Questionnaire results; Tally of results and Pie Charts.

Tally of Results

Question 1.
16-18 (8)
18-24 (5)
25-30 (4)
30+ (3)

Question 2.
Paramore (6)
Eddie Halliwell (1)
U2 (2)
Kings of Leon (1)
The Smiths (1)
Korn (1)
Biffie Clyro (1)
Libertines (1)
Artic Monkeys (1)
Enter Shikari (1)
Kaiser Chiefs (1)
The Scrift (1)
Jack's Mannequin (1)
Supergrass (1)

15 of my 20 people surveyed answered that the band the chose "Make good music", and the remaining 5 answered that the band the chose use "creative writing."

Question 3.
Weekly (3)
Fortnightly (2)
Monthly (11)
Other (4)

Question 4.
0 (3)
1-3 (13)
4-6 (2)
More (2)

Question 5.
Tour dates (1)
New bands/Artists (4)
Interviews (12)
Top 40/Album releases (3)
Gig reviews (3)

Question 6.
Yes (11)
No (9)

Question 7.
£1.00 (1)
£1.50-£2.00 (4)
£2.50-£3.00 (10)
£3.00 + (5)

Question 8.
Internet (5)
Radio (4)
Magazines (7)
Television (6)
Other (3)

Question 9.
Singles (3)
Albums (10)
Either (7)

Question 10.
Bright and Colourful (6)
Plain (4)
Both (10)

Question 11.
Yes (12)
No (8)



Pie Charts













Using my questionnaire results I can now make detailed decisions about my magazine.
From looking at my results, I can see that the majority of the 20 people I questioned enjoy their magazines to be presented with a mixture of a bright and colourful layout, and a plain layout. They also enjoy music from a wide range of indie artists and groups, the main bands listed were; Paramore and U2. The majority of my results suggest to me that my target audience enjoy music magazines that are released monthly and that are priced between £2.50 and £3.00. I also discovered that my target audience have mainly purchased between 1 and 3 singles/albums in the past six months, and the majority of them prefer to purchase albums. My questionnaire results also suggest to me that my future purchasers enjoy reading gig reviews, interviews and upcoming artists, and they are interested in the production of music.
I now know what feature and regular content to include in my magazine, how high my magazine should be priced, and how often it should be published. I also know which bands/artists to include on my front cover, contents page and double page spread, and I know to include a mix of bright and plain colours throughout my theme.

Questionnaire

I printed out 20 copies of the following questionnaire and handed them to my target audience. Using the results I am able to get information about how my target audience like their magazine presented, what content they enjoy reading, and which colours they enjoy most on an Indie magazine.


1. Please state your age (circle correct answer):
16-18
19-34
25-30
30+

2. Who is your favourite Indie artist/band, and why?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. How often so you purchase Music magazines? (Please circle one.)
Weekly
Fortnightly
Monthly
Other (Please state) ___________________________

4. How many Indie albums on CD or download have you purchased in the past 6 months? (Please circle one.)
0
1-3
4-6
More (Please state.) ___________________

5. What articles do you most enjoy reading in music magazines and why? (Please circle one.)
Interviews
Gig reviews
Album/single reviews
Gig information
New artists
Cover stories
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Do you have an interest in the production of music? (Please circle one.)
Yes
No

7. How much are you willing to spend on a new music magazine? (Please circle one.)
£1.00
£1.50-£2.00
£2.50-£3.00
£3.50+

8. How do you get information about new Indie artists/bands?
Internet
Radio
Magazines
Television
Other (Please State.) _________________

9. Do you prefer to purchase singles or albums? (Please circle one.)
Singles
Albums
Either

10. How do you like a magazine to be presented? (Please circle one.)
Bright and colourful
Plain (Black and white)
A mixture of both

11. Do you enjoy reading about gig reviews? Please explain the reasons for your ánswer.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________


VOICE CLIP WOULD NOT UPLOAD.
I asked one male my questionnaire and his voiced his answers.

Codes and Conventions of Double Page Spreads

After analysing several double page spreads from music magazines, I have discovered that they all follow the following Codes and Conventions:

• 1 full page is of just one, large image. This helps attract the readers attention.
• Headline.
• Contain quotes to ask as "juicy snippets" if the reader is skim reading- they catch their attention.
• Interviewer and photographer's names are always printed, to inform the reader.
• Drop capital is used at the beginning of the article.
• Colour scheme of around 3 colours to stick to a printing budget.
• Written in columns -usually more than 2- to make the article easy to follow.
• Name of artist is always presented in bold when contained in a paragraph. This ensures the reader who the article is about.
• Magazine name is printed at the top of every page.
• Page numbers- allow the magazine to be easy to follow.
• Issue date or number.
• Underneath or next to headline there is a standfirst (description of article) eg. "Four years and 2 albums..." Jay Z.
• Informal mode of address to interest the reader.
• Short and snappy headlines are used to catch the readers attention.
  
  Additional Research
  . Other smaller images can be used. In these images rock/indie artists can be portrayed as tough. They are still always looking at the camera to make the reader believe they are involved.
  . Stand first can be presented in a banner.
  . The colours used signify the genre of music the article is about. For example the colour black connotes dark like rock.
  
  

Codes And Conventions of Music Magazine Contents Pages

After analysing several music magazine contents pages, I have discovered they all follow the following codes and conventions:

• Numbers and lists are used, set out in 3/4 columns so the page is easy to follow. Mojo breaks this code and convention by only having two columns.
• Subtitles - order the page and allow the reader to know what are regular features of the magazine, and what is new for this issue etc.
• Issue date, to allow the reader to know how up to date the magazine is.
• Colour scheme of around 3 colours, usually the same or similar to the colour scheme of the front cover. Again this allows the production company to stick to a printing budget.
• Miss out numbers to only highlight key articles.
• One main image of a band, potentially the main story, to attract the readers attention.
• The contents page is always useful, to inform the reader.
• Some may include an editorial. This allows the editor to welcome new readers and specifically address the reader.
• All relate to the front cover, so the readers are not confused and can easily find what they are looking for.
  
  Additional Research
  . Editorial is not always at the top of the page, as in Kerrang the editorial is towards the bottom half of the page on the left.
  . Subscription banner is sometimes presented on the contents page, to attract the readers attention and persuade them to get the magazine delivered monthly, to make more money.
  . "Cover story" stickers can be used in certain columns to inform the reader of where they can find the stories presented on the front cover. This is useful for the reader.
  . Cover photo and contents photo photographer can be printed.
  

Codes and Conventions of Music Magazine Front Covers

After analysing several music magazine front covers, I have discovered they all follow the following Codes and Conventions:

• Masthead at the top of the page. The font chosen usually allows the masthead to become recognisable to the target audience, and is nearly always black in colour, large, and sometimes bold.
• 5-10 coverlines are usually used. These always link with the genre of music and content of the magazine.
• A colour scheme of around 3 colours is used. This is to stick to a publishing budget.
• Barcode, price and date is printed on the magazine to give the audience information.
• 5 cover stories are used to allow the reader what to expect inside, and try to interest them.
• Tagline, to make the magazine seem fun and exciting.
• A genre of music.
• A main image - usually of an artist or band. Artist is always looking at the camera to allow the readers to know that they have their full attention and they are "interested" in the magazine. The shot is always a mid close up/long shot.
• Mode of address - the way in which the image is shown. For example Kerrang make they're main image artists seem angry to allow and foreshadow what type of attitude you should have if purchasing this magazine.
• Other smaller images are used incase the reader does not like the band/artist used in the main image. It assures the reader what other artists to expect within the magazine.
• Buzz words such as "free" and "exclusive" to attract the readers attention.
• Each layout is different according to genre. Eg. Rock may have a busy layout, and Pop may have a girly layout.
  
  Additional Research
  . Indie/rock magazines tend to have shapes on their front cover, such as stars and circles. These can potentially contain buzz words such as "WIN" or "EXCLUSIVE". They are also usually written in capital letters.
  . There is a use of 1 or more banners on the front cover, to make the front cover appear busy.
  . Most text on the front cover is presented in capital letters to create a theme.
  . Images for cover stories can be presented on an angle.
  

Decisions...

Using my research I have decided that my magazine will be priced at around £3.00, as it isn't as expensive as some of the magazines which I have listed as potential threats. This could make my magazine seem more appealling. I have also decided that my magazine will be released monthly and have regular content of; interviews, concert and album reviews and gig news. My feature articles will consist of interviews.

Main Task Research

Choosing My Genre
After conducting research into existing music magazines I have decided my chosen genre for the making of my own music magazine is Indie, with a target audience of 16-25 year olds.


Research

Possible competitors to my magazine may be:
Q
Kerrang
MOJO
Spin
NME
Clash


Prices and Frequency of Publication for these specific magazines:
Q - £3.90, Monthly magazine.
Kerrang - £1.99-£2.30, Weekly magazine.
MOJO - £4.10, Monthly magazine.
Spin - £4.99, Monthly magazine.
NME - £2.10, Weekly magazine.
Clash - £3.80, Monthly magazine.


I am going to base my magazine mainly around NME, and I am aware that this magazine's issue size is usually around 74 pages.


Regular Content & Feature Articles within these magazines:
Band interviews
Concert dates/reviews
Album reviews
Posters


Images of the magazines I used for my research: