Target Audience Feedback

Target Audience Feedback – Bethany Whale

WWW – It uses a consistent colour scheme throughout the magazine, making it very appealing to look at.

EBI – Try to get a different variety of photos, maybe of more males as it looks like the magazine is aimed at females and not the younger generation as a whole.

WWW – Great photography skills with many images using direct eye contact to connect with the reader.

EBI – Put a pug or a puff on the front cover to advertise the monthly competition.

Target Audience Feedback – Saja Kamareddine

WWW – The layout is not stereotypical of normal classical magazines which it makes it more interesting.

EBI – Use a variety of different fonts as similar fonts are used throughout the magazine which could get boring.

WWW – The colour palette used is very attractive and gives it a vintage and premium look.

EBI – Some of the images don’t use direct eye contact such as the main image on the front cover and this does not draw in the audience.

Planning the Music Magazine Front Cover, Contents Page and Feature Article

Planning the Front Cover

For my front cover I will use dark colours such as black and white for the text however I will use an orange/brown colour for important text on the page so that it stands out amongst the background and other text. The main image will be of a model playing a classical musical instrument such as the violin. This is to ensure that the audience knows the genre the magazine is. I plan to use three main cover stories on the front cover as most classical magazines such as Classical Music magazine use three main cover stories. My masthead will be large and in an orange/brown font so it can be read from faraway. The font will be easy to read and classy, conforming to the stereotype of other classical music magazines. My sweet spot will contain the cover story of the main feature article to try and draw the reader in as this will be the main selling point of the magazine. Overall I think my front cover will cater and attract the target audience because it uses a dull and premium colour scheme other classical magazines use.

Planning the Contents Page

My contents page will have a similar layout to my front cover. I will attempt to use the same colour scheme on my contents page as well as throughout my magazine to ensure the magazine flows well. I will add more images of the main model as well as other images of other stories to try and make the contents page more attractive and better to look at. I will include page numbers on these images to make it easier to find the story they want. I will also add a ‘Contact Us’ section to try and involve the reader more and gain more subscriptions for the magazine. I will also add social media links to cater to those who prefer an online magazine enjoy reading online rather than a physical copy. Overall I think my contents page will attract my target audience because it has an easy to read layout and uses colours that stand out against the background to make it easier to find pages.

Planning the Feature Article

My feature article will follow the same colour scheme as the rest of my magazine: black, white and orange/brown. This makes sure the magazine flows and I can make things stand out if needed. I will use more images of the main model on the feature article and I will also try and make the feature article layout more different than other classical music magazines. The feature article will contain an interview and also a biography of the main model. Overall I think the feature article will cater to my target audience because it is attractive, using a different layout than other classical music magazines and it is very easy to read.

BBC Music Magazine Media Pack

Brand Reach - Print

Circulation – 36,300 per edition
Readership – 234,000 per edition
Subscribers – 75%

Social Media

Twitter – 50,000 followers
Facebook – 14,500 likes

Brand Reach – Online

Users - 82,000
Impressions – 175,000
Podcast – 19,000 monthly
Newsletter – 22,000 weekly
Total brand reach – 581,000 monthly

Demographics

Men – 59%
Women – 41%
Age 15 – 34 – 50%
Age 35 – 54 – 23%
Age 55 and above – 27%

Music Magazine Industry Tasks Research

Classical Music Magazine

Classical Music is a trade magazine for the classical music profession. It co-sponsors the annual ABO/Rhinegold Awards for backstage work in music, held for the first time in January 2012 - and has correspondents in Great Britain and in New York. Its website includes news on the classical music industry. It is published by Rhinegold Publishing, and the editor is Kimon Daltas.

BBC Music Magazine

BBC Music Magazine is a monthly magazine. The first issue appeared in June 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC was the original owner and publisher together with the Warner Music Enterprises during its initial phase. Immediate Media Company has been the publisher since 2012. BBC Music Magazine has also an edition in North America which was first published in March 1993. The magazine reflects the broadcast output of BBC Radio 3 being devoted primarily to classical music, though with sections on jazz and world music. Each edition comes together with an audio CD, often including BBC recordings of full-length works. The magazine's circulation is 37,530 and profits "are returned to the BBC". The magazine features articles on subjects such as the favourite conductor of professional conductors.

Codes and Conventions

The conventions of a classical music magazine are mostly the same in every magazine made by different publishers. Usually, the masthead is the biggest text on the cover. The colours are normally clean and classy, with no bright colours such as pink being used. Colours quite commonly used are gold and black, because these colours together show quite a premium style which fits the high class stereotype.

The main image usually relates to the main feature article of the magazine, with the image being in a medium or medium long shot. There is only one image on the front cover and a cover story about the specific artist and the artist is normally dressed up to look high class in gowns and suits. Some magazines use black and white images to give a vintage look but some use colour depending on the background. Sometimes the background is one colour so all the other features stand out.

Overall, the front cover is generally very organised and clean. It doesn’t use bright colours and only important text is placed on the front cover so it doesn’t feel too full up. This is all to appeal to the older target audience.

Readership Profile

Most classical magazines have a readership profile of both men and women aged 40 and above. This is because people of this age have grew up with this type of music and still enjoy it to this day whilst people of younger generations listen to genres such as rap. Classical magazines try to appeal to the audience by using colours often associated with the older generation, for example black and white. Using a monochrome colour scheme is often associated with the older generation because they read the newspaper and grew up with black and white forms of media.  

  

Music Magazine Feature Article Analysis

 

The feature article is very stereotypical of a classical music magazine. It doesn’t use a very bright colour scheme, reinforcing the idea that classical magazines don’t use vibrant colours. Black, gold and white colours are used on the feature article, which is significant to the target audience. The title of the feature article is in a classy font, with a gold colour. This shows a premium style which fits the high class stereotype. The pictures are also in black and white. This gives the feature article a vintage look and also relates to the older generation who like this kind of music.

The information under the title of the feature article uses many words related to classical music such as ‘violinist’ and ‘conductor’. The shows that the feature article is related to a classical musician.  The name ‘Humphrey Burton’ is in gold which highlights its importance to the article. It is clear to the audience that the man in the photo on the left side is ‘Humphrey Burton’ and this intrigues the reader to find out more about his life as it is described as ‘extraordinary’.

On the bottom left of the feature article there is another image of ‘Humphrey Burton’ when he was younger. This shows the audience that the article is looking back on his life and how he became a very ‘influential classical musician’. At the start of the article there is a very large letter ‘I’ to begin with. This symbolises the beginning of the article but also symbolises Burton himself as he is talking about himself throughout the whole article.

Overall the feature article conforms to the stereotypes of a classical music magazine. It does not use many vibrant colours and instead uses dull colours that give it a vintage look to try and attract its target audience. I think the magazine succeeds in attracting its target audience by using classy fonts that are easy to read and creating a feature article classical music lovers will find interesting.

Music Magazine Front Cover and Contents Page Analysis

 

This front cover is from an issue of BBC’s magazine Classical Music. This front cover like many other classical music magazine front covers has a large masthead that covers a lot of the front cover and overlays the main image. This is to make the masthead more noticeable and eye catching to the target audience.

The main image of classical magazines often shows a well-known classical musician or artist. This used with a medium shot so they can clearly be noticed and recognised on shelves in stores. However, as classical music has become a smaller market compared to the last century, it would only be stocked in certain stores to maximise sales. The front cover also features the name of the model in the main image. This name is often written large so it is easily recognised and in a colour that stands out from the background.

The colour scheme of the front cover is very simplistic, using colours such as gold, white and black. These colours are very contrasting of each other and work well together to highlight important things on the front cover to make it more noticeable and eye-catching. The font used is very easy to read. It is in a white font which stands out from the dull coloured back ground and the font is set out very neatly and straight unlike other magazines that use slanted fonts. The barcode is also pushed to the right side of the front cover and out of the way so it does not obstruct from the main image.

This contents page has a very similar layout to front covers. The colour scheme used is often dull with colours such as white and black being used. This gives the contents page a very vintage look that represents the older target audience. The background is white which lets all the other features on the page stand out. The layout of the contents page is very simplistic allowing readers to find the page they want easily.

There are three images next to each other lined up at the top of the page. This is the first thing the audience will most likely see when viewing the contents page and this makes the contents page look more attractive. There are page numbers on the images that tell the reader what page that certain image is on which improves the efficiency of the magazine. Unlike the other images which are next to each other, there is an image with all of the features. This signifies that this image is the most important one on the page as it stands out the most.

The text used is similar to the ones used on the front cover. There is no slanted text and it is all easy to read. A pink font is used to highlight the important features on the contents page and this makes it easy for the audience to pick out the features that they want to read the most.

Presentation of the 7 Questions