Task 9: Formal Proposal

Summary of general research about music magazines

Whilst preparing to create my own music magazine, I did a lot of research regarding what a
music magazine should be like and what it should contain. I found out that music magazines
have to be current and in order to successfully survive in the competitive business that is the
music industry, they must keep up with current events and publish monthly, if not weekly
editions. Through my research, I also found out that a magazine will only be successful if you
give the intended target audience what they want. For example, an alternative rock magazine
would not be successful if they featured artists such as One Direction on the front cover. You
can find out what you target audience wants to creating focus groups or questionnaires. There
must also be good, entertaining and new stories to attract the buyer, if the stories are old or if
other music magazines have already covered them, then the magazine will lose popularity.
Having current stories also sets the tone for the magazine. One of the main things I found out
whilst conducting this research was that it was extremely important for each magazine to
have its own individual style so that it stand out from other magazine brands and it
recognisable as its own brand. I also found out that magazine publishers use a range of
devices to sell their magazines. For example the use of colour and images but also things like
competitions and free gifts. This helps keep a magazine popular and successful.

Summary of conventions in a music magazine

Through my research, I found a number of conventions that all music magazines share,
especially on the front cover, contents page and the double page spread.
For the front cover of a music magazine, there are many conventions that are usually
followed. These include:

A masthead at the top of the page- A masthead is the title of the magazine and is
normally the largest font on the page. This is so it can be read from a distance.
The main image- The main image usually consists of either a band or a solo artist that
relates to the genre of the magazine. For example, if the magazine was alternative
rock a band such as My Chemical Romance or Green Day would be featured.
The price/dateline/barcode- A magazine conventionally always featured these three
things together as they are linked as features. They help the audience find out a little
about that particular magazine issue.

For the contents page of a music magazine, there are also many conventions that are usually
followed. These include the following:

The date and issue number (For the same reasons as the front cover)
The word Contents at the top of the page- This is done to make it completely clear to
the reader that this is the contents page.
A range of images relating to articles in the magazine- Images are used on the
contents page to show the reader what sort of things/articles are likely to feature, for
example bands and festivals.
Columns with text- This is done to feature main articles and it gives the reader a small
preview before they read the whole article.
The title of the magazine- This is likely to be found somewhere on the contents page
as it reinforces the name of the magazine to the reader and makes it memorable.
House style- The contents page and the cover will were clearly link in terms of house
style, for example, colour and font. This house style choice will also represent the
chosen genre. For example, a black and white theme or a dark colour will clearly
reflect an alternative rock magazine.

For the double page spread in a music magazine, there are many conventions that are usually
followed. These include:

A large image (usually takes up one side) - Double page spreads used in magazine are
very image focused. An image will be used with very little writing on that page, if
any.
Written article- A double page spread normally features either a Q&A based article or
a free flow article, where the writer does not ask any question but just writes about
one topic concerning the band or artist. This article will be written in paragraphs and
will most likely be informal.

All three parts of the magazine (front cover, contents page and double page spread) are
connected using a range of features. One of the main connections between all three is the
house style. This includes the font and the colour scheme. For example, if purple was
consistent on the front cover, it should be included in the contents page and also on the
double page spread. Another connection between the three pages would be the magazine
title. Normally, all three pages would contain the magazine name so it becomes memorable.
Also, all the contents in the magazine will be consistent with the genre. For example, in an
alternative rock magazine, all the images will feature alternative rock artists and bands. Also,
the language used will be rebellious to match the alternative rock genre. This means that
some of the language used may be vulgar.

From researching my genre of alternative rock, I found out that many alternative rock
magazines break away from codes and conventions. For example, bold fonts with dark
colours are used. This is done as the genre of alternative rock is seen as rebellious.

Below are some of the magazine covers I would like to base my magazine on:
Covers:

Contents Page:

Double page spread:

Target Audience Research:

Whilst doing my research for my target audience, I realised that I wanted to change my target
audience from male to both male and female, however the rest of the criteria (white, middle
class 16-24) has remained the same. I decided to aim my magazine at both genders as when I
was doing my questionnaire, there were more females who filled it out and said they listened
to alternative rock music compared to males. This means that both genders are suitable for
my magazine, which was reflected in my questionnaire results.
Though my research I have decided that my colour scheme should consist of dark colours. I
have decided to have a black and white theme as it was the most popular choice in my
questionnaire. I will also use purple as this was the second most popular colour and it will
add colour to my magazine. I have decided to feature a solo artist on my front cover and in
my double page spread. Although bands were very popular in my questionnaire, I decided to
do a solo artist because there were more solo artist mentioned. My cover will also feature
competitions and free posters as well as cover lines mentioning my main articles.
My contents page will contain a range of features and will have the same house style as my
front cover. The page will have a rebellious feel to it as alternative rock is considered
rebellious. This will be achieved be using dark tones and colours. In the contents page, I will
show at least 50 pages. These will include interviews, gigs and band information.
I have decided to create a free-flow article as opposed to a Q&A article. It will be informal
yet contain a lot of information about the artist. Since it is a free-flowing article, there will

only be one heading and no sub-heading. My article will contain facts about my new artist
but will mainly be about her music.
Having analysed and gone through all my research, I am ready to complete my formal
proposal and start creating/planning my music magazine.