HOT PRESS MUSIC MAGAZINE COLLAGE

Hot Press Contents Page Analysis

Analysing HOT PRESS Contents Page

Firstly, the reader’s attention is instantly attracted to the large teal heading of the contents page; it reads, ‘contents’ in block capitals – further emphasising the house style of HOT PRESS magazine. Under the main heading it states the vol and issue number once again however this time it gives the reader a vintage feel as the font is quite antique looking. The ‘HOT PRESS 3820’ once again shows how many magazine publications this brand has had. In doing this, the reader feels like the magazine will always been published and so will be intrigued as the magazine must contain popular and interesting articles- therefore the reader will want to read on due to this.

Furthermore, the contents page additionally emphasises the fire we see on the masthead of the magazine. The fire image on this page is in the blue teal colour with a circle of different coloured sections around it. This implies to the reader that this fire image is the magazines’ logo and so apart of the house style of the magazine.

There is only one image on the contents page – an unusual convention of a contents page. The image is once again the band U2 which again displays them in a black and white image. This image is on the bottom of the page and alongside the list of page numbers. HOT PRESS’ contents page only displays two highlighted articles within the magazine; one of which concerns music while the other, politics. The name of the article is highlighted beside the page number to give the reader clear guidance on what the story about U2 is. It then goes on to describe the main narrative of the story which helps intrigue the reader.

Diagrams of dots, in the teal colour, are seen on above and below the heading ‘contents’ and ‘HOT PRESS 3820’. These dots present the magazine in a professional and neat way which helps the reader understand what they should be attracted to – the page numbers and U2 image. The font used on this page provides the reader with an old-English presentation. In doing this the audience make a prejudgement of the mode of address in which the magazine communicates with the reader. We, the audience, can assume from this appearance that the magazine is very formal in the way it communicates and so gives off a professional feel.

The overall style of the contents page in this magazine is very sheik and vintage which further emphasises the fact that U2 is an older band. This gives us, the audience, the impression that this magazine features the older bands, the ‘chiefs of music’, and the house-hold names within the industry

Hot press Front cover analysis

HOT PRESS magazine is released fortnightly; it bases its articles on music and politics. Located in Dublin, Ireland it was founded in June 1977. The magazine title, HOT PRESS, is a pun for a common Irish term for an airing cupboard. Masthead can also symbolize the idea of paparazzi and ‘press’ in the media – they have the hot press, the ‘not-to-be-missed’ press. Furthermore, the masthead can also give the idea that the magazine knows everything you need to know about music. The title almost sounds like a gossip-centre place; the HOT PRESS. As though the magazine directly tell their readers everything – nothing is held back which creates a friendly feel to the magazine.

The magazine has a circulation of 17,179 (ABC, January – December 2012). The magazine is sold in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland which means they have a wider target audience and market. The magazine is mostly directed at individuals aged 18-35 with 90% of their audience being in that age group. 45% of this percentage is 18-25 years old while the other 45% are between the ages of 26-35. The magazine is aimed equally at both sexes with 52% of their readers being male and the other 48% being female.

The house colours for this magazine are; gold, black and grey. This helps the magazine become a house-hold magazine for its readers, the colour scheme is dark and rock ‘n’ roll like. From this house style we can assume the magazine promotes non-pop music such as arctic monkeys, Jake Bugg and of course U2. The gold and black contrast of colours suggests an award-like magazine as these colours are used in the music industry for platforms and awards. This makes us the audience assume this award-winning magazine who features award-winning musicians. All words and letters printed on the front cover are displayed in block capitals which suggest that all information is important on the cover and so the reader should read it all. The issue vol and issue number is displayed alongside the date in which the magazine is published; this helps the reader determine how long the magazine has been running and ensures they are reading the up-to-date edition. The font of this is small and printed at the side of the masthead. The layout, choice of colours and design of the front cover has created a niche audience – those interested in vintage, old-school music. This helps to create a ‘fandom’ for HOT PRESS magazine as they will have buyers who will buy every release and those who buy for their favourite band who may be featured in the magazine.

The masthead of this magazine is HOT PRESS; the O in hot is replaced by a fire symbol which further implies the idea of the word HOT – as though their music and articles are on fire, a metaphor for the best. The masthead is printed in a stamp-like fashion which connotes a homely-feel for their readers.

The main image is displayed on 70% of the front cover which instantly attracts the audience to look at U2. The use of this band helps to introduce new readers to the magazine as people may see U2 as the front cover and may be interested to read it- therefore an increase in audience numbers and sales. The image is in black and white which is in contrast to the house style of the HOT PRESS magazine. The black and white image could further suggest that the band are ‘old-school’ and so therefore a black and white image would deeply present the band as the ‘kings of music’ – to many people they may be. Not one band member is making eye contact with the camera/ reader which intrigues us to as why they do not make eye contact- this makes us believe that ‘the big interview’ may include some mistakes and secrets in which the band have made throughout their careers and so this intrigues the reader to read on. The image was taken at eye level which helps to emphasises the band as down-to-earth people – who make music. The use of this eye level angle is very naturalistic and even. Every band member is seen equally in the shot and so there is no ‘main’ singer-band member. This further gives us the audience that U2 want to create a new image- which the angle of shot helps to establish this. The main coverline is displayed in front of the main image which suggests to the reader that U2 is based on their music not their image – which is uncommon in today’s music industry.

The mise en scene presented in the main image have been carefully chosen to highlight important aspects of the band. The musicians look very relaxed – this helps the reader connect to the band on a humanly basis. The use of sunglasses on two of the musicians symbolised what they may be hiding from their past – two without sunglasses show how they’ve changed, moved on. One band member is wearing a monkey hat; which would usually see on a hard working man, such as builders or carpenters. This hat represents to the audience how hard the band have worked to get to where they are – although mistakes (sunglasses representation) they have worked hard.

‘The Big Interview’ is presented to the reader in a faint font; it is not instantly directing the reader to what it reads. Yet, as the reader is attracted to the main image it is when the look down they can notice this coverline. The wording interests the reader at once as the adverb ‘big’ is used which implies this interview is not something to be missed. Furthermore, the white writing under the coverline reads; ‘BONO, EDGE, LARRY AND ADAM TALK TO OLAF’, this line is displayed in block capitals to further imitate the house style. The magazine has chosen to print all band members’ names which is strange and interesting because most people and readers would only recognise Bono- who is the main singer. By doing this, HOT PRESS magazine are promoting the band as a new generation of themselves; because the band are older they need to become more relevant with the new generation of music.

More coverlines are displayed on the strapline of the front cover; these are printed in a careful way- where by the reader is only appealed by them once they have saw everything else on the front cover. The wording is direct and only tells the reader some of what is furthermore featured in the article. The mode of address presented in these coverlines continues with the exact wording of the main coverline. The coverlines displayed on the HOT PRESS front cover can be labelled as ‘headings’ or ‘titles’ which present the magazine is quite a formal way.

From the front cover I can suggest that HOT PRESS magazine focuses its content on mostly males – this is only based on the fact that the house-style does not represent women in any way and so the use of these colours would more likely attract male readers.

Contents Page

Contentspage

Published on a monthly basis, Q  features plenty of articles, on this particular contents page we see a lot of different articles piled onto one page, it almost seems cluttered and looks uneasy to read, as there is so much going on in one page, this may appeal to a younger audience as they can easily navigate the page, whereas an older readership may possibly prefer a more organised way of the articles being placed on the page.

This mode of quirky, fun and fresh presentation reflects that all of Q magazine  front covers  will be easily recognised as an important aspect of the magazines house style which readers have come to expect from each piece.

Similarly, the inclusion of the Q masthead and slogan aids the pages in being instantly recognisable with this further illustration of the house style creating a sense of fluency between the pages. As always with this magazine, a strong colour scheme consisting of reds, blacks and whites is evident: the dominant shades create an eye-catching impact and a sense of continuity without over-complicating the page and so succeed in alluring readers to various images and articles. Encompassing eleven images which add vibrancy and colour, the contents are divided into three distinctive sections, “Features,” “Regulars” and “The Q Review,” ensuring it is simple to navigate and understand whilst serving to further ascertain the house style.  

The readers attention is instantly drawn to the image of “the chief” noel gallagher on the  contents pages and this is primarily due to its size, as the largest picture visible it stretches across the right and centre thirds, filling a considerable proportion of the page. Thereby, readers are alerted to the fact that the band is the main focus of this particular issue of Q – taken from eye-level; the shot creates a sense of equality between the music legends and magazine buyers, encouraging them to read on.

The image depicts a mid-close up shot of the singer, providing readers with a close-up view of his plain collard perfectly fitted shirt,  which keeps a slightly polished yet edgy persona of the magazine and will appeal to the target audience. Noel "the chief" Gallagher is positioned in the exact centre of this photograph, wearing his trademark almost angry face, he is recognisable to the so called "beef" with Liam that has been in the tabloids as of recently and so will be most-likely to attract readers.

As a unique selling point, the articles page number is printed clearly onto each photo for the ease of readers. Even through the page actually looks quite messy and hard to navigate around, the page numbers are extremely easy to see, Imposed upon a red square shape, the white numbers are depicted in a bold font equivalent to that of the magazines iconic masthead which not only adds to the sense of continuity, coinciding with the house style and professional appearance but the clever choice of presentation also makes the page number stand out, enticing readers to delve into the magazine and find the article. And although varying in size, the page numbers are featured in this manner across the entire contents.

Included on the contents pages are a variety of images of different artists/music stars, such as Kate Tempest, The Foo Fighters and Prince.  Possibly giving a good mix of artists that are a variety of ages, meaning that the magazine is supporting the idea that it is aimed at a possibly older and sophisticated audience, perhaps ranging from late teens to early thirties, who love music and are interested in the latest news in the music industry today.

 The Long shot of singer songwriter Prince stands out on the page as the only image set against a white background and positioned to slightly overlap the surrounding features. His iconic clothing of the long coat/jacket to his ankles, the wacky colours, to his 80s style ruffled shirt, and his obnoxious rock star guitar,  give the cool rock look to the magazine this is to attract an audience of people that once were obsessed with his music.

 This picture completely differs to the somewhat to the close-up shot of  the English poet, spoken word artist and playwright Kate Tempest, wearing a laid back happy smile and an almost unplanned cool vibe to the prompt photo shoot, with her blonde ringlet curled hair and her baggy navy blue jumper, she gives off an almost completely different vibe to how this magazine portrays its self, its not perfectly edited with a sharp hair and makeup, its relaxed and I think perfect for this page, as it gives off a less uptight feel.

The magazine ensures that a wide variety of music fans are attracted with a mid shot of country music singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams, her photograph used gives off a cool, sharp edgy look to the contents page, edited in black and white,  sharp black eyeliner and cropped, choppy blonde hair, she seems almost too edgy to be a country singer, dressed in a black leather jacket with the collar popped, she seems to be trying to make a big statement. it gives a new and exciting element to the magazine; a distant expression and simple pose serves to intrigue and interest readers only further.

As mentioned, the colour scheme, depicting prominent reds, blacks and whites, immediately denotes the Q magazine house style, creating an edgy, glamorous appeal. For those who regularly purchase the magazine, the striking shades are familiar and recognisable and so will help to sell the magazine with new readers being attracted by the fresh, vibrant combination. Employing the colour white for the backdrop of the two contents pages, there are no clashing colours or illegible writing and so the magazine appears more professional and polished – this simplistic look also makes the inclusion of blacks and reds all the more eye-catching and effective.

In conclusion, I think the choice to place text at the edges of the pages with the corresponding images in the centre is very effective and eye-catching. Although I would not be able to emulate this idea exactly in my magazine as my contents will not be spread over a double page, I like the idea of keeping images and text separate as not only is it an effective use of space but  it makes the layout more simplistic and professional looking. The use of a dramatic colour scheme consisting of red, black and white is very striking and I may consider including such shades in my own piece as it draws attention and makes an impact. Q magazine’s house style is prevalent in every aspect of these contents pages: I would also aim to develop my own house style and employ it throughout to create a sense of continuity and add the impression of my magazine as polished and professional. Finally, I really like the idea utilised in Q of imposing the page numbers over corresponding pictures and so would hope to do the same thereby the page can be easily navigated and so would appeal to readers. Overall, I feel that analysing this magazine has been of great benefit to me, providing a greater understanding of the codes and conventions of music magazines as well as inspiring ideas for the contents page I will be creating.  

Q Magzine Front cover

Q Magazine front cover

Originally Q magazine was to be called Cue like “cueing a record”, the name was quickly changed as they didn’t want people to assume it was a snooker magazine.

As well as this, no other magazine used only one letter as a title and so creators of Q magazine felt that such a short name would make their magazine instantly recognisable, standing out among others in the music genre. Now Q magazine is one of the world’s biggest music magazines, it is easily recognisable with the red box and the white capital Q.

When doing some music magazine research I  found out that Q is published by the worldwide, multi-platform media empire, Bauer Media Group, owning more than eighty influential media brands spanning a wide range of interests including heat, GRAZIA, Closer, MCN, FHM, Parkers, MATCH, Magic 105.4, Kiss 100, Kerrang and Q.

O magazine is published on a monthly basis, it costs £4.99 per issue. The Q brand has developed a worldwide reputation as a trusted and premium quality voice of musical authority amongst fans, musicians and the music industry alike and this reputation is extended not only through the magazine but also across online, radio, TV and on into Q's unique events, which encompass exclusive, intimate live shows with major stars and the world famous annual Q Awards.

This magazine is clearly aimed at people who are very much into the background of the music industry, not only the music that the singers produce, but what they get up to, and who they hang around with.

Q magazine usually uses a colour scheme of red and white tones to replicate and match those showed in their masthead – which also aids as a logo and makes the magazine instantly recognisable. This particular issue uses the usual colour scheme, using red and white for the various cover lines, it also includes black, it seems to be the color of authority, power it seems stylish and timeless. White As opposed to black, usually has a positive connotation. White can represent a successful beginning, white can depict faith and purity.

These vivid colours hooks readers of both genders, but are be mainly linked with males, they add to the sophisticated and stylish feel of the magazine. These colours are appealing to fans of indie, rock rather than pop, rave or heavy metal.

The main image is the first thing that readers notice with this magazine, we can assume that is the intention as it the picture is of one of the world’s most successful rock bands, , and therefore an interview with them would be a major, unique selling point.

In the main image we see the “Foo Fighters” as this is a music magazine it is clear that we should see people in the music industry, the Foo Fighters are an American rock band, formed in Seattle in 1994. They were was founded by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the death of Kurt Cobain and the resulting dissolution of his previous band. The group got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War II, which were known collectively as foo fighters. They are one of the biggest groups in the world, with four of its albums that have won Grammy Awards.

Enlarged so that it takes up the majority of the page; the image is set against a clear white background with one picture at the top of the page, beside the strapline, this is to ensure readers’ eyes are drawn to the main image. The image is striking, giving a very cool contemporary feel, enticing music enthusiasts who are followers/fans of the band, as we can see the 5 men in the image, we can see that all of them are looking directly at the camera, this is done in almost all magazine front covers as we feel like the men in the image are looking at us.

It seems as if the colour scheme for the outfits is was dark navy, and greys, The reason for the is colour scheme could have been to show that they aren’t a young band, they’re serious, and want look manly also possible as they  don’t want to look unprofessional, by wearing clothes such as say pinks and yellows. Airbrushing has been used in this front cover to perfect the men’s faces to show the perfect amount of lighting that has been exposed through the stark lights that are usually used when in photo-shoots.

They’re facial expressions seem serious and stern, to some they could almost have a scary, frightening look, again, this might be as they want people to know that they have been around for quite some time, that they have lots of experience, they don’t need to have cheesy smiles on their faces.

Assisted by this striking image, the cover succeeds in evoking a very cool, contemporary feel, further enticing a young/middle aged audience by employing Q’s emblematic stark contrast between bold reds and bright whites which adds to the sophisticated style whilst creating an impact. We can see the magazine uses simple language that is easily understandable for all ages: this informal register is implemented to ensure that the front cover looks fresh and modern and perhaps more importantly, to involve readers in – and attract them to – the magazine.

Utilising pull quotes from interviews to create interest, also emblazoned on the cover are the words ‘I think I’m normal’ directly below the main cover line. Immediately involves readers allowing them to interact with the magazine, establishing them as equal to those at Q and indeed in the music business as a whole. No slang words or scrawled fonts are featured which further illustrates the impression of the magazine as a suave, polished piece. Anchoring text for the main picture of the foo fighters the lead singers note saying “I had another life 25 years ago it was turned upside down”

The red that is used throughout the front cover could be construed as danger Red is an interesting colour. It is known both for love and passion as well as rage.
This could be as they want a cool fun shade that really brightens up the front page.

The front page usually has a number of text boxes with cover lines in them telling us what is in the magazine e.g. “+ Noel returns…But is he really talking to Liam?”

The puff that is used in this used in this magazine is “exclusive cd" This particular issue is based mainly on the “Foo Fighters”, which to a young audience doesn’t necessarily appeal to, but to a much older audience it would, that being said, Q magazine appears to have a wide range of artists like, Taylor Swift, Adele, Madonna and the Arctic Monkeys, these artists are a range of different ages and all have a completely different style of music, so to say that this magazine is aimed at one particular group of people would be wrong as it attracts different readers each issue.  That being said a young and vibrant yet sophisticated audience, perhaps ranging from late teens to early thirties, who love music and are interested in the latest news in the music industry today, would be the typical readership of this magazine.

Music Magazine Research- Q Magazine Front Covers

Q Magazine Front Covers

 

I wanted to see the typical house- style of Q magazine, I decided that It would be good to make a collage of Q magazines front covers together to get a good idea of what I should be talking about when I come to analyse the latest addition of Q.

 

 

Music Magazine Research- My Inspiration

For my first piece of different ideas, I thought that it would be good to create a prezi presentation as I could show all my ideas and pictures in one form of a media platform, in this presentation I have things such as pictures that I think I could take inspiration from, I also have ideas where I could take these pictures, I still have a lot to think about for my magazine, like what I will call my "artist" what her "story" will be e.g. what songs she sings, where she is from, her famous friends etc.

I also still need to think about what I a going to call my magazine, font, layout and what cover lines and graphics I will use.

Also the other people that I will feature in my magazine, I will use this post as my ideas post, that I will go back to and update with new things that I want to put in my magazine

https://prezi.com/vceoyrff7mm7/inspiration-for-my-music-magazine/ 

 

MUSIC MAGAZINE RESEARCH

EVALUATION ON THE PRELIMINARY TASK

For my preliminary task, I had to do an over all evaluation on the work that I had learned for my first task, as  I am a year 13 as media student I decided that I would use a range of different platforms for each individual question.



Question 1
http://prezi.com/wacowdckjmw-/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share


Question 2
http://padlet.com/user_1412774574/2uhaeydlqhc4

 

Question 3

http://prezi.com/sfj3bk9wxd17/evaluation/



Question 4

 

Question 5
http://padlet.com/user_1412774574/8c7xfoo0x3wi
Question 6
https://prezi.com/2e_r-k2zhnvu/question-6/

My Final Front Cover Page, And Contents Page