Research Feedback

Research is all but complete, Shauna, but you need to get your planning finished and on your blog for our return... You also must finish your prelim task when we get back - upload the contents page and add  few reflective comments.

Music Journalism

Sinking into a deep leather sofa in The Basement (an underground Indie bar in Manchester), I watch as the soft lighting dies out and the crowd erupts into applause as Strings finish their spectacular set. With passionate vocals and intricate riffs, they really must be inspired by Bombay Bicycle Club as they follow their quirky style and effortlessness. Seeing Strings perform live sends a shiver down my spine - they're incredibly talented and play with such an ease that they would inspire even the most tone deaf person to pick up a guitar and sing until they are hoarse and can't feel their fingertips, that's how they make you feel, they make it look so easy you think 'Hey, why couldn't I do that?'. 

I catch a glimpse of lead singer John Joseph White as he emerges from backstage, yanking up his chinos and smiling bashfully at the audience, who are staring back at him so adoringly, as he tries to make his way through the crowd. Whilst brushing his fringe from his face, he catches my eye and mouths 'one minute' to me, followed by a smile and thumbs up. Wearing a wrinkled white shirt, dark brown waistcoat and loafers, he stumbles towards me, drinks in hand, drops himself beside me on the sofa and hands me a glass. "FIND Magazine I'm guessing? I'm John-Joe" he says with a grin, "Magners alright?”

FIND: Well John-Joe, I must say Strings live up to their reputation... that was amazing!
John-Joe: I wouldn’t say amazing, but thanks anyway, glad you enjoyed it.

FIND: Talented and modest, a rare combination. So, I’ve got to ask, how did you know this was what you wanted to do for the rest of your life?

JJ: Well, as a kid I used to listen to my dad strumming away at his battered old 6-string Fender acoustic, I’d just sit there staring at him. He’s my inspiration really, I wanted to be better than him, to make him proud, you know?

FIND: Yeah, I know the feeling...

JJ: So I realised, I’d have to work damn hard to get there. I’d have to start at the bottom and work my way up in the music world.

FIND: How did you get started then?

JJ: I actually started busking in town; I’d stand in the street watching people bustling around with their shopping bags. Occasionally people would stand and listen or throw down a few coins, but I only really got recognition when I moved to busking in Manchester.

FIND: Bigger place, better audience?

JJ: Definitely! People seem to appreciate some backing music whilst they’re shopping haha.

FIND: So it all built up from there. How did you form Strings then if you started off as a solo artist?

JJ: Ah well, my best friend Mike came round to jam when we were younger, and we realised the music sounded more complete with a buzzing bass-line and some drums. So Mike, Tommy (our drummer) and me got busking together and got picked up as a band and we’ve been playing together since then!

FIND: So what’s the best gig you’ve played so far?

JJ: Oohhh, that’s a toughie... I do love playing outdoors, hence the busking, so I’d have to say playing on the BBC Introducing stage at Leeds Festival last summer. It was brilliant, the fact that people don’t really know who you are but still come to watch you anyway is great. It’s the best way to get your music out there – we’ve been really lucky actually.

FIND: Yeah, that’s where I first saw you guys, it was a great atmosphere, and you put on an electric performance.

JJ: Seriously? Cheers! I love festivals really, just a weekend of chilling out with mates and a few beers, seeing your favourite bands and being introduced to new music, it’s fantastic...

FIND: And don’t forget the food!
JJ: Yeah! Tonnes and tonnes of fast food vans... It’s heaven!

FIND: Of course. So, who are your musical influences? Any favourite bands?

JJ: Well, Mike’s a big fan of Foals, Tommy loves The Maccabees and Two Door Cinema Club, and I’m musically in love with Bombay Bicycle Club and think Florence And The Machine have an amazingly unique sound! It’s hard really to just love one band, I just love music. A beautiful melody and inspiring lyrics, it’s everything to me really.

FIND: I know what you mean. Music, if done correctly, can be so emotive and electric.

JJ: Yeah, exactly. It’s hard to describe how it makes you feel, but if you can just lose your inhibitions and completely let go when listening to music, that’s the feeling you want. Like you can actually feel the music... It sounds a bit pretentious really, but it’s just how I feel I guess.

FIND: Speaking of feelings, is there a special someone in your life? I’m sure your female fans are dying to find out!
JJ: Haha, be up front about it if you want!

FIND: Hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. So?

JJ: Well, I’m sorry to disappoint, but yes, there is a special someone. My gorgeous girlfriend Jules, she’s like my own little Mr. Motivator. She pushes me to do my best with everything, and won’t let me just give up on a song. If the lyrics or melody just aren’t coming to me, she’ll sit me down, make me a brew and we’ll cuddle up for a while, and just when I’m nice and relaxed thinking “I could stay here all day”, she’ll jump up and drag me back to work.

FIND: Haha, sounds like she wears the pants in this relationship!

JJ: Nah, we’re pretty equal, she just knows how much I want to make every song perfect and she’ll push me until it happens. I love her for it, bless her.

FIND: She seems to be a big part of Strings behind the scenes. Do the other lads not mind?

JJ: Not at all, surprisingly! They love her, and the more she pushes me to work, the less they have to do, so they’re happy with the set up.

FIND: Lucky them then. So... what now? What have Strings got planned for 2011?

JJ: Well, me and the boys are going away for a couple of weeks to Jules’ holiday home to get some well needed rest, it’s been a busy year with having our first album out and everything.

FIND: That’s a good gamble

JJ: Then we’ve been asked to play Leeds and Reading Festival this year, and not on the BBC Introducing stage! It should be great, ‘cause we’re good mates with the boys from Everything Everything so we can all just chill out. Then Strings are playing some more gigs round the UK, like a mini-tour.

FIND: Wow, another big year for your guys then?

JJ: Yeah, we’re so excited; we’re like kids at Christmas!

FIND: Haha, well it’s been great chatting to you John-Joe, good luck for this year, and I’ll try to catch up with you at Leeds, if you’re not too busy...

JJ: Sounds great, I’ll supply the Magners again, Bye!

Strings’ album It’s Looking Good is on sale now

Target Audience

My music magazine will be aimed at a niche audience of people who enjoy Folk and Indie music, this genre isn't mainstream so it would be difficult to find a lot of people who would buy this magazine, but I'd want it to be there for the people who are into this music as there are no Indie Folk music magazines out, even though the genre is growing more and more popular, maybe not in the top 40, but in the NME charts and this genre of music is being played a lot more on radio stations and music channels.

I will try to identify my target audience using GRASS:

Gender - Both male and female

Race - All races

Age - Late teens to early 20's

Socio-economic Status - Not specified to a certain class, probably A-C classes

My ideal reader would be the type of person to really enjoy music, go to gigs, spend their money on albums and music magazines instead of downloading all their music, and probably play guitar, sing or be really passionate about Indie, Folk, and new music. Their favourite bands would probably be the bands I have previously mentioned: Mumford & Sons, Bombay Bicycle Club, and Laura Marling, as they are all popular Indie Folk bands now. These people wouldn't be afraid of trying something new and being quirky, be it about fashion or the bands they like, they want to discover new things and have their own unique style and don't want to 'follow the crowd'.

Celebrities such as Sienna Miller are known for their 'Boho' style, which can be associated with Indie and Folk.

Men also follow the Indie/Folk style fashion, especially Marcus Mumford who is known not only for his music, but his folky style

Conventions of my music genre

The two genres of music I am basing my magazine around are Indie and Folk. Here are the explanations for these genres from Wikipedia (in italics) with some adaptations and comments from me (in normal font):

Indie music is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing, but Indie music nowadays doesn't follow this explanation. Quirky, soft rock inspired music is now referred to as 'Indie', which isn't necessarily Independant music, but follows the typical conventions of Indie music in it's new sense.

Folk music is a term for 'musical folklore'. The term, which originated in the 19th century, has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by word of mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles. Since the middle of the 20th century, the term has also been used to describe a kind of popular music that is based on traditional music. Fusion genres include folk rock, electric folk, folk metal, and progressive folk music. Folk music is becoming a well known and popular genre this year, thanks to folk inspired bands like Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling, and Bombay Bicylcye Club.

Typical Instruments

Indie/Folk bands use a number of typical instruments in most bands, these instruments include:

• acoustic guitars
• microphone
• keyboard
• drums/drum machine 

Some other bands use other instruments to create a unique sound, like

• harp
• harmonica
• synthesizer
• tambourine
• banjo
ukelele
double bass

The image below is a photograph of Florence And The Machine's set before the band come onstage. I'm featuring this image as it shows the use of intricate and unique instruments, as you can see there is a harp on the far left hand side of the stage. Florence And The Machine use the harp to create an individual and memorable sound, you know a certain song is being performed by this band within the first few bars, this is important for a band to make them recognisable to the public.

The image below is a photograph of Mumford & Sons. This band is well known for their intricate riffs and individual sound. I'm including this image to show the use of instruments such as a banjo, double bass, and ukelele. The use of these instruments are what make the unique sound that Mumford & Sons are famous for. They are now popular Folk icons and include a number of typical conventions from this genre.



Colours and Costumes

There are a number of typical colours used in this genre of music. Most colours are usually quite neutral like brown, green, beige, black, and white. These colours are all quite natural colours which convey an image of the artist being Folk or Indie, as bands of this genre are known for being quirky and unique. People also associate Folk music with the Irish, as it was a very popular music form in Ireland. Also, the image of Folk bands mainly consist of looking like 'farmers' some people would say, they don't wear costume, but their outfits usually consist of waistcoats, flatcaps, straw hats and white shirts. Female folk artists also continue this look of wearing quite neutral colours and plain outfits, like Laura Marling, she's usually seen wearing a oversized shirt and skinny jeans/pants normally rolled up at the ankles. Also, female folk artists aren't known for wearing a lot of makeup or taking on a 'daring' look, they give off the impression that they are natural, showing an image of purity, probably trying to show that they're music gives a natural feel, as though they don't try hard at all to create such magical music. These outfits give off the impression that the band is quite normal, they do not need to put on a costume and look ridiculous for people to like them, they want to be known for their musical talent, not for wearing something show-stoppingly stupid. These bands have raw talent that should be recognised and appreciated instead of being covered up by a costume, or some alter ego 'persona' they use to perform as, and I think that's what Indie/Folk bands try and portray in their outfits, either that or I'm reading far too much into it! 
I will use this information in my photo shoot, as I will try to continue this look on the models used in my pictures. I want them to look like a typical Indie Folk band and to achieve this they need to follow the typical colours, outfits and props used in other bands.

Feedback

Well done, Shauna - you are making good progress with catching up on this. You only seem to need some research into the conventions of your music genres and posts into your target audience and their tastes. use my feedback comments on each post to help improve these further.

Complete this and you only need to work on your planning now!

Can you try and use the label box on each post to tell me what it is e.g. research, planning. If you are unsure how to use this, let me know!

Magazine Titles

As I have said in previous posts, magazine titles are very inmportant to establish the genre of music the magazine is representing and also to attract readers to the magazine itself.

As you can see in this image, most magazine titles are have a certain criteria:

• Memerable name
• Eye catching colours
• Sharp, stand out fonts

The title of my magazine will be FIND (Folk & Indie's New Direction). This name, I think, has the same effect as NME because it's using the first letters of words from an important phrase, as the phrase usually indicates what the magazine is about. I also chose this name for my magazine as when you discover something new, you'd say it was a 'new find', which is what my magazine will be, a new find. My magazine will also introduce people to new music, artists and bands so that music will be a new find for people.

Institutions

Magazines will always have a company to produce their product for them. This will enable them to print, distribute and sell a huge number of magazines either weekly, monthly or annually. I have researched into some magazines and their producers.

• NME Magazine - IPC Media (formerly International Publishing Corporation), a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc, is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the UK.
• Q Magazine - Bauer Media Group (Bauer Verlagsgruppe), a large German publishing company based in Hamburg which operates in 15 countries worldwide.
• Rolling Stone - Jann Simon Wenner (born January 7, 1946) is the co-founder and publisher of this music and politics biweekly, as well as the owner of Men's Journal and Us Weekly magazines.
• Kerrang! - Also published by the Bauer Media Group.

I would want my magazine to be published by IPC Media because they publish NME magazine which is very popular and it's the magazine most similar to my own, so this would result in my magazine, hopefully, making similar sales to NME magazine.

Top 40 Singles 8th December 2010

1. Willow Smith - Whip My Hair
2. The Black Eyed Peas - The Time (Dirty Bit)
3. Ellie Goulding - Your Song
4. Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)
5. The XFactor Finalists - Heroes
6. Far East Movement - Like A G6
7. Olly Murs - Thinking Of Me
8. Rihanna - What's My Name
9. David Guetta - Who's That Chick
10. Nicole Scherzinger - Poison
11. Katy Perry - Firework
12. Coldplay - Christmas Lights
13. Michael Jackson - Hold My Hand
14. JLS - Love You More
15. Alexa Goddard - Turn My Swag On
16. Take That - The Flood
17. Alexandra Burke - The Silence
18. McFly - Shine A Light
19. Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are
20. Alexis Jordan - Happiness
21. Cee Lo Green - Forget You
22. Kylie Minogue - Better Than Today
23. Mike Posner - Cooler Than Me
24. Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You
25. N-Dubz - Girls
26. Eminem - Love The Way You Lie
27. Nelly - Just A Dream
28. The Pogues - Fairytale Of New York
29. P!nk - Raise Your Glass
30. Adele - Make You Feel My Love
31. will.i.am & Nicki Minaj - Check It Out
32. Jessie J - Do It Like A Dude
33. Manic Street Preachers - Some Kind Of Nothingness
34. The Wanted - Lose My Mind
35. Afrojack - Take Over Control
36. The Saturdays - Higher
37. Michael Bublé - Hollywood
38. Cheryl Cole - Promise This
39. Usher - More
40. Tinchy Stryder - Game Over

This is the official chart update from BBC Radio 1

There are very little songs, if any, included in the Top 40 which fit into my genre of Indie/Folk music. This is mainly because this genre of music isn't mainstream and will only appeal to a niche audience, but with my music magazine, I would be hoping to introduce this genre of music to more people so that everyone can enjoy and appreciate it. I want to do this without making it too mainstream that the original fans lose interest because it's 'too public' and I don't want this music to be 'ruined and overplayed' as some people view most mainstream music.

Music magazine circulation figures

The following information is the current music magazine circulation figures from 6 months, ending in June 2010. Some magazines publish their circulation figures every 6 months yet others do so yearly.

• Kerrang! 41,125 (43,253 / 52,272)
• Metal Hammer 41,777 (46,004 / 50,269)
• Mixmag 26,116 (30,159)*
• Mojo 98,484 (97,722 / 100,507)
• NME 38,486 (40,948 / 48,459)
• Q 94,811 (100,172 / 103,107)
• Top of the Pops 107,576 (119,739)*
• Uncut 75,518 (76,526 / 87,069)

The latest figures are seen in bold text, with the previously posted figures in brackets. The information followed by an asterisk are the music magazines who publish their circulation annually, so the comparisons with the biannual posters should be taken against the second bracketed figure to get a full year on year picture.

(This information was found on http://dezji.wordpress.com/2010/02/18/uk-music-magazine-circulation-figures-to-dec-2009/ and had been taken from the information posted on ABC).

Some of the magazines who post their circulation figures may show a significant decrease from the last time their figures were posted. This may be because the magazine was popular with an older generation, and as the generation are decreasing, so are the magazine sales. Another reason is that people are turning to the internet for their music, so they don't need to actually buy a music magazine to get any information they want, as they can find exactly the same information on the magazine's website. Also, people now download music and aren't interested on which albums they can buy from where, because they can just legally, or not, download it. This is putting a huge pressure on the music industry, especially magazine and album sales, as people feel they no longer need them. Hopefully the crackdown on illegal downloading will have a positive effect on this.
This shows that I will have to give the audience exactly what they want so my magazine will keep up it's sale figures, the audience will only buy what they want to read. I will also include a website for my magazine on the front cover, probably underneath the title, to show the audience that there is more to offer from the magazine online. This will also help my magazine if people don't have any money at the time they want to buy the magazine, they can just go on the website and access the information they wanted to read about.

Band images for my front cover

The layout of the artist image featured on the front cover of my magazine will depend on whether I'm featuring a band, or a singer songwriter.

If my featured artist is a singer songwriter, they would be the center of the image as, of course, they are alone. I would have a midshot of the artist, showing them close enough to establish who they are yet far away enough to ensure that it's not just their face taking up the room. A midshot would be the best option because that would allow enough room for props, such as a guitar, to be featured in the image. This would then tell the reader what kind of music that artist plays, and also the genre that the magazine mainly represents. This is important to appeal to the audience as they will see that they will definately like the artist/magazine. Here are some examples:

Whereas, if my feature artist is a band, I will arrange the band so that they are all stood together, lined up, to ensure that there is no favouritism or ignorance shown by the magazine. Most music magazines with a band on the front cover will arrange them so that the lead singer is in front of the rest of the band, but some people may see this as unfair, as the lead singer is 'most popular' and the rest of the band seem to be ignored, but I want the image to make the band look like equals, because they're in this together. On the other hand, some magazines set up the band in such ways as height order, this is to make the image seem more artistic to draw the readers attention to the image which will then interest them in the article, and the magazine, resulting in higher sales. Music magazines with bands on the fron cover may also photograph the band huddled quite close together, this may be for one of two reasons: Firstly, the band are photographed close together to leave more space on the front cover for other important titles, subheadings, or storylines. The second reason, would be to give the impression that the band, as people, are quite a close-knit band, they may be friends outside the band and are intimate and friendly, they would want this to be shown in the photograph to incourage readers to like them as they give off an impression that is aimeable.
Here are some examples:

Journalistic style and structure

The double page article in my music magazine will be an interview with the band featured on the front cover of said magazine. I want to keep the journalistic style quite informal with open questions to create a relaxed atmosphere with the artist. Keeping the questions informal will make the artist feel comfortable during the interview which should spur them on to answering the questions more honestly as they are relaxed in the environment. I will also be having open questions so that the artist won't feel as though they are being pushed towards a certain answer, and this way, I may be able to uncover information about the band that I would love to know which I may not have asked about. Along with the use of informal language, the interviewer may also use technical language about the music to make it seem professional and intelligent perhaps.

Most music magazines, like NME, have a similar journalistic style to their interviews, probably for similar reasons; that they want the artist to be relaxed enough to answer the questions in the most interesting a detailed way.

The structure of my article will be similar to most music magazines, like the one above. I will have the main artist image taking up most of one page, including the title and subtitle, then the article will take up the other page. I will begin the interview with a paragraph establishing the scene so that the reader can visualise the interview whilst they read. In this paragraph, I will also include some details about the band, like what they are most famous for, who's actually in the band, what they are wearing etc.

"In the garden of a craftsman bungalow, in the shade of a jacaranda tree, a hammock sways in the late summer heat. It is a scene of idyllic bliss, disturbed only by the sounds of hummingbirds, two kids screaming, violent neighbours and police helicopters swirling around in the sky. Beside the hammock sit the four women of Warpaint, sipping on mineral water, puffing on homemade fagsm fiddling with their scuzzed-up hair and looking like an American Apparel advert that's been rolled in the mud."

This is the beggining paragraph to an article about the band 'Warpaint' from the 9th October 2010 issue of NME. This is how I want to start my interview, with the establishing paragraph. The journalism used in NME is the inspiration for my article, as it is quite informal and colloquial, appealing to a younger audience and making them more interested in the article as they can relate to the language and slang used.


In articles like this, the titles and text grabs usually stand out from the rest of the text so that they can grab the reader's interest and attention. The text used in these sections are snippets from the interview from the artist featured. Typically, it's information that will sound interesting, for example "Pete Doherty said to me 'God, you're really f****d, you need to go to bed'. That was sobering". That's a text grab from an NME interview with The Wombats. Using quotes like this will grab people's attention as they are usually something shocking or interesting that the artist has revealed. These text grabs are usually in larger text and bolder fonts to further stand out from the rest of the article. The same technique is used with the title, it has to be eye catching, interesting and is usually another quote from the interview or a pun on the band name or album name, for example, "World Of Warpaint" is the title of an NME interview with Warpaint. This title is effective as it's a pun on the computer game World Of Warcraft and it also includes the band name to show that the article revolves around them.

Research Feedback

Shauna - the research you have done is of a proficient quality but there are still a lot of gaps here which you need to work at to cover enough range to get a good mark.I know you have been off last week and this hasn't helped. You need to get your prelim finished as a matter of urgency and uploaded to your blog, when you return. You will also need to work hard to get back on track with all the work!

Conventions of the contents page of a music magazine

The image above is the contents page from 'Q' magazine. The main features of a contents page is another image of the main artist featured on the front cover and in the main article. The contents page for a music magazine is important because it gives the reader all the information they need to know about that issue, for example, what else is included in that magazine, including other articles, music reviews, quizzes etc.

The layout for contents pages are usually very similar. They appear to be split into three columns: the first column tells the reader what is included on which page, as you can see in the above image, the number is shown and then a title of what will be found on that certain page. The two other columns are usually taken up by the image of the main artist.

Above these three columns is usually a 'contents page' title, and below the main image, there is usually some more information about that issue, for example, other features in that issue.

The magazine title is usually featured on the contents page, and the house colour scheme is usually followed on from the front cover to the contents page.


Typically, contents pages use bold fonts and buzzwords to attract a readers information to certain articles and things that the magazine is offering. Usually, words like 'WIN' and 'FREE!' are used to draw attention from the reader as there is a reward on offer, this appeals to many people, competitive or not, as everyone likes to get something they want, especially for free. The creators of the magazine are, in a way, trying to sell the product by the words they use and the features they offer so that the reader will become interested and possibly attached to that magazine and will continue to buy it as they like the features and the journalistic skill involved in articles, the readers need to be able to connect with the journalist and understand the type of words they use. These are all features I will include in my own magazine.

Conventions of a music magazine double page article

The image above is a double page article featuring Kings Of Leon. A main feature of a double page article in a music magazine is an image of the featured artist, which usually takes up most, or all, of one of the pages. The image used is usually either a midshot or a longshot of the band being interviewed. Another main feature is a title of the article; usually a pun on the artist/album name. The title is usually a lot larger than the rest of the article and is eye catching. Another feature used in double spread articles are quotes from the interview, which are usually in a different colour and size of font so that the reader has an idea of what the article will include. A final typical convention of articles are the use of dropcaps at the start of the main body of text, this draws the reader's eye to the main text so they begin reading the article.

The main image in this article gives the impression that the artist, Pink, is friendly and this gives the impression that the article will be positive, interesting and funny to read. Using a photograph that gives this impression is a typical and important feature in music articles as it will make people want to buy the magazine to read the article, especially if they are interested in the artist, which is why the artists used are usually very popular at the time or are releasing a new album, or are making a comeback.

The colour scheme used in the main articles are important as there needs to be a good contrast between the background colour and the text colour. The contrast in colours is important so that the article is easy to read and won't aggravate the readers eyes.


The layout of double page articles are usually very similar. The main body of text is usually right aligned and split into columns to make the article look creative yet be easy enough for the reader to see and understand, as sometimes if the article is set as one major block of text, it can create problems for the reader as words can visually get muddled up which will confuse the reader and take away from the journalistic skill used in the article. 
The use of white space around the text to split from the image, as seen in the article with Pink to continue to make the article easier for people to read and it also puts a lot of focus on the image itself.

These are all very typical conventions used in magazine articles and are all features I would include in my magazine.

Conventions of the front cover of a music magazine

The first and most important feature of a music magazine is the title. The title can tell a person what genre of music the magazine specializes in or if the magazine will accomodate a more mainstream audience. Music magazine titles often give the reader a clue of the genre of music, for example, 'NME' or 'New Musical Express' tells a reader that this magazine focuses on new music that's popular and 'on the scene'. The title of a music magazine has to stand out to the reader so that they know which magazine they are buying and what music the magazine specializes in. The colour scheme of a music magazine title can also tell the readers what kind of music it includes, for example, NME uses red, black and white in the title. This colour scheme would give readers the impression that it's focussed on Indie/Rock music, as these colours are used a lot on other Indie or Rock magazines such as 'Rolling Stone' or 'Q'.

Another main feature of a music magazine is a photograph of a popular artist, usually the artist on the front cover is featured in a double spread article inside the magazine. The artist is usually the main image on the front cover and the image used is generally a midshot of either the lead singer or whole group. Typically, the photograph of the main artist overlaps the title of the magazine, this indicates that the artist featured is more important than the actual magazine. This draws readers attention, especially if they are fans of that particular artist.

Another convention of a music magazine is usually that they are giving something away. Using the word 'free' in a bold, eye catching font is very helpful in drawing a reader's attention to the magazine. Typically, music magazines give away free posters, free music downloads and possibly gig tickets or prizes.

There are many other conventions of music magazine front covers, including:

• subtitles of other articles or bands included in the magazine
• the date of issue
• the magazine price
• the barcode
• eye catching fonts
• colour schemes
• typical costumes or props for the main photograph

All these conventions are common on the front cover of music magazines and are all features I will use in my own magazine to give it a professional look and for it to appeal to readers. I will also adapt some of the features, like the colour scheme to appeal to my certain genre and to make my magazine unique.

Initial Research

I've found some covers of NME magazine where some Indie/Folk bands have been featured as the cover band.

Firstly, is Mumford & Sons:

On this front cover there are a number of features which I would have to include on my own music magazine, for example, the masthead 'NME' is very prominent and brightly coloured, this will initially draw the readers attention to the title. Another feature is that there is a banner across the top of the cover telling readers about other articles included in the magazine. 

The second artist in the genre I've chosen is Laura Marling:

Another main feature of music magazines is that the image of the artist featured on the front cover is usually overlapping the title. This gives the impression that the artist themselves are more important than the actual magazine. This will make people want to buy and read this magazine as they can see that there is something very important featured in it. Another feature is that the colours in the font and image are all following a certain scheme, so they're all very similar. This is important so the magazine looks professional and it isn't too 'messy' as all the colours go together and the cover just seems to flow.

This next image is an interview in NME with Laura Marling. This will give me and idea of the writing skill and layout used in music journalism. A main feature in music journalism articles is that there is a main image of the artist usually covering a whole page, like the one below. This is important as it's dramatic and eye catching. Also, there is a title for the article layered on the main image. Usually in music magazines, they use features such as drop caps and text alignment to make the article look professional. Another common feature is also that there is another small image of the main artist featured within the article, and there is also a quote from the artist which is in larger and usually a different font, this gives readers a taste of what they will be reading to make them more interested in the article.

The last image I wanted to post is an article in NME about Bombay Bicycle Club. I'm posting this as research to the type of journalistic writing I will have to include in my magazine. This image also gives me an idea of the layout for articles in music magazines.

This image is of another type of article featured in music magazines - this is an album review. In these articles there are a number of similar features as there are in the main article, for example, the drop cap, main title, artist image, colour scheme and text alignment. These are all features I will have to include in my own magazine to give it a professional and eye catching feel.

Identifying a USP

USP is a Unique Selling Point that makes media texts stand out from the rest, to be unique and individual to attract readers. 

Most music magazines only include articles written by music journalists and pictures taken by professional photographers. The USP for my magazine is that we will include articles and photographs that have been sent to us by budding music journalists, photographers, or just anyone that feels passionate about music. Of course, we will proof read all articles and review the photographs sent in by readers to ensure that they are suitable to be published and sold to the public. But if the articles and photographs sent to us are suitable, they will be featured in a specific section of our magazine. The aim of this is to inspire people to be involved in the magazines they read and to give a chance to people wishing to pursue a career in music journalism or photography.

Another USP is that my music magazine focuses on Indie/Folk acoustic music, which is aimed at a very niche audience. This is a USP because not many, if any, music magazines just focus on this genre of music.

Preliminary Task

This is my college magazine which I created for my preliminary task.

Initial Ideas

I'm going to base my magazine on Indie/Folk acoustic music and will include photographs from gigs that I've been to, Open Mic Nights that I've played and some photographs I've taken from Leeds Festival 2010. My magazine will be aimed at quite a niche audience who enjoy intricate riffs and tunes, which folk music is based around, along with passionate vocals and a number of instruments.

I got the inspiration for my own magazine from some of my favourite bands, for example: Mumford & Sons, Bombay Bicycle Club and Laura Marling. These bands are all based around Indie and Folk music, most of which is acoustic so they will be perfect bands to be included in my magazine.

I will also include an aspect of more Indie Rock music too, with bands like: Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys and maybe involve older musicians like Morrisey.

I want to create an Indie/Folk acoustic music magazine as there aren't many magazines like this which would give it a different appeal to audiences. I will be writing my main article about my own made up artist which will, of course, be an acoustic Indie/Folk band. These two genres of music go well together as the music that's created is quite calm and relaxing yet passionate and intricate. 

Introduction

I'm Shauna Mooring and I'm an AS Media student.

I have decided to study the print project so that I can create my own music magazine consisting of a title page, contents page and a two page spread article.

I'm doing the music magazine project because I love music and want to go on from college to study music journalism, so this would be good practice!