?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

7./ What would you be the most you would be willing to pay for a new indie music magazine?

£1.00 £2.00-£3.00 £3.00-£4.00 £4.00 +

8./ Would you like to see a free gift in a music magazine?(tick one)

Yes No

9./ Do you prefer to see a band or an artist on the front cover? Explain why.

Band Artist

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

10./ Would your prefer an Indie magazine to have colour, or prefer it to be plain? Explain why.

Colour Plain

....................................................................................................................................

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

11./ Do you listen to Cds or download music?

Cds Downloads

12./ Do you watch Indie music channels? If yes, which ones?

Yes No

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

13./ If answered no to the above, do you watch any type music channels? If yes which ones?

Yes No

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

14./ Do you look on music websites? If yes which ones, and why ?

Yes No

.....................................................................................................................................

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I Printed out 20 copies of my questionnaire and handed them to people around my target audience. i was then able to gather up my results, and analyse what target audience i would definitely focus on, I can then see what my audience would prefer the cover to look like and what would be in my magazine for the audience to read in an indie music magazine.

Main task: Codes and Conventions of a music magazine Double page spread.

• In most music magazines including indie magazines, the magazine name,Page number, Issue date and website are usually at the bottom of the page.

• In most music magazines, the double page article will have a drop capital to start off the first line of the article, this is the same for indie music magazines.

• By lines are used to show who the article is by.

• In any magazine, the double page spread will have a witty beginning to catch the audiences attention.

• The main image is usually situated on the left hand side of the article taking up most of the page, although Mojo have broken this convention by using the image as the background of the article.

• The headline's are short and snappy usually referring to the article.

• A colour scheme will be used but it is very limited making sure the page looks presentable.

• There are usually 2 to 4 columns in the double page spread article, but if the article goes on to be 2 pages then there will be 2 to 4 columns on each page.

• Quotes are sometimes situated on the images.

• A standfirst is always used, this is near the headline and is before the start of an article, it introduces the article and explains what it will be about.

Main task: Codes and conventions of a music magazine contents

• An editorial: used in a magazine, this sets an appropriate mode of address. this is the same for indie music magazines.

• The colour theme: run's throughout the contents page, linking it with the front cover, this matches the front cover, and this helps the magazine become noticed and appealing this is not always the case for and indie magazine, for example in kerrang the colour theme for the front is red, whit and gold. Whereas the contents is red, black and yellow.

• Column's: columns are there to make every thing a bit easier for the reader, making its easier for them to follow, Most magazines have about 3 columns, but some indie music magazines go against this, E.g Mojo sometimes has 2 columns to be different to other music magazines.

• Date : this is usually used as a convenience for the reader and is the same for indie magazines.

• Main image: the main image is usually the main story, there are also usually several images.

• Subheadings: the subheadings just allocate the particular things in the magazine e.g regulars, features, news.

• Web address: this just gives the reader a place for more information, most indie magazines have a web address .

• Cover lines : the cover lines from the front cover are usually put in there own column on the contents page.

And example of an indie contents page :

Main task: Codes of an Indie music magazine front cover.

• Masthead. are used in order for the buyer to recognize the product they will be buying, although some well known magazines cover some of the masthead with the main image because the buyers will still recognize the style of the magazine. the masthead can also show what genre the magazine is because of the font and colour of font. the masthead is often bold and can be situated anywhere on the top of the magazine, i have found that most mastheads on a music magazine are usually placed towards the top left corner.

• Font. usually in most music magazine there are around 3-4 fonts, and usually are similar, this is the same for indie magazines.

• Colour Theme. this consists of 3 to 4 colours, the reason for this is so that the magazine looks neat and will fit in with the theme of the contents, this also attracts the attention of the audience because they will all fit in together.

• Buzz words. often used in magazines because they attract attention towards the magazine and offer the audience more.

• Main Image. reflects the genre because of the artist/band. there could be more than one image, but usually there is one central image. The image is usually a mid close shot or a long shot and the artist usually looks at the camera, this could show the magazine looking towards the buyer. The body language represented in the image can reflect the genre. the image may also interest those who enjoy the band or artist that is on the front.

• Cover stories. usually go with genre of the magazine, they also attract the buyer because they may see interest in what is in the magazine.

• Smaller pictures, give more of an insight to what will be in the magazine, these may not always be used on the front cover.

• A banner. used mostly for added information, it is also used when a buzz word is used to grab the buyers attention.

• Taglines. promote the magazine and create a catch phrase.

• Interviews. often lead the buyer in, like the coverstorys would becaue they will be looking for the artists they are interested in.

• Issue Date. is standard codes and conventions of a music magazine because this will infrom the buyer how up to date it is. the barcode and the price are usually positioned in the sam place as the issue date because this allows the buyer to gather the information needed quick and easy.

Main task: Decisions for my magazine

My magazine will be at a price of £2.40 and will be published monthly in order for a whole month of information to be gathered for the magazine.

The issue size of my music magazine will be around 60 pages.

The regular content of the magazine will be;

• Gig information
• Band/artist information
• Top 10 indie songs
• Concerts
• Interviews
• New music
• Cd reviews

Feature articles

• The fans go wild
• biggest gig...EVER
• Road trip
• bring the oldies back - the first indie songs

Main task: Research

Through the research I have collected I have chosen to produce an indie music magazine and my target audience will be any indie music fans, mostly between the age of 16-25.

Gathered research:

Other music magazines;

Kerrang

Q

Mojo

NME

Blender

Clash

Spin

The cost of these magazines:

MOJO- £4.10
Kerrang - £2.30
Q - £3.90
NME - £2.10
Spin - £4.99
Blender - £3.50

Clash - £3.90

All of these magazines are published at different times;

MOJO - Monthly magazine.

Kerrang - Weekly magazine.
Q - Monthly magazine.

NME - Weekly magazine.
Spin - Monthly magazine.
Blender - Monthly magazine.

Clash - Monthly magazine.

Most of these magazines type of music Genre are indie or are closely linked to indie.

The magazine I am going to follow the most is NME because it is an indie magazine, I know that the magazine contains 75 pages.

Regular content

Gig information

Concerts

Band information

Posters

Album reviews

Interviews

Feature Articles

The Automatic - how their monster hit nearly killed them.

my chemical romance - new album: the ultimate review

Images of some of the magazines I found :

Through all the research I have found out about Indie magaz