Research into magazine adverts

Research into magazine advertsQ MagazineAs part of my research into music adverts within magazines I in turn looked with the Q magazine.

The founders of Q magazine, Mark Ellen and David Hepworth felt that their were no music magazines that suited an older generation of music lovers. So instead of aiming at teenagers and young people, the target audience for Q is music buyers over 25 years old, of both genders, however this is not to say that the content of the magazine would not be enjoyable for a younger reader. Q features many genres of music so it is suited to all music lovers. The magazine has a mass audience as it is so popular, but could also be referred to as having a niche audience, as it is specifically aimed at specifically music fans.

Q Magazine Adverts

Artist: Paloma FaithGenre: PopArtist: Bombay Bicycle ClubGenre: Indie RockArtist: Lily AllenGenre: PopPaloma Faith

Promotion of social media pages as well as the artists official website.Use of the colour pink adds a feminine touch to the poster, mabye applying to a more female audience.The main text is the name of the artist (the most essential/important piece of text) which takes up a generous amount of space on the poster. It is in a pink colour and styled in a very feminine style text used to promote the female pop genre of the artist.Unlike the main title the performance dates are in a bold, white font as they portray key information, which can be easily read by potential fans etc.The artists trademark red hair can be seen to stand out against the subtle blue backdrop.The artist, stereotypical of the pop genre takes up majority of the poster, dressed elegantly in a diamond studded dress with full makeup, including red lipstick which could be seen to appeal to her traditional female audience to see her as a role model, and to a male audience in a sexual sense.The white dog, along with the pale blue backdrop may infer a peaceful and relaxed nature of the music of the artist.Bombay Bicycle Club

The name of the artist is in bold at the top of the poster. It is in a much larger size to that of the supporting artists.There is no picture of the band on the poster, a slightly unusual and quirky animation of different hand shapes are used. The visuals of the poster can be seen to juxtapose that of the pop genre which nearly always use a picture of the artist on all promotional advertisements.Black backdrop is very understated and typical of the rock genre, furthermore it allows the key yellow text stand out.The key performance dates are in a simple, bold and clear font so they are easily readable.Key social media sites and official website used for further promotion of the tour.Lily Allen

The bold title is used to display the name of the artist the colour is pink providing a feminine element to the style of the poster. The name of the main artist is noticeably larger than that of the supporting act.Following on from the bold nature of the artists name, the performance dates are once again in a bold, clear font as it portrays information which should be easy to read.Reference to the artists official website and social media sites to further promote the tour/artist.Typical of the pop genre, the poster shows a picture of the artist, which takes up a large section of the poster space. Furthermore being a solo artist it is common to use a photo, as the individual artist is sold and promoted as an overall brand and not for just the music.Dark backdrop colour of the poster allows the bold title, information and large photo of the artist stand out.In the photo the artist Lily Allen is styled with her traditional fringe and high ponytail, appealing to long term and particularly female fans who may see her as a role model in terms of not only music but fashion and style.Kerrang MagazineTo further my knowledge into music adverts within magazines of varying genres I looked at Kerrang magazine.Kerrang! Is a UK-based magazine that has made itself a name by devoting itself to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. Its first publishing was on 6th June 1981, starting off as a one-off in the Sounds newspaper. In the early 2000s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. The first artist to be published in the magazine was Angus Young from AC/DC, this first magazine was edited by Geoff Barton, he saw the magazine go from being produced fortnightly to moving up to it becoming a weekly magazine in 1987.

Kerrang magazine adverts

Artist: SlipknotGenre: Heavy metal; nu metal; alternative metalArtist: Die AntwoordGenre: Rap (gothic,emo)Artist: MotorheadGenre: Heavy metal Slipknot

The name of the band is in a textbook, somewhat spooky and gothic font, reflecting the emo/heavy metal genre of the band.Unlike the pop magazine adverts the supporting artist of Slipknot is in a bold font, maybe expressing the fact that music is important to the band and not a self centred image.Reference to the bands social media pages and official website for added exploitation of the tour/album.The key information about the tour dates is in a simple and bold font so it is easy read.The words prepare for hell depict an image portraying the dark, and heavy metal/emo music which the band play. The bottom half of the text is red, as if it has been dipped in blood.The name of the band is in a text that cult fans would associate with the band universally. It is bold and could be seen to disable any language barriers, it is the most essential element of the advertisement.Marketing of the new album.The graphic on the advertisement seems to portray a zombie like female character grasping two rams by the horns (maybe for slaughter), a slightly disturbing image once again reflecting the dark/emo genre of the band and their target audience.Dark background reflecting genre of music, splotches of red representing an image of blood and violence.Die Antwoord

Reference to the artists official website, further marketing.The artists name is in a bold and distinctive font which would be used across all records, albums and marketing of the artist, an easily recognisable element of the band for fans.The key information is in a bold, easily readable text.Black backdrop represents the alternative and emo sound intertwined into the rap style of the artist.Much like the pop artists adverts I have looked at, the artist Die Antwoord uses a photo of themselves, this could be due to their genre of rap. Furthermore the originality and uniqueness of the artist is something that Die Antwoord are renowned for and so are obviously keen to exploit for the marketing and advertisement of their music.The tattoo's and strange look of the artist are presented on the poster as it is a major identity of who the artist are and what they represent. Their look is what makes them stand out, and why people like them hence why it is used to market the artist.Strange hairstyles, tattoos and nails are what make the artist stand out from the crowd, which may influence their audience and fans.Motorhead

Black backdrop reflects the heavy metal genre of the band, a traditional colour associated with rock music.The title of the band is in a large, bold font which is the trademark of the band. Fans of the band, would easily recognise the name of the band, purely from the text style which would be used across all their albums, promotion and merchandise etc.The metal skull graphic in the centre of the advertisement is similar to the title in the sense that it would be easily recognisable to fans of the band, the band members are not displayed on the advertisement typical of the heavy metal/ rock genre, it seems the music is more important than the individuals performing it, unlike the pop genre where the promotion of the artist as a selling point is very common.The dates and key information are displayed in a clear and bold font so as easy to read.The supporting acts are in a much smaller font to that of the main artist, emphasising the importance of the main artist.The main graphic shows a metal skull, with sharp teeth, large tusks, chains with skulls and crosses, all revealing stereotypical symbols of the heavy metal/rock genre which the band represent.ComparisonThe magazine adverts change and vary, greatly depending on the genre of music, target audience and the magazines in which they are situated.In Q magazine I found mainly pop and light rock adverts which usually showed the artist to promote the music (all bar Bombay Bicycle club).In contrast in Kerrang magazine which is directed at more heavy metal/rock/emo music fans the artists did not have themselves on the advertisements, instead using the music to promote themselves instead of personal image (this is excluding Die Antwoord who feature in the rap genre and used their own unique image to promote their music).