Presentation1 evaluation

Music Industry Updates.

My music magazine follows many conventions of real media products. For example on all of my pages I have put a masthead in the top left hand side as when doing my research I realized a lot of big name music magazines such as NME had theirs in that position because of the power it adds to the page. Also the main images I have used throughout the magazine are mid shot images typical for a music magazine along with a barcode, price and consistent colour scheme. The Title of my media magazine is called MIU standing for music industry updates an originally thought of name from myself but in relation to other large music magazine brands. The colour scheme I have used is Red, Black and white, I decided to use these colours after getting my feedback from the questionnaires and also after researching a lot, seeing colours that look good and colours that don’t. Another convention I have followed is producing my product on an A4 piece of paper instead of any other. Before making my magazine I thought about what size I should use realizing A5 would be too overcrowded and not stand out on shop shelves practically well and A3 would be left with too much space or too much information putting off buyers.

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Conventions continued Even though I have followed many conventions of media which I agree helps the magazine sell I also feel I have challenged some forms of conventions. For example on my front cover I have used a female on the front cover but still strongly aim for my music magazine to be aimed at both genders. To get this across I feel using the colour scheme I did all being unisex colours will help this, making it attract both a male and females eye. To get this point across more I feel I could have used a photograph of a male on my magazine. As well as this after doing my research on the music magazine front covers I have noticed that it is not common for them to have borders at the bottom of the page. Even though I knew this I still wanted to use them making it tidier and to stand out more. Another thing I decided to put on the front cover of my magazine MIU challenging conventions is having a bonus free poster inside. Although I did this I think it will help attract my audience focusing on 16-19 year olds (my target audience) who are interested in the Indie genre.

Double page spread conventions

On my double page spread I have followed most common conventions putting a large image on one half of the page with the title/logo above. Following more conventions I put a title for the article overlapping the both pages with the article content on the other half of the page. Although I followed the typical double page spread conventions I challenged it slightly by not having the back ground a light colour which I had typically seen on music magazines. I felt this related more to the article as it was a dark time in the singer ‘Ellie Morris’s’ life, making the reader feel more engaged on the topic.

Contents page conventions

On my contents page I used columns which is typical for a contents page because it makes it more enjoyable to read and easier to find the information being looked for. Therefore I don’t feel I challenged any of the conventions on my contents page apart from the choice of photos mainly being photos of a female when targeting both gender.

2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents many different social groups. Firstly, it represents the indie-type culture and social group. I believe it is relevant to this group because of how it features a double page spread with an artist who describes her difficult journey with drink and drugs and her path to success. This would appeal to an indie social group because as she is an indie/pop singer-songwriter artist and many readers of this social group would enjoy that. Another social group this would represent would be music fanatics as this music magazine includes news about artists and gigs that are coming up soon. This would appeal to various music lovers as they could turn to my magazine to find out about the latest music news, information and tour dates including festival deals and promotion schemes with known companies such as ‘The Physical Network’.

3) Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience that MIU would attract I feel could vary. It would draw in an indie, punk and general music fanatic audience. This is assured because my magazine includes all the necessary content, for example, gig locations, information on upcoming artists, interviews with upcoming artists and general gossip and details of the music industry. This would be assured to draw in these types of readers and give them what they are after. Regarding age I aim to target 16-19 year olds, aiming mainly on students and passionate musicians who want to read a new music magazine with hopeful opportunities and information on their favorite artists and events. This is why on my double page spread I feel the article about ‘Ellie Morris’ is appropriate as it would involve people who love music but also give musicians a better idea about real life things that can happen whilst in the industry but not giving it such a negative impact, which in some cases is exaggerated to all be bad when featured in the news papers.

This is at the bottom of the my contents page and I think it would engage the music fanatic audience very well.

4) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Media institutions that would distribute my product would mostly be music industries. I would aspire for my magazine to be displayed in waiting rooms at record companies, displayed in high-end shops and also newsagents. This is because MIU would have a sense of superiority to other magazines, being affordable yet with a sense of class. I would want it to be displayed in record companies because this would be good way of advertising so my magazine would become well known, respected and talked about by people in the industry giving it a better name for itself. The reason I would want it to be distributed in newsagents as well as this is so it can get well known by a variety of customers. There will also be a website where there will be sneak previews of upcoming issues and it will be accessible to be ordered monthly by post and through mobile phone and tablet apps making it accessible on the go. I am hoping that this will create a regular demand for the product.

5) How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my audience by brainstorming and mind mapping what audiences would be relevant to what genres of magazine. As well as this I created my questionnaire and handed it around to get a view on the public demand for music magazines. After this I eventually decided to create an indie genre magazine as this currently is the most demanded. I feel that I have addressed my audience by including interesting topics and spreads in my magazine that would appeal to them specifically. As well as this I feel I have used appropriate language in my double page spread and throughout my magazine that would appeal to the teenage audience I aim to please. From all of my photos I feel that the model has been dressed appropriately to what people the age I aim to please would wear. For example ‘Geek glasses’ are popular with the age range I am targeting. Also the clothing that is featured in the photos are fashionable products which the average teenager would wear.

6) What have you learnt about technology?

For this project I have learnt a lot and developed my skills within technology. First of all when I made my sixth form magazine I used Microsoft word, this is why you can tell that the quality of that magazine is not as strong as my indie music magazine. Whereas when I made my music magazine I used Photoshop which I feel has developed my skills within technology and made my work a better quality. During the coursework I used blogger to present all of my work as it gives it a different edge. On blogger I enjoyed trying out different backgrounds until I found one that I think suited my style of work. As well as this I improved my skills with in general technology using the website Slideshare. This is where I’m uploading my evaluation, then will be posting it on to my blog so it is easy to access and makes it more enjoyable to read.

7) What do you feel you have learnt in the progression in the 2 tasks?

Throughout the two tasks I improved my general media skills. For example my photography skills have improved and my research skills. Which I feel has had a positive impact on my layout of the magazine and all of the other key conventions. I feel like my music magazine is a lot more professional than my sixth form magazine and it is noticeable that my editing skills have improved to suit the genre and target audience I am aiming for.