Target Audience

Here i have analysed the music magazines 'Q' and 'Top of the Pops' and wrote the target audience for each magazine, based on the price, colours, coverlines, main image, special offers and other musicians mentioned on the covers.

Representation of Artists in Music Magazines

Here i talked about the representation of each of the artists on the covers of the magazines in terms of costume, facial expression, pose, hair and make up and framing.

Music Magazine Analysis

Here i analysed the layout, presentational devices, language and content of the music magazine KERRANG!

College Magazine Front Covers

This is the magazine cover that i feel is the least successful. The set up is similar to my most successful cover, with the props and the background the same. On this cover, i think having the cover lines spread over both sides works quite well, and the headline stands out to the reader. I also feel that the seal of approval appeals well to my target audience as many college students are interested in music. 
However, i feel that the quality of the image is poor, and the face seems quite blurred. I also feel that the figure looks quite uneasy, and the props are in the way of her body. Also, unlike my most successful cover, the seal of approval is covering the paint pots in the background, which i think makes the magazine less colourful. Also, the background looks quite busy, more so than my most successful cover, because of the cover up of the paint pots. In this cover i only included 3 cover lines unlike my previous magazine covers which both had 4, and this means there is less for the reader to look at. Also, none of the cover lines relate to the main image.

College Magazine Front Covers

This is the magazine i feel is my second most successful. I think the colour scheme works well, the blue on the wall and the bits of blue on the figures shirt works well, and the wall being all one colour allows for the headline to stand out. I feel that the cover lines also stand out, and you can see that i went for the simple black and white look which i think helped this. I feel that the seal of approval also works well, and the word 'WIN!' attracts the reader. I also feel that the image is of a good quality and looks good enough to be on the cover of a magazine; it's believable. The cover lines would appeal to college students, and the 'WIN! £100 worth of Topshop vouchers' would appeal to males and females, as the figure in the image is wearing clothing from that actual shop.
I think the cover is missing a few things, for instance, the figure is not engaging the reader by using direct mode of address. Some of the cover lines relate to the main image, however their isn't a clear main cover line linking the image to the stories. I also feel that the cover is maybe a bit too simple, i didn't use any props and could have done with adding more colour into the cover lines. I also feel that a completely blank wall would have been better to use rather than the wall having photos on it, because this take away from the main image and the cover lines and may lead the reader to think the magazine could have something to do with photography, which it doesn't.

College Magazine Front Covers

This was the magazine front cover that i chose as my most successful. I wanted the cover to look like it was set in a school, and the image needed to represent school life so it was obvious that my magazine was a college magazine. I chose to take my image in the art room because there were props that could be used to make my cover look like the genre of magazine it is. I tried to make my cover look quite simple but effective, for my cover lines i used a simple black and white colour scheme, i thought this was appropriate as white connotes simplicity and black connotes sophistication. Other colour was provided by the paint pots in the background to make it less boring. I chose to relate my main cover line to art and to the person i used on the front of the magazine so that it all tied together. I chose to write the name of my magazine underneath the initials, because 'HSF' was easier to place correctly on the cover than 'Hello! Sixth Form' as the title was too long for me to write it big enough to stand out. In the seal of approval i used a buzz word to grab the readers attention, i wrote 'FREE!' in capital letter and used an exclamation mark to make sure it was hard to miss, and offered a free Christmas CD to relate to the season the magazine cover was created in. I chose cover lines that would appeal to my target audience of college students. I used a direct mode of address so that my audience would be enticed in and want to purchase my magazine.
I feel that some improvements could be made to my cover. For instance, the paint pots i used could be moved slightly left so that they don't get in the way of the figure, we cannot see her body. Also, i think the quality of the image could have been improved and the background could have been better, i think if i would have taken the image with a wall in the background rather than a window and a sink the cover would have been much more effective, and the cover lines could have been a lot more eye catching. 
However, overall i am happy with the outcome and think that the magazine as a whole works well and fulfills its purpose. 

Introduction

Hi, im Samantha and i'm studying AS media at sponne school sixth form. For our coursework we will produce a front cover, contents page and double page spread for a new music magazine.