Music Today Limited Activity

Memo 3
From: The Commissioning Editor
To: The Creative Team
RE: Your ideas for the new title
We’re going ahead. We’ve got the funding. Well done!
Now we need more details on the content.
1. The boss is worried that the Music Press just uses stereotypes to
sell music. Convince her that your title will be different. Explain how
your title is similar or different to two or three other Music Press titles,
either contemporary or from the past. Tell her about the values and
ideology of your title compared to existing titles, what kind of lifestyle
yours promotes, and how it will use representation. You can use
bullet points / mind maps / diagrams etc to explain your ideas.
2. Provide a full contents list for your magazine or website. For each
item (e.g. feature article interviewing a band) give basic details (which
band; where will they be interviewed, what pictures will accompany
the article, what impression of the band will you give, and how will it
avoid negative stereotyping etc). Do this for each of the items on your
contents list. You can present this as an annotated list, or as bullet
points.
3. Provide a detailed, coloured sketch of a feature article page from
either your website or your magazine. Sketch out your key design
elements and write in the key copy, like the first paragraph of the
article, all the headings, the sidebars and anything else important.
Use labels and annotations to help explain what is there.
4. Explain how your feature article will appeal to your audience and
how it avoids stereotyping. Go through each aspect of content,
layout, design, ideology, mode of address and so on, saying why you
have made these choices and how you think it will appeal to your
target audience. You can use bullet points / mind maps / diagrams
etc to explain your ideas.

_________________________________________________________________________________Kerrang Magazine

As my magazine ‘The Sound’ is a rock and alternative music magazine, it is not alone in the music press industry. The most popular rock and alternative magazine in the UK at the moment is Kerrang magazine. 

Kerrang magazine has been the best selling British music magazine since the year 2000. It is popular because:

• It is released weekly and Bauer Media group publishes it.
• The masthead of the magazine is ‘Kerrang’ which is the onomatopoeic word for the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar.
• It has popular music artists on the cover, such as the first artist was AC/DC. Some of the later artists were Bon Jovi, Metallica and Venom.  However the reader often criticises the magazine for the repetition it creates every time a new musical trend becomes popular.
• It has annual awards ceremonies that mark the most successful bands in the interest of the fans of Kerrang magazine.

Obviously, the popularity of this magazine “Kerrang” is going to be hard to compete in the music press market.  However, my magazine The Sound is going to compete because of it’s new complexities. These complexities are going to include:

• The title ‘The Sound’ is intriguing and exciting. It indicates the magazines intentions without revealing too much.  The masthead will prove the rock intentions’ as it will be white with a red outline. This will highlight fiercely the genre of the magazine. This will be a unique selling point.
• This magazine will have a very regular house style; however there will be features for special editions – such as for Halloween and Christmas.
• It will have rock semiotics that connote things that are related to the target audience, such as electric guitars.  I will even have chances to win free guitars as an offer in the magazine.
• The print medium will include regular features such as: gig tickets, interviews with top music artists of the rock/alternative genre and reviews. The magazine will always have three posters featured. Two of the posters will be of the most listened to of bands/artists at the moment, as voted for by the readers of the magazine. The other poster will be a poster of an older band who was once popular.
• The magazine will have features based on music, such as new albums or gig tickets. The website will have very exclusive context, such as a subscribe section. Also, it will have a list of bands in chronological order, for quick references and information. It will also feature a 12-page tester of what the print medium will be.
• The online magazine has exclusive content, which is partially already showed within the print magazine. The content on the magazine is everything the reader would ask for within their magazine choice.  The content explores an interactive side of the magazine, as it has the radio of the magazine, an iTunes link and a youtube link to the Sound's youtube account.

________________________________________________________________________________

Memo 2
From: The Creative Team
To: The Commissioning Editor

RE: More details

1. In the recent years in the music press, online publications and digital mediums have become extremely important for producers and readers of any successful magazine publication. Magazine websites are the main publication used by the producers of the magazines; the variety of each feature on the website evokes the target audience’s attention in an alternative amount of methods. I believe that the online website is able to achieve more than what a print-based magazine is able to do.

Many details of the website’s capabilities are:

• The producers can update the website at any time with important information necessary, however a print based magazine cannot update the magazine as frequently as it is released at a set time either monthly or weekly.
• The website sometimes features different music videos, or backstage videos of what is being mentioned within the article. The print based publication cannot feature these videos, and unfortunately I find this a disadvantage for the readers because I feel like the videos help an audience communicate the information of the article throughout their ability to see the moving image. Also, the sounds and images evoke the power of the article information.
• It will help to create a community between the readers, as they will have a forum where viewers can talk which will develop their personal relationships.
• Extra information or content which was unfortunately not involved in the print issue of the magazine will be included on the website, as the print based magazine is more exclusive information necessary for every part of the audience, not just specific fans of artists.
• Most of the website is free so the reader feel like they are getting a lot more information and entertainment from the brand, however there will be memberships  and a subscription for the online magazine that will enable subscribers who pay the money to have extra advantages over visitors of the website. There will also be lots of advertisement on the website for concerts, CDs and more which will boost the revenue necessary for the magazine.

2.  This is an example of the homepage i could create. The colours are basically like the print copy of the magazine. I have written on the copy that i drew out the details about the colours that will be displayed.

3. I have put the home page together in this way because it indicates the content of the magazine in an explosive manner. The magazine is designed to explore the different qualities of a rock genre magazine. It demonstrates what the genre is within the colour scheme and typography.

I have decided to use the ideas presented for these reasons:

Layout

• The layout of the masthead 'Sound' is positioned at the top left of the page. It is not widely obvious, and it is not the main focus of the reader. I believe this will be a unique selling point of the magazine. 
• It is quite spacious, and it is presented in blocks so it is organised in a well presented way.
• The blocks relate to the tab buttons on the top end of the homepage. Presenting the tabs on the home page enhances the knowledge of what is involved in the tabs to the reader. 

Content

• The online magazine has exclusive content which is partially already showed within the print magazine. The content on the magazine is everything the reader would ask for within their magazine choice. 
• The content explores an interactive side of the magazine, as it has the radio of the magazine, an iTunes link and a youtube link to the Sound's youtube account.

Design

• This online magazine will have a very regular house style; however there will be features for special editions – such as for Halloween and Christmas. It will have rock semiotics that connote things that are related to the target audience.  I will use dark colours such as black and red because it is stereotypically my target audience’s preferred colours. These colours will make it an average rock magazine, however my unique qualities of the magazine will force the magazine to differ from the rest. The house colours will make the magazine recognisable among the audiences.

4. This title will be successful within the market that i am trying to fit the website in to because of many reasons. This is established through these many points:

• The website is an interactive way of presenting information and enhancing entertainment, as it is on an internet platform the younger readers would be intrigued to read within the medium of their preferred choice. 
• It enhances the personal identity of the audience, and it evokes the personal relationships between the interactivity of the online magazine with the forums.
• It provides a reliable source of information for the genre of the music that the audience would prefer. The information is released regularly, as the producers of the online magazine can update the website at any time with the information necessary.
• People may read these magazines to develop the personal relationship between friends within their age, as it helps them relate to one another. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

Music Today Ltd.

Memo 2
From: The Commissioning Editor
To: The Creative Team
RE: More details

Thanks for all your hard work putting together your initial ideas for a new title. It looks like we might go ahead – let’s hope so!

To make sure our bid has the best chance of success, can you get the following to me as soon as possible?

1. We need a website to go with the magazine. Can you explain to the boss why a website is so important and how it will help us to reach our audience. Include details of what a website can do that a print magazine can’t, and how this will help to draw in a big audience and lots of revenue. You can use bullet points / mind maps / diagrams etc to explain your ideas.

2. Sketch out the home page of the website in detail and use colour. Make it look as realistic as possible. Design it well, and sketch in the pictures, images, logos and graphics and so on and make sure you write all the main copy.

3. Explain your ideas, and why you have put together your home page in this way. Go through each aspect of design, layout, content, mode of address, representation and ideology, saying how it will appeal to your target audience. You can use bullet points / mind maps / diagrams / annotations etc to explain your ideas.

4. Give us your views on why this title will be successful. Explain how this website would fit into the marketplace, and how it fills a gap in the market. You can use bullet points / mind maps / diagrams etc to explain your ideas.

________________________________________________________________________

Memo 1

From: The Commissioning Editor

To: The Creative Team

RE: New Music Press title in development

   1. The British Music Press a largely wide source of media, that is designed to inform music fans, about the music within their preferred choice of genre. These sources of media are magazines, websites, radios, newspapers, TV and social media. This is aimed at all music fans that are across Britain, as there are many different genres of the music press that is made. However, the music press is strongly aimed more at male audiences.

An example of the British Music Press that is aimed a more prominent male audience is:

Q Magazine:

• Q magazine has a 75% male readership, with the average reader being between the ages of 25 and 30 years of age in the ABC1 social grade. This magazine is directed towards this age group, because the founders Mark Ellen and David Hapworth were concerned with the music press in 1986, they felt as if there were no magazines that were directed to the older generation's preferences.
• The creators have directed the magazine to the audience clearly by the price of the magazine. Q magazine is £3.99 and younger people would not pay that amount of money monthly.

Another large published magazine in the British Music Press is a more prominently female readership. This magazine is called Top of the Pops:

Top of the Pops:

• Top of the Pops has a readership of 87% of a female audience, with a young age of 11-15 years old. This audience is within the social grade of ABC1, alike the audience of Q Magazine. 
• The magazine is released monthly at a price of £2.99. The target audience are able to buy this magazine for this price because it isn't a large amount of money but it is the amount the reader would have from the pocket money they would receive.

I believe that the main purpose of the British music press is to enhance the personal identity of an audience. It also provides a reliable source of information for the genre of music the audience would prefer. However, people may read these magazines to develop the personal relationship between friends within their age, as it helps them relate to one another. 

2. I am creating a new music magazine that is going to be directed towards rock and alternative music fans. The name of this magazine is going to be called ‘The Sound.’ It will be directed towards a male audience who will have 60% of the readership. This male audience would be individualists in the group of ABC1. My magazine will have a circulation of 280,000 people monthly. This magazine will be sold in many different mediums monthly across the UK for a price of £4.00.

I have decided to name this magazine ‘The Sound’ because I believe it is intriguing and exciting. I also believe that this name indicates what the magazine is about without giving too much away. I would design the title in a way, which suggests the rock genre. The way I will create a rock-like title is by having white title with a red outline, this will indicate fiercely what the music magazine genre is. The word ‘Sound’ will be positioned straight on the top of the page, which will draw in the audience. I believe this will be a quite unique selling point.

This magazine will have a very regular house style; however there will be features for special editions – such as for Halloween and Christmas. It will have rock semiotics that connote things that are related to the target audience.  I will use dark colours such as black and red because it is stereotypically my target audience’s preferred colours. These colours will make it an average rock magazine, however my unique qualities of the magazine will force the magazine to differ from the rest. The house colours will make the magazine recognisable among the audiences.

My magazine in a print medium will include regular features such as: gig tickets, interviews with top music artists of the rock/alternative genre and reviews. The magazine will always have three posters featured. Two of the posters will be of the most listened to of bands/artists at the moment, as voted for by the readers of the magazine. The other poster will be a poster of an older band who was once popular. The magazine will have features based on music, such as new albums or gig tickets. The website will have very exclusive context, such as a subscribe section. Also, it will have a list of bands in chronological order, for quick references and information. It will also feature a 12-page tester of what the print medium will be.

My magazine will appeal to my target audience because what is included will be included is what they will want to read about. I’m hoping it will provoke the aspect of personal identity. I’m also hoping it provides the entertainment and information my target audience will be looking for. It will be about rock musicians of every generation, so there will be a mix of the audience purchasing the magazine. However, the primary audience of this magazine will be based around 60% male and 40% female, it’ll be based on older teenagers to young adults, such as 16 to 22. The readership is around 300,000 people monthly, however the circulation of this magazine will be around 280,000.

3. This is an example of a magazine i could create. 

4) An example of a reader of The Sound would have to be Steven Carazonto. Steven is a 19 year old male who works in a music store in Central London.  He either drives to work while listening to his favourite music artists on the radio station, or he listens to his iPod with downloaded music from iTunes on the underground train. At Work, he likes to direct people to their preferred choices of music, because he understands music is such a large part of people’s lives. On his days off, he likes to research new music artists and bands. Also, he likes to meet and go out with his friends, usually to a rock concert. 
The Sound has been perfectly designed to appeal to this type of audience, as this audience would want to read about the information that is going to be portrayed throughout the magazine. It will evoke their personal relationships, because it will display lots of details about rock concerts that the audience would like to go to with their friends.
Some very important details on my target audience are:

•  The primary audience are prominently male as they would have 60% of the readership. 
• They would be individualists, in the group of ABC1.
• The whole magazine would have a circulation of 280,000 people monthly, however the readership will be 300,000.
• The target audience will be older teenagers to young adults, such as 16 - 22 years old.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Memo 1
From: The Commissioning Editor
To: The Creative Team
RE: New Music Press title in development

We've finally got the funding to put together a new title in our music press range of publications.

Can you get the following to me as soon as possible?

1. A clear explanation of what the British Music Press is, what it is for, who the audience is and so on. Refer to two or three examples that you think are particularly interesting. You can use bullet points / mind maps / diagrams etc to explain your ideas.

2. Give us some ideas for a new Music Press print-based magazine. Include: the name; the strapline; the music genre(s) it will cover; the look or image it will have; what kind of things it will include; the target audience, and any other key details.

3. Sketch out the front cover of your magazine in detail and colour. Make it look as realistic as possible. Design it well, and sketch in the pictures, images, logos and graphics, cover lines and so on.

4. Tell us more about your target audience. Give us a demographic profile of a typical audience member, then explain how your new publication will appeal to this target audience. You can use bullet points / mind maps / diagrams etc to explain your ideas.