Research and Planning: Music Magazine Analysis. (2)

The genre of this magazine is an alternative rock, which can be told by the bands labelled on the cover, such as Imagine Dragons, Bastille, and Beecake. The genre of the magazine is made quite clear, because of the 'HIGH VOLTAGE' logo, in which is a clashing colour scheme in which draws your attention to the masthead. The genre is also given away, by the picture itself; what the band is wearing, their expressions and their body language. They seem like a typical clash of rock and indie, in which delivers that alternative look.

The representation of the magazine is presented to be specifically for fans of alternative rock and indie music, as it's overall appearance does not appeal to pop or classical fans, for example. This is because of the lack of light colours and use of a band rather than a solo artist in order to present the music genre of the magazine. Ultimately, the magazine is represented as the ideal paperback to read if you're interested in bands, as it is represented as the ideal magazine for group artists, due to those appearing on the cover, including the listed artists.

The audience of the magazine is most likely aimed to be a teenager or young adult, more stereotypically a male, because of the rock elements. Many people who enjoy gigs, concerts, and loud noise may be fans more likely than those who prefer classical music, because of how the cover is illustrating it's music. I see the target audience being around 16 - 19, as artists such as Imagine Dragons and Bastille tend to attract that type of audience, specifically when a new song comes out.

The media language of this seems to expose the fact that the magazine's centre of focus will be bands, due to the shot type, which is a medium shot to allow Imagine Dragons to all fit into the shot. Another way the media language affects the magaizne, is the masthead type and font, which is a capslocked and very grungy font. The colour scheme is also an essential for how the media language connotates the genre of the magazine, because the colours seem very eroded and are cohesive to the title, 'High Voltage'. (Voltage being in a yellow, electric shock, which is a play on words.)





SIDE NOTE: This was published late, because I had saved but forgot to share it onto my blog. Sorry!

Research and Planning: Questions Sheet for Music Magazine.

These are the questions I'm going to use for my questionnaire about my music magazine.

QUESTIONNAIRE.

1. Are you a male or a female?

2. How old are you?

3. What type of music do you listen to?

4. Do you prefer solo artists or bands?

5. Would you read a music magazine?

6. How much would you pay for a music magazine?

7. Which do you prefer out of the following names for a masthead: Vibe, Alternative, or Loud?

— If you don't like any of the names, which would you suggest?

8. Who would you like to see on the cover?

9. What stories would you like to read in a music magazine?

10. What is your favourite song? (If you had to choose.) 

Research and Planning: More Masthead Ideas.

So I tried a few new fonts on Photoshop / Moldiv, using inspiration from logos such as Imagine Dragons and Arctic Monkeys, and I think they're quite successful. I prefer the Photoshop options, though. This is because there's a wider choice of fonts to choose from.

Research and Planning: Target Audience.

This is my stereotypical target audience member. They would be a teenager, around 15 - 18 years old, and most likely a male. They would be interested in bands and solo artists of rock, horror movies, skateboarding, and moshpits. They would be lower class, as they perhaps would not have a job and would most likely rely on their parents for money. If they were employed, it'd be a part time job most likely. 

Research and Planning: Font Examples.

These are some examples of the font types I'd like to use in my masthead. They all seem to have a distorted appearance, apart from Imagine Dragons, whose logo is quite clean looking.

On the other hand...

Arctic Monkeys, another band I would like to list on my magazine, as they fall under the genre of rock. Their logos are quite clean, and compact or impacting. So, I'm going to try a few mastheads with their font types:

Research and Planning: Magazine Mastheads.

I went onto Dafont.com and selected several fonts for my magazine cover masthead. The titles I'm thinking of using are either ALTERNATIVE or LOUD, as they both suit the theme of alternative rock. Right now, my favourites are dk_face_your_fears, a_bite for the 'alternative' masthead, and brushstrike.

Research and Planning: Music Magazine Analysis. (1)

The genre of this magazine is clearly for rock/alternative rock music. Hot Press covers several rock bands and artists, U2 being another example. You can also tell that there's some form of religious element to the music, as the font of 'HOZIER' is quite traditional, and the cover consists of heavenly-like rays along his face. This is in connotation to one of his most popular songs, 'Take Me To Church'. Additionally, you can indicate the genre of this magazine, due to what Andrew-Hozier Byrne is wearing, and his expression. He seems quite edgy, and his overall features leave that sense of a rebellious attire. 

Another way the magazine is resembled for its genre, is the 'HOT PRESS' masthead on the top left. It's bold, and the fire in the 'O' is cohesive to the word 'hot', perhaps indicating some of the best alternative rock music in the charts at the moment. The same 'holy' font is on different parts of the coverlines along the cover; such as U2's album: Songs of Innocence. Also on a few of the other rock artists, which draw attention even more to the genre of the music magazine. The colour scheme is quite mixed, although retaining dark shades to maintain the edgy appearance.

The representation of this magazine delivers the same appeal as the genre. Simply because of Andrew's expression, his dark clothing, and the holy effect over his face which brings light to his song, 'Take Me To Church'. His hair is quite shaggy and messy, which delivers on the careless and relaxed type of artist. He doesn't have any effects or edits, conveying that the music is real, with minimal autotune and so on.

I think the audience of this magazine would be a mature group, probably young adults and concert enthusiasts. More specifically, I think fans of rock music would prefer this type of magazine over others, as some of the bands mentioned are specific types of music, rather than just one type. The magazine is also aimed at movie watchers. For example, Hozier is Alternative Rock, U2 is Rock in general, and Andrew Scott is an actor.

The media language of this cover is the same throughout. The photo of Andrew is a medium close-up. The background consists of a simple grey shade. Also, the dark colours of the magazine portray a very serious cover.