Generic Research - Music Magazine Analysis 2

Analysis of Q from Katie Lam on Vimeo.


This is my analysis of Q Magazine in the form of a video.

Generic Research - Music Magazine Analysis 1

Nme music mag analysis ppt from 10-klam

Analysis of the music magazine, NME.

Generic Research - "Farewell to Smash Hits" - interesting points

The original article.

• Smash Hits managed to lose 840,000 readers in 17 years, despite running for three decades. 
• The article explains how Smash Hits was known for possessing an "impertinent tone and peculiar sense of humour" - the content was considered quirky, reflecting what pop music was apparently like during the time of Smash Hits. The article mentions how a former writer claims that "the magazine's standard line of questioning was never 'What's your favourite colour?' but 'What colour is a Thursday?'. The article seems to praise this. However, nowadays, if a music magazine verged on quirky and asked ridiculous questions like Smash Hits did then the magazine would not be taken seriously as a music magazine. Many magazines are criticised and labeled as "tabloid" if they ask artists/bands questions not relating to music.
• The article talks about how Smash Hits, although a pop magazine, had a specialist indie page.
• Smash Hits' reviews were not very professional and resembled something more like a regular music consumer would say. For example, a critique of David Bowie's 1983 album, Let's Dance, consisted of simply, "Well ... dull. DULL DULL DULL DULL DULL. But so what? Everyone makes a dull record occasionally." It implies how Smash Hits was not just another magazine in the industry but consisted of people with actual opinions and did not beat around the bush.
• The main reason behind Smash Hits' downfall was what may have been appealing to its target audience in the 80s as something refreshing, it didn't appeal to the audience then. The writer blames the lack of "rounded, interesting, flawed human beings" in teen pop, which Smash Hits thrived off of. According to the writer, record companies began "media-training" their artists and essentially "depriving" them of their personality.

Another magazine which has recently experienced a downfall is NME. Here is an article regarding that and how it is trying to deal with the rapid decline of sales.

Product - My sixth form magazine analysis

Front Cover

Masthead:

Besides the model, the masthead is the largest section on the front cover of a magazine. I have used this convention for my own magazine and used an impactful, bold font to emphasise the masthead. I added a drop shadow to give the masthead more dimension since the colour is a light grey and would have easily blended into the background. The font is modern and slightly futuristic - this will appeal more to the students since it gives the magazine a contemporary ambience.

"Vision":

The word vision holds connotations of sight and glimpses into the future. This is the purpose of the magazine - it provides readers with an insight to the life of the school/sixth form and also gives readers a snippet of the future and of what they can expect during the school year - for example, there is mention of an upcoming production of "Hairspray".

Image:

I have placed the model slightly off-centre and more to the right of the cover. This follows the codes and conventions of other magazines and makes it a lot easier for readers to read the cover lines since most people typically read from left to right. The model is represented as a typical student; she has her blazer on and by holding a folder she appears academic. There is direct mode of address to make the magazine more personal and relatable for the target audience: students.

The background is slightly out of focus so that the model is all in focus; this connotes the magazine is aimed at students. The background is very toned and there is a lot of greenery. This juxtaposes with the concept of the magazine being modern and contemporary. However, it makes the school look more appealing (especially with the natural lighting from the sun) and could perhaps attract potential students to join the school during sixth form. 

School logo and motto:
At the bottom of the front cover, I have included the school logo and the school motto. The logo gives the magazine a brand identity and so readers are aware of the fact that the magazine is associated with the school and the content is about the school. 

The school motto is appropriate for the cover because it suggests that by turning the page (i.e. "entering" the magazine), readers will discover and learn a lot about the school and its community. 

Cover lines:
The articles featured on the front cover follow the codes and conventions of sixth form magazines. There is use of different fonts (but not too many) which suits the house style. To give the magazine a more professional look, I used the logo of "Hairspray" instead of simply typing the word out. This essentially breaks up the white/light grey writing and easily attracts a reader's attention. 

There is use of sensationalistic language such as "exclusive" and "gossip" which many other magazines use. These words connote how the stories are not available anywhere else and are only featured in the magazine so readers should read it to find out more.

Contents

I incorporated a house style to this magazine by using the same font for the "Contents" title as I did for the masthead. This once again reinforces the concept of the magazine being more youth-orientated and suitable for a younger target audience.

The background is a light grey colour that has a subtle green tone to it - this fits in with the colour scheme of the magazine but also complies with the house style and gives the magazine a more polished, professional look.

The featured articles include the articles featured on the front cover (Head Talks and Hairspray). This is a convention followed by many magazines and one I have also used in my magazine. The article "Efficient revision tips" is essentially a guide to how students can learn to revise effectively and how to avoid leaving it all last minute. This demonstrates how the magazine is targeted towards a student audience. It also strays from most sixth form magazines which just included articles about the events happening within school. This article offers tips and useful information for students on how to improve their skills.