Possible Sub-Genres include:

- Rock Music
- RnB Music
- Hip/Hop Music
The strengths behind choosing a rock magazine would be because the target
audience is more obvious than Pop music. This is because the target audience of
rock music would be Caucasian British youths between 13-21 whereas Pop
music would be harder to define as it is the biggest portion of the music industry
thus does not have one set target audience.
Furthermore, I have some interest in Rock music thus I would be familiar with
artists that you would see on covers on magazines such as Kerrang or NME. Due
to some understanding of Rock music I would have the advantage of knowing
what kind of content and terminology that would be used for example knowing
the different types of Rock e.g. Punk Rock, Heavy Metal, Death Metal etc.
On the other hand, there would be some difficulties with me deciding on a Rock
sub-genre this is because my knowledge in this area is quite limited. Therefore,
although I would be able to know the different types of rock it may cover all
aspects of the sub-genre for example I would not know the different parts of a
drum-set or the difference between a bass guitarist and normal.
Moreover, I do not listen to Rock music enough to have a strong enough to know
when a band fits into an era of rock music as although I know the different types
I do not understand the technical aspects on how a band is punk rock or heavy
metal etc.
With choosing a RnB music magazine I have the strength of knowing what type
of design and colours would be associated with the magazine for example it
would be more vibrant rather than dark which would be more associated with
rock music. I also have a stronger understanding of what kind of articles would
be in the magazine due the genre of music. This is because RnB music is more
associated with females and love therefore articles related to fashion would be
appropriate since fashion is a feminine area.
However, due to not having huge interest in this sub-genre of magazine I would
find it difficult when constructing areas like the Double Page Spread since the
content is out of my field. Moreover, due to not a depth in fashion areas such as
the fashion segments in the magazine would be hard to construct.
Lastly, with choosing a Hip/Hop music magazine I have the great advantage of
knowing what kind of aesthetic to give the magazine due to me being an avid
listener to this genre. Therefore, in the construction of the magazine I would
know what language I should apply to the cover lines to give a direct-address to
the typical target audience.

Additionally, due to my knowledge in the genre I would be able to know what

kind of articles the target audience would be interested for example in a rap
music magazine and knowing that the target audience would be typically middle
class males specifically the black ethnicity. Therefore, an article relating to
trending footwear (sneakers) would be suitable in the magazine since the male
audience would be able to relate to this.
In contrast, the problem with the choice of a hip/hop magazine would be that
although I listen to hip/hop music it does not fully consist of the mainstream
artists. Hence, I may sway towards the hip/hop magazine being more
underground rather than reaching the wider target audience by having articles
based on commercial artists that people are more aware of.

NME Magazine

I could base my magazine on NME, which is closely associated to Rock & Indie
music. They have a target audience to British Caucasian youths aged 16-24 year
olds. The magazine consists of general current news in music, reviews, and
seasonal items such as tour related articles or awards. In 1996 it became one of
the first magazines to have their own websites. Theodore Ingham founded NME
in 1952 with the first issue on 7th of March.

Vibe Magazine

Another option on the final magazine to be based around is Vibe. This magazine
mainly consists of RnB and Hip/Hop subgenre. The target audience is aimed to
wards an African American young audience aged around 15-21 with the RnB
areas of the magazine more aimed to a female audience and the Hip/Hop areas
aimed to a male audience. The magazine has articles related to general
entertainment out side of music for example TV and movies but also looks at
areas such as fashion which would be more aimed to a female audience. The
magazine also consist of gossip areas and more music related articles such as
interviews and music related lists. Quincy Jones a well known producer founded
this magazine in 1993.

The Source

Finally another option would include The Source magazine, which is solely based
on Hip/Hop and therefore aiming towards an African American young male
audience of 16-21 year olds. This magazine had started by two Harvard
University students who were inspired by the Hip Hop culture the first issue was
in 1988 by Jon Shecter and David Mays. Content includes an annual awards (for
Man of the Year, Woman of the Year and Rookie of the Year), an unsigned hype
column devoted to underground rappers who do not have a record deal and a
review system called the 5-mic albums which scales an album which rates the
album out of 5 (5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest).

My research results compared to my choice of genre

(Refer to Prezi document on Blog post named Task 5 Peer Research).
My choice of genre was popular amongst my research with peers as 3 out of the
5 people I had asked had chosen hip/hop music. The people who had not chosen
hip/hop music included a female Caucasian person who had said the content is
too misogynistic which makes sense as hip/hop music has a target audience of
male African Americans. However, although the people who I had asked and that
agreed with my choice of genre and were not African American but felt that
hip/hop music has more to say than RnB music and Rock.
Personally, I think my choice of genre was popular because I asked a total of 4
males and therefore if I was to ask 6 people next time and 3 from each genre I
would have a possible split in votes thus meaning a lower ratio for a hip/hop
magazine. Also, I think my magazine was popular because currently there are
more Rock magazines and RnB magazines that are more accessibly available to
the UK audience and hip/hop magazine are aimed to more of an American
audience therefore the niche market in the UK could be reached through having
a UK based Hip/Hop magazine.
Conclusion of genres
In evaluation, I believe the chosen genre for my magazine should be hip/hop and
rap this is because the focus group based on genres that was conducted show
that this genre will be popular. I also believe that I feel the most confident in this
genre because of my knowledge to the variations of rap and have a good
understanding around the development of rap in culture and society, therefore
in the creation stages I will know what would be appropriate and what areas are
expected for the end product to be at a high level.
Possible Articles
- Q&A
Which would be centered around an artist of the genre and ask meaningful and
relevant questions to there field and personal life. This is because the target
audience would be interest in the musical aspects of the artist whereas the niche
market of the target audience would want to know personal things as they would
want to know about the person on a human level rather than just someone they
look up to.
- Review
A music magazine with reviews would allow them to reach a broader audience
because the niche market of fans of the artist who compiled the album would
want to know which songs to look out for, or if they listened to the album wanted
to see if a magazine shared similar opinions. Plus, it also helps with synergy
because the magazine would reach an audience who may consider the buying the
album based on the review (helping the artist) and the niche market of the
artists fans would buy the magazine (helping the magazine).

- Editorials
This would attract the target audience of British Male Youths (16-21) but ore
specifically the niche market of people who are interested in the music industry
as the Editor would have authority. Hence, the magazine will not only focus on
artists and the music but also the behind-the-scenes areas such as the different
eras of the music or how artists break through into the mainstream etc.
- Free Flow
Free flowing article has the advantage of giving a more descriptive tone related
to the artist compared to the simplicity of the interviewer asking the artist
questions. This would attract the niche market of people wanting an in depth
analysis from an industry view. However, this may repel the niche market who
just want to know what the artist thinks. The benefit of the free flowing articles
is that the writer can express their thoughts and give a professional tone to their
opinions thus to form an optimal article a possibility would be to have a mixture
of both free flowing and Q&A to maximise target audience reach.

Analysis of Double Page Spreads

This double page spread shows the main image on the left hand side.
No actual title for the double page spread, instead large grab-quote.
Free flowing introduction followed by Q&A.
Issue Date, Magazine website link & page number in bottom left corner.
People would be intrigued by the huge grab-quote because it sets the tone of the
article of being direct and it also correlates to the nature of the genre of having a
bold attitude. The image on left takes the whole space thus people focus on the
image before the text, also by putting it on the left hand side people would attract
people as naturally look from the left to the right thus when flicking through
pages the image automatically tells the target audience who the article is about.

This magazine again has the image on the left but the chosen image flows from
the whole of an A4 to a slight section of the right page.
Due to the article being a review the names of the album and artist are at the top.
Followed by an introduction and main body of the text
A caption has been applied to the bottom left corner of the image.
A rectangle has been placed in the middle of the text which has been purposely
used as people would be intrigued by why theres a separate area in the middle
of the article. This box consists of small based around details of the album.

This article has the main image on the right.

Again a small shape in the middle of the main body of text by this time a grabquote, the colour allows the target audience to be drawn towards it then thus
read the rest of the article. The choice of the quote gives the audience to an
insight of what is in there.
An extra column is in this article which is related to songs from his latest album
this is because it is separate in subject matter, therefore this is aimed at the niche
market who buy the magazine just because King Krule is in it would be
interested in his actual music than his life.