Friday, 31 January 2014
Friday, 24 January 2014
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Double Page Spread First Draft
Jess Philpot isn't your average pop star, she is the kind of
pop star. With her twist to the genre she creates a great vibe and creates a
role model somebody to look up to if you was a young female teen. With her
debut album out "Revolution" Jess is attracting a lot of attention
and becoming the new upcoming star of pop music.
Walking into Jess' mansion all you could smell was the fresh
smell of cakes that she had baked for myself mixed with the fresh sense of
flowers which was everywhere around her mansion. Giving a very homely feel to
her mansion, making me feel very welcome. The first sight I get off Jess is
walking down her marble staircase, wearing a red H&M dress promoting the
promotional work she is currently doing. Finally, we sat down with a cup of tea
and enjoyed the freshly baked cakes Jess had baked.
Q. So jess, it is an absolute honour to meet you I am a big
fan, now tell me where did it all start?
A. Well, I have to give a huge thanks to YouTube, without the
videoing service they provide I would just be a ordinary suburban living in a reasonably
priced house in Kent, in a minimum wage job. I wasn't a academic girl at all, I
only excelled at English and Music where I came out with a B in English and A
in Music. In the other subjects I would often find myself drifting and just
writing lyrics and singing them. This was the first real moment I realised that
I wanted to pursue to career into the music business. That night I recorded my
first ever song in my room, singing a cover to Bruno Mars' "Just the way
you are". Within 3 weeks I managed
to build a fan base and had around 1,500 views. This was when I was spotted by
the music label I currently work with. They offered me a trail run at a local
recording studio in Rochester, where from that they offered me a contract and
got myself to where I am now.
Q. Your debut album "Revolution" out on 22nd
January tell me, what is the message you wish you portray?
A. Funny you should say that, I was just watching Celebrity
Juice before you came and wondered if the famous Keith Lemon question would be
asked. Honestly Kieran, the message I wish to portray is just to let the rest
of the artists and my audience know is that there is a revolution coming, my revolution.
I want to bring a twist to the pop industry, hopefully I have already brought
it with my debut single "Clapped", I just wanted to reinforce that
message with this album.
Q. After seeing your recent
twitter beef with Miley Cyrus, would you care to explain about your rivalry?
A. Honestly I don't have a that much of a problem with Miley,
I think she is a awesome woman and she was an inspiration to myself when I was
younger. The only problem I have with her is that she tries to sell herself to
the pop fans by doing raunchy videos with her lady parts out. She's giving Pop
a bad reputation and giving our audience a bad role model, let's face it nobody
wants their child to grow up and be like Miley.
Q. And finally, with your album coming out January 22nd what
does the future hold for yourself?
Monday, 13 January 2014
Font/Masthead Typography Analysis
Vibe's masthead has black writing with white background, you
could say the reverse of kerrang, the only thing that differs would be the
font. Black writing is very uncommon in music magazines as it doesn't stand out
as much. The font for Vibe logo looks very clear and basic which links to the
magazines message portrayed. 
Kerrang's masthead had white writing and a black background,
again this is the reverse of Vibe with the only thing differentiating the
magazines being the font. The font is a one of a kind font it stands out to be
a special font and will be recognised. The font also gives a rough looking feel
to the magazine which links to the magazines rock feel.
Q magazine has a large white capital Q with the background
being red. The capital Q is very basic and has a relaxed feel to the magazine,
which links to the magazine as the magazine has a relaxed view when reading it.
In addition, you could say that the logo of Q is exactly what their target
audience is looking for. It is presented on almost every page of the magazine
giving the logo a recognised view throughout. The writing is easy recognisable
as you can see the flick of the Q, due to this the font is serif font.
NME has a red background with white font with the letters
being white and having capital letters
which stands out to their target audience. The masthead of NME is very
similar to Q'S the only thing that differs between the two magazines masthead
is their fonts. The font used in NME is similar to the font Arial both are
clear and stand out to the audience.
History of Pop Music
The definition of pop music is decisively flexible as the
music that is identified as pop is constantly changing. At any particular point
in time it may be easier to identify pop music as that which is successful on
the pop music charts. For the past 50 years the most successful musical styles
on the pop charts have continually changed and evolved into bigger better
things.
One of the most reliable elements of pop music since the
1950's is the pop song. Pop music is not usually written, performed and
recorded as a symphony. The basic form for pop music is the song and usually a
song consisting of verse and repeated chorus. Most often the songs are between
2 1/2 minutes and 5 1/2 minutes in length. There have been exceptions like the
following. The Beatles' "Hey Jude" was 7 minutes in length. However,
in many cases, if the song is long, an edited version is released for radio
airplay such as in the case of Don McLean's "American Pie." It was
edited down from its original 8 1/2 minutes length to just over 4 minutes for
radio airplay.
Pop music is a genre of popular music which originated in
its modern form in the 1950s, deriving from rock and roll. The terms popular
music and pop music are often used correspondently, even though the former is a
description of music which is popular while the other is a specific genre
containing qualities of mass appeal.
1956 – Elvis Presley emerges as one of the world’s first rock stars
1957 – John Lennon meets Paul McCartney
1957 – The first official Quarry Men performance
1958 – Paul McCartney invited George Harrison to watch the Quarry Men
Late 1950s: The English rock music group ‘Beatles’ was formed
1960 – The Quarry Men become The Silver Beats
1960 – Pete Best joins the Beatles
1961- The American country singer ‘Patsy Cline’ becomes a mainstream pop music hit
1972 – Michael Jackson’s first solo hit “Ben” reaches No. 1
1974 – Michael Jackson introduces “The Robot”
1983 – Red Hot Chili Peppers are formed
1985 – Britney Spears emerges as a star of the music world
1990s – Various famous groups made pop music more popular.
1993 – Radiohead releases first studio album, “Pablo Honey”
1998 – “Coldplay” formed
2002 – Increased impact of television shows
2009 – Death of Michael Jackson
Source: types-of-music
Pop Music is used in modern era Football chants, here are just a few that you might recognise. As you can see Pop music is very popular in today's world even at sporting games like Football.
NME Magazine Analysis
NME
This cover of NME
(New Music Express) use a colourful, bold theme and house style to attract
their audience. With an exciting a busy layout their target audience of young
adults, late teens and adults who act like kids are aware of the magazines
large content and exciting news and information from the world of music.
The header creates
an immediate attractions and sets the tone for this particular edition of the
magazine "16 page autumn tour special", this creates an interest for
the readers greatly interested in music's and artists, and so they will want to
see what tour information NME can exclusively offer.
The house style
consists of red, black and white throughout the whole front cover of the
magazine. These bold colours attract attention while also remaining serious
enough to still grab the audiences interest. Without the use of too many
colours the page still remains professional and much more fitting for its
purpose as it is regarded as a serious, informative magazine exploring all
aspects of music e.g. the artists and the songs. These colours are from the
bright colours like bring pinks and yellows fond on normal magazines for the
younger audience. Whilst they are accessible to both males and females it would
be more than fair to say that the magazine colours are more directed to males
than females.
The language is
very much fitting for its target audience which if of a younger age with words
like "man", the use of this is very masculine and it is clear the
target audience is largely aimed at males rather than females.
The artists listed
in the cover lines and footer of this magazine are on an Indie/Rock genre, this
being loud and expressive through the use of voice similarly resemble the
magazine's vibe and most likely the specific personalities and similarities of
their readers. The names of the these
artists are against a white background and are visible for the audience to see
separating this information from that on the main article of Dizzie Rascal
being the focal point of the cover greatly links to the audience too, he is
also a male and is in his early twenties. Possibly suggesting that he will be a
inspiration to NME's audience.
NME is published
weekly allowing its audience to be updated regularly on the music world. With a
generous selling price of £2.50 it is accessible to its young target audience,
whether they are earning money in a part/full time job. This is beneficial as
the target audience's age range covers students, who are willing to pay £10 a month to
be able to keep up with the celebrity world of music.
The contents page is straight away branded with the well-recognised NME bold, red masthead allows the reader to associate the deep and complex content that NME provides with the brand, creating a positive association.
The story from one of the main cover lines on the front cover is
placed in a box that looks like a case
artists take on tour with them. This is associated with the story and connotes
the musical theme running through the magazine. The picture of a young girl standing
next to the bus with her arms spread looking happy runs parallel with the theme
of the story which is the ins and outs of touring. The sketch like font makes
it look grungy and cool and goes with the general theme of the magazine. The
contents page is straight away branded with the well-recognised NME bold,
red masthead allows
the reader to associate the deep and complex content that NME provides with the
brand, creating a positive association.
Some of the content is organised under headings on
the right hand side of the page. This makes the page look well organised and tidy.
By placing content under specific headings the reader can instantly pick out what
they wish to read. It makes the magazine look very professional and shows their
understanding of customer knowledge.
The image on the left hand side of the page
shows a medium-long shot of
Dizzee looking over his shoulder into the distance, fits well with the theme
and the story of the article. Dizzee is dressed in casual clothes and a red jacket
that, associated with danger and rebellion. He is seen holding a spray can and
tagging on the wall, again connecting rebellion. The bright colours connect
youth and excitement, fitting with the theme and ideology on the magazine. A drop cap is used at the beginning of
the article, a classic convention of a magazine. This shows that NME does
follow some conventions of magazine, something older readers may like. Overall
the double page spread of the magazine follows conventions of standard
magazines. It has basic elements that are well known and appeal to the reader.
The classic elements contrast well with the modern music it is promoting.
Kerrang Magazine Analysis
Kerrang
The front cover is very busy and has a main cover image and a
lot of other images around the main feature image. The main cover image takes
up the majority of the page and it covers up a part of the masterhead. The main
colours on the front cover are yellow, red and blue which are all bright
colours and stand out from music magazines that often use lighter colours. This
also represents the music in Kerrang as it loud and in your face. White is also
a frequently used on the cover as it stands out easily from the rest of the
colour scheme and the reader becomes engaged to the piece of information. It is
very noticeable about what the main story is about as there is a big picture of
Frank Iero, the guitarist from My Chemical Romance, where the writing is big and
bold font saying his name. 
There is a
bar section along the top and bottom of the front cover which stands out from
the main cover image and presents the other stories within the magazine. Red
text is used for the band names on the top and bottom of the magazine,
"Avenged Sevenfold" and "Neckrogoblikon". This shows the
two names and targets of the magazine towards the fans as they will see it on
the front cover and automatically be drawn in.
All of the text on the front cover
is written in capital letter which makes it easy to read and emphasis points
for the audience. The more important pieces of
information are written in a bigger font and the biggest font is used to
show the main story in the magazine. The front cover uses one font across all
the text, not including the one used in the masterhead. The variation of
colours give the magazine a bright feel and enable it to stand out from other
similar music magazines.
The masthead of Kerrang Magazine is
slightly covered by the main cover
image, as the magazine is identified through other aspects in the magazine
other than the title. The font used is a bit scruffy and shows like they really
haven't bothered with it, which links to the stereotypes' of most rock music
fans. The capital letters make the masthead stand out and it enables the
audience to see the title very easily. The white from the title stands out and
contrasts the red background of the image and makes it easy for the audience to
see and it stands out. The explanation marks shows a symbol of power as if the
word is quite loud, which in turn links to the idea of rock music being mental
and loud.
To conclude, the way of writing in
Kerrang magazine is very much like how the audience will speak. The audience
will feel like the writer of the magazine is very much talking to them and will
relate to them very much. This is so that the magazine can communicate with its
audience and give them a sense of belonging, as if they belong to a family.
Words such as "amazing", "world exclusive" and
"win!" helps encourages Kerrang's audience to buy their edition and
will basically get them more sales. Sunday, 12 January 2014
Pop Music Iconography
Pop music is dominated by female artists.
Even though there are male artists in the genre, who are exceptionally popular
such as Justin Bieber, it is the female artists who are the leading
figures within the pop industry. Bright colours are the first thing you will
notice in every pop music video. If you look at Miley Cyrus music videos such 'wrecking ball' you will
immediately recognise the huge amount of brilliant 'cheerful' colours that overlook
the music video throughout. Seeing as the pop genre is dominated by female
artists, it is only right that most of the target audience is aimed at females.
Not to say that males don't like pop music, it's just that females audience
overrules the male audience by a huge mass. Sex appeal is somewhat that pretty
much every music video contains. It is usually presented through what the
artist is wearing in the music video, which in most cases is not a lot. For
example in Miley Cyrus music video "wrecking ball" she is naked in
some bits of the video, which will appeal to the younger male viewers. Other
ways that sex appeal is presented towards the audience is through genuine
scenes. Such as, some music videos may contain making out scenes, explicit
lyrics and even sex itself.Target Audience - Secondry Research
Personally I believe that pop music fans fit into the Aspirant Tribe category. All pop music fans try to keep up with the latest trends and are willing to spend big in order to keep up with the latest fashion statements. Also pop fans are willing to give new music a try, different artists who may have a twist to their type of music.
"From European city breaks to seeking out the latest clubs and labels, Aspirant Tribes are in pursuit of the irresistible…"
Living for the moment, Aspirant Tribes know the look, music and lifestyle they want – and will spend big in order to get it! Attuned to what’s happening in Leading Edge circles, it’s about keeping up with what’s cool but without all the hard work of creating it themselves.
Source: UK Tribes
The video below shows the typical type of clothing that my target audience would wear.
"From European city breaks to seeking out the latest clubs and labels, Aspirant Tribes are in pursuit of the irresistible…"
Living for the moment, Aspirant Tribes know the look, music and lifestyle they want – and will spend big in order to get it! Attuned to what’s happening in Leading Edge circles, it’s about keeping up with what’s cool but without all the hard work of creating it themselves.
Source: UK Tribes
The video below shows the typical type of clothing that my target audience would wear.
Saturday, 11 January 2014
Pop Music Examples
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Music Magazine Results
1. Male: 5
Female: 5
2. 14 or
under: 1
15-24: 6
25-34: 1
35&above: 2
3. More than
once a week: 1
Every Week: 3
Every fortnight: 4 Every
Month: 1 Every
6 months: 0
Never: 1
4. £1&under:
10 £1-£2: 9 £2-£3: 5 £3-£4: 4 £4-£5: 2 £5&above: 1
5. Colours: 4 Font: 2 Picture: 2 Bands: 2 Other: 0
6. Music: 5 Fashion: 2 Sport: 3 Cooking: 0 Leisure : 0 Other: 0
7. Freebies: 1 Gossip: 4 Interviews: 3 Popular
Bands: 1 Upcoming Bands: 1 Other: 0
8. Rock: 0 Pop: 4 Charts: 2 R&B: 2
Rap: 1 Indie: 1 Other: 0
9. More than
once a week: 0 Every Week: 0 Every fortnight: 2 Every Month: 6 Every
6 months: 1
Never:
1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)