13. Draft For Contents Page

                                                                           


The first shot of the contents page was in progress. I liked the use of the masthead to create a heading for the contents page. I also liked the text used for the numbering and detail to briefly describe what was on each page. At that stage, there were no images and the page numbering wasn't complete. The second shot is of the contents page currently. I made the articles that were mentioned on the front cover more obvious by making the numbers yellow and slightly bigger. I added two images to fill the gaps and I lined up the text boxes so that there were two columns that were in line, rather than fitted around the picture. In the first shot, I was going to create headings to put the pages under, although I couldn't categorise the pages. The cover story is now easy to find as there is a bold 'COVER STORY' next to the page the cover story is on. I took a screen shot of the front cover for the image in the top left. The other image is of a guitar, which fits in well with 'The Ultimate Guitar Issue'. To improve this, I could have cut around the guitar (making the background transparent). This would give me more room for text, or I could make the image bigger. Another thing I could do to improve is add a washed out image for the background. I kept the background colour the same as the front cover for consistency, although an image could look better, if I could get the right thing. 

13. Flat Plan For Double Page Spread

13. Flat Plan for Contents Page

12. Draft 6

12. Draft 5

Changes from Draft 4:

• The background image has been added
• There is a bottom banner with a cover line
• There is a barcode 
• There is an issue number, price and date
• The main coverline has been adjusted to fit the image
• The space in the top banner has been filled
• 2 coverlines have been added
• The plug and puff have been moved to fit the image

Likes:

• I like the colours used as they are consistent
• I like the positioning of the image (it was originally the other way round but it needed to be flipped to fit the convention of the magazine
• The background image is not too bright, fitting in with the genre
• The barcode is about the right size

Dislikes:

• The image could have been cut out better, although the line around the subject gives a good effect

12. Draft 1 to Draft 4

Changes:

• Plug & puff (Win! Tickets to see any band in this week's Gig Guide!
• Main cover line (The ULTIMATE Guitar Issue 2013)
• Masthead is darker

What I like: 

• The angle of the main coverline
• The colours used in the main cover line
• The bright colour used for the plug and puff to make it stand out
• The size of the masthead
• The colours used

What I dislike:

• The gap in the banner at the top
• The position of the main coverline
• The position of the plug & puff

12. Draft 1

Things I could do to improve:

• Add a main image for the background
• Add an image along the top by the banner
• Make the banner smaller
• Make the masthead taller
• Add coverlines
• Add a main cover line
• Add a plug or puff

11. Survey

I created a survey (using Survey Monkey), with the following questions relating to music magazines:

1. Do you read music magazines?
2. If yes, how often do you read music magazines?
3. If yes, which music magazines do you read?
4. How many music magazines can you name?
5. Which music magazines do you think are most appropriate with teenagers (aged 13-19)?
6. Which music magazines do you think are most appropriate with adults (aged 20+)?
7. In your opinion, which is the biggest selling music magazine?
8. What do you think makes music magazines popular?
9. Who do you think the majority of music magazines are aimed at and why?
10. What is your overall opinion on music magazines? Which genres are most appropriate? Which genres are most popular?

I recieved the following responses (from 10 people):

Q1. Do you read music magazines?

Yes: 6

No: 4

Q2. If yes, how often do you read music magazines?

Very Often: 1

Often: 2

Sometimes: 3

Rarely:

Other: 4 (Don’t read them)

Q3. If yes, which music magazines do you read?

Kerrang!: 2

NME: 2

Rocksound:

Clash:

Mojo:

Q:

Top Of The Pops:

Classic Rock: 1

Metal Hammer:

Alternative Press:

Rolling Stone: 1

Other: 4 (Don’t read them)

Q4. How many music magazines can you name?

Answers:

·      Rock Sound, Kerrang!, NME, Alternative Press

·      Kerrang!

·      NME, Metal Hammer, Q, Kerrang!

·      I don’t know

·      See above! (I don’t read them)

·      NME, Kerrang!, Rock Sound

·      Q, Top Of The Pops, Rolling Stone, Classic Rock

·      Q

·      Rolling Stone, NME, Metal Hammer

·      Kerrang!, Rock Sound, NME, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Q

Q5. Which music magazine do you think is most popular with teens (aged 13-19)?

Kerrang: 4

NME: 2

Rock Sound: 1

Clash:

Mojo:

Q:

Top Of The Pops: 2

Classic Rock:

Metal Hammer:

Alternative Press: 1

Rolling Stone:

Q6. Which music magazine do you think is most popular with adults (20+)?

Kerrang!: 1

NME:1

Rock Sound:

Clash:

Mojo: 1

Q: 2

Top Of The Pops:

Classic Rock: 1

Metal Hammer: 1

Alternative Press:

Rolling Stone: 3

Q7. In your opinion, which is the biggest selling music magazine?

Kerrang!: 4

NME: 3

Rock Sound:

Clash:

Mojo:

Q: 1

Top Of The Pops:

Classic Rock:

Metal Hammer:

Alternative Press: 1

Rolling Stone: 1

Q8. What do you think makes music magazines popular?

Good music

Relating to what people want

Good articles and reviews

Relevant content

What the readers want

Catchy cover

Popular, well known artists and bands

Decent music

Good coverage of recent music news

Good, informative cover

Q9. Who do you think buys the most music magazines and why?

Teens… to find out about their favourite artists

Teenagers because they have more time to listen to music and read the magazine

Teenagers… because they buy the most music

Teens because they are the most likely to listen to music

Teenagers, because they know all about the new music

Adults, because they are into more serious music magazines and news

Teens as they like to read about celebrities and their lives

I don’t know

Teenagers, as they always have time to sit and read magazines

Teens as they like to find out news about their favourite artists

Q10. What is your overall opinion on music magazines?

I like them

I prefer listening to music than reading about it

I think they are great and can be very informative

They’re good to read

Rock is an appropriate genre, but I think that indie music is popular

I enjoy reading them

I have no overall opinion

I don’t read them, but I think they are good

They are reasonably priced and they often give things away which is good

I think pop is popular

I think that indie music is the most appropriate

11. Flat Plan For Front Cover

11. Proposal For My Music Magazine

I am aiming my magazine at both genders. More specifically around 14 - 18 year olds who listen to rock, alternative rock or indie music. The image that will attract this audience will be an image of someone with their guitar, most likely against a plain wall, playing. This will link in with the main cover line 'The Guitar Issue 2013'. My magazine will contain articles about recent, relevant music news that will be an interest to the reader. It will also contain new album reviews from a variety of artists and interviews from relevant artists. There will also be posters and a gig guide. My ideas for coverlines include;

• Win! Tickets to see ANY band in this week's Gig Guide
• The stars speak! Hear what they've got to say about some of the UK's biggest festivals
• In the studio with While She Sleeps
• Frank Turner: In the UK
• 7 NEVER seen before photos of Panic! At The Disco 
• Read pages from 12 year old Pete Wentz's diary!
• 2013's 50 best singles! Including All Time Low, You Me At Six and Pierce The Veil
• The world tour that 2013 will never forget

I would use bold, sans serif fonts for my masthead and possibly my main coverline to make it stand out. I would use serif fonts for the rest of my coverlines and the small, detailed text. I have decided to use the masthead: 'BAM!'. This stands for Best Alternative Music. 

I had a few ideas for the fonts of the masthead:

BAM!

             Best Alternative Music

BAM!

 Best Alternative Music

BAM!

Best Alternative Music

I am going to use the first font as it is eye-catching and quite unique. I had some other ideas for names, but I rejected them as they weren't appropriate or relevant to the genre. These were:

• In-Scene
• Chill Magazine
• Brake
• AltRock

 It will be published around December, so that it will contain articles reviewing the past year and it will be published weekly. The contents page would contain similar colours to the front cover, clearly showing the relation between the two, and it will be obvious that it is from the same magazine. My magazine will be roughly £1.80, as it is published weekly. 

Influence From Research
I have decided to lay out my magazine in this way, as I have looked at other rock/alternative magazines to see how they all work. The majority that I looked at (e.g. NME) have red mastheads, hence the fact that I chose the first font. I have chosen those coverlines as they are similar to ones that I have seen on the cover of magazines like Kerrang!, Rocksound and NME. They are fairly short, but summarise all the information that could be important. I have borrowed some ideas for article style from other magazines, as I have decided to use light humour in some of my text. In magazines such as Rocksound and Kerrang!, humour is included in photo captions and notes throughout the magazine.