Pitch DocumentBy Charlotte Griffin

The working title for my magazine will be ‘Classic’. This name has been chosen due to its simplicity and relation to the genre of music my magazine will be about; classical. The word ‘classic’ also has positive connotations making the magazine seem important and well established. In youth culture the word ‘classic’ is also used to mean something is good so the name will appeal to a younger audience.

The tag line for the magazine will be ‘Feel the music’ as it is short and snappy therefore memorable.

The frequency of publishing will be monthly which directly effects what price I can give the magazine. This decision was a result of the market research I undertook, as, from the people who frequently buy magazines, there was a tie between monthly and yearly for the most commonly bought magazine.

About the magazine:

I have decided upon the price of the magazine being £4.99 as, being a monthly magazine, it will have a lot of content and will be high quality. The majority of the audience for this magazine will be middle class so will have adequate spending money. However there will also be readers who are working class, or possibly university students, so may not have a large amount of money to spent on luxury items, so I didn’t price it over £5. It is aimed at people in the B, C1 and C2 social grades.

The aim of the magazine is to make classical music more mainstream and accessible to a younger audience (aged 15- 30). It will do this by not being dull and bland, but exciting, vibrant and full of modern classical music.

More about the magazine:

The ‘Classic ’ Reader: Hannah is an 18 year old art student at a college in York. She has a part time job on

top of her full time education, so has a bit of extra money to spend on entertainment items like DVD’s, magazines, CDs and books. As a result of all of her work she doesn’t have much time for entertainment or relaxing during college term time so magazines are a perfect way to wind down in a 15 minute break. She started listening to music in the late 90’s and the early Noughties, but really found her passion when she learned the flute at primary school. This led to her joining the school’s concert band where she enjoyed playing public performances with her band mates. She was determined to constantly improve her talent, passing flute exam levels with hard work and practice. Nowadays she performs solo and also in her college band every week. Her one true passion in life is her classical music so reads ‘Classic’ magazine in her limited free time. Since finding this magazine she reads it to discover new artists in this music genre, find interviews with her favourite musicians, and to find out information of upcoming recitals and gigs. She finds that this is the only classical music magazine tailored to her age group so finds the magazine has a more personal register.

Reader Profile:

Interviews with performers, critics, etc. Reviews of new and accomplished musicians. List of upcoming recitals and gigs in Britain. Regular competitions e.g. win a set of speakers, tickets, or gift cards for music shops. Large staged photo-shoot images of musicians with instruments that can be removed

easily from the magazine to make into posters. Experts and reader’s comments. Articles on new artists, awards ceremonies, debates etc.

◦ An example of an article would be about the musical honours in the Queen’s New Year Honours list.

Content of the magazine:

Masthead and subtitles: Felix Titling , Gill Sans Ultra Bold , or Segoe Script

◦ I chose Felix Titling as the typeface for my masthead and subtitles because it is clear and easy to read but will also stand out from the page. I decided against Gill Sans Ultra Bold as it is too heavy, and Segoe Script because it wouldn’t stand out enough.

Slogan: Broadway , Elephant , or Ravie Regular text: Baskerville Old Face , Adobe Song Std L , or Georgia Potential colour themes:

◦ Red, yellow, brown◦ Black, red, orange◦ Red, brown, orange◦ Purple, blue, lilac

Style sheet ideas:

Colour theme: red, brown, orange and black. Numbers: numerals will be used for all numbers greater than nine, but nine and

below will be written in words. Drop caps: should be used to start each paragraph Layout: all text inside the magazine should be written in columns of an equal size. Text:

◦ Colour- inside text will be white or black depending on the background colour for ease of reading. Captions on the front cover

◦ Typeface- ‘Felix Titling’ will be used for the masthead and the subtitles creating a style and keeping continuity. ‘Elephant’ will be used for the slogan ‘Feel the music’. And finally, the regular text will be in ‘Baskerville Old Face’.

◦ Size – the masthead will be 66, subtitles will be 24, the slogan will be 18, captions on the front cover will be 20, and regular text inside the magazine will be 16 however drop caps will be 28.

Style sheet:

Classic

Flat plan:

Front cover:

Contents page:

Double page spread:

Dummy front cover:The image of a young woman playing the violin is the type of picture I will take for the front cover of my magazine, as it shows that the contents are aimed at a younger audience and the violin in the image represents classical music.

One reason why this image was chosen is that it is a studio shot. For my front cover I will also use a studio shot as it can be tailored to the requirements of the magazine.

A medium long shot has been used for this image. For my magazine, a medium or medium long shot will be used on the cover.

On my magazine the colour theme will be addressed more on the cover image than it is in this image. However the black dress and brown violin do contribute towards it.