How did you attract your audience?

I have attracted my reader by using bold headlines which have relevance to their interests, such as upcoming events and bands that are featuring in the magazine. The very distinctive masthead will certain grab the reader’s attention and hopefully over time it will be a good brand image, such as Kerrang. The large image on the front cover will certainly be eye catching as this is the lead singer of a very famous gothic band called TNT. The image appears very threatening and of course matches the typical stereotype of an everyday Goth, weird and scary. I have used colour schemes such as black on white and white on black that will create a dark and scary effect. I feel these give more of a gothic feel to it as many Goths dress in black with white accessories. In places I have used the colour red to make key point stand out and for an eye catching effect.

Who would be the target audience for your media product?

My target audience for my magazine would be teenage males who are obviously interested in gothic rock music. My target audience is a teenage boy who is going through a stage of heavy gothic culture. They are trying to be like Marilyn Manson as they are their idol. They are interested in heavy screamo music and very uneducated. They most probably dropped out of school and are smoking, taking drugs and get involved in anti social behaviour. They hate the world and do not believe in God or the Bible. It’s unlikely they have a job so their only source of income would be their parents therefore the magazine is aimed at working class. Also the informal language is used to better communicate with the uneducated reader.

What kinds of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

In this slide are two media publishers of which I could choose one of them if necessary to write to and ask to publish my magazine. Both firms are different and have key advantages and disadvantages. Bauer media is well established and is internationally recognised. It holds the rights for many of the popular magazines in today’s market, such as Kerrang and ZOO. Also Bauer media publishes Radio and TV channels. Bauer Media is such a large company I feel my magazine may get lost amongst the big competitors.

IPC is a UK only firm that publishes many small magazines. Their main attraction would be NME and NUTS. These are both again very popular magazines that have good circulation. IPC supports more small magazines that Bauer media so this influences me to progress towards them. Also if I was to publish with IPC there is not much competition between the firm for Rock magazines and therefore I may find it easy to get them to agree to publish my magazine.

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

In this slide I am comparing my double page spread and how it uses, develops and challenges the form and conventions of real media products. It does this by the continuation of the house style, the tag line at the top and the white masthead. I have used the same font for the main story as the text on the front page and contents page. Again this will continue the house style throughout the magazine. I have used large tag lines from the text to advertise the special things there are being said. I have used a large image of the artist in which the article is about, this will be a get attraction in which readers will look at and stop to read the story. My text is informal as my target audience will be teenagers and will not be upper class.

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

In this slide I am comparing my contents page to Kerrang’s contents page. Like Kerrang I have a bold headline clearly stating that it is the contents page. One of the challenges I face is that I used text to influence my main story rather than a large image. I have used small images which again have borders around them to continue the house style I created. The headline I used for the main story stands out from other articles which will entice readers to look at it. I have designed my contents page stylistically to compete with magazines in the same genre. I chose subjects such as reviews and albums to cover, as these relate to the important features of a music magazine. I have used attractive subheadings and a well organised layout to create a professional magazine.

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

The way in which my media product challenges the forms and conventions of real media products is by my significant house style. Many magazines such as Kerrang and NME have a noticeable house style. My house style is the white masthead with the black space above that creates room for an attractive tag line. I have put borders round my images to give it a more organised and professional look. Whilst looking at the design to similar magazines I noticed that Kerrang’s front page has a sort of messy look about it yet still remains to look professional. I have aligned my images so they are neat but not too neat as this is a rock magazine so I feel everything has to be a bit wacky.
I have used bold headlines such as “TNT are back” which will grab my readers attention. Also I have “free posters” on the front cover which will subconsciously say to the reader that this magazine is a great buy.

Final Main Task

Final Main Task

1) Front cover
2) Contents page
3) Double page spread