Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

Unique is targeting a wide range of people, from young adults to teenagers from the age of 16 to 20. The reason for this is because Hip hop and R&B attracts a wide age range especially in Britain and British artists and groups are influenced and encouraged hugely by this genre. This could be because this type of music can be made worldwide and also understood by many different countries and languages.

 The reason why I have chosen this type of audience is because the artists pictured on the front cover and the content page of my magazine attracts more of a younger audience. One of the reasons for this is because my music magazine is more informal than formal. However the issue in this magazine appeals to younger adults, as they would be interested in reading a famous R&B artists biography and another reason young adults will be attracted to my magazine is by the other different features entitled in this magazine like popular R&B artists like Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, who appeal to a wide range audience.

 Looking at ethnicity, even doe hip and R&B is originated from black people; Boutique targets all races and tries to appeal to both genders on most issues of this magazine. This makes my magazine more suitable and accessible to its buyers. Because my music magazine focuses on the basis of R&B, my audience are expected to have a passion for this kind of genre.

Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Relating back to my publishing house case study, which was the stage I planned and researched for my music magazine. I think Conde Nast digital will be a good in distributing and publishing my music magazine. Firstly because this distributor doesn’t distribute hip and R&B music magazines, so it’s something new and unique to Conde Nast digital. This will give my music magazine a good start to the sales and it will increase my audience and the magazine’s popularity. As my magazine will also be new to the market as well. Conde Nast also distribute magazines such as allure and team vogue, these both relate to my magazine because both magazines are based on fashion and telling stories. My magazine has a focus on teen American fashion which is pursued through the model on the front cover. ‘Teen vogue’ is a good magazine to relate my own magazine with because it targets a teen audience which matches my target audience. Also on the front cover of this Allure magazine is one the biggest names of R&B music, ‘Nicki Minaj’ this is similar to my magazine because it’s based on R&B.

Secondly, there will be no competition in the company as ‘UNIQUE’ will be the first and the only music magazine in the market. This creates an advantage for the sales, which means there will be a big financial benefit for Conde Nast digital therefore will have benefit on the popularity of Conde Nast and will increase the amount of people viewing this distribution. It will also be an advantage to my magazine as the target audience will increase. This could be due to more advertisements and sponsors; this will build a contrast between my magazine and the other magazines being published through Conde Nast.

I will distribute my magazine is big stores such as WHSmith, and in Big name supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s. My magazine will also be found in local off license shops. Selling it in these well-known shops will make my magazine more accessible to my target audience. And it will also be easier to get hold of. These shops are also where different kind of magazine’s are sold at so it will be more sensible to distribute my magazine at theses following shops. And also Conde Nast distributes in basic media outlets so it’s more suitable to present my magazine in these basic stores that has access to media items.

Question 2: How does you media product represent particular social groups?

My music magazine is aimed to target a wide age range from youths to young adults and also both genders, however the music magazine that I made had a more feminine feel to it by the bright pink mast head and main cover line. This will amount to more female viewers and buyers than males. My magazine is also meant to attract Hip hop and R & B listeners. The way I represented this social group is shown by the pictures I have taken and included in my music magazine, especially the model I used for my front cover. She represents the social group that I’m attracting.

Firstly we know this by the way shoes dressed, she has a ‘Obey’ snap back hat which is very urban, it also gives a hint of very Urban American youth fashion, which they call ‘swag’. She’s also wearing a black, full neck top. Both of these items of clothing are the opposite of femininity, so she looks more masculine and dominant. I slightly got this idea from the R&B artist Ciara from one of her tracks ‘like a boy’. The style of clothes the model is wearing is however simple and non-stylish than an R&B artist is meant to dress but it still on the other hand suitable to the type of genre my music magazine is based on. And with this kind of symbolical dressing on the front page of the magazine it will be easier to grab the audience’s attention that I’m targeting. The model is also wearing long, false eyelashes which bring out more femininity from the model which suits the theme of the front cover, and this will draw more female buyers.

The way the models posed portrays a very dominant character, with her hands up on the wall and her face leaning forward. This could be seen as an intimidating posture, this may be because her smile isn’t really welcoming, however it’s moreover a smirk, also her eyes are looking directly at the viewer, very boldly. It’s a medium close up which is a convention in a big range of music magazines. I have developed this convention in a way to suit my target audience which I think I have done successfully. Going back to models eyes, they are making eye contact with the audience this creates a relationship between the model and the audience, this could also be known as a communication. The way the model is posed in a vicious way, however very cheeky can relate to the way teenagers who are influenced by hip hop and R&B music and entertainment are influenced.

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

The first stage of this project I observed and analysed my chosen magazine that I would use to enhance me in making my own music magazine look realistic. In this project I have used conventions, developed conventions and I have also challenged a convention to attract my target audience. I moreover followed typical conventions more in my magazine so that my magazine could look more professional and expensive rather that cheap. One of the conventions I started of portraying was the Masthead, which I made bold and big, with a sans serif font at the top of the page. And I also got it from a site called dafonts.com rather than using a usual font from Photoshop. This keeps the cover page looking like a classic music magazine cover, like the Vibe magazine Masthead. Copying this convention would consolidate the type of audience am targeting and will portray the magazine as more efficient.

The stamp used at the top right of the page underneath the masthead is also a convention used in my music magazine. This is used to promote briefly what my magazine has on offer to my target audience. This can also be chosen as a way to communicate with the audience.

To follow the conventions of a magazine I also included a dateline and a barcode, I challenged both of these conventions. The barcode is usually on the bottom right or left of a page so I followed this norm so that my magazine could look classic and professional.

I also used cover lines which is another basic convention to use in a music magazine. I challenged this convention, with the same colour and the same fonts persisting to make my cover look more organised, however I the lay out of my cover lines is moved to the left in one column. However for the main cover line is a developed convention, I used a wider and bold font which I made stand out to my chosen audience and so that they knew what the main article of the current issue of my music magazine was going to be about and this is important because the main cover line is the selling point of the magazine. I changed the format of the fonts, keeping it suitable for my target audience. The main cover line is also placed at the bottom of the page but fills the whole width of the page. This particular layout was suggested so that the main image was still the focus of the cover of the magazine and also to prevent the page from being too busy.

A popular convention of a music magazine is to use a medium close up as the dominant image, which I have also used in my own magazine. It made my magazine cover look intense. It also creates a relationship with the audience because the ladies eye contact in the image is focused straight at the lenses of the camera which was used to capture the shot. This can also be another advantage to the sales of the magazine because the target audience is communicating with the dominant image. The way the lady is posing helps to enhance the type of music genre my music magazine is based on.

In my contents page I have also developed and followed the conventions used in vibe music magazine. I used one bold picture as it’s used as a main contents convention in real music magazines. This picture is used to 

interest the reader to read on and so that attracts my target audience.

I also included a category of what the magazine features, which is another convention used in music magazines. I challenged this convention and laid it to the right side of the page. This made my contents page look more neat and professional.

Additionally my double page spread follows conventions. I used a black and white colour scheme with a hint of turquoise so I challenged my convention. This created an unusual and unique look to my magazine. I organised my article by putting the main heading in a sans serif font downloaded by dafonts.com. And underneath this is where I placed the headline and two columns. I followed this convention as it is used in a wide range of music magazines and also to make my magazine look real.

Music magazine Double page spread

Music magzine Contents Page

Front cover of Music magazine