Music Magazine Evaluation

Question 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I had chosen rock music to be my genre for my magazine, so before actually starting the main task, I did some research on a variety of different rock magazines so that I could understand the codes and conventions of what a rock magazine should contain more clearly.

I looked at magazines such as; KERRANG!, Classic Rock, Q AND Rock Sound for inspiration for my own magazine.

For my magazine front cover, contents page & double page spread, I used typical conventions that other magazines of my genre would also contain. For example, my house style colours are black, red & white, which from my research, I had realised these were the most common colours used in different rock magazines.

My masthead was also a common convention of magazines of this genre, I chose a font that would be hard-hitting and strong, similar to the magazine KERRANG! The name size and font of the masthead is vital to subliminally inform the targeted audience which genre it is and what to expect, and ultimately whether it is something worth purchasing.

I downloaded the font for my masthead from dafont.com because I did not feel that Photoshop had the right font that could portray my magazine in the fashion that I hoped for. The name of my font is BROKEN74

I decided to make the name of my magazine ROCK HARDER because I think it made it clear to the audience what genre it is and what it would be about and provide an idea of what to expect. The font is bold edgy enough to grab the interest of teenagers and young adults. I didn’t want it to cover too much of the page so I put the mast head that was in white font on top of a black strap that I included behind it, which also allowed the masthead to stand out more which were also important conventions that would allow this magazine to be recognisable by my target audience as a magazine of my chosen genre

Also on the front cover, I added a barcode, the price, the website and a scan barcode that allows the target audience to scan it from their mobile phone and would be redirected to the official website of the magazine.

The font and layout used for most other rock magazines are usually chaotic and messy, but as for some aspects of my magazine, I preferred to keep it in an organized and orderly fashion, because the type of genre I am trying to portray is a rock and also a slight hint of the blues and soul.

‘ROCK HARDER’ targets an audience that is not only interested in attractive images and a colourful layout, but a determined reader who is genuinely interested in the life and events of artists and their music so would be willing to read more and would appreciate more text.

The language I have used in the article is therefore more complex than what is used in other magazines. This is to keep up the serious tone, as well as to appeal to the determined fans, who are the audience which will manage this language better than those who prefer to be attracted by colours and images. The article still has some ‘slangs’ taken from within the genre, and also words such as ‘hmm’ are used to bring about a feel of realism and closeness to the artist and the experience.

My colour scheme, which is the same throughout the magazine, conforms to the typical rock genre with red, black and white as the only colours used. So when it comes to the use of colours, my magazine is similar to the magazines on the market.

In conclusion to this question, I feel as if my magazine achieved to use, develop and challenge the forms and conventions of

existing magazines of the same genre as mine, such as the colour scheme (house style). Some conventions which are similar

include; the masthead and ones which challenge usual conventions are; the organised layout.