How Does Your Music Magazine

Represent Particular Social Groups?

My Target AudienceMy Target audience is both males and females. Who are aged 15-24 years old. My targetAudience will mainly be students. The audiences main interest will be going to gigs, festivals and also partying. The music genre which my magazine will be rock/ heavy metal/ emo/ indie and alternative music. My target audience will have a interest and a passion for this genre for example they may play an instrument or be in a band. They would also be middle class. My target audience would shop in places such as Urban Outfitters, Topshop, Topman and Trash Rack.

The Stereotype for a teenager:• Rude• Alcohol• Drugs• Threatening• Thief's• Littering• Bullies• Informal• Spits• Smoke

Stereotypes

Stereotypes of people are interested in Rock Music• Depressed• Anti Religion and Education• Do Drugs• Do not contribute to society• Tattoos and Piercings• Drinks Alcohol frequently • Anti social and have anger issues• Uneducated• Violent• Black clothing• Long hair• Do not take pride in their appearance• Uneducated• Poor hygiene• Dark makeup

Stereotypes

As my magazine will be distributed through Bauer and a lot of people will know about my magazine I will use this to create a counter stereo type for my audience as I personally feel like they do not fit the stereo type and that society has a wrong perception of people who enjoy rock music.

I want my magazine to represent people who enjoy rock music as people who have a strong passion for the music and are highly interested in rock culture. I also want to perceive the image that people who like rock music are not depressed or unhappy in fact they can be full of life, energetic and happy people. As my audience would enjoy going to gigs, festivals and parties which is a stereotype I want to show the positive side in that they are social and that enjoy having fun and living adventurously. I also want my audience to be represented by having a unique and different style and for their outfits and makeup not to be frowned upon but appreciated from having their own sense of style and feeling happy with themselves and how they personally like to dress. Also as the stereotype for having a lot of tattoos and piercings is mostly true and evident in my target audience I also would like that to be seen as positive by letting people express themselves and demonstrate individuality which teaches people the lesson it is okay to be yourself and different. Kerrang! has similar representations of social groups as we share the same target audience and the same genres of the magazines therefore they do not conform the stereotype as they understand that their target audience is misunderstood in society.

In my magazine I have represented this counter stereo type in a positive way as:Mise-en-sceneI have used mise-en-scene to portray this social group in a way which is not the stereo type as for one of my images I have placed her in the woods. Although this would be a stereotype as the woods are considered dangerous to society and that Amber would be seen as making trouble and committing hooligan like acts in there, it can be seen by my social group as she is living a adventurous, risk taking lifestyle which would be condoned in the social group as I feel that people who enjoy rock music often want to have fun as they attend gigs, festivals and parties a lot which are seen as fun events.

Props and costumes I have used props in my images featured in the magazine to represent the counter stereotype of this social group. As you can see in this image Patrick is holding a guitar in his hand. This represents the passion for music and suggests he plays the instrument or is in band which shows how much he is interested in this genre. This represents the counter stereotype as I feel they are passionate about the music therefore by showing the passion he would play he instrument. The costumes that I have used in my magazine portray the image of the social group I want to get across as in one of my images my model is wearing a Guns N Roses band t-shirt. This represents the group as it shows their passion for music by supporting other bands and showing an interest by promoting the other band as well.

Lighting As the stereotype for rock most people would assume that it would be taken in dark lighting and on a black backdrop so that everything can be as dark and as black as possible to represent the genre. However I have chosen to take the majority of my images in light lighting which clearly shows their face and outfit so that it does not come across as placing them in dark lighting. I have done this so that it shows the counter stereo type and that everything to do with rock does not have to be dark. The main backdrop I have used in my images is light grey. This ensures that you can see the model clearly on the background but by also making the image look less plain instead of having a white background which is boring and does represent the social group.

Language The language which I have used through out my magazine was proper English but informal in a chatty way to still appeal to the younger target audience. I refrained from using any slang and negative or rude language . I have done this to represent that this social group can be intelligent and well educated. I have also used words which would represent their lifestyle such as 'Mayhem' on the front cover as they live a lively and adventurous lifestyle. I have also used words such as 'Wild' and 'Riot' through out my magazine as it also relates to the lifestyle in which they live.

Camera Angle The majority of Camera Angles I have used throughout my magazine is mid shots. By using the mid shot this relates to my target audience and this social group as they would be interested in their appearance (which is a counter stereotype of this group) and therefore by doing a mid shot of my models I can show off their outfits. As these would be well known popular artists the social group would be interested in what they are wearing to gain fashion tips for their own benefit as they would be interested in their own appearance.

Mode of address In all of my images I have ensured that they make eye contact and look into the camera. This would help represent the social group as they would feel more directed at and involved in the magazine and with their favourite artists if they are being made eye contact with as eye contact is a polite gesture made. This would also represent them as I feel that they misunderstood by making eye contact does show that are understand and welcomed into Destruction magazine as they would feel involved from the artists featured inside the magazine.

I have also represented this social group In the way I want rockers to be portrayed as in my artist interview I have made sure that it links in to the counter stereo type of people who have a passion for rock. For example In my interview I discussed topics of being misunderstood and how my artist deals with being portrayed as negative character. This would represent the group as I feel that they could personally link in with the interview and use the artists answers to my questions to help themselves and to use as advice in their situation as being seen as such a negative stereo type.

I represented the social group through the use of colour in my magazine. The colours black and red are commonly used in rock magazines as they have connotations of violence and anger. However I have used them to represent passion and power as they are powerful and effective colours which would represent the social groups passion for music as it is a powerful aspect in their life. As the colours used in my magazine can be seen in two different ways it would attract the audience who do condone and represent the angry and aggressive side of rock but it would also represent the counter stereotype which has a high passion for the music which has an powerful effect on their lives. The use of the colour yellow is bright, vibrant and upliftingwhich represents the life of some who likes rock music andshows the more positive effect on them as yellowcan represent happiness.In the image I have circled the main use of the colour on myI have used on my front cover. The 4 main colours I have used is white, red, yellow and black.

Finally I have represented this social group y the price of my magazine. As my target audience would be students I have priced my magazine at £1.50 which would be an affordable price to that age group as they may not have jobs as they would be focusing on their studies or have a part time job which they would be using their money for other necessities and living on a budget. Therefore this price would attract my target marker and meet their needs so they would be able to read my magazine.