STARTING PLANNING by SUMMARISING RESEARCH FINDINGS

Summary of all Research Findings- preparing for the formal proposal

A. Summary of Research done into general information about music magazines

Music magazines often reflect the times that they are written in, when the musical world changes, magazines must change with it, in order to survive and be successful. How will this affect my magazine? This means my magazine will have to reflect the current modern trends in Hip hop that are popular with my target audience.

You must give the audience what they want, in order for magazines to sell; this can be done by asking your target audience what they want, also by doing background research. How will this affect my magazine? Therefore my magazine will have to contain elements, such as gig information, that were popular with my target audience. There must be good articles which reflect the tone of the magazine, other magazines which contain a similar genre, can help to understand the basic conventions. How will this affect my magazine? By looking at Vibe magazine I have realised that articles must have a distinct layout and be able to keep the reader interested. Therefore my own article in my magazine must do the same to be more realistic.

 Your own magazine must contain its own individual style, which most importantly makes it stand out from others. How will this affect my magazine? I have decided to use a colour system that nobody else will use to make it stand out.

They need to deliver a story, which could contain exclusive news which might interest the reader and entertain them. How will this affect my magazine? My article is most likely to be an interview with a Hip Hop artist as this will be the easiest way and most efficient way of delivering a story that contains exclusive news that will interest the reader.

Most significantly the magazines market must be aware of AIDA

A Attract audience, use of bright colours, image and text I Interest, articles and sell lines should lure the audience to the magazine. D Desire, lure the reader by adding competitions, posters or give freebies A Act people to buy your product, motivate them into purchasing, for example, creating a sense of urgency with a limited-time offer or limited supply.

B. Research into real music magazines (summary of findings) Generic conventions of music magazines

Front covers must have;

Masthead at top barcode/price/date striking image (consistent with genre) sell/cover lines (consistent with content of magazine and genre)

Contents pages have

word contents at top date/issue number One main image and range of images all anchored with text and page number use columns for text with subheadings such as features/Exclusive /gig guides etc title of magazine is to be found somewhere on page contents clearly links with cover in terms of style and genre

The Double Page Spread Article

image dominates one page while text dominates opposite page Written article has dramatic main heading (short and snappy) with subheading (summarising what article is going to be about) The copy/text is written in paragraphs(2-3 paragraphs) which are spaced into columns

All 3 parts of the magazine are clearly connected using a range of elements including:
same font choices throughout same colour scheme/themes magazine title/slogan is on all 3 pages Info on front is carried through into contents and then onto article

 Contents are consistent with the chosen genre i.e. Hip Hop magazines would feature Hip Hop artist/music/scene/gigs etc. Same style of language/attitude throughout i.e. Hip Hop rebellious attitude

Summary of Research into genre:

My chosen genre is Hip Hop and I found that: Hip Hop is a stymlised rhythmic that commonly accompanies rap Developed in Bronx, New York Hip Hop artist are rappers Graffiti, marijuana and break dancers are images associated with Hip Hop Dress sense includes baseball hats, gold chains, sunglasses and the latest trainers More ethnic minority artist, Jay Sean (Indian) and MIA (Sri Lankan) are starting to rise as Hip Hop superstars

Summary of research into my chosen style model for my magazine (which is Vibe Magazine)
Below are images of my chosen magazine on which I would like to base my magazine: Covers

CONTENTS PAGES I WOULD LIKE TO EMULATE

ARTICLES I WOULD LIKE TO USE AS STYLE MODELS

Types of images found in VIBE magazine

Moody, attitude, serious, cool, downbeat, intimidating and gangster

C. Target audience research

Overall conclusion of my target audience research using questionnaires. 1. THE COVER SHOULD BE:
Filled with bright colours feature images of a Hip Hop artist or artists offer freebies such as prizes/artist merchandise (will look at Vibe and see how it incorporates freebies have exclusive news related sell-lines as well as Hip Hop related cover-lines have a header summarising main contents attractive with unusual images/shots etc

2. THE CONTENTS SHOULD INCLUDE:

Exclusive news such as new releases Artist info variety of Hip Hop images and info portray attitude minimum of 50 pages gig guides interviews with artist such as Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean and Drake

3. THE ARTICLE SHOULD BE:

informal but informative include questions and answers have one main image on one page use sub-headings be about the music but interesting-possibly with fashion and/or politics

4. GENERAL INFO
None of my potential target audience has ever bought a music magazine, but would consider it if the price was right and was more attractive to them. The majority thought around 1.00-2.00 was fine and most felt the current magazines were targeted more to AfricanAmerican Males who were in their twenties and thirties I also have to work on attracting the audience to begin with as there is a real gap in the market for my magazine which targets males (aged 16-18) that are interested in Hip Hop music. I will analyse my target audience questionnaires and focus groups in more detail so I can work hard on giving the audience what they want and therefore attract them to buy the magazine.

Having summarized these results I am now ready to complete my formal proposal and start planning my own music magazine.