MARKET RESEARCH Karis Hays

ROCK SOUNDThe media pack starts off by highlighting all the ways you can access the magazine giving it multiple uses and the audience can use it when they are out and about as well.

The media pack also gives the reader key information about their audience, for example it shows that the amount of people who read the magazine is bigger than the amount of people who buy it. It also advertises

there social media sites and gives the reader key information on how to find more information about their magazine and how to become more involved.

They also have a page explaining to the audience who they are and what they do. They brag about how they have used big rock bands like Paramore as some of their front covers, it also adds the information of what your issue of Rock sound includes i.e.. a free CD.

They also have highlighted the fact that they have a partnership with Impericon, they’ve highlighted it to draw more attention to the fact that they are in partnership with someone who creates the ‘best live music’.

The British copy of Rock Sound was launched in March 1999 by the French publisher Editions Freeway. The magazine was then bought out by its director, Patrick Napier, in December 2004.

Each rock sound magazine has the name of the magazine placed at the top in bold colours matching the rest of the theme of the magazine. Sometimes its covered by the main photo on the cover, but never covers the word Rock, which can indicate to t6he audience that it’s aimed at people who enjoy rock music.

The name of the band/singer who is on the front cover. They are all in their own different font, indicating that all the bands are different, unique from each other. It also might be used to introduce a new band widening the musical taste. On the cover of every copy of rock

sound they advertises a free CD to grab the readers attention and to attract them to buy the magazine. In every copy they are in bright colours and a reasonable size being highly noticeable to the reader/buyer.

The majority of the main images are medium shots. They have the main singer in the centre or the closest to the camera. And there either pulling a sensible face or pulling a silly face. The background is a plane studio apart from the paramour one which is a quirkier background presenting the personality of the band.

There is also all the plugs along the right and left side of the magazine to attract the potential buyer to pick up the magazine and buy it.

With including the name of the band in such broad writing and bright eye catching colours it will appeal to the reader more and they might be interested in the band meaning they pick up the copy maybe leading to further interest.

They have a puff on the cover dragging the attention of the reader, and can help the reader grow their music taste.

The magazine is set out into columns of three, because we read in columns. It makes it easier for us to read.

The top stuff can also act as plug and a puff they are using words like WIN! to grab your attention.

A list of the main feature of the magazine are listed with the page number next to them, not all the numbers are listed only listing the articles that are plugged on the cover. It is then followed by extra information and a brief explanation of what's happening in the article. The number is bigger than the rest of the text emphasising the page to read. Its also in a different colour compared to the text.

The name of the artist is in bold white writing, making it known of the artist, with this being next to the number indicating to the reader who is included to the article.

The main image matches the cover picture; which is used as a plug to get people to buy their magazine, this might be the main reason they bought the magazine. The picture is a very intense picture with it being a medium close up creating a closer bond with the artist.

This quote can act as a plug to keep the reader interested, by giving a quote it also gives an insight into what to expect from the article.

The colour theme is blue, white and black, they all contrast each other causing the words to stand out and grab your attention. With the black background it contradicts the white and blue.

75% picture25% writing

The tracking between each line is even ach time creating an equal look to the magazine.

The main image is sometimes related to the main image on the cover and in the contents page, it reflects the personality of the band as a whole. If the reader has never heard of the band its sort of like an introduction/first impression of the band/artist. The main image takes up the whole of the spread with the writing over the top of it. Its taken in a re-make of a studio with very low dim lighting. It acts as a visual effect to help put an image with the article.

The pull quote attracts the reader by pulling out an interesting part of the article later on making them want to find out more from what they are talking about.

The leading text acts as an introduction to the audience, like they are introducing the artist and giving them background information of what to expect from the up coming article.

The drop cap lets the reader know that the beginning of the story theses are used because they are associated with fairy tales which we are used to from when were younger, they are also used for a stylistic feature making the article look more efficient. The gutter is used to separate the text

into columns making it easier for the reader to read. The tracking between the texts as well makes the texts easier to reader but also gives it a classy effect by being separate.

The layout of the magazine spread has the image on the right hand side with the main article to go with the image on the left side. It’s a very spread out spread giving the image a lot more visual attention. This sort of layout makes it very easy to navigate yourself around the magazine creating a very simple effect.

This can act as a inside magazine plug, because if the reader is just briefly reading over this can drag their attention to this imparticular article. This is also seen as graphic art for visual pleasure of the reader.

The layout of the main title of the band is bright with using the white on red combination they contrast each other making it more eye-catching. Its also in gender neutral colours not stereotyping the bad to any gender making it more open.

The dominant image is 50% but the hole image goes behind the 50% ratio of text.

BILLBOARD (US)

Similar to the Rock sound media pack this contains some of the statistic about their reader/buyers. It gives information you wouldn’t expect them to now like their household income.

It gives information about the magazine, it exaggerated it to sound like this amazing company, as the reader we don’t know if this is true but go along with it.

The name of the magazine is the same font size and either black or white on every cover of each magazine. Also the lower case b,o,a and d are filled with colour making them bright and eye catching, contrasting with the white or black of the main title. The colours that they’ve chosen to fill in the letters are gender neutral appealing to a more varied audience.

Each picture is a serious picture, which is either a close up, medium close up or a medium shot. Each shot is simple and straight faced. And they are chosen to reflect the artists personality and type of music they produce and how the audience perceive them as a person.

Each of the names is also in different fonts which could reflect the artist and what they stand for. For example Katy Perry’s issues has elegant writing because she can be seen as an elegant public figure.

There is also the different setting for each issue using either a coloured background or using a white or grey one. On each magazine there’s a lot of white space that hasn’t been covered creating a deeper focus on the artist.

What they are wearing can also show their personality to the reader, Katy Perry is known for her unusual outfits and these are displayed on the cover of this magazine.

Most of the magazine is laid out in strips of three including the name of the artist on the left hand side of the magazine, its laid out like this in an editorial way because this is the way we read, creating an easy way to get through the magazine.

This magazine doesn’t have any top stuff this can be done to draw attention to the main article of the picture which is the artist on the cover.

Each copy of the magazine is plain and simple with only very little added plugs and puffs this can draw the attention to just the artist/artists. It also creates a very sophisticated look dragging the attention of older readers.

The main logo of the magazine is repeated throughout the magazine, making it branded to the reader and ensuring the reader knows what they are reading. And makes this sense of consistency so when they see this logo they know what company it is .

This list of their personal charts, recommending music to the reader widening their music capacity. It takes up 35% of the contents page showing its importance to the reader and making sure that they have drawn their attention to it.

Acts as a plug and helps the reader navigate themselves to wherever the feature might be., can drag the attention towards the article with the use of the image.

The layout of the magazine is very cramped and there is a lot of content going on, this much information can cause the reader to become distracted but can also make the magazine look like it has a lot more content than it really does; especially having the chart list on the left hand side it makes it very cramped.

The sub headings can act as a plug as well by only giving a glimpse of what the article is about its dragging the readers attention to what is to be included in the magazine.

The added extras at the bottom are advertisements for the added subscriptions that come with the magazine, it gives the purchases a wider variety of ways to access the magazine, causing its popularity to rise. Its encouraging the reader to buy more magazines before they’ve even bought the magazine.

The main image isn’t very eye catching and only takes up a small proportion of the page leading to he reader being confused with what the image is linked when in matter of fact it is ,linked to the main article. Personally I would like the main image to be bigger and have more indication of what it is linked to.

The main heading is placed on the left hand side of the magazine along with the text that falls into columns. The font represents what the words are saying, the boldness of the word ‘fiercely’ is in bold writing this later on creates a fierce look for the word. Whereas ‘creative’ is in a font that isn’t normal but is seen as artistic standing for creative. This also juxtapose the girly pink background. The size of the texts also shows it going over the middle crease showing just how big it has been written in.

The caption is in the top right corner and says ‘women of the year’ this informs the reader that the women that they will be reading about is most likely going to be famous. By using the colour white which contrasts with the grey back ground it causes it to stand out and become more eye-catching for the reader and giving them more information about the person in the article. It could also act as a plug to grab the readers attention.

There are two columns of writing in this article located on the left hand side of the page underneath the main heading, by using columns to read in the article is then easier to read and saves the reader time. With their being quite a bit of writing by placing it on the right hand side that would be the first thing they see and could instantly put them off the upcoming article.

The main image is placed on the right hand side of the page, and takes up the whole of the page this has been done so when the reader turns to this page it is the first thing that you see immediately catching your attention. The image is also very unusual also making it eye-catching.

The leading text includes words like ‘honoured’ implying to the reader that what she has been awarded is a very big deal in the music industry, it’s also written in smaller writing than you of expected kind of contradicting it’s self of being a massive important thing.

The first three words ‘fans are still’ is used as a cap drop it starts of the sentence but in a very bold way it grabs the readers attention straight away from the first line. This can also be a puff for the reader as well.

Q MAGAZINE Tells the reader what their aim is with there magazine, what they want to achieve. What their target audience is and what they believe there audience should like and be interested in to buy the magazine. And how they want to grow the audiences music taste. They have their main audience who buy their magazine.

Giving the reader background information of what their natural audience is. For example the median age who buy the magazine is 34.

They show what you can get out of the magazine,, what they can get access to if they purchase this magazine and what bands/artists are involved with the magazine.

On the cover of every magazine the ‘Q’ is always in the left corner of the magazine, with a red background and white writing for the Q. its bold and appealing for the reader. It’s also memorable and simple but still remains in your mind. The colours are also gender neutral showing there is no specific gender the magazine is aimed at.

All of the pictures on the front cover are medium close ups, focusing on the artist/bands face. It creates an intimate relationship between the reader and the artist. It also makes it clear who they are and what they create.

All the pictures are set in a studio not taken in an outside location. The women always have dramatic make up and are being really poesy. Whereas the boys are just plain but put across their own individual styles. For example the Tinie Tempeh issue has him wearing his signature sunglasses, which people will recognise when seeing the copy will recognise who it is.

Each copy has the additional information on the side on what else you can get out of the magazine. This could be used to make the magazine look busier than it actually is and persuade you to buy it. Makes it look packed with information. These are called plugs, they pull in the readers by intriguing them by what's inside.

At the top of some of the Q magazines they have the words ‘The UK’s biggest music magazine’ it’s boasting to the reader that they are a highly popular magazine, by seeing the word ‘biggest’ it emphasises to the reader and persuades the reader that they are the best of the best and can help on part of the magazine as a selling point.

The magazines look very crammed to create a busy look and to make it seem jammed packed full of information when in reality it’s not. Its crammed with puffs and plugs gaining the attention of the potential reader and making it seem amazing.

On the cover with Tinie Tempah the font of which his name is in, looks like a signature creating a closer bond with the viewer.

The layout is what you would traditionally expect from a magazine, the main image is on the right hand side and takes up the majority of the page, this image is also linked to the main story which is advertised on the front cover. The contents uses a strong contrast between black, white and red. The main titles are bold ad in bigger writing compared to the rest of the writing. The contents can also be used to assure the reader knows exactly what they are looking for. Using red for the page number creates a neat and classy look to the page and gives it an over all good first impression to the reader.

Date of the publication is used to show that it is all up to date content and not out of date. All the content is relevant.

The main columns on the contents page is the main feature section which shows what is going to be featured in the magazine; which also comes with a brief description of what is included. They also have a different colour for the page number to act as a plug to show where abouts in the magazine they have to go to get the article that draws attention to them. The contents of the special edition matches the advertisement on the front cover adding a colour scheme and a theme to the magazine.

The logo for Q magazine is aliened with the title of the page ‘contents’ they are both in bold font showing there importance to the reader. Q is in a red box which follows the house theme of the whole magazine.

At the bottom right hand corner there is a review section where the list the pages numbers they are on and give a brief overview of what is available in the article, this can show that Q is a very trustworthy company if people trust there reviews and there content. The title is in bold writing showing the importance of the review section and showing it is another part of there magazine.

They have a ‘every month column showing what is popular within there magazine that they bring it back monthly for the enjoyment of there readers.

With the picture of Lady Gaga taking up the whole of the left hand side it shows her power and relevance to the article. It is also quite a risky photo to be including in a magazine but in a way it shows who she is and what she’s about and maybe how much sophistication Q magazine has. With the filter of the image being grey it adds and artistic style to the magazine, maybe showing her class as well as the class that Q magazine has. It also themes three main colours: red, black and white these colours anchor the genre of Q magazine.

The ‘S’ at the start of the article can act as plug to get the reader to read this part of the article which could be the main content of the article.

The graphical ‘L’ has been added for an artistic image is can show the importance of lady gaga to the interview and the article, making her the main focus point of the double page spread. It also adds a classy look to the magazine and it fits into the colour theme of Q magazine with it being red. Also with it being red it could reflect her personality as being sexy and lustrous as they are the connotations you associate with the colour red.

The format of the article goes in columns reading from left to right which is the standard format of any magazine, it also has symmetrical white space between the columns making it easy to read and creating a very classy look for the article.

With the name of the artist being in the right hand corner it gives an indication to a reader who maybe doesn’t know who she is an idea of who she is and what relevance she has to the article with her being on the main picture as well. It’s not in any different colour causing it to not be very eye catching but the ‘GAGA’ part of it is in capitals making it stand out in contrast the graphical L.

NMEGives you the main statistics of what their audience is. For example 20% of their readers are female whereas 74% are male, wh8ich gives us the idea that the magazine may be more appealing to men or the genre of music they follow is stereotypically what men listen to.

They give examples of what there readers think about their magazine, how they can trust the content and how they have helped there knowledge of music grow.

They include where and what different devices you can access their magazine. And what you can get out of their devices.

They give you even more information about their readers and what else you can access when being a reader of NME. They don’t just focus on the music made they also focus on how to keep you up to date all the time and how you can access music videos.

They give there publisher and their website so you can find out even more information about them.

The name of the magazine is always in red and so is the name of the artist featuring in the picture on the front cover. Its always in the top left corner, in the same thick font it never changes the size. Also with the ‘NME’ and the name of the artist being in the colour red it shows that the magazine is aimed at all genders, not just a specific one and there's no stereotype behind the colour red.

Judging by the length of the name of the artist also depend on the font. For example if you look at the cover with Amy Winehouse on it’s in a much bigger font than the Artic Monkeys cover because of the length of name.

Each of the pictures in either a medium shot or a medium close up, this can create extreme intimacy with the reader especially if they are a fan of the artist/band on the cover. Their clothing reflects what they are like and what their individual styles are like. They are in a studio never in a outside location. The way they are stood can also reflect them as a character.

The additional writing underneath the name of the artists, excluding the copy of Amy Winehouse. Its in a font that looks like someone has written it, it makes the magazine look messy but it’s laid out in a neat way, it presents the image of the magazine as rouged but it also has a bit of class. Whereas the copy of Amy all her writing is elegant in a way presenting her as an elegant figure.

The magazine is split into three columns, it has the name of the magazine name of the artist and what's to find out about the artist. The second column has the face of the artist, and the final column has the plugs of what you can find inside.

The colour scheme is always gender neutral not causing any stereotypical gender to buy the magazine, it shows that it’s welcome to each one and welcomes all ages.

The top stuff includes all the artists that are mentioned within that issue of the magazine. Creating a broader audience to buy a magazine that includes an artist that they enjoy listening to.

The header holds the NME logo which can show the reader who produced the magazine and it also shows consistency throughout the magazine of showing people who they are and there importance to the magazine and they can look up the name of the magazine and find out some facts about the magazine. By using ‘NME THIS WEEK’ instead of ‘CONTENTS’ it gives a young and fresh feel to the magazine making it not an copy of every other magazine.The colour palette follows the house colours of the magazine it keeps the magazine consistent. They also use contrasting colours to make the magazine feel more unique representing the music they write about (indie music). The ‘NME THIS WEEK’ writing is contrasted with red and white writing with a black background making it stand out more at the top.

The layout of the contents is very controversial to the other NME magazine contents page. The way it is set out is very neat and is all in columns, they are not shoving a lot of information down your throat they are just directing you to the right places to go in the magazine. They have clearly sectioned of where you need to go for the main story advertised on the cover of the magazine.

They include advertisements for there own subscriptions, telling them where to go and what to expect when they get there. It is also presented in a black box making it easier to grab the readers attention and persuade them to spend more money on this magazine.

One of the main features included in the magazine is the band index which gives an A-Z of the names of bands in the area of music they are writing about. They are showing there readers whop they are involved with and get them to buy the magazine.

It includes a brief part of one of the articles included in the magazine making it a plug getting the reader to want to read on they are teasing the reader with a short snippet from one of there main article to make them want to find out what happens in the rest of it.

The image is one of the main focuses of the spread, she is looking straight into the camera like she is directly addressing the audience. She is making a direct connection with the buyers of the magazine, it’s like she is persuading them to buy the magazine. It also takes up about 45% of the spread making a very dominant image for the reader to look at. She also has very dark make up and her red top fits into the house colours of NME magazine.

The main header is an unusual size for a main header as it takes up another 45% of the spread this indicates that they want to catch the readers attention. It also a quote of Lily Allen which also makes it a plug attracting the buyer to read the magazine. The font of the writing links with what the quote is saying about being out spoken and different to other artists. It’s a very controversial font to use for a header. It could also be used to show what NME magazine is about, how they like being a bit reckless and go against the rules from other magazines.

The language used is very basic, and is also a sort of slang this shows who the audience, which is mainly students and older teenagers; so they use the language that they will use to try and relate to them. They also capture what Lily Allen likes giving extra information to the reader, making them relate to her and make the article feel more personal.

The colour pattern follows the same scheme all the way kind of making a trade mark on there magazine. The colours red and black are the colours you normally connote with indie/rock music which is what the magazine write about. The red text has been added to match the artists clothing to keep the consistency of colours all the way through.