Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts

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.

History of pop music timeline

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.

Audience's Popular Brands





Based on Sources from UK Tribes and Primary Research


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.


Type of Shot Used



Saturday, 11 January 2014

Music Genre Fashion



Pop Music Examples

The saturdays song "what about us" featuring Sean Paul is a typical pop music song, it is very catchy and has a very upbeat chorus.



Sam Bailey, the recent winner of the xfactor her debut single skyscraper again is another well known pop song in todays world, with a catchy chorus.



Pitbulls recent song "timber" featuring ke$ha, went into the charts at no.1 within the first week of coming out, so as you can see it is a very popular pop song.

Tuesday, 7 January 2014

Music Magazine Results

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

Monday, 16 December 2013

Music Magazine Questionnaire


Music Magazine Questionnaire

Please CIRCLE your answers

1.      Are you male or female?

Male                                        Female


2.      How old are you?

14 or under     15-24               25-34               35&above


3.      How often do you tend to buy magazines?

More than once a week                      Every Week         Every fortnight                               Every Month                        Every 6 months                       Never


4.      Most amount your willing to spend on a magazine?

£1&under        £1-£2               £2-£3               £3-£4               £4-£5               £5&above


5.      What kind of things attracts you to a front cover of a magazine?

Colours            Font                 Pictures                       Bands                                                   Other (please state)……………………..


6.      What sort of magazines do you read?

Music              Fashion                        Sport                Cooking                       Leisure                                                Other (please state)………………………..


7.      What do you look for in a music magazine?

Freebies                      Gossip              Interviews                   Popular Bands             Upcoming Bands                     Other (please state)…………………………………..


8.      What is your favourite genre of music?

Rock                Pop                  Charts              R&B                 Rap                  Indie                Other (please state)……………………………..


9.      How often do you attend live gigs?

More than once a week                      Every Week        Every fortnight                                     Every Month             Every 6 months                       Never