The Music Industry

I thought that i should do some research into the music industry because i am creating a music magazine which, in the real world, would be released in to this market. This first bit of information is about how music is sold or listened to in the world today:
Downloads - Both illegal and legal downloads, the most popular site being ITunes.
Physical Items - This can be through the purchase of CD's or records.
Streaming - This is where you can access the music without downloading it, the most popular being Spotify.


Major record labels are the large record labels who own well known artists and promote these to make a profit.
examples of these are EMI , Sony , Universal. These labels also usually own other smaller record labels and businesses.The Independent record labels are smaller labels. Examples of these are679 Artists , Domino  and Jeepster. 

Studying Magazines (double page spreads)

Recently, in a Media lesson, we looked in detail at a selection of music magazines. I looked at an article about Little Boots in Radar, when she was an up and coming artist. This was in 2009.
Within this double page spread, the headline reads 'Little Boots'. This is a clear recognition of the artist which immediately tells the audience what and who the article is about. The subheading 'Our favorite new UK electro act', sums up what Little Boots is about and what kind of music she plays.
This is a very similar image of Little Boots to the one in the article, although i could not find the actual one used. The image suggests what kind of music she plays and what she's like. She is looking directly at the camera which is popular in almost all magazines and this particular page is quite plain which allows the reader to focus on the picture not any bright or busy backgrounds.
The articles tone seemed to be quite informal, and was in a large box of text. It didn't have any colour's on the page or in the writing and i personally thought  this made it seem quite dull and uninteresting. The layout of the magazine is sparse but does allows you to focus on whats being said.
Overall i enjoyed learning about the different aspects of this magazine page spread because it has helped me with the development of my own. 

Looking at Photographers

I have been doing some in depth research on different Photographers. This has helped me with my ideas for my Magazine front cover because i now know what kind of look i am going for and how to achieve this in an image.

This first image of a woman holding a guitar is by Peter Krogh, who is an award winning Photographer. He uses all formats of equipment including large film cameras and complex lighting locations. Personally i really like this image and am thinking about doing something similar for my magazine cover, or one of the images on my double page spread.

I have been inspired by this image and think that it would fit in well with my magazine. It would fit well with my indie theme. "The punky, inked boy are all the rage in the industry at the moment" This shows my magazine would be current and 'now' if i used a similar idea.

This image is one of my favourites and although i cannot find who it is by, i really like it and think i am going to attempt to emulate or take ideas from it. I might link it to music by using a musical instrument or something similar, but overall i love the effect.

Looking at these photos and photographers has made me think about the positioning and set for my cover and double page spread images. I have realised i will need to adjust my pictures in Photoshop and have been inspired by many of the photos i've seen.

MY OWN PHOTOGRAPHY:

I have taken a lot of photographs for my magazine and my media pack, looking at photographers and artists to help me emulate. I have photoshopped all of these images to make them look like they came from a magazine (glossy, up-market etc) and am very pleased with the results although i am not yet sure i will use any of these for my actual magazine front cover. If my magazine was made then they would fit in nicely amongst the articles.

Typography & Titles

I have been researching for my music magazine recently, and decided i should focus on typography. I have looked at many magazines and there are a few examples on the left.

I want a unique but relatable title font for my music magazine, although there are many already out there. I believe that the typography of the title can be one of the most eye catching aspects of a magazine, and if you see an interesting one on the shelf in a shop, you are more likely to pick it up.

From my research i have concluded that the majority of titles are at the top of the page, and use quite simple fonts. Some are behind the picture, some are in front and others have their own box seperated from the picture.
In my magazine i want to include an eye catching, interesting title that is relatable and makes you want to read further. I have decided that i will need to put my title at the top of the page because from a practical side of things, it needs to be seen from the shelf. I am going to research further in to different typography for my own music magazine and although i want it to be different i need to remember to keep it simple.

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Double Page Spread Research

Having researched double page spreads for when i come to creating my own, i have discovered i like a lot of them. I narrowed them down to these two favourites. I like them both because although they are different they both hold information.

I like the MCR magazine because it is quite busy. There are loads of pictures all over but in an organised way, which i might like to emulate in my magazine. I also really like the title which is the quote 'We're being the best mcr we can be!'. I like the idea of using a quote on my double page spread as i think its a bit different and engages the reader.

I think that the other double page spread looks really quirky and original because of the mismatched lettering. It also helps draw attention to the page and makes you want to read on. This page has another quote as the title: 'People think im an attention seeker, but im just honest'. This snippet makes the reader want to buy the magazine to find out more. i like the one plain, simple image and the bland colours (black, white and red) make the magazine look quite modern and interesting.

Overall, i think that looking at these double page spreads has really helped me and given me ideas on what to do.

Magazine Cover Research

I have been researching different types of magazine covers, and looking at all the mixes. Vogue has so many interesting front covers, and this is my favourate layout. Although it is quite similar to a lot of magazines I like the simplicity as well as the fonts, image and structure. I especially like the 'Change!' part at the bottom of the magazine as i think it grabs your attention. Whilst looking at these magazines, i have discovered some things i will have to put on my own magazine to make it more realistic and proffesional: a bar code, title, website, pricing, date, sub-heading and a suitable image, as well as the information about what goes in to the magazine.

Music Magazine Research -Coursework

I have started researching for my coursework. I am creating a front cover, advert and contents page of a music magazine. From my research i have discovered that the central image is very important as most of the focus is on that. The title makes a lot of difference and tells you what kind of magazine it is.

This is a print screen of many different popular magazines that are on the market today. I have included some music magazines as well as fashion and others. I have realised that my magazine must be exiting and original because a lot of magazines are very similar to eachother.