Task 9-Formal Proposal

Before I start my formal proposal I am going to briefly discuss the research I have discovered and how they are going to influence my magazine.

General Information on Music Magazines

• Music magazines must have the right content. You need to find out what people like, as this is what will make the magazine sell. By giving the audience what they want, rather than keeping to small niche markets, allows the magazine apply to a wider range audience. I have done this already and I have found out exactly what colours and content should be in my rock music magazine.

• Music magazines are often released weekly or every two weeks as they reflect what is happening at the time. If a band splits up or something happens in the music world- then the music magazine of that specific genre would feel obliged to write about it.

• My magazine music must have its own style, so that it is original. It needs to stand out against the others on the magazine rack, I need to make it look different somehow but maintain the professional aspect.

• I need to include informational articles inside, specifically double page spreads. These need to reflect the tone of the magazine and also should be based on the most trending artists/bands- this will increase the sale of the magazine.

• Each article must have exciting content. It needs to grip the reader and involve them. I want my magazine to offer escapism and interest the reader.

Summary of my research of conventions of music magazines

Front Cover

• Masthead at the top of the cover • Coverlines, main coverline anchoring an image, being bolder and

larger. • Striking image of an artist – usually a medium close up. • Rule of Thirds • Bar code • Price • Date

Contents Page • Contents titled at the top to inform the reader • Possibly the date and the issue number • Columns to divide the text • One central image and other smaller thumbnails • Page numbers • Title of magazine at the top • Same Colour scheme as the front cover

Double Page Spread

• Main image anchoring the article • Article either Question and Answers or Detailed • Paragraphs are divided to make it easier to read • Dramatic headlines to grip the reader- often play on words.

All of the aspects of the magazine I have just covered are connected. This is because they all have the same house style; - same colour scheme, use of font is maintained, magazine title is on all of the pages, varying in size, the content of the magazine is linked throughout to the specific genre. My chosen genre for my music magazine which I shall produce is going to be Rock. After research I have found out a lot about this genre- as I have never looked or really listened to it before. I learnt about the different bands and what people like to listen to. I also learnt about the different conventions and styles for this typical genre- most magazines using the colour scheme red, white and black. I think this is a good genre for me to choose as I have all the information I need and I know how to execute the procedure. Below are images of magazine front covers of which I would like to base my own music magazine on.

Contents Pages

Double Page Spread

Target Audience Research From the results of my questionnaire, I am able to understand exactly what changes I need to make for my magazine. I now know which colour schemes appeal to people, in my rock magazine case; red, white and black. I also know that my target audience is both females and males aged 14-19 so after my questionnaire I was able to see that they liked modern content and bands. To conclude, my magazine cover needs to have an attractive, striking model which dark make up and clothing to enhance the rock genre. It needs to have be black and white, with a bright colour to draw attention to striking content (such as the colour red). The cover lines need to be striking so that they can grip the reader- using some sort of play on words or alliteration is the most effective way to do this. The contents page should include all the correct information, I am using both information from my Focus group and research of the music magazine NME to use the idea of the band index. I think that I need to include images on the contents page to help liven up the page as it will make the magazine more attractive. I want to maintain the colour scheme so that it enhances the professionalism of the magazine. The article which I am going to create for my double page spread should have language which is personal – colloquial and informal , so that it maintains the readers interest. Having the article in an question and

answer style helps to divide the information and doesn’t bore the reader. There should be an image anchoring the article which links with the genre and tone of the magazine. The target audience which I researched have already bought music magazines previously but believed them to be overpriced. The majority of my results showed that they would like a magazine which is £1.00-£1.50. The profile I did for my target audience gave me the idea that magazines were more targeted at males rather than females. I hope to achieve a magazine which is aimed at both females and males as this doesn’t restrict the target audience. I am going to use information from both the focus groups and also questionnaires to successfully create a magazine which covers what the target audience want. Having summarised the results I will now proceed with my Formal Proposal and begin planning the design and features of my own Rock music magazine. Formal Proposal The Title of my magazine is going to be NRG. I have chosen this magazine title because I am following the style of the NME magazine, alike New Musical Express, my magazine is the acronym for New Record Generation. The word also sounds like ‘energy’ which is what I want the tone of my magazine to be full of. The genre I have chosen is rock. I have chosen this genre because I believe that it is an interesting genre to cover. I have never experienced anything with this genre and I have found it very interesting to research. This genre is very popular so I think that it will be applied to a wide range target audience. My target audience for my music magazine is going to be focused at both females and males between the ages of 14 and 18.As this age is rather young and after the research from my questionnaire I am able to understand that between these ages they appear to focus at modern things. I want my front cover to have an attractive female on the cover, which will appear to both males and females- females being that they aspire to be her. I want her to be wearing dark make up with dark hair. She should

be wearing dark clothes- specifically a leather jacket and other studded items of clothing. The colour scheme for the front cover is going to be red, white and black as after research, this is typical for a rock magazine to have- and also what my target audience wanted. I would hope to interpret NME’s style magazine and develop it in some way. I want my contents page to be informative and be able to set the tone for the contents of the rest of the magazine. I want it to contain a mixture of both images and text to help attract the readers interest and also to maintain it. At the top, there needs to be a title ‘Contents’ to inform the reader on what page they are on- also the date and issue number- for extra information. The colour scheme should remain the same for the magazine to maintain the genre and tone of the whole magazine. I want my double page spread to appear simple, yet effective. I want there to be one main image, taking up the left hand side of the page, possibly of a long shot of the artist on the front. The article is going to be an interview of the artist, in the format of a question and answer.