Are music magazines dying out?

Are magazines dying out?

Magazines are definitely threatened as there are new, easier, cheaper ways to get the information and content they provide. The sale numbers of weekly and monthly magazines has declined in recent years and there are now alternatives available. 

The internet is where most people get their information these days and it's a much quicker way to get access to content on music. Magazines are a much slower process and cost more to produce. It's a lot harder to keep up with news in magazine form whereas the internet can have the information available to the public within an hour. A lot of people have a fear of missing out on news and gossip and need to keep up with information. The internet makes this easy and can be accessed from anywhere, whereas a magazine involves waiting for the monthly/weekly issue or going out to the nearest shop to pick up a copy. 

However £2 billion worth of music magazines are purchased every year, showing they make a decent profit. 87% of the British population read music magazines. They also feel more special than anything on the internet as they can be help and become a possession that you own. 

My vision

My vision for my magazine

My magazine's function will be to provide entertainment and information to the target audience. It will be mostly entertainment, with the content serving purely to amuse the reader and allow them to become more indulged in their music. From my magazine, they will get pleasing content made to look appealing to the eye and information that is not available to them online such as interviews and pictures.

I plan on designing an appealing cover with all the conventions and results from the questionnaire. I have chosen the name 'Siren' because it links with the dark. 'alternative' theme of my magazine and also music, 'siren' being a mythical being that lead sailors to their deaths through hypnotic song. The double page spread will feature an interview with made-up artist Jonathan Samn and will contain images. The cover needs to follow a black, white and blue colour scheme with a mid-shot, the talent being any gender. I will keep it uncluttered and neat and put the masthead in the top left corner. 

Ideally, an Indie artist should be like their audience: Creative, connected to their music, can play their own instrument, and have an 'edgy' style and personality that may consist of smoking/drinking and wearing similar fashion to the fans of the genre(Skinny jeans, vintage clothing, piercings and tattoos). I am hoping to give my made-up artist a similar style and make him appeal to the audience. To do this I plan to edit tattoos and piercings onto an image to give Jonathan the ideals of an Indie artist.

Music Publishers

Music Publishers

Two main music publishers in the UK are and Bauer and TimeInc.UK. 

Bauer was originally a small German printing company and then came to the UK, becoming Britain's third largest publisher and purchasing other companies. Publishers like Bauer conglomerate with other companies to produce all forms of media. Bauer publishes Kerrang!, Q and Mojo. These are big companies however there are also small independent publishing alternatives. Shindig! is a magazine with a niche audience and therefore it runs by itself without the help of a large company. This would be ideal for my magazine as it is aimed at a more select target audience and would be better without the influence of a big company that might alter its image. 

Shindig! is clearly aimed at older people who listen to smaller, less-known bands and love their music. The magazine itself uses a retro-looking theme, especially in font and images. Kerrang! is obviously aimed at a wider audience as it features a wider range of content and contains modern artists and also a genre of music that is widely popular, especially among young people. The font and images do not influence the magazines overall image as much as Shindig!, where it has the fixed sense of being retro and for music in the past. The cover of Kerrang! would appeal to a larger range of people than the cover of Shindig!. 

Bauer produce many things such as radio and many other magazines in a vast range of genres and because of this their company is huge. However I feel that Indie magazines are definitely more independently produced and not influenced by the reputation of a large, well-known company. This is because they're usually aimed at a niche audience and have a particular style. The whole thing about Indie is that it is meant to be less well-known, different and indie-pendent(lol). 

However the style of Shindig! would not appeal to many people, including myself, but that is because it is aimed at an older generation. In order to attract my target audience but also maybe attract members of other groups I need to make my magazine less unique and stylised to avoid having a very small readership (Like Shindig!'s 26,000 people). 

Results

Results from questionnaire 

The most popular options from the questionnaire via a vote were:

IMAGE
Mid-shot/full body shot- An equal amount of people voted for a mid-shot or full body shot.
an Individual talent- Most people wanted an individual on the front cover
Do not care about the gender- There was only one vote for male and one vote for female; most people did not mind what gender the talent was

DESIGN
Non-cluttered- Slightly more people wanted a non-cluttered cover 
Black, white and blue, dark and dull colours- These were the most popular colour options, closely followed by red and purple. More people wanted the colours to be dark and dull than light and bright
Sans serif font- The majority of people chose sans serif over serif and handwriting

MASTHEAD
At the top and to the left- This I was expecting, as this layout is the normal, conventional way to position the masthead

NAME SUGGESTIONS

• Broken Strings
• Innocent youth
• Sound Prism 
• Colour Riff
• Siren

After looking at the suggestions I received, I have decided that 'Siren' is the most fitting and suitable name for my magazine. However I may make alterations.

I like this name suggestion because it fits the type of magazine I wanted to create and links to music (A siren being a mythical being that would lead sailors to their deaths by song). It has a dark tone to it, and will go nicely with my magazine.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire 

In order to gain more information on how I should layout my magazine I have constructed a questionnaire which I shall take around and interview my target audience with.

Image
1. Camera shot

• Close-shot
• Mid-shot
• Full-body shot

2. 

• Group
• Individual

3. What gender should the talent be?

• Male
• Female
• A mix of both
• Don't mind
• Other

Design

• Cluttered- lots of text and patterns
• Non-cluttered-neat and minimal
• Own ideas:

Colour Scheme
1. Choose three-four from the list.

• Red 
• blue
• green
• yellow
• purple
• orange
• white 
• black

2. Tones

• Dark
• Light

3. Saturation

• Bright
• Dull

Font

• Serif: A
• Sans Serif: A
• Handwriting: 

Masthead location
1.

• Top 
• Middle
• Bottom

2.

• Left
• Right
• Centre

Name Suggestions



Tag-line suggestions 

David Carson

David Carson

David Carson, an American graphic designer, art director and surfer. He is best known for his innovative magazine design. He was the art director for the magazine 'Ray Gun' where he used non-conformative designs that went against what normal magazines looked like. However for my magazine I will stick to the conventions, as a magazine in Carson's style might be confusing and if not done properly will not result in a successful outcome. Although I do like the style, I think it best that I follow conventional magazines.

Fifty Quid Bloke

Fifty-Quid Bloke

A term made known by Nick Hepworth, editor of 'The Word' magazine used to describe a customer type who typically spends his Friday afternoons buying albums in HMV. For the first time, people over 35 are buying more albums than young people. 

This is because of the way the world is changing, as magazines are being replaced by the internet and digital versions. Young people no longer find interest in buying records and albums as they can obtain music easily through technology. Magazines are now more popular among older people who find familiarity in purchasing physical items and those who are deeply interested in their music prefer to have something they can own.  The Fifty-Quid Bloke could be dying out, as 'The Word' magazine was cancelled, and many entertainment shops on the high street have also been shut down. HMV itself almost joined them but was rescued at the last minute and it fortunately still around.

The patterns of music consumption have changed. Spotify, iTunes and other ways of consuming music have had an effect on the industry. 

The internet is mostly used by young people, and they can find any information about music they'd need. And it's usual free, whereas magazines cost money.

Personally, I think that the Fifty-Quid Bloke may one day become extinct, however similar groups of people are being formed in our society, especially amongst the young people. A small percentage of teens still enjoy connecting with their music on a higher level, buying albums, listening to old bands from the last century and owning vintage items including records and old retro posters. So while the one breed may be dying out, I think there will always be a group of people who can still fit the description of the Fifty-Quid Bloke, with a few differences of course.