Music Magazine Planning

Music Magazine –

Planning & Analysis

*Vanessa

What genre did you choose and why?

• I chose to create my music magazine based on a hip-hop/Urban genre. I chose this genre because I listen to it and I feel that I know a lot about it. In addition to this, I feel that it is a good genre because it is very broad and has many sub-genres for example, rap and urban contemporary. This will enable me to branch off to a sub-genre and let me include as much in my magazine as possible, as well as enabling me to cater for a wider target audience.

Deeper analysis: Hip-hop/Urban

• What is Hip-hop?Hip-hop is a genre used to denote personal, social and political issues.It is derived from DJ-ing, rapping and beatboxing.

• British Hip-hopThe British hip-hop scene was influenced by the New York hip-hop scene.

• What is R&B?R&B is a wide genre of music created by African Americans in the late 1940s

Hip-hop is a very broad genre and has may sub genres. It is closely interlinked with R&B.

Because these two genres are closely related, they have blended together. R&B is widely popular and has many branches, for example:

• Mainstream urbanThis is a radio format similar to urban contemporary.This included Hip hop, which catered to young listeners and became common in the mid

1990s. The demographic of the format is 16-34 years.

• Urban contemporaryUrban contemporary, which is commonly known as ‘Contemporary R&B’, is a music

radio format and is made up of hip-hip, contemporary R&B, urban pop and sometimes reggae and soca. The term ‘urban contemporary’ was fabricated by the late DJ Frankie Crocker in the 1970s.

RWD (Rewind) magazine• RWD magazine started in 2003.

• It is the largest magazine on urban music and lifestyle in the united kingdom.

• It includes interviews, news about the celebrities and charts on hip-hop, R&B and UK Garage to name a few.

• The magazine is also associated with Channel AKA (formerly Channel U), as they both appealed to many aspiring artists from the grime scene and allowed them to do independently what they could have previously only done with the backing of a major record label.

• RWD magazine provides a platform for emerging unsigned artists to get their names and faces recognised.

• The magazine was distributed monthly, distributing 36,040 each time.

• The target audience is people who are interested in urban music and culture.

RWD magazine analysis – How does the cover appeal to the target

audience?The mast head is very eye catching and the name directly relates to music (Rewind). Shortening it to ‘RWD’ gives it youth and is also a slang/texting term. This appeals to the target audience as it is a commonly used word/ action in day to day life.

Picture of the latest dance craze if people are already familiar with the dance, it will entice them to buy it. However if they haven’t heard about it, the words ‘Dance Craze’ would make them want to buy it to see what its all about.

The colour scheme of yellow and purple appeals to both males and females and it gives the cover a youthful look.

The backgrounds behind each picture look digital and make it look futuristic, which enforces the point that it is for a younger audience.

The image inside the T.V. connotes the influence of media and how popular the dance is. It appeals to the target audience by using a T.V. which is something everyone watches and can

relate to.

Vibe Magazine• Vibe magazine started in 1993.

• Vibe magazine featured predominantly hip-hop and R&B artists.

• The target audience was young people interested in urban culture.

• Vibe made a constant effort to feature people of all ethnicities.

• Clothing brands created by hip-hop celebrities for example ‘Sean John’ by Sean Coombs, ‘G-Unit’ by 50 Cent and ‘Apple Bottoms’ by Nelly got lots of exposure in Vibe magazine.

• The readership of Vibe was an estimated 800,000 in 2007 and this was said to be due to celebrity endorsed fashion lines and cognac brands.

Vibe magazine analysis – How does the cover appeal to the target audience?

The masthead is larger than usual and is one of the first things you notice. This is key for any good magazine because they need the name to be eye catching and memorable and this is a great way to do it.The main article is about the cover artist Chris Brown. It is quite obvious that it is an important article and the use of font types enforces this. The words ‘Is that..’ are in italics, which imply that there could have been a change in that star. It also gives a sense of verisimilitude because you could imagine a real voice saying ‘Is that Chris Brown?’

This issue doesn’t conform to the rule of the left hand third because all the information on the articles are on the right hand side.

The colour scheme is based around four colours: White, Red, Green and Black. The important information sis in red or white which catches the potential buyers’ eye. For example: the words ‘Is that Chris Brown?’ is in white and ‘Virgin’ is in red. Straight away this is seen and the fonts and colours act as a persuasive device to entice people to buy it

There are 2 bubbles on the page that imply that we are getting something extra when we buy the magazine. E.g. ‘THE MEGA MUSIC ISSUE’

The source magazine• The source magazine

started in 1988 and it was set up to cater for Hip-hop fanatics.

• It coined the name ‘The Bible of Hip-hop’.

• It is the worlds second longest running rap magazine.

• It features hip-hop music, culture and politics

• It is said to be one of the largest and most influential hip-hop magazines in America.

The source magazine analysis – How does the cover appeal to the target

audience? Title in capitals and bold – this is common to male orientated magazines and appeals to the target audience more rather than feminine curly writing.

The puff/tagline at the top of the magazine is very eye-catching and it uses a personal voice to influence the reader to purchase it and read on.The cover artist is

Lil’ Wayne, who is very popular and the words on the cover say: ‘High Minded: inside the brain of Lil’ Wayne’. Phrasing and wording is very important when selling a magazine as it can be the factor that depends on how many issues sell. This is a very good persuasive device because he is so popular people would want to ‘get inside the brain’ of him and read about how and why he is so successful.

This magazine doesn’t conform to the rule of the left side third because all the information about articles are on the right.The colour scheme is very basic and consistent. This could be due to the fact that it is targeted at a male audience. An other reason could be that it is a colour commonly worn by the cover artist (Lil’ Wayne).

Vibe, RWD & Source – Comparing the three

The one thing that all these magazines have in common is that they are all targeted at people who listen to Hip-Hop and other types of urban music. They all use different persuasive devices to attract people to buy the magazine such as italics and bold headings.

Audience profile

Kieran is 16 and he lives in South London. He is a sixth form student studying Media, Maths and PE. He spends his spare time doing homework and spending time with his friends. His preferred genre of music is hip-hop, although he sometimes listens to funky house and R&B. He currently buys HHC magazine (Hip-Hop Connection magazine) which is sold weekly, for £3.75.

Information from:

• Wikipedia• Google search engine• www.Rwdmag.com• www.thesource.com • www.vibe.com• http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/06/30/

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