I want to create a music magazine but one that isd also a hybrid. The hybrid I want it to follow will be a music magazine and also fashion magazine. I intend for my magazine to follow the indie/alternative/acoustic genre of music magazine.
In this section I will show my research into the conventions of my magazine genre and also analyse some examples of magazines that may follow the typical conventions and some that might not.
FRONT COVERS
This example manages to follow almost all the conventions of a music magazine. Firstly, It includes a very clear image/logo header, which is probably the most important part for the front page of a magazine, it makes the mgazine instantly recognisable to the audience.The image on the cover of the magazine is also very important, this follows the conventions as front cover images are usually medium/close-up shots. This shot is also important as it does portray a fun image of the band and portrays an indie/alternative genre of this band, the video below shows the type of band this is and I think this shot fits them perfectly.This can also set up the genre of the magazine . I think this image can also fit the content of a magazine like this, you can immediately tell by the front cover the type of content that may be inside: you can tell that it is a music magazine and the genre of music is probably, indie/rock/alternative, you can also understand the target audience for a magzine like this, which is probably teenagers aged 16+. Another convention followed in this magazine is the use of a leading caption. The leading caption is usually focused on the artist/band featured on the front cover shoot and should dominate the page. It should also focus on the feature article on the band/artist.
This music magazine by Q, also follows one of the conventions of a magazine. MOD means Mode Of Address, which is the way that a text creates a relationship with its audience. The most common MOD is direct address. This is a great example of direct address, the artist on the front cover, JayZ, is looking straight out of the magazine and this invites the reader in. It makes the magazine more personal to the reader.
However, this example of NME magazine, doesn't follow this convention. INDRECT address, is when the person/people are looking away, this isn't a convention but does get used on some magazine covers. I think maybe there was a reason for using indirect address on this magazine cover. I think maybe becuase they band they have used are oasis, and have been in the press for many reasons and most negative. They don;t tend to engage must with fans, and even as a band and as brother are even said not to particularly like eachother so maybe the reason for not following the convention of direct address is to match the people on the cover.However this band are extremely famous and have a massive fan base. This leads into another magazine convention. Magazines usually use stars or celebrities on their covers. This helps increase sales and profit as stars are admired and are aspirational to the audience of a magazine. This magazine uses this convention really well, Oasis were an extremely popular band, and even though they can be controversial, they will still sell really well on a cover of a magazine.
The front cover of a magazine must also be visually eye-catching.The colours must reflect the target audience. This magazine is a rock/alternative music magazine, so the colours of red and black fit the genre of the magazine perfectly. Another convention is that a front cover should include a variety of different fonts. This front cover does that perfectly, it makes the cover look more visually appealing and eye-catching.
This is an example of a magazine that hasn't really followed this convention. There is only really about 2 different fonts, wereas the Q magazine above as atleast 4 or 5 and in my opinion I think it makes the over look so much more interesting and professional.
