AS Media

 

Proposal

 

  In preparation for my magazine development I first looked at the different genres there are in music, I then looked at the current existing magazines there are for these different genres and how they differ from each other. This process helped me to discover what the different forms and conventions were for different magazines, helping me to decide on what kind of magazine I would like to do. I studied magazines such as Kerrang, which is a rock magazine, which appeals to both the teenage audience and the older audience. This is because of its mix of modern punk and classic rock. There were many magazines I looked at that also came under this genre and it seemed to be the most popular theme of magazine. Another magazine I looked at was Clash, which does also cover rock and punk and that kind of genre but had a much different theme. Whereas Kerrang has much darker colours and a much more ‘violent’ logo, Clash is much more of a minimalist magazine and for this reason I found it much more appealing. It is much more chilled out and more along the style of magazine that I would like to produce, as it is one that I, myself, would buy.  However, the music in clash is not exactly what I would like to do for my magazine.  I want to do a magazine based around much more individual artists, artists with new innovative sounds, up and coming ‘indie’ artists, promoting small bands, promoting small indie venues and generally a magazine for this unique genre and there isn’t really one around like this, for this reason I feel there is a real gap in the market and as if , with these features, this could be a very successful magazine. I would classify my magazine as more of a fringe magazine focusing on new independent artists.  Due to this theme the coverlines will focus on new bands, individual sounds and all the things listed above. The basis of the issue I am making will be on new, up and coming or possibly unheard of bands and a gig guide on venues they are playing and bios about them. I will be focusing on bands like The 1975, Life in Film, Paisley, Peter And The Wolf, Shy Nature, Young The Giant, Daughter, Youth Lagoon and Dry the River. I feel if I use these types of artist it will help define the theme of the magazine. The 1975 have a very large fan base and are “the British band” at the moment and so the fact that the 1975 could be on the cover would attract their following.  The fact that this type of band with their individual music style is on it will attract people also as if they saw a small band with the same indie genre that they haven’t heard of, they are unlikely to buy the magazine. But, seeing The 1975 on the front not only encourages them to purchase the magazine but then means they will read about the small bands and will mean they will be more likely to buy more of the magazines.

 

  The magazine is aimed at the young adult demographic. The target audience is people between the ages of 16-25 however; I feel this magazine relates more to your personality than your age. I feel the magazine is gender neutral and doesn’t really steer either way meaning a larger audience would like it. The magazine is aimed much more at aspirers than mainstreamers as the content and theme is more appealing to that kind of person. My magazine would be very urban attractive to the urban working class kind of person. In terms of price I have looked at several other magazine prices in the market to make my decision. Kerrang is £7.50 a month (£1.88 per issue), even though it is not in my genre it is the worlds largest selling rock magazine so gives a good Idea on what a magazine should be priced at. A magazine more in my genre is Clash which has a price of £3.99 per issue as this is more my style of magazine I would want to do one similar to this price however I would want to compete with the magazine in the market so would make my magazine around £2.95. This price suits my demographic as it is similar to clash and as my magazine is for young adults (16-15) kind of age it mus still be affordable as these kind of people are students that cannot be spending masses of money on magazines.

 

 I will use very simplistic images with muted colours and not a lot going on to overwhelm the reader. For the front cover image I’d like to have once single artist covering the whole page. I’d like to use myself as a model as I feel I could get the right expression on my face and body language to fit with my genre. I’d like to have an extreme close up of just the one model as the cover or I’d like very nature like theme so I could shoot outside, this would also help to give some natural light and the camera glare effect. I will use naturalistic lighting to give a much more simple natural feel to the magazine. However, I will use filters to make the images much more saturated. The model will wear very unique clothes reflecting the indie magazine and appealing to the target audience. The final shoot will be dramatic in the way that it will include extreme close ups, however, in terms of the actual shooting it will be very naturalistic in the way that there will be  not a lot going on in a very minimalist style. I will use instant filters and high saturation to introduce contrast into the images. I’ll go through all the images after picking my favourite and then I will ask the sort of people who would buy the magazine which picture they prefer to get a sample and a clear of what my audience would like to see. My feature article is going to be about a small band/s, a bio, what music they produce and a gig guide to where they can be found and in what venues.

 

 I want my front cover to contain just one image and the least amount of text in a white font on one side of the page. My contents page will contain a vintage nature background with again a plain white font with the contents spread in a list down the page in one column. My double page spread will have a picture of the band in the centre with the bio on one side and the gig guide on the other. My colour palate, as said previously, will be very earthy colours matching the naturalistic theme of the magazine.

 

I will entitle my magazine ‘Paisley’. I have chosen this title as it’s short and easy to remember and the paisley pattern is worn by and appealing to the 16-25 year olds that will be buying the mag.

 

By Kyle Charlie Summers