Name: Jessica Monk

Candidate Number: 4102

Center Number: 64315

Format: MagazineI am going to produce a new indie music magazine called Riff. My magazine ideas come from Q however they cover a range of music genres compared to my magazine which focuses on indie. In the future I hope that Riff magazine could become a market leader in the indie genre, above their competitors NME and Kerrang. I will be creating a front cover and double page spread to explore the layout of my magazine for the first issue which will be released; this will also allow me to explore how I will be using my colour scheme throughout each issue. Both my front cover and double page spread will be used to advertise Riff magazine. Working Title: The masthead name I have chosen is Riff, however I did have other possibilities such as Stringz and Bass, which I felt also, met the indie genre. The font I have chosen for my masthead is Lemon/Milk, however there was also Maxxii Serif and Mangosteen, which worked well with my other two masthead ideas.

My masthead will be in the top left hand corner of the magazine, with red gradient text, a white stroke effect and a black drop shadow. Just like Q I will be including a shape behind which will also be white. My cover lines will also be down the left hand side of the cover, the text will be red with a black drop shadow. My main image will be positioned towards the right of the magazine, with my main headline below, which will also be red with a black drop shadow. In the top right hand corner will be my puff promotion which will be gold with white text, and my barcode will be at the bottom right showing the magazine’s web address, links to social media and the date which the magazine will be released.

Genre: My chosen sub-genre for Riff magazine is indie, as this proved to be most popular within my target audience survey and questionnaire results. Riff will include both male and female cover stars from the indie genre who appeal highly to both genders; they will either be well-known or smaller indie bands. Riff magazine will be in competition with Kerrang and NME and potentially Q, both Kerrang and NME share the same indie genre were as Q covers multiple genres, they also share the same target audience.

Content:Riff magazine will be a 120 page indie music magazine filled with exclusive information such as;

Double page spread interviews, with popular artists in the indie genre, Quick fire question interviews, to introduce the reader to smaller indie bands, Album and artists reviews from music producers and DJ’s of the best male and

female indie artists, ‘Riff’s top 10 indie tracks’ a playlist which selects the 10 indie tracks each month

both new and old. 16 full page advertisements to engage the reader throughout the magazine, and

keep them entertained, Exclusive double page posters, And festival guides, such as reading and Leeds, Glastonbury and many more.

Including both male and female artists will help my magazine to gain ‘Star Appeal’ and attract both male and female readers, as both will be equally entertained. Style or Approach:Overall my chosen colour scheme is red, white and black. The denotation of the colour scheme for the magazine front cover will be red, white and black.

The colour red was chosen for the masthead because this is the first feature which the reader will notice, therefore using a bright eye-catching colour, will make Riff an easily recognisable magazine.

The colour black was chosen for my text as this is stereotypically the most common colour for interview text. This colour also represents mystery which will invite the reader in, and is also associated with rock which embraces my magazines theme or British indie rock.

The colour white was chosen for my background and masthead shape, as this is a basic colour and was inspired from Q magazine. This colour white will also allow other features of my magazine to stand out, were as a darker background will overpower features like the main image and main headline.

I will be using Photoshop to construct both my front cover and double page spread, because this will enable me to create the exact layout from my hand drawn drafts using the guidelines.

Some of the tools and effects in Photoshop which will be particularly beneficial when constructing the front cover and dps will be; the rounded rectangle tool for the shape behind my masthead and puff promotion, drop shadows behind my masthead text, cover lines and main

headline, gradient for changing the colour of the background, and the pen tool for creating text columns. Audience:

Age: 18-24 , There isn’t one specific gender, as I feel my magazine should appeal to both male and

female readers, Socio-Economic Needs; Audience category E and possibly D, Ethnicity: Typically White British readers, however other ethnicities depending on music

their tastes. The target age group for Riff magazine will be 18-24, there isn’t one specific gender, as I feel my magazine should appeal to both male and female readers. As my target age group is 18-24 a majority of these people will fall into audience category E and others possibly D if they aren’t in education. As Riff will start out as a national magazine and the theme is British Indie rock stereotypically this would appeal to people of White British ethnicity, however it could also appeal to people of other ethnicities depending on what their music tastes are.Length:

120 pages, A4.

Q magazine has an average of 135 pages therefore I intend to create a 120 page magazine, each month the amount of content will dictate how many pages feature in the magazine. On average the minimum amount of pages Riff magazine will include is 100 and the maximum is 130. The size will be A4 as this is the most common size for a magazine, and also this is easiest for people to read and also a good size for travel. Frequency:MonthlyWhy; 120 pages more content, longer time to produce and edit the content. Cost; £2.50Riff magazine will be released as a monthly magazine due to the 120 pages, this allows more time for producing and editing the magazine and more detail to be added. Also Q is a monthly magazine therefore releasing Riff monthly will allow more time to produce high standard content. The price of Riff magazine will be £2.50 as this was the preferred price from my survey and questionnaire results, also this is a lower price than most monthly magazines, which should encourage more sales