Extended Analysis

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My magazine follows all the standard and expected conventions of any magazine on the market. A Masthead, anchorage text, buttons, a bar code, issue number and date, price and a headline for the main article are all present on my magazine front cover, therefore in this respect ,my product does use the forms and conventions of real media products. However, as I have mentioned previously, the actual idea for the content of my magazine is a little different and does heavily challenge the usual forms and conventions of most music magazines. The unique selling point about my magazine, and the way in which it will compete with other magazines on the market, is the fact that it covers artists from a number of different genres. This is unlike the magazines shown in my research, that base articles on bands and artists from the same genre (and it’s sub-genres). This is why I chose to call the magazine ‘SOUNDCLASH’. Another aim of the magazine is to cover up and coming bands/artists, which is why the main article is based on new Bradford band ‘We Wear Togas’, I believe that by creating this magazine, I will generate a larger audience, as all teenagers (my predominant target audience) can get their music information from one place, on a whole range of genres that they enjoy. I strongly believe that this idea could compete as an actual media product on the market.

How does your media product represent social groups?

One of the aims of my magazine is to cover new talent and giving those that are new to the gigging circuit or those who are gaining popularity ‘a break’. I believe that by doing this, ‘SOUNDCLASH’ will give a better impression of the younger generation than many other parts of the media criticise today. ‘SOUNDCLASH’ will ensure that teenagers and those of the audience who are older realise that this generation is a landscape of creativity, motivation and intelligence. By doing this, I believe that more people, specifically teenagers will be more inclined to buy the magazine because of the positive content. I have also tried to represent social groups in terms of semiotics. For example, when looking at the front cover, we see the band in front of a stage door. I have deliberately chosen this image, not only because it seems obvious for a band to be in that type of location but more importantly to imply the band’s rising success. Also the sub heading ‘your new favourite band’ shows my teenage audience that someone from their generation can make something good.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

During my magazine research I also did research into media institutions. Bauer Media Group was the one I was most interested in as it publishes some of my favourite music magazines; ‘Kerrang!’ and ‘Q’. I therefore see no reason as to why Bauer Media Group would not be interested in distributing my magazine. Firstly, it is a unique idea that I feel, handled at a professional level, could gain them a newer and a larger amount of customers. More importantly, there is the fact that one of the main aims of ‘SOUNDCLASH’ is to give up and coming bands a greater level of coverage than other music magazines. I think this would open a number of business opportunities for the company and also gives them a new project and angle to work with.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Although I have said that the magazine will be for ‘all people, all music’, I understand that my magazine will only appeal to those who are a little more musically aware. For example, those who listen to Rock and only Rock, will be happy with buying ‘Kerrang!’ every week but the audience for my magazine need to be more musically diverse and listening to a range of genres. This is of the course the case with many teenagers and young adults, which is why I did not doubt that this idea would sell as an actual product. More importantly, as I mentioned in my research I have placed my magazine at the price of £2 as I realise that with such an amount of content, this magazine needs to be affordable for everyone on the socio-economic hierarchy. Therefore, with wide genre coverage and a reasonable price, I can fairly conclude that my audience will have a vast age range of approximately 12 to 40 and more years old. My target audience however is teenagers and young adults (25 and under).

How did you attract/address your audience?

I used a number of techniques and content in order to attract and address my audience, all of which had to be done, via the front cover. Below are 3 examples;

• An article based on a new and upcoming band, around the age of my target audience, is an interesting read.

• The sub title ‘your new favourite band’ instantly makes my audience curious as to why this band are capable of been their favourite band. They are therefore more inclined to buy the magazine and find out.

• I have used a button which says ‘Leeds and Reading Info’ referring to the music festivals that take place every summer in the UK. The festivals are incredibly popular with teenagers and it therefore made sense to have content that is relevant to them as they are obviously going to be more interested. More importantly, as music festivals are renowned for their acts having a range in musical genre and fans of all different genres coming together, having this information for my audience reinforces the idea of ‘all people, all music’ and consolidates the variation in content of my magazine.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?

At the start of the preliminary task in September, my photography skills and understanding of how various pieces of equipment worked was minimal. However, over the course of creating the music magazine my skills have definitely improved. I am a lot more confident with the photography, and I am able to alter the lighting correctly in order to get the best shot I possibly can. I am also able to use Adobe Photoshop at a higher standard. I now have a good understanding of how the tools work, and what is actually possible with Photoshop in terms of image manipulation, the correct use of colours and how they work together and the layout of text.

From an industry perspective, I can now appreciate the level of professionalism that those in the industry work at, despite the mass amount of pressure for the product to be visually perfect.

I feel that I have learnt a lot from the preliminary task to the completion of the main task, not just from a technological perspective but also being able to identify my strengths and weaknesses and gaining a greater understanding of just one section of the Media industry. I realise that organisation is essential in a project like this, and would be even more so in the industry. In this time I have also become aware of the fact that old ideas of 20th century media theorists can be applied effectively and beneficially to my work. I have also gained a greater understanding of Photography, Photoshop, interviewing techniques, preparation, time management and executing the idea to it’s full potential.