Notes on Music Magazines.

Analysing Uncut

1. The magazine is a major production company owned by IPC.
2. Self image – doesn’t care what he looks like ripped t-shirt, rugged, carefree.
3. Typical reader profile.
· Gender – Male
· Age – 30 – 40
· Job/income – 25,000+
· Hobbies/interest – In a band
- Photographer

- Appearance – Long, rugged hair

- Baggy clothes

- Unclean look.

4. Find a self image – what music should they listen to
- What they should look like
- Generally there self image
5. Appealing – the image is carefree – relaxing
- very masculine – but with the guitar it makes it seem cool
6. Mode of address – informal, telling the audience how to dress.
7. Attitudes towards the reader – Inform.


Front cover – music magazine- Mixmag

1. Who is the target audience? Male and female 18 – 25, people who like to have fun and partying.
2. What is the music genre?
Retro, techno
3. How is the front cover made appealing for the target audience? It’s made appealing by the use of bright colours, the clothes they are wearing, also they are not posed and look like they are naturally having fun. Relating to the audience, loud and in your face.
4. What is the focal point? The focal point is two people dress up yelling at each other.
5. What is the mode of address – how does it’s audience? It’s speaks like a friend towards the audience, yet seems controlling at the same time ‘Party or die’


The music world

1. Establish - what is driven by youth
The hippies started with a rebellion, this started the flower power and long hair, drugs and freedom.
- The emo type of music may have started with the band being really emotional with their music, dark and sinister.

What is driven by institutions?
-Radios played music which was already there – relating to certain music
- Tv’s making music videos’s for the bands.

2.Changes in music consumptions?
-Cassette tapes
Music videos
Radio
Downloading

2. Role of a magazine is?
Magazines usually promote new music CD’s or to download, also to introduce a new artist/band
- they comment on a band’s new song or look
- guide – what to wear and what not to wear, also what you should listen to.
- Share the moment – if something great had happened like a band member is getting married, or if someone has died they talk about the good times such as Michael Jackson.

Task 1 How does music offer a range of identities.
Britney Spears at first represented innocent and sweet young girl – representing girls at a younger age being sweet – had pigtails and wearing uniform. Her image has changed, she has had many break downs, her babies taken away from her, married twice, her image has completely changed to what it was – opposite.


Task 2: How does the representation of gender link to the various genres of music?
In rock music, men are seen as dominating in their videos and women are objects.
In rap the male seem to have all the money, fancy cars and women who will do what they want (sexual objects)
Pop – girls see, plastic and all beautiful, dressed up. Voice is amazing and glamorous.



Task 4 Indie magazines have men on the front cover - dressed in skinny jeans - mid length hair, looks relaxed.

On rap magazines they usually have a man on the cover looking fierce with loads of 'bling' and sometimes a gun in their hand.

Kerrange have male band members, the rock type dressed in all black, black heavy make up, tattoos and ruffled hair - shows males are dominant.

Links to target audience, men look up to them and want to be like them, female audiences want to be with them - mainly because they don't seem weak.



Task 5 Are music magazines a product of hegemony? Hegemony = wants people to follow = wants to be powerful.

- They can be seen as though they want to take over people's lives and that people must rely on them, making them seem as they don’t have a personality and want to make people follow magazines like a religion. Also what ever is in the magazine is correct like a Bible is to a Christian and they follow a certain trend and what not to wear. Magazines overall can be seen as controlling.

Ways to make your magazine different

- Regional most are national – make only in county’s
- Niche genre – imported
- Supplements digital radio – listen to a radio with a specific music and generate from that.
- Subscription
- E – zine
- Existing models – rival – new style – look – new voice

Photoshop – big title main image
IPC – mainstream wide range of music.
1. Core readers
2. secondary readers – family – females
3. Third levels – males

Keywords

- production values – how the company represents itself – formal chatty, in your face, teaches you.
- House style – same layout throughout a magazine.
- Reader profile – who is the reader, who is the target audience
- Mode of address – how does it speak to it’s audience – tone
- Attitude towards the reader? Equal to, speak down to, sarcastic, friendly, lead, inform, educate.
- Attitudes towards content – positive, negative, defend, promote, sell.

Planning music magazine

1. Buy – older people 3 ways of getting a magazine.
2. Subscribe – older people
3. Online – older + younger
Download, SMS, Phone

NME ½ million 1996
30,000 2009
1. Target audience – who is it for.
Circulation and distribution how are they sold? How? Shops, home, gigs.

Frequency – most monthly.
Price – reasonable
Revenue – how much the magazine makes.

Gene Simmons Interview

1. Who is the target audience? Mainly males who love Kiss, and are in their mid 40’s.
2. Article made appealing – Big main picture to catch the attention, his signature look. Pictures at the bottom showing various events he had alone, also showing the time before KISS
3. What sort of language is used to describe Simmons? Quote – Chatty, informative also immature way of talking with a self centered tone. “’Bob Dylan wore white face paint on the Rolling Thunder tour because of KISS ask him’”
4. How is Gene Simmons represented in the article?
He seems big headed about his fame but there is a bit in the article where he talks about his kids not. “The reason both my kids….have never uttered a potty word” He makes himself big and impressive but deep down he’s a caring father.