Locations, Props and Models

Locations, props and models of amps from alisonhoar

My Target Audience Research

My Target Audience Research

A pie chart and bar graph on their gender and how long they listened to music. 

For my survey, I asked the demographic details to show which area they would represent, such as gender and age which showed that over 70% of the people who answered the survey were female and all of them were the ages of 16 to 17 which is included in my main target audience. I also asked them their magazine purchasing history and their ideal price for a magazine however the audience answered that they never brought music magazines although 100% said they spend from 0 to £2.99 a month of music magazines which indicates that they would want a music magazine to be quite cheap but feature loads of content that they are interested in, so this is likely that my magazine would include adverts to make a good revenue through the selling of ad space.

When asked about how music they listened to in a week, over 70% of them said they listen to more than 3 hours which gives me an indication that they would be interested in reviews on new music or being introduced to new and up-coming artists. I also included a question on what genres of music that they listened to so I had an idea on what type of music would be good to include in my magazine. The two most popular choices were RnB and Rock, with Pop, Alternative and Rap coming close behind them which shows that’s my magazine being aimed at an alternative audience with elements of rock and pop would be a good market to focus on.

The answers to "What is most likely to grab your attention on the magazine cover"

When I asked what features they would like to see in my magazine, I got a range of results which included interviews with new as well as popular artists, recent albums that have been released, new music, posters and quizzes and the latest updates and stories. One response also said they would be interested in seeing products and advice for aspiring musicians which expands my market into a different area which I was expecting although this content would fit into my magazine well as it would include many new artists.

The last question on the survey was “What is most likely to grab your attention on the magazine cover?” to which over 80% said the photos and many others said the magazine name/logo which gives me help on what I should be focusing on the most for the cover. Some of my responders also left written suggestions such as using bright colours and well known bands that they could recognise to draw attention to the magazine.

This information from the survey will be very helpful when I am making my magazine as it shows that I am targeting the correct audience with my magazine and the content included and has also given me ideas on what to include and how I can expand my target to maximise the profit and success rate for my magazine.

The answers to
"How much music do you listen to in a week?" and "What genres of music are you most interested in?"

Music Magazine Original Idea

Music Magazine Original Idea

The magazine I want to produce is going to be focused around indie, alternative and rock music, so I wanted the name to be somehow involved with musical instruments used in these genres. Although there are a variety of instruments used within this vast genre, the most iconic is the guitar which is why I have chosen the name ‘Amps’. By using the name Amps, it already gives the reader an idea of the musical genre and that the magazine will feature a lot of guitar-heavy content. I also chose this name as amplifiers make a quiet noise sound noisier and loud meaning the magazine will give underground bands and unheard of artists a chance to gain a bigger audience through the magazine.

My main demographic for the magazine is working class, 16 to 27 year olds with a mainly male based audience; however the magazine will still appeal to its female readers. As it is a music magazine reporting on alternative music, it would suit a more male-dominated audience as they are seen as the majority who listen to this genre of music. The age group are quite young as this is the categories which are most likely to go to gigs and festivals, as well as being online and sharing content with friends in addition to being the age group that spends the most money on activities and items for their free time. Although I do feel my magazine would be okay for the middle class, I do think it suits the working class more as it is along the same lines as NME however I would still like it to look professional and maintain a suitable image.

 The finished magazine will be in a similar style as NME magazine or The Fly as these both focus purely on music but also include competitions and other related features to keep it interactive while keeping the audience engaged. The main cover and news story is going to be about an up-and-coming band/artist that are on becoming increasingly popular but are still unheard of to the mainstream audience, which is likely to appeal to my ideal customer. Although there are quite a few magazines that report on this genre, my magazine will have a unique selling point of focusing on smaller artists and only including a few well known acts, making it a source for new music and what will become gradually popular in the next few months.

Magazine Publishers Case Study

Magazine Publishers Case Study

IPC Media

IPC Media is the second most popular publishing company after Bauer Media and was founded in 1958, although in 1968 IPC Magazines was created when its parent company, International Publishing Corporation sectioned off the business into different areas. In 1998, IPC Magazines was brought by Cinven for £860 million and renamed IPC Media, which the company then sold IPC 3 years later to Time Inc whose parent company, Times Warner is the second largest media company in the world.

The company currently owns 66 titles from Country Life to Teen Now and Soaplife so it was split into 3 sections; IPC Connect for mass market women, IPC Inspire for men and IPC Southbank for upmarket women. With the company being as big as it is, it has a head office in London and various offices around the UK in Croydon, Manchester, Poole and Stamford which clearly shows how diverse the company is and how many levels it has to manage this many magazines.

The Magazines

With the business publishing 66 magazines, mostly weekly and monthly release titles means the business has a lot of work and the separation of the three different categories. IPC Connect caters for mass market women’s magazines which are publications such as Woman’s Own, Pick Me Up and Chat which feature celebrity gossip, real life stories and a selection of pieces such as recipes, fashion, advice columns and crosswords. The magazines in this group are read by 9.4 million women which are almost half of the entire audience for all mass market women’s magazines. Even in this section, it already has many different genres from Celebrity and Fashion, Lifestyle, Traditional, Real Life and TV/Entertainment. Celebrity and Fashion features magazines such as Now and Teen Now whereas Lifestyle includes Woman and Goodtoknow. Traditional is dedicated to Woman’s Weekly which has been running for over 100 years. The Real Life section features titles such as Pick Me Up and Chat and TV/Entertainment is the home to Whats on Tv and the TV Times.

 IPC Inspire, which caters for men magazines provides a range of topics for its broad audience. The sports magazines specialise in activities which aren’t found in newspapers such as shooting, equestrian, cycling and marine activities while also publishing magazines dedicated to Rugby, Football and Golf. It also publishes music and technology magazines such as NME, Uncut and Amateur Photographer in addition to Mens Lifestyles magazines like Nuts and Mousebreaker. Mens magazines from IPC Media are read by 42% of UK Men, which is a high proportion of male readers.

Within IPC Southbank, it houses magazines for upmarket women with sub-sections such as Fashion magazines such as Look and Marie Claire as well as Women’s Lifestyle such as women&home and Essentials. A big part of Southbank’s magazines for women is Home Interest such as Ideal Home and Style At Home. Although it has a smaller readership than mass market women, due to be aimed at the middle classes instead of the working class it still has a readership base of over 10 million.

The Typical Reader

IPC has a range of typical readers because within the three categories of magazines, they all include many sub-sections which appeal to a range of different audiences. IPC Connect is aimed at working class women, who are probably around 30 to 50 years old. IPC Inspire is mainly targeted at younger, middle class men although there are certain magazines such as Country Life which is for a more mature audience and NME which is for a more working class audience. IPC Southbank has the clearest typical readership as the magazines are mainly for middle aged, middle class women by the reflection of the Home and Lifestyle magazines.

Website

IPC’s website is surprisingly very similar to The Chelsea Magazine Company’s website with its blue and white colour scheme and use of white space which help accentuate the vibrancy of the photos. At the top of the website, it has a slideshow looped to show the many magazines it offers such as model to represent Marie Claire and a man playing golf to advertise Golf Monthly. It also has a small introduction to the media company next to it, much like the Chelsea Company and a small section of news which links with a bigger news page.

The Chelsea Magazine Company

The Chelsea Magazine Company is an independent publishing company which owns 8 specialised magazines. With a head office in Chelsea, London and a US base in Seneca, North Carolina they are considerably smaller than IPC Media which has 5 bases around the UK. The company was founded in 2007 and is becoming increasingly successful, notably after buying ‘Classic Boat’ magazine from IPC in 2010 and is also becoming a competitor within online by making digital editions for iPads and computers of their magazines.

The Magazines

The company is in charge of 8 magazines, which all are specialised in a hobby or sport. Artists and Illustrators is a magazine dedicated to art and artists who are interested in showcasing their talents as well as learning new tips. It also reports on artist news, exhibitions and competitions in which the reader can win money and art materials.

The Britain magazine specialises in the history and culture of the country in addition to reporting on topics such as the Royal family and advertising tourist information, such as places to stay around the country and the many tourist attractions the country has to offer.

Another magazine the company publishes is Independent School Parent which acts as a guide for parents who are interested in or already do send their children to a private school. It gives information for both students and parents on schools suitable for all ages up to universities

The Race car Engineering magazine is a specialised publication for car enthusiasts who are looking to gain more knowledge on the subject, read news on recent events within the field and has interviews from important people from popular events such as F1.

Its other four magazines focus on water activities, including; Classic Boat, Cruise International, Sailing Today and Yachts & Yachting. While Classic Boat features mainly photos of the different types of boats and sailing equipment, it has an estimated 13,000 circulation figure which is surprisingly high considering the topic. Cruise International is sold in travel agents as well as magazine retailers, such as WHSmiths and is published 6 times within the year. The content features news and destination information from various ships around the world. Sailing Today and Yachts & Yachting both focus around freetime and competitive sailing and various news to do with the topic.

The Typical Reader

The typical readership of the types of magazine that Chelsea Magazine Company publish is male, middle aged and middle class as the topics are quite male dominated, although you could say that the private school and art magazine are dedicated to the women readership. Hobbies like sailing are seen to be quite middle class as boats and the equipment needed are quite expensive so they would need a good income to also maintain the boats and make sure they are in good condition. The majority of children who go to private school are also middle class so that strengthens the argument that these magazines are not suitable for the working class. I would estimate the targeted readership for most of these magazines from 30 to 55 years old as they have more time to spend on their hobbies rather than careers or young children but are still physically fit enough to sail, travel or drive.

Website

The company’s website has a number of ways in which you can buy the products by having a page dedicated to their online shop where you can buy the magazines, a subscription area for a specific magazine as well as a digital subscription area. The website also has a news section in which it reports on a number of stories from awards and events of the magazines plus special editions of any of the magazines.

It has a clean and ordered layout and sticks to a simple colour scheme of blue and white, so that it looks professional. The homepage does have a lot of white space which makes it seem like it has been thought of when arranging the layout and also makes the images stand out more due to the bright colours and photos. The look and feel of the website does suit the readership of the magazine and is easy to navigate which may make it easier for some of the older readers.

Magazine Industry Overview

Magazine Industry Overview

The magazine industry has always been a commercially successful and steady business ground in which there has always been a need for. From music magazines to celebrity gossip, people have always been interested in reading the stories and articles about a range of topics but with the increasing use of technology and the seemingly limitless online opportunities, the magazine industry is taking a harsh downward spiral in favour of online publications and blogs.

The marketplace for just music magazines is very big as it ranges from big competitors like NME, Q and Kerrang! to the more underground and unheard of like The Stool Pigeon and Properganda, but they all have something in common which is that the rise in online publications has seriously affected their circulation figures as well as their profits. In an article reported by the ‘Press Gazette’, they reported NME had been badly hurt by their increasing online presence with a 14.3% decrease in circulation within the first half of 2011, which has undoubtedly risen by now. Q magazine had an 10.1% decrease while Kerrang had a slightly better 2.2% decrease, but is still likely to highly effect the business as a whole and the profit margin of the magazine.

The use of social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter is at its all-time high as people are finding it easier to communicate with each other on a various amount of websites. With the increase in use of these types of websites, the magazine business’ themselves have had to increase their online presence as magazines such as NME and Q have Facebook and Twitter profiles in which they report news, which could be one of the reasons why people are not buying magazines as much anymore. Also, the increasing popularity of blogs and blogging websites with social aspects included such as Tumblr have led to an increase in ‘amateur’ music blogs which report on mainstream news as well as unsigned and unnoticed artists & bands. An example of this is ‘tuneage.tumblr.com’ which posts reviews, links to news and a selection of newly released music which it shares with its “our 300,000 strong audience”.

The development of technology has also had an impact. An increasing number of people now have smartphones and Ipads which make it easier to read music news online and through the magazine’s websites while on the move. This also makes it easier to visit a number of music websites and read on all the different news compared to buying a selection of magazines, which is not ideal for someone travelling or for their purse. You could also argue that the economic downturn has also affected the magazine industry as people simply do not have the money to spend on magazines when they have more important things to buy. Magazines are classed to many people as a ‘luxury’ item which they probably don’t need, but still buy for the entertainment purposes however with the recent recession and increasing prices of food and bills, consumers are cutting back on items that they don’t need and find other places where it is free. Many of the major magazine’s websites do not have a subscription fee and the articles are free to read for the general public which provides a cheaper alternative to spending an upward of £2 on a physical copy of the magazine.

NME Case Study

                               

                 NME Case Study

NME Magazine was first published on the 7^th March 1952 after being brought by a London producer and relaunched as ‘New Musical Express’ to which has become iconic within the music magazine genre with thousands of readers every week. Later that year, they started the first UK Singles Chart which the 12 musicians with the highest sales that week would feature and has lead on to the rise in interest surrounding singles and album charts.

Although NME’s total circulation is only around 24,000, in the 1960 and 70’s NME sales peaked at almost 300,000 copies every week although in 1972, the magazine was almost closed by IPC Media after losing to its rivals ‘Melody Maker’ who stopped publishing in 2000 and merged with NME.

Through over 60 years of music history, NME has been at the centre of many music trends and phases. The 1960’s NME focused mainly on emerging British bands, which ones featured such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones became icons of the 60’s music history. Later in the 60’s, psychedelia became popular as rock music began to overtake pop in the charts and in popularity with the mainstream audience which leaked in the early 1970’s. In the 1980’s however, NME went through an identity crisis as the magazine was split between reporting on the rise of hip-hop as other music magazines had started to do or continue the NME tradition of continuing to report on rock and alternative music.  After a change in management, the magazine continued with its alternative routes and continued to report on acts such as The Smiths and Joy Division. The 1990’s were seen as the most iconic years of the NME as the start of the era, ‘Madchester’ became a popular music scene with the rise of The Stone Roses, New Order and The Happy Mondays but this only lasted for around a year as acts from the US became more well-known and ‘Grunge’ found its way to the UK. In 1994, Grunge started to become less popular, which the death of Kurt Cobain was seen to contribute to, so Britpop began to rise to the mainstream charts. The two most iconic bands of this era, Blur and Oasis continued to battle in the charts for number one but after the next few years, Britpop had begun to decline in popularity and NME faced its biggest challenge again of being a music-directionless magazine as its readers wanted for them to concentrate on its alternative roots while dance music was the main genre of the late 90's to the early 2000's. Lately the magazine has reverted back to its alternative roots by reporting on indie and rock music, both in the mainstream and some that are unheard of to many people but they do report on other news as well as famous pop acts to reach a bigger market as the sales of NME have declined dramatically in the past 5 years. 

The magazine content

NME prides itself on being the best for new music and up-and-coming artists so these heavily feature within the magazine to offer its readership what they want to read about and are interested in. This reputation is helped by their weekly ‘Radar’ article which includes quotes from an interview with the specific band or artist it is reporting on and a ‘Need to Know’ section with short facts and figures about them. The magazine also includes a main feature article known as ‘Upfront’, a review on a live gig or concert and an in-depth interview titled ‘Does Rock’N’Roll Kill Braincells’ which have all become weekly staples of the magazine. It also contains small sections on smaller news and highlights from NME Video. The music genre of the magazine is mainly indie and rock, although it does feature many aspects of pop and other sub-genres to suit its varied fanbase and to appeal to as many of his readership as possible.

The magazine publisher

The magazine’s publisher, IPC Media was founded in 1968, five years after its official company IPC Ltd was formed and manages over 65 magazine titles, such as; Marie Claire, Ideal Home, Cycling Weekly and Uncut by selling over 350 million copies of its magazines every year. Formally known as the ‘International Publishing Corporation’, is owned by Times Inc., the publishing sector of parent company Times Warne. Times Warne are highly successful and highly regarded global media company with many operations in television, publishing and film who had revenue of $28.974 billion in 2011. Being the UK’s leading consumer magazine publisher, IPC Media is split under 3 different categories to manage its titles more effectively for their main customer bracket, which are; ‘Connect’ for mass market women, ‘Southbank’ for upmarket women and ‘Inspire’ for men which NME is under as it is aimed at mainly a male market. In 2001, Times Inc. brought the company from Cinven who had financed the management buyout three years prior. Although NME doesn’t have a very large circulation compared to other magazines, it highly contributes to the £45.5 million made my IPC Media last year by their website, sponsors and advertisers.

The typical reader profile

The average NME reader is a 24 year old male who is working full time.  96% of the readership is male which is why NME tends to focus on rock and alternative genres of music with a lot of emphasis on new bands and artists, appealing the to the young audience. According to a survey done with the magazine, their readers spend an average of £152 on footwear and £532 on clothes a year, along with £1229 on technology as NME’s adverts suggest as they concentrate highly on technology and music advertising within their magazine. 52% of them own a digital camera and spend an average of £170 on cameras every year. As well as being into music, NME readers are also interested in other technology such as DVD’s and games to which they spent £66 and £108 a year on, as well as £197 on consoles in the past year. Being a younger than other music magazine readers, they spend a lot of their time on the Internet, with 94% of them using the it for and at an average of 2.4 hours a day which would explain NME’s raise in online coverage which achieved over 7 million monthly unique users in 2011 and launching a sister site, NMEVideo.com and apps for smartphones and iPads. The average reader is also interested in fashion and their appearance, with 45% agreeing that they spent a lot of money on clothes and 71% agreeing that is important to be well dressed, which does correlate with some of NME’s sponsors such as ShockWaves, Boxfresh and Topman, as well as others including 02, HMV and Redbull.

Layout trademarks of the magazine

NME does have a clear layout for its magazine which it uses continually for every issue without much change in-between. Its signature NME logo on the front is always kept in the same position to keep to its house style and to attract its audience as it is a well respected name in the music magazine industry. Inside the magazine, it features a contents page with around 6 to 7 pictures of the people reported on within the magazine as well as simple, black bold writing to make it easy to read. Features included every week are an 'On Repeat' section where NME tell its readers what they have listening to this week as well as an NME Chart countdown in which they list the most popular indie and rock songs this week. The magazine features many interviews such as the 'Pieces of Me' section and 'Does Rock'n'Roll kill Braincells' page.They bring exclusives of new music under their 'Radar' category which is then followed by a 3 or 4 page feature article. The magazine heavily features reviews of albums, singles and live performances as this is what their audience are interested in knowing about. Other features included are a gig guide, puzzles page and letters section in which the readers can get in touch with the magazine to share their views. When flicking through a copy of NME, it becomes apparent on how much they rely on adverts of bands up and coming gigs around the country as well as products such as alcohol and technology. NME use a very similar palette of colours such as red and blue to cohere with its male dominated audience and often use simple layouts by filling the page with high quality photos. This is because many readers are interested in seeing whats going on as well as reading about it and the magazine uses black lines throughout to make the columns easier to read while making the white page seem more decorative ad interesting.

Fonts Moodboard

Fonts Moodboard

For the fonts I will use in my magazine, I downloaded a range that would fit in my magazine from DaFont.com.

They all would bring a unique feel to magazine as most of them are quite decorative and original however I feel the first 4 would work best. they wouldn't take up too much space on the page but aren't used in other magazines so it would contribute to the house style that I am trying to achieve.