Institution Research

There are many pop music magazines out there which are similar to the one I want to produce. I have researched about the company InterMedia Partners which are well known for producing the music magazine Vibe. They are also known for other firms such as Thomas Nelson, Universal Sports, @Home Network, InterMedia Outdoors which is another magazine and WAPA-TV. The music magazine Vibe is targeted towards young, urban followers of Hip-hop culture. Another similar company is IPC media they are responsible for the famous music magazine NME. The company mainly concentrates on magazines. It groups its titles of magazines under three divisions firstly Connect which is aimed at mass market women, then there’s SouthBank it’s aimed at upmarket women and finally Inspire, men are its main core audience.  

Audience Research

From my questionnaire I have gathered that the target audience for my genre of music which is pop are young teenager’s especially young girls. A lot of the questions answered in my questionnaire support this. The reason why the genre of music attracts this specific target audience is due to the contents of the magazine and how it is presented. The majority of teenagers and young girls appeal to things such as vibrant colour schemes, simple and informal language, and stylish fonts. Usually in music magazines there is an image of one or more artists, this also appeals to the target audience because they would recognize them and could possibly be someone’s idol. For example the song artist Beyoncé appeals massively to young teenage girls. As well as the presentation of the magazine appealing to young teenagers, the contents have a major impact too. The writing in a pop music magazine is directed to its target audience, the contents and the way the writing is worded appeals to them. The research into my target audience has given me a better understanding of how to make my music magazine. I have found out what colour schemes, language techniques, and images to use to appeal to the specific target audience.        

Rolling Stones magazine double page spread analysis





The layout is very effective. The double page spread is split in two, an image of the artist on the right and the text on left. This makes it easier for a person to read and understand it. However because all the text has been squeezed onto one page it has to be very small font. A lot of writing is bunched up together, this may put the reader off. There is a kicker used to make up for this. There is a good technique used where the main headline is placed between the articles, it draws the reader’s attention to the headline. It also stands out due to the font size. There is hardly any colour used in this double page spread. All the text is black, there isn’t even that many positive colours used in the image. The readers may be put off by this poor colour scheme, although older readers may be attracted to it. The main image is the artist Katy Perry, a well-known singer in many countries especially America and Britain. She is wearing a rather erotic outfit which highly appeals to men, maybe not so much women. The image is also stereotypical because she is standing in a kitchen dealing with food. A mid shot is used. This is to capture to whole picture of the artist and what she is doing. The font style is mostly the same, maybe if there were a variety of fonts used it may make the text look more appealing.        

Rolling Stones magazine contents page analysis

This is a contents page of the Rolling Stones music magazine. In the top left hand corner there are the initials. The layout is simple but effective. The page is split into two sections. The left side has all the page numbers and what’s on those pages also with an image of a famous artist who is Beyonce. The right hand side has one big image of two men dancing, one of the men is Johnny Carson a famous entertainer in his time. The other man is not mentioned. The layout of the magazine does follow the route of the eye. The text at the bottom is linked with the main image, describing Johnny Carson. The font style is the same throughout, this keeps the text nice and clear for the reader. There is variety of font sizes, big for the headings and small for the text. The font of the text is serif which possibly makes the writing look stylish. The bold font used for the headings catch the readers eye. The main image is black and white it shows that it is an old photo. The picture in the top left hand corner is taken when Beyonce is singing. It shows that she’s quite passionate about music with the expression on her face. Some of the younger generation may not know the men in the main photo but the older generation may recognize them. A lot the writing is formal mainly the descriptions, most of the headings are informal. The Writing on the contents doesn’t address the reader in any way.      

Rolling Stones magazine cover analysis

On the magazine cover the majority of the text has been placed down the left side of the cover. The image is centred on the magazine cover, some of text overlaps onto the image. The head of the artist is in front of the masthead which is ‘Rolling Stones’. This shows that this music magazine is very well known. The font style is quite bland for the text although it is serif. However the Font style used for the masthead is good, it makes it look classy. Everything on the magazine is ordered neatly. The colour scheme of the magazine is far from vibrant. The colours which are red, black and white are fairly dark. These colours and the colour of the artists clothing is aimed at an older target audience. The three colours used do contrast well together. Although some of the red text can’t be seen very well overlapping the grey clothing of the artist. There are white boarders used on some bits of the black text. It’s to make it stand out on the artists clothing. On the music magazine cover there is only one main image which is of a famous song artist. Readers who are very familiar with the genre would recognize the artist straight away without looking at the name in big font. People who aren’t so familiar they would have to look at the name in order to know. The type of clothing that the artist is wearing makes him look quite classy and powerful similar to the masthead ‘Rolling Stones’. Also the way that the artist is standing and the shot type used depicts him as upper class. There doesn’t seem to be anything on the magazine cover which represents music. The gender of the artist which is a man could attract both male and female. Male because the artist could be their idol, the person they try to live up to and women because it’s the opposite sex. The magazine doesn’t address the reader directly. The tone doesn’t seem to be demanding in any way. It doesn’t encourage the reader to do anything, it just informs them about what’s inside.     

Billboard magazine double page spread analysis

This is a double page spread of the music magazine Billboard. A good layout technique has been used here. The page on the right is taken up by one big image of the artist Beyonce. The page on the left has the masthead ‘Fiercely Creative’ with a large amount of writing beneath it. The layout of this double page spread does follow the route of the eye. The reader looks at the masthead first, then at the image and finally looks at the text. The colour scheme is very bright and vibrant. There are only two colours used purple and white. The purple background is very abstract, it draws the reader’s attention. Also the purple background matches the makeup used on the artist. There is a great contrast between the two colours used. The white text stands out well on the purple background, it makes it clear and easy to read. The font varies slightly although it’s mostly similar with the small writing. The two words in the masthead have two different font styles. The shot used in the main image is eye line match. The artist who is Beyonce looks very fierce in this picture which associates with the masthead. Also the purple colours and the picture of Beyonce appeals more to a feminine audience, she’s an idol to many young women out there.  

Billboard magazine contents page analysis

This Billboard contents page is well presented. Most things are in order. You have the No.1 charts in a big column on the left side of the page. This is separated from the rest of the contents by a thin blue line. On the right side there are features listed, some information at the bottom of the page and four images of artists. There is big variety of font styles on the contents page to possibly make it appeal well to the reader. A good font style has been used on the masthead, it associates well with the genre of the magazine. The font also ranges in different sizes as well. A lot the headings and sub headings use fairly big fonts to catch the readers eye. The language of the longer text is formal whereas the short snappy headings and sub headings are informal. In the colour scheme there are a number of bright and dark colours used for example blue and black. The vibrant colours stop the contents page from looking dull whereas the darker colours add maturity. The colour blue is used for the sub headings, it causes them to stand out against the bland text. In the four main images the artists are wearing suitable clothing for the genre. The shot type used which is mostly mid shots emphasis their power and passion for music. The images seemed to be grouped up together, this is an effective layout. If the images were scattered across the contents it would make it look cluttered      

Billboard magazine cover analysis





The magazine is well presented. Everything on the magazine is nicely ordered. The text and title at the top of the magazine is compacted into a sort of box shape. The small orange text is fitted effectively between the masthead and the sub heading. The two singers on the cover are blocking parts of masthead which show that the magazine is well known. For typography the font style is similar throughout. All the text is in block capitals to make it stand out. The size of the text is varied on the magazine cover. For example the word ‘AVENTURA’ stands out well due to its size compared to the smaller text in the bottom left hand corner of the magazine cover. This word is also the cover line. The colour scheme depicts a vibrant theme which is common in pop music magazines. In a rock music magazine for instance the colour would be nearly the opposite. There would be colours such as black and red which represent anger and gothic styles. There is a good use of colour in the masthead. The way that different colours are used inside certain letters is a good technique to draw the reader in. The masthead is one of the first things you look at due to the bright colours used. The white masthead stands out well on the blue sky. The orange colour of the cover line stands out well on the singers black trousers and the concrete floor. There is one main image covering the whole of the magazine cover. There are four singers in this main image. They are wearing clothing which is suited to the target audience and the genre of the music. The language of the magazine seems to be very informal for example ‘On staying indie’. None of the text seems address the reader directly. It lists quite a few artist names. In the main image a low angle shot is used to make the singers look powerful and dominant and also the fact that their starring straight at the camera too.

Q magazine double page spread analysis

This is double page spread is taken from a Q music magazine. One page is taken up by text and the other page is taken up by an image. This is common technique used in music magazines. This technique makes the double page spread nicely ordered and easy to read and comprehend. The image of the artist and the headline is overlapping the masthead. The headline is bolder than the masthead so that it stands out well when overlapping it. The image, masthead and headline are the first thing that the reader looks at. The layout doesn’t seem to follow the route of the eye due to things overlapping each other. The image of the artist is Florence Welch. Her clothing is very dark and seems rather erotic. The expression on her face gives a kind of professional look. A mid shot to long shot is used, it shows everything she’s wearing. The colour scheme of the double page spread is fairly basic. The colours used are black, red and white. They are very contrasting colours. For instance the black text against the white background is highly prominent. The colour of her hair is red, it matches the red in the American flag which she is sitting on. This type of magazine is aimed at the older generation, the style of the writing and the colour scheme emphasis this. The font style used in the headline and the kicker is very elegant which relates how the artist looks and dresses. The headline ‘you got the love’ is a quote from the famous songs written by the artist in the picture. As the magazine is aimed at older generation the language is formal. If it were a music magazine for younger teens then the language would be rather informal because it appeals to them. The writing doesn’t seem to have a tone to it. The image of the artist appeals more to women because she is the same sex and may be their idol. Although men may be attracted to her, so it could be both.     

Q magazine contents page analysis

Everything is fitted neatly on the contents page. The main image is on the right side and the text is on the left. This effective layout makes everything easier to read and look at. If the contents were scattered across the page it would look very messy and may put the reader off. The masthead is clearly situated at the top of the page with the name of the music magazine before it. It follows the route of the eye. The majority of the font is a similar style throughout, it depicts a neutral theme due to how basic and clear it is. Again like the cover of the magazine it is aimed at an older target audience. However the font size is completely different. The clarity and size of the headings draw the reader in and encourages them to view the smaller text. The colour scheme is fairly bland, mainly due to the colours black and white being used which emphasis what target audience it is. This Q magazine contents page is fairly bright even though some dark colours have been used. The main image is of band with their name listed below. The shot used is a long shot because all the band members need to fit into the picture. The expression on their faces show their passion and determination for music.         

Q magazine cover analysis





The layout is neat and well presented. Nothing seems to be scattered across the cover. The position of text and the Masthead which is ‘Q’ is on the left hand side of the magazine cover. The main image is situated to right hand side. The layout successfully uses the route of the eye technique. You first look at the masthead, secondly you look at the main image of the three artists then at the text on the right hand side and finally at the text along the bottom. The font style is varied throughout, for example the fonts used for the quotes are different from the font style of the normal text. All the text is in block capitals to make it stand out to the reader.  The names of the artists on the left hand side are use a big font size compared to the quotes which are smaller. The artist names are fairly transparent whereas the quotes are bold. This makes the reader look at the quotes first and then at the artist names. All the fonts are san serif. There is one main image which is situated on the right side of the cover. The image is of three artists, who all clearly show what genre the magazine is, from what their wearing and how well known they are. Also the way that the artists are standing in this shot shows that their powerful and famous. This image suits the target audience because they are pop artists. The colour scheme is basic using only three colours red, black and white. These colours are quite neutral and mature, they represent an older target audience. All these colours heavily contrast with each other, it helps things stand out to the reader on the front cover. For example the white text goes well on the black back ground. The language is fairly informal with phrases such as ’10 exclusive interviews’. Short and snappy phrases are effective because they encourage the reader to look actually look at it. If it were a long piece of writing it may put the reader off a bit.