Planning

Deconstructing Q Cover

This is a cover for the company Q. It has typical features of a magazine in general, for example the company has set their logo in the top left hand corner in the left third. This means that straight away the reader will be able to recognise the magazine. Their Logo has a red background which is bold and big, attracting the readers attention. Red has connotations of danger, death, mysterious and being scary. This links with Qs genre, being rock which is all about rebellion and being different. This defiantly gets represented by their logo.

In this Qs magazine edition it seems to take on this post modernism effect. This is done by having the rest of the band mates being in the reflection of the lead singer, Liam's sunglasses. I think that this is a really clever effect that they have done as it is exploring the boundaries of photography. It's playing on the miss en scene and using the effect of tromp l'oeil. I hope to plan something like this, being creative and escaping the reader away from reality, questioning what they are looking at.

The company Q is covering the band Oasis in this issue. However I find it interesting that in the cover they do not actually mention their band name, but only the lead singer "LIAM'S" name which is in a red bold font. They are emphasising the stereotypical feature of having the lead singer as the front and main person, the only one who is important. In my research I have notice this has happened a few times when Oasis has been mention, that Liam's name being the only thing written. I don't think that I would do this on my magazine as I think that you should involve the whole band and not just the favourited members. 
By Liam's name being in the same colour red as the logos background it suggests that he is everything the Q wants to represent, like he is the face of Q and therefore the rock genre as well. He has this smirk on him, like he is better than others and has this slight hint of being mysterious in him. Like he is is hiding something away from the reader. This intrigues the audience as they want to gratify their needs and wanting to read further to uncover his secret. 

Deconstructing Double Page Spread

I think this double page spread is very interesting, especially the title "FIERCELY CREATIVE". The word 'fiercely' links especially to Beyonce as her alter ego is called 'Sasha Fierce' so straight away the reader can depict that this spread is going to be about Beyonce. Billboard has cleverly incorporated this which is something that I would like to try as seems like an effective technique to get the reader interested. Furthermore by the word "fiercely" illustrated in a bolder font. It suggests that this is the more important part of the wording. It helps to further connote her style and image to her fans. Also in this image Beyonce is looking ferrous and serious, supporting the title. The colouring is in white that makes it clear and helps the reader to follow the route of the eye, meaning that first the reader looks at the title, then the image and finally begins reading the article. The white writing contrasts against the electric pink background. The pink is very vibrant and portrays fun and full of life helping to represent Billboards audience. 

Furthermore the pink background links with the artist as her makeup as similar colour to it. Her eye contact is towards the reader, almost looking through them, the reader is drawn to the artist they are captured under her gaze. This particular artist draws a wider female fan base then men which is probably why it is a close up shot, rather then a long body shot, to show her assets. 

I am particularly appealed to the simplicity of this structured layout, as there is just a main title, an image and a short article. I think its important not to over use different effects to engage a reader and just stick to the basics. Its good to focus on thing which is an idea I will take on in my music magazine. 

Deconstructing Billboard contents page

This contents page belongs to Billboard magazine. What I find interesting is that Billboard doesn't make it so stated that this is their magazine, unlike the front cover where their master head was one of the largest texts. However in the contents page it is unnoticeable placed to the left hand side in the corner. It is almost hiding suggesting that inside is the most important thing for information to be given, not the company. 

Also on the left hand side is a list of page numbers and what the magazine features inside. It seems to highlight to the reader which are the most interesting and on trend stories there are that month. The contents page almost guides the reader to specific pages which the magazine knowns will hit their audiences interest. This is a good technique to use and something I would consider doing in my music magazine as straight away the reader will find excitement and desire in the specific stories.

On the other hand their is a fully body picture of the main image, suggesting to the reader that this is going to be the main feature throughout the magazine and how they hold some importance to the issue. The model looks happy and fun representing the pop genre, how it is symbolising what the younger generation should be about... YOUTH. By the model looking happy it motivates the reader into a positive mood and makes them want to and enjoy reading their issue. But there are secondary images on the contents page of other artists. This is important to include because if the reader doesn't like the main feature, then Billboard is still offering other interests to their audience. This is something I admire as I also don't want to limit myself to just one artist/band, I need to make sure that I am appealing to all of my target audience and exploring the whole of my genre. The secondary images are also at the top and neatly placed next to each other. By doing this it helps to bring back the idea of being organised and well placed. If the magazine appears to be to dysfunctional then the reader could get confused and get annoyed or irritated with the layout. Furthermore the smaller images are clearly labelled with pages numbers making it clear and easy for the reader to find the artist.

The contents page is also labelled into clear sub headings like "The Latin Kings" which also have page numbers referenced besides them, again supporting the idea of having a structured layout. However Billboard also offers to the reader different chances to explore a variety of genres, like the "The Latin Kings" and for them to see events involving "COUNTRY MUSIC". By Billboard doing this they are providing other genres to mix with pop and create new sounds. This is effective as Billboard are cleverly inviting a wider target audience base to their magazine very subtly and ambiguous. 

Deconstructing Billboard cover.

In this edition of Billboard the main focal point is the main image, being the artist 'Lady Gaga'. They have used a well known artist on the cover as she appeals to many readers, meaning that the audience will be attracted to the issue. This particular artist has been used because her music genre is mainly pop and she has a lot of fans. Lady Gaga, however is showcased in a provocative way, this could suggest that the magazine doesn't just want to sell to females who idolise her, but males as well. Also it could be that it leaves the reader in question, as she is showcased to be almost dangerous and intimidating making the reader feel compelled to see her feature in the issue. 

Furthermore the main colour scheme used in this issue is black, grey, white and purple. This colour scheme conveys a sense of sophistication, how they want to appeal to an older age group, been late teens, early twenties. They may want to do this so they can escape the stereotypical pop magazine. This is an idea that I would like to take on, to avoid the younger view on pop. Also the purple writing/symbols link with the models hair. This is done so that the reader doesn't feel overwhelmed with colour. They don't become confused by the cover and its overall look. The black, grey and white also compliment each other well as it again suggests this idea of sophistication but also simplicity, this idea of not suffocating the reader. On the other hand it helps with the idea of dangerous and intimidation as black has connotations of seriousness and mysterious. It's almost like the colour scheme wants to reflect on Lady Gaga, having this idea of with held information from the reader. They don't want to place everything on the front cover. 

However there are many cover lines used in this particular issue which are used as further incitement towards the reader. Especially when they write "SHE IS BACK" which makes the audience read on and see who the magazine is talking about. The magazine seems to cleverly with hold information by saying "SHE" instead of the name from the reader making the urge of knowing heightened. By placing most of the cover lines in bold and capitals it helps with the idea of importance, they want the text to stand out so that the reader can quickly scan it, yet they still want to read further. I find it interesting how the cover lines are beside and even placed behind the artist, suggesting that they are not as important and are not the main selling point. It just portrays that Lady Gaga is more significant and anything else is second best, they don't compare to her. This is what I plan to do with my music magazine as I feel that it's the artist who should be the focal point and not the cover lines.

How I can use existing music magazines?

Existing music magazines that I think that I can receive inspiration from is Billboard magazine. 
I have chosen this specific magazine as I believe that it really reflects my target audience, being female and aged between 15-25 year old (see previous blog post for more information on my audience). Also this magazine fits my genre, being pop, but it also seems to explore the boundaries of pop. This is the idea that  I would also like to explore and help me to influence my magazine. 

• What I really admire about the magazine is the use of the master head being one of the main focal points. It is constant in font, size and colours especially when it is used to create the unique coloured in title effect. Furthermore even though sometimes the master head may differ from black to white, it certainly is a recognisable name which is an influence I would like to obtain on my reader. How they will be able to pick out straight away my music magazine just by the master head. This is a common technique used by other magazines such as Top of the Pops, Rolling Stone and Blender.

• The colour white is mostly continuos throughout all of the issues. The colour white has different connotations of purity and this sense of innocence to it. This could be reflecting the whole pop genre how its ideology is supposed to be about this innocence and well cut image, like they can do no wrong. Even though I have discussed about wanting my target audience to have a rebellious side to them, I think that by using white it still helps to make that link between the pop genre, so that part of the pop music does not get forgotten about. I think that it is important that my magazine still refelxs where the indie pop sub genre came from... Pop. 

• Even though the master head supports this idea of familiarity to the reader, I also like how they present their model, most of the time being a mainstream singer or band. In this specific issue it is Beyonce (a house hold name) meaning that readers who don't usually read the magazine might take an interest due to the specific artist used. This is a concept I would like to enrol with my magazine, making the main image the most important feature as this is what takes the audiences interest, who appears in it and how the magazine has showcased them. I would like my model to present themselves as a typical, mainstream artist who tries to connect and even represent my target audience. I have chosen this issue as it is a head shot of the artist which I would like to use for my music magazine. However a problem with this could be that this technique is mainly used when the artist is well known and popular through a variety of people. 

• Lastly I also admire the way in which Billboard don't clutter their front cover and only have 5 short, simple cover lines that are set to the left third. This is effective as the reader doesn't feel overwhelmed with writing on the page and it doesn't distract them from the artist, which I believe should be the main focus of the magazine. I would like to use this idea for my magazine as I want the music and the different artists that I introduce to the reader to be the main focus.

Audience