Analysis of Music Magazine

This is my music magazine cover.

My house style is very similar to what originally inspired me, NYLON. It consists of bright colours; mainly blue, pink, black and orange. I have used similar colours throughout the rest of magazine which also helps link everything together.
I have also used many plugs as well as the usual codes and conventions used in magazines on my cover. The colours and the main cover image stand out on the cover of my magazine which grabs the attention of a potential buyer. The main cover image features a young teenage girl; which would appeal to my demographic of 16-19 year olds. The pose in which the model is standing gives the impression that she is confident and independent which was one the message's I wanted to achieve in my article, this also helps link my cover to my article used in my double page spreads.
The masthead was inspired by Q magazine's mast head, my magazine is indented to be like Q in terms of the style of the magazine, so to have my masthead similar to Q's masthead it will help set the tone of my magazine as it will be one of the features a reader will look at on the cover.
'Shawnee raises the bar' was included on the cover because I wanted readers to think how she raised the bar. Having this question on the cover of the magazine will hopefully want the reader to read more into the story and buy the magazine.

This is my Contents page of my music magazine.

I have only used one image in my contents page. The image used is very different to the others used throughout my magazine; this image is in black and white where as the others are a lot brighter and subtle. The reasoning behind this is that I didn’t want there to be the same photograph on every page I wanted to use something that kept everything fresh. Also the image also stands out against the colours used on the page and vice versa.
The house style also carries on throughout the magazine, which helps link the magazine together and in a way makes the magazine feel related to each other as they all share similar aspects in terms of the house style used in them.
I used three of columns in the layout of my contents page which is effective and helps the page look professional. The masthead also reappears in the contents page and also states what the name of the magazine stands for.

 

These are my double page spreads. The reason why there are two double page spreads is because my article was too big for just one so I had to create another to fit the rest of the article on.

Again there is a clear house style that is still continued throughout these pages. However I have toned down the brightness of the colours used on these two pages, this is because I wanted most of the attention to be focused on the article and I felt that having these bright coloured letters would distract the reader from the article.

The article layout is set up in three columns; the first part of the article is located on the left hand side of the page whereas the second part is located on the right hand side of the page with an additional photograph on the opposite side of the page. In the second part of the article I have also broken up the article with a quote which is the same colour as one of the coloured letters which will help it stand out from the rest of the article. The name of the article is at the top of the page, the name of the article is inspired by lyrics from The Pretty Reckless song ‘Zombie’.

The photographs used take up most of the page. The first photograph used is linked very well to the article as it is inspired by a quote used in the article, ‘WTF! I hate being labelled!’. The model is seen holding a label with the phrase ‘WTF’ written on it. The second photograph is not really linked to the article purse but it is was just a chance to show a darker side to her I think.  

The style and language used in the article as well as the formal layout would attract a lot more of a mature intellectual audience which was one of the main aims I wanted to achieve with these double page spreads.

Article Analysis

 The beginning quote was written as a sort of starting point for me creatively. I was also thinking about using this quote to break up the article in my layout.
In the opening paragraph I wanted to make it sound very much grown up and independent so I set the article to be held in the interviewee’s apartment. I also tried to keep it young with the second quote used in the article, I felt it added some reassurance to the reader as it sort of sets the tone of the article. I then proceeded to do a brief round up of her career accomplishments that she has managed to achieve. I included a film debut as I wanted her to seem like she had fought to become a singer and to show what she had to do to make it as singer. Again continuing from this idea that she had to fight to become a singer I wanted the story to be a real struggle so I used the idea that she was dropped from several labels, which is used later in the article and also was inspired by Katy Perry’s own struggle to sign to a record label, and after that she had no choice but to start her own record label, this aspect was inspired by Robyn who had also started her own record label to be able to release her music. The article then focus’ on her current project, this being her second studio album. The name of the album was inspired by Katy Perry’s single ‘Firework’ which details that there is something inside everyone of us that makes us unique, so I came up with the name ’Within Me’. The following  quote was inspired by something I read about Lady Gaga’s second album, “It came so quickly. I've been working on it for months, and I feel very strongly that it's finished right now. Some artists take years. I don't. I write music every day.” after seeing this you can see how I weaved this in to the quote in the article. Also in the quote you’ll notice it mentions something about her film career ‘Stabbed Part 2’, this helps the article move smoothly onto the next topic and the next paragraph.
The next paragraph talks about her film career in more detail. The film in which she starred in was inspired by  ‘Scream’. the film in ‘Scream’ was entitled Stab whereas mine is titled Stabbed. The character she played in ‘Stabbed’ was inspired by two character’s featured in slasher movies, the character Jamie Lloyd was featured in three Halloween films and Kirby Reed is a character that will be featured in the new Scream 4 film. The quote used in the first half of the second paragraph talks about plot points that are similar to ‘Scream’. The rest of the paragraph talks about how the film helped her to make it as a star.
The third paragraph is about Shawnee’s struggle and breakthrough into the music industry and the importance behind her record label. I wanted my artist  work for what she wanted in life so that she could inspire others to follow their dreams no matter what obstacles may be in the way. This paragraph kind of mocks the whole Disney music scene, with actress’ trying to make it as singers. But I wanted to feature a response to this which is why I included  quote about being labelled. I also felt it gave the article a hint of teenage rebellion.
The following paragraph focus’ on Shawnee’s childhood and an] round up of her first album. The first quote used in this paragraph was inspired by a quote Taylor Momsen has said in a recent interview, she said that whilst she was growing up her father played his Beatles records on vinyl which has become one of her main inspirations for her own album. The idea of having Shawnee’s first single to play at the end of her film was inspired by The Pretty Reckless’s first single being played at the end credits of Kick Ass. I also wanted her to have success in all areas of the album.
The fifth paragraph talks about her debut tour, award win and her fans. I wanted a paragraph to briefly show how everything is being received by the public and how important her fans are to her.
The next paragraph is focused on moving forward and to her current projects. I also wanted to included the idea that in the music industry everybody copies each other in terms of music and originality and how hard it is to maintain that. I also included the pressures that come with making a second album and how artists don’t want to repeat themselves and how important it is to move forward from the last album.
The seventh paragraph tries to create a more darker atmosphere with describing the new artwork and also talks about its what’s on the inside that matters, which I thought would be a really good message to include in the article as many teenagers have struggles with their looks and insecurities. I also thought it created a feeling of self esteem and empowerment. The second quote used in this article was inspired by something I read about Katy Perry’s new album, Perry told Rolling Stone: "The second record is really important to me because I think it shows whether I'm meant to do this, or I got lucky. Whereas my quote reads, “It’s really important for me that everything goes well because it could just mean I got lucky with my first album”.
The final paragraph talks about the future and what else is in store in her career and how important it is that everything goes to plan. I also wanted her to have an even bigger dream and want her to become a music icon hence the line, ‘I want my music to be listened to for years to come’.

New Magazine Photographs

This is the new cover photograph for my music magazine as the other photograph seemed too young for my target audience to relate to as well as to attract them to the magazine. So I had to recreate the cover and make my model look and appear to be a little older than she is herself. So when compared to the older photograph she does look more mature and sophisticated.

This photograph was inspired by Gossip Girl character Jenny Humphery, aka Taylor Momsen. I loved the dress she wore in Gossip Girl I thought it made her look grown up. I also found a dress that reminded me of the dress in H and M, so I bought the dress for the shoot and I think it was very effective. When you compare both of the images together you can see the similarities that both of the photographs posses.

Magazine Photographs

Planning my Photography for my Music Magazine

I had a very strong idea on how I wanted my photographs to look when writing my article, the personality I had created for Shawnee was alike to that of Taylor Momsen. Taylor Momsen had inspired me before in my school magazine so I wanted my photographs and interviewee to be a continuation of the idea I had previously used. Shawnee is an independent, slightly moody teenager with a kick of attitude, so I wanted to show this through the images. I had created a collage/mood board of photographs that I have collected that have inspired me to create my photographs.

In the article there is a quote that inspired me to create the photograph for the double page spread, “WTF! I hate being labelled”. I also researched the idea of labelling and to see if there was anything that already existed that was similar to my idea. I had found an image that was perfect inspiration.

This was just the image I was looking for, to show someone holding a sign/label, I wanted to show her frustration with the idea of being labelled which would help link the image to the article. WTF would be written on this label as I thought it would give the photograph I bit more attitude and it would show her to have a tougher edge.

On my collage there are three images of Taylor Momsen that I like. I will take aspects from these to create the look/position/facial expression of the model that will be featured in my music magazine.

In my mind the image is shown to have a darker look but at the same time to be well/brightly lighted to help the cover seem bright. I want the majority of the model to be featured on the cover to allow the audience to identify with her.

The whole fashion aspect of photograph’s were again inspired by Taylor Momsen’s style, dark and moody minus the whole ‘hooker chic’ thing as I wanted the photograph’s to suit the language used in the article.

 

In my contents page I want the attention to be focused on someone other than Shawnee, so included several other artists/bands on the cover of my magazine. I chose to focus on the ‘rock out with robyn’ as I feel were still talking about rock. The image itself was inspired by the work of Cindy Sherman, which I thought would give the magazine some maturity.  

Cindy Sherman’s Photograph

My Contents Page Photograph

Double Page Spread