Chosen Music Genre

My own music magazine will focus on the indie/rock music genre.
I think the key features of this music genre are:
The lyrics in indie/rock songs. No other genre of music really does put that much effort into the lyrics as indie/rock bands do. Usually, different music genres such as the pop music genre, don't actually write their own songs, songwriters do.
The way members of this music genre dress. The members of this genre all dress individual and don't look manufactured.
The song names. I think that the names of the songs don't actually relate to the lyrics of the songs.
Their hairstyles and the way they style their hair. These musicians all have their own individual hairstyles, usually long and they usually put a lot of effort into how they have their hair.
I think that the Arctic Monkeys are a typical indie/rock band. They all have their own individual style, really there is no other band that looks excatly the same as this band. Heres an example of a lyric from 'A Certain Romance'
''And over there there's broken bones There's only music, so that there's new ringtones And it don't take no Sherlock Holmes To see it's a little different around here''
NME and Kerrang are currently two magazine's which cover these two genre. But NME covers the indie genre rather then the rock genre. Kerrang covers this genre in more detail. I want the magazine which I am going to publish to cover both genre's.
The features which both magazines have are:
Album and CD reviews.
Dates of gigs, any upcoming one-off gigs and tours.
Photos of these gigs and photos of bands.
Interviews with bands.
News on these bands.
Target Audience.
My main target audience is going to be anyone who is interested in the indie/rock music genre. The target audience is going to expect news on these bands featured in the chosen music genre, photos and dates of gigs etc.
To appeal to my target audience, I'm going to make sure that when I'm advertising my magazine I make sure that all the main indie/rock bands are featured in this advertisement. I'll also make sure that I get all the main features in the magazine. Such as interviews, photos, gigs and tours, reviews etc.
Potential advertisers who could feature in my magazine could be brands like:
Clothing brands.
Clubs which have indie/rock nights.
Apple (Ipod)
Drinks brands.
Technicial brands.
If I was a potential buyer of a new music magazine, I would expect to see album reviews, gigs and tours, award shows, interviews with the stars of the genre, news on the stars of the genre, photos of these tours, clubs which have indie/rock nights etc.

Contents Page Shown in a Music Magazine

This is a contents page featured in a music magazine.

This contents page has all the features you would usually expect a contents page has.
At the top of the contents page, it has two quite big pictures of Fall Out Boy and Good Charlotte, both these bands are featured in the magazine. Underneath the photo of Good Charlotte, is a photo of My Chemical Romance and at the bottom of the contents page there is two more photos, once again these bands are all featured in the magazine.
On the all of the photo there is the page number which the bands are featured on.
Underneath the photo of Fall Out Boy there is all the bands which are featured in the magazine, the page numbers are all in bold black font, the bands are all written in pink bold font and then next to the bands is a little bit about what the article is about, this is written in a black smaller font.
This contents page is quite colourful, but really the only colour on the contents page comes from the photos.

Double Page Spread Shown in a Music Magazine

This is a double page spread which was featured in NME.


A photo takes up one page of the double page spread. This is to as well as give the reader information on the 'Prodigy Twisted Hoax Starter', but to also show the reader a mock-up photo of what he or she may look like.
Across the photo are the words 'Wanted' in a red font, it's as if the words have being stamped across his forehead. The photo is in black and white.
On the second page of the double page spread is the actual article on a man who is pretending to be Prodigy's Liam Howlett. Most of the second page is taken up by the headline. The headline is written in bold black font, this is eye catching to the reader. There is also a strapline underneath the main headline. The article is arranged in three columns. The first column is a little bit longer then both the second and third column, there is a quote underneath the second and third column.
This double page spread isn't really that effective, as it's in dull colours and doesn't actually give that much infomation on The Prodigy. Usually double page spreads which are featured in NME are quite colourful and the photo goes across both the first and second page and also gives an interview with the band featured.

Media Language of a Music Magazine

NME means 'new musical express'. Underneath the word NME it does actaully tell you what the title means. There are no images, concepts or myths assicated with the NME logo, to me the title looks pretty simple.



This photo is chosen because it is a photo of the band NME are featuring as the main feature in this week's magazine. Both members aren't smiling, but they don't look moody either. The right-hand side band member is smiling slightly, but it looks more like a smug look then a smile. But the left-hand side band member has a blank expression on his face. In the photo you can only really see both band members faces and a little bit of their shoulders. The right-hand side band member is standing slightly in front of the left-hand side band member, but I wouldn't say their really posing. I don't think NME is the type of magazine where the bands featured pose for photos. Both band members are wearing plain t-shirts, the only difference is one is wearing a black t-shirt and the other is wearing a white t-shirt. There is really a certain hairstyle which both the band members have, although one is wearing a bandanna. I would say that really both the members have scruffy hair styles. In the photo of MGMT the members don't really appear to have much attitude. And they don't appear to behave in any certain way, they don't seem to give off the 'I'm a rockstar I can do what I like' vibe.
The indie/rock label is being represented in these photos. Both the members of MGMT do look like they belong to the indie/rock genre. There is no women in MGMT, but women are in indie/rock bands. For example bands like The Gossip, The Ting Tings and The Long Blondes all have women singers and Beth Ditto from The Gossip has already appeared on NME's front cover.
This particular photo shows that it is mainly men who are in indie/rock bands and also that it is mainly men who appear on the front cover of NME. Women aren't really shown on the front cover of NME, but that doesn't mean that they are no women in the indie/rock industry. There are a quite a lot of women in the industry, but a lot of them are actually solo singers. Amy Winehouse and Kate Nash are examples of these solo singers.
People of a different race are quite often featured on the cover of NME magazine.
With all these people featured in NME it shows that the music business does include all types of people and no one gets left out.

Media Language of a Music Magazine

The font that is used on the cover of NME is all the same font, it's not a fancy font. Just a simple one. I think this is just show that NME isn't a fancy magazine, just a simple one which informs it's readers on any upcoming new bands, interviews with existing bands, album reviews and gig details.

The fonts are all the same size apart from the plugs at the bottom of the cover, which are the smallest plugs. The rest of the type is the same size. The title and the main headline are the same size type. The main headline will catch the readers eye as it is in a bigger font, also any fans of the band featured as the main article in NME will buy the magazine.

All the type on NME is in a bold font, this is to once again catch the readers eye.

There is only two photo's on the cover and one of them is a poster of a Grand Theft Auto the game. The main photo takes up most of the cover.

The people in the main photo are the two members out of the band MGMT. Both are male, there is no mix of gender on the front cover this week. But usually NME do feature bands with girls, but most of the time it's bands with men in them.

The page elements are set out like most other music magazine. There are plugs at the top and bottom, a title underneath them,then the strapline, then the main photo with the main headline across it and the barcode too.

There isn't really that much white space on the cover. The space is used to advertise plugs and the title is also in the white space too.

The colour which is used the most on the cover is red. Black, white and yellow are all used. But red is the more dominant colour. I think the colour red is used because it is more of a unisex colour and it isn't aimed at just one gender.

The images and the text don't really relate to each other, the only picture which is on the cover is of a male band, the text on the page doesn't really relate to this.

The cover gives the reader an insight to how the whloe magazine looks, the rest of the magazine uses the same colours and the same fonts as the front cover does.

Textual Analysis of a Music Magazine

NME is a indie/rock music genre magazine.

Kerrang Magazine also looks at the rock genre, but it looks at the more rockier bands whereas NME looks at independant bands.

Metal Hammer Magazine also looks at the rock genre, but it looks at the even more rockier bands then both Kerrang Magazine and NME do.

The title of the magazine doesn't link in to any other media products.

The indie/rock music genre is represented throughout the magazine. And so is the alternative music genre. The music is all in independent music genre, sometimes older indie/rock music is featured in NME alongside the newer indie/rock music. Sometimes bands which you wouldn't expect to see in NME are featured, bands which are in the more rockier music genre. NME features new indie bands too.

There are a lot of music genres which are not featured in NME. Dance, RNB Hip Hop, Pop, Classical, Punk, Screamo, Techno and Grime all are not featured in NME.

The main picture helps to indentify the genre, as all the bands featured in NME reflect the indie/rock music genre in some way.

The bands featured and the pictures which are in the music magazine all are typical of the music genre NME focuses on.