Coverlines.
Remember that your front cover is trying to sell your magazine- you need to tantilise your reader. You should be hinting at what's inside the cover in a way that entices the reader into buying your magazine. So try to think of headlines for the smaller stories that will do this.
-Tokio Hotel: The Germans Invade.
-Avenged Sevenfold: A man down.
-My Chemical Romance: The fresh chapter.
- HIM: We almost gave up altogether.
- Aiden: It's All Or Nothing.
- Mindless Self Indulgence: Jimmy cancelled Christmas!
- The Used: Inside Bert's house.
- Marilyn Manson takes it too far.
-You Me At Six- The Boys Are Back In Town.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
The Front Cover: III
Features
Now brainstorm possible artists who could appear on your front cover. You will need to think of artists who are going to appeal to your target audience and about whom you have a story to write about (ie. they will be in the news for a particular reason.) Give reasons for your suggestions.
*Avenged Sevenfold:
A comemorative feature would be included about the sudden death of their drummer, Jimmy ''The Rev'' Sullivan at 28 due to as yet unknown causes.
*My Chemical Romance:
Their new album is due to be released in the Spring. The feature would include an interview with the band to promote the album. This would help target my audience specifically since this band is well known through the target group, whether they like the band or not.
*Tokio Hotel:
Their new album has just been released and they are about to begin a European tour, plus they won several awards at prestigious shows in the past year and they continue to get bigger. This could be an ''exclusive'' since they haven't yet done a full magazine feature in the UK yet as their main success until now has been in main-continent Europe however, this is changing rapidly.
*A fictional all girl rock band under the name ''Taboo''
This would hit the objective I had set to use more female input in the magazine as I noticed a gap in the market for this. This would include a full feature and interview with the band who just hit the number one spot in seven countries with their debut album, ''Traumatic'' and the single, ''Darkness = Zombies.''
Main Feature
You will need to pick one of these who will be your main feature {ie. with their picture on the front cover} and also select artists from the rest whose names will appear on the front cover [ie. who have articles written about them inside.} Try to think of future cover stars too. Give reasons for your suggestions.
The main feature of this would be ''Taboo'' who would have a double page spread with an interview. This would be an 'exclusive' since they are an all new act. The article would touch on topics to do with their new fame and they, themselves.
Future cover stars would include people such as Tokio Hotel whom are gaining sucess and getting more well known through lesser mentions in the magazine, HIM whom are planning a new tour after their album gets released as well as Steel Panther who are quickly becoming a huge act. This would cater to my audience and also help to cement my magazine as the magazine who brings you new music first.
Now brainstorm possible artists who could appear on your front cover. You will need to think of artists who are going to appeal to your target audience and about whom you have a story to write about (ie. they will be in the news for a particular reason.) Give reasons for your suggestions.
*Avenged Sevenfold:
A comemorative feature would be included about the sudden death of their drummer, Jimmy ''The Rev'' Sullivan at 28 due to as yet unknown causes.
*My Chemical Romance:
Their new album is due to be released in the Spring. The feature would include an interview with the band to promote the album. This would help target my audience specifically since this band is well known through the target group, whether they like the band or not.
*Tokio Hotel:
Their new album has just been released and they are about to begin a European tour, plus they won several awards at prestigious shows in the past year and they continue to get bigger. This could be an ''exclusive'' since they haven't yet done a full magazine feature in the UK yet as their main success until now has been in main-continent Europe however, this is changing rapidly.
*A fictional all girl rock band under the name ''Taboo''
This would hit the objective I had set to use more female input in the magazine as I noticed a gap in the market for this. This would include a full feature and interview with the band who just hit the number one spot in seven countries with their debut album, ''Traumatic'' and the single, ''Darkness = Zombies.''
Main Feature
You will need to pick one of these who will be your main feature {ie. with their picture on the front cover} and also select artists from the rest whose names will appear on the front cover [ie. who have articles written about them inside.} Try to think of future cover stars too. Give reasons for your suggestions.
The main feature of this would be ''Taboo'' who would have a double page spread with an interview. This would be an 'exclusive' since they are an all new act. The article would touch on topics to do with their new fame and they, themselves.
Future cover stars would include people such as Tokio Hotel whom are gaining sucess and getting more well known through lesser mentions in the magazine, HIM whom are planning a new tour after their album gets released as well as Steel Panther who are quickly becoming a huge act. This would cater to my audience and also help to cement my magazine as the magazine who brings you new music first.
The Front Cover: II
Masthead
You need to design a masthead for your magazine- it needs to be clear, bold and eye-catching.
My magazines name will be: High Voltage
Possible tag lines:
* Making the rhythm and reason collide.
*All about the music.
*The number one music weekly.
*Always first on the scene.
The Front Cover: I
Colour Scheme
Start off by thinking of possible three part colour schemes that you would like to have on your front cover. You need to think about how your colour scheme will appeal to your target audience. They will need to represent your musical genre in some way. Try to think about how different colours affect each other- what are their connotations? Come up with more than one scheme, as you will be hoping to release more than one edition of your magazine.
-With choosing a rock genre I have looked at examples of magazines and I have found that they usually use a dark base colour with bright or eye catching brights as accents.
*Black, orange and white. (Connotation of energy.)
*Black, purple and white. (Appears to be royal.)
*Black, yellow and red. (Electric, this links to the idea of the magazine being called something such as High Voltage or Amped.)
*Black, neon green and pink. (This is a mish-mash of two contrasting shades and in my mind leads me to thinking about alternative music and the name Taboo as a magazine possibility.)
Start off by thinking of possible three part colour schemes that you would like to have on your front cover. You need to think about how your colour scheme will appeal to your target audience. They will need to represent your musical genre in some way. Try to think about how different colours affect each other- what are their connotations? Come up with more than one scheme, as you will be hoping to release more than one edition of your magazine.
-With choosing a rock genre I have looked at examples of magazines and I have found that they usually use a dark base colour with bright or eye catching brights as accents.
*Black, orange and white. (Connotation of energy.)
*Black, purple and white. (Appears to be royal.)
*Black, yellow and red. (Electric, this links to the idea of the magazine being called something such as High Voltage or Amped.)
*Black, neon green and pink. (This is a mish-mash of two contrasting shades and in my mind leads me to thinking about alternative music and the name Taboo as a magazine possibility.)
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Magazine Reader Profiles
Rolling Stone
Gender:-
Men: 66.1%
Women: 34.8%
Age:-
14-17: 18.5%
18-24: 30.4%
25-34: 25.3%
35-49: 18.5%
50+ : 7.3%
Work Status:-
Full-Time: 40.2%
Part-Time: 25.7%
Unemployed: 34.1%
NME
Gender:-
Male: 70%
Female: 30%
Age:-
On Average- 25
Main Reader Groups:-
Young Socialites & First Time Earners.
It seems that this specific genre of magazines is dominated by males in their early twenties. This could be to do with the amount of men featured in these types of magazines and their representations and features which appeal to males more than they do females.
Gender:-
Men: 66.1%
Women: 34.8%
Age:-
14-17: 18.5%
18-24: 30.4%
25-34: 25.3%
35-49: 18.5%
50+ : 7.3%
Work Status:-
Full-Time: 40.2%
Part-Time: 25.7%
Unemployed: 34.1%
NME
Gender:-
Male: 70%
Female: 30%
Age:-
On Average- 25
Main Reader Groups:-
Young Socialites & First Time Earners.
It seems that this specific genre of magazines is dominated by males in their early twenties. This could be to do with the amount of men featured in these types of magazines and their representations and features which appeal to males more than they do females.
Friday, 18 December 2009
Magazine Basics
You need to come up with a name for your magazine. Ideally it should be short and snappy and should also grab the attention of your target audience. Try to brainstorm more than one title and then pick the best one.
*The Chemistry
*High Voltage
*Amped
*Chain Reaction
You also need to come up with a rough cover price for your magazine. Who will be able to afford it? What quality of printing/paper will you be aiming for?
*I will be aiming for mid quality printing and paper, or at least as well as I could get for my price. My price will be about £2.50, within the average range for magazines of this genre which publish weekly. This will be so that the young socialites can afford it.
How often will your magazine be released? Why?
*The magazine will be released weekly so that the news will be relevant and up-to-date. This also means part of my advertising can focus upon being the 'music weekly' and being first with the new news.
*The Chemistry
*High Voltage
*Amped
*Chain Reaction
You also need to come up with a rough cover price for your magazine. Who will be able to afford it? What quality of printing/paper will you be aiming for?
*I will be aiming for mid quality printing and paper, or at least as well as I could get for my price. My price will be about £2.50, within the average range for magazines of this genre which publish weekly. This will be so that the young socialites can afford it.
How often will your magazine be released? Why?
*The magazine will be released weekly so that the news will be relevant and up-to-date. This also means part of my advertising can focus upon being the 'music weekly' and being first with the new news.
Target Audience
You need to define a focus in terms of your target audience- your magazine will not be able to appeal to everyone!
What is your main target audience going to be? What does your target audience want/expect from it's music genre and it's music publications?
*The target audience I am aiming for will be young socialites. They will expect plenty of reviews of gigs and listing for gigs too as these are important things for them. They will also be looking for interviews with well known artists and groups which are engaging enough to maintain their interest. In addition they will also want a low cover price as they will most likley be students who cannot afford more than a couple of pounds for a magazine.
How are you going to appeal to this particular target audience, particularly in terms of initial advertising about your magazine?
*Use a mix of a dark background and brighter text with a reconisable masthead to inkeep with the usual expectations of a magazine splash.
*I will also feature artists names within the coverlines as this will gain audience focus upon my magazine as opposed to another brand.
Remeber that your magazine is going to be profitable, so you need to consider the possibility of selling advertising space to potential advertisers- what will attract them to your audience (i.e. how will you sell your audience?)
* Young socialites will want to see CD adverts, tour advertisements and clothing as these will appeal to them. I would sell this to a potential advertiser with the fact the audiences interests lie with their product of service and they are more likely to spend a majority of their money on these things.
Now try to imagine that you are a potential customer (i.e. a member of your target audience.) What do you want from a music publication of your chosen genre?
*Features about up-to-date and relevant artists and bands.
*Posters of popular bands.
*The latest, relevant and up-to-date news.
*Exclusive stories and news that isn't everywhere else.
*Plenty of gig adverts of popular and genre relevant bands.
* Humourous and/or interesting articles, interviews and features to sustain interest and entertainment throughout.
What is your main target audience going to be? What does your target audience want/expect from it's music genre and it's music publications?
*The target audience I am aiming for will be young socialites. They will expect plenty of reviews of gigs and listing for gigs too as these are important things for them. They will also be looking for interviews with well known artists and groups which are engaging enough to maintain their interest. In addition they will also want a low cover price as they will most likley be students who cannot afford more than a couple of pounds for a magazine.
How are you going to appeal to this particular target audience, particularly in terms of initial advertising about your magazine?
*Use a mix of a dark background and brighter text with a reconisable masthead to inkeep with the usual expectations of a magazine splash.
*I will also feature artists names within the coverlines as this will gain audience focus upon my magazine as opposed to another brand.
Remeber that your magazine is going to be profitable, so you need to consider the possibility of selling advertising space to potential advertisers- what will attract them to your audience (i.e. how will you sell your audience?)
* Young socialites will want to see CD adverts, tour advertisements and clothing as these will appeal to them. I would sell this to a potential advertiser with the fact the audiences interests lie with their product of service and they are more likely to spend a majority of their money on these things.
Now try to imagine that you are a potential customer (i.e. a member of your target audience.) What do you want from a music publication of your chosen genre?
*Features about up-to-date and relevant artists and bands.
*Posters of popular bands.
*The latest, relevant and up-to-date news.
*Exclusive stories and news that isn't everywhere else.
*Plenty of gig adverts of popular and genre relevant bands.
* Humourous and/or interesting articles, interviews and features to sustain interest and entertainment throughout.
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