Monday, 13 April 2015
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? (draft)
My magazine would be fairly limited in terms of institutions that would wish to distribute it as I was aiming to and think I successfully, created a product that is fairly niche, or at the least targets a niche audience.
One such organisation which may distribute it are COMAG, which is one of the UK's longest running magazine distribution companys (since 1977), so they would have ample experience in how to best distribute my magazine. COMAG is co-owned by two larger parent companies (The National Magazine Company and Conde Nast) which mean that is has even more connections and experience within the industry. Another reason why I think COMAG would be a good choice is because they have a specialised division for niche or specialist magazines called "COMAG specialist", it's this sub-division which I think would make it such a good fit for my magazine.
Niche music magazines that COMAG currently distribute are some of the magazines that I found inspirational when making my own, such as Clash and The Wire, have a lot of parallels with my finished media product, such as targeting smaller more specific audiences and focusing on more minimal covers with emphasis on the photographic content as opposed to lots of text. They also feature, not necessarily the same music, but there is an overlap between the genres contained within each magazine.
I feel the foremost reason that COMAG would want to distribute my product is that they already have several successful niche music magazines, which I imagine turn them a good profit, so it follows that my magazine would do similarly well. Whilst it may be the case that they by already having similar magazines they may not want any more, however I think this is outweighed by the potential rewards of having a quality product and the resources to distribute and sell it.
Since the majority of most magazines revenue comes in through advertisement, it is important that the distributor of your magazine has connections to company's which would want to feature adverts in your magazine. This is indeed the case, with COMAG (Specialist) whose current magazines feature adverts from a mix of mainstream or more niche fashion and brands which wouldn't look amiss in my own media product.
Some other media institutions I looked at, but decided were not the best fit for my media product were the Baeur media group, and Dennis publishing. I reached this decision as Baeur doesn't really have any current niche magazine brands, they have KERRANG magazine, which whilst targeting alternative music fans, is more mainstream in its conventions. So therefore they may not have the correct experience to successfully distribute my product. Dennis publishing does not actually distribute any music magazines, so it's doubtful that they would want to choose a fairly non-mainstream magazine for their foothold into music magazine distribution. In terms of the type of presence my magazine could have online, there would be a partner website which could not only publish online-only content such as videos and downloadable content.
Some other media institutions I looked at, but decided were not the best fit for my media product were the Baeur media group, and Dennis publishing. I reached this decision as Baeur doesn't really have any current niche magazine brands, they have KERRANG magazine, which whilst targeting alternative music fans, is more mainstream in its conventions. So therefore they may not have the correct experience to successfully distribute my product. Dennis publishing does not actually distribute any music magazines, so it's doubtful that they would want to choose a fairly non-mainstream magazine for their foothold into music magazine distribution. In terms of the type of presence my magazine could have online, there would be a partner website which could not only publish online-only content such as videos and downloadable content.
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Hows does your media product represent particular social groups? (draft)
The artist portrayed in the double page spread of my magazine is a fairly care free, reckless individual, with music that doesn't just fit into a specific genre but rather spans several, and is also the kind of artist that would be unknown to the majority of the public. I think my magazine targets, primarily, "young alts" and "hipsters" as they are described to be at the leading edge of youth culture, and thrive on seeking out interests that are not considered to be in the mainstream. They are also described as non-judgmental and "having their eyes and ears open to different genres and scenes", the fact my artist isn't pinned into a certain genre is consistent with the representation of the youth cultures that my magazine would be targeting, and therefore reinforces the representation.
The fact that my magazine is intended as a print publication, similar to "loud and quiet", helps reinforce the whole kind of non-mainstream/alternative feel of the groups it is aimed at, as it is a non-conventional way to publish a magazine. The cover of my magazine looks similar to a magazine like vice or i-D, with minimalist logo and focus on the model, the aforementioned publications epitomise the sub-cultures of young alts or hipsters and so in turn does my own magazine. The content of the interview on the DPS is neither entirely serious or humorous, which is an accurate representation of the way that young alts and hipsters want to be perceived. Instead the sub-cultures strike a middle-ground by dressing in expensive clothes and listening to underground music, but at the same time still being youthful and partying etc.
Overall I would say that the representation is positive of the social groups in my magazine, as a media product would not be best serving it's interests if it negatively represented the social group it was aiming itself at.
The fact that my magazine is intended as a print publication, similar to "loud and quiet", helps reinforce the whole kind of non-mainstream/alternative feel of the groups it is aimed at, as it is a non-conventional way to publish a magazine. The cover of my magazine looks similar to a magazine like vice or i-D, with minimalist logo and focus on the model, the aforementioned publications epitomise the sub-cultures of young alts or hipsters and so in turn does my own magazine. The content of the interview on the DPS is neither entirely serious or humorous, which is an accurate representation of the way that young alts and hipsters want to be perceived. Instead the sub-cultures strike a middle-ground by dressing in expensive clothes and listening to underground music, but at the same time still being youthful and partying etc.
Overall I would say that the representation is positive of the social groups in my magazine, as a media product would not be best serving it's interests if it negatively represented the social group it was aiming itself at.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (draft)
My media product has both challenged and conformed to convention, one way it has challenged it is by having an image which doesn’t fill the page, and also having very minimal type on the cover. Whilst this isn’t unheard of, it is the general consensus to have a larger image and more text. The masthead of a magazine is also usually the largest text on the page, whereas the artist’s name was the larger type on the cover of my magazine.
I largely followed convention in terms of page layout, as I had the masthead beginning in the top left of the page, and the rest of the type in the lower 3rd. For the general look of my magazine I took heavy inspiration from “the gentlewoman”, which could be considered to be unconventional in its design and ideals. I liked the idea of it being a print publication, similar to Loud and Quiet, as opposed to a glossy magazine. This being another way in which it has challenged convention as the vast majority of magazines are glossy and not print. The background is a kind of off-white colour, which I wanted to mimic the colour of a print publication like a newspaper.
The barcode and price are in a conventional place on the page, I kept them small so they would fit the margin better, and also because a barcode shouldn’t be a large feature of the page anyway. The masthead/branding of my magazine is conventional in many ways, the text inside a coloured box is a frequently used style by magazines, such as "i-D" or "Q". However, whilst I used this convention I would argue that I also developed it, as the typical "text inside a box" logo is usually much larger whereas I tried to create a minimalistic logo.
For my Double Page spread, I also believe I both largely followed convention, whilst in some ways challenging it or developing it. For example by making my magazine a print publication, it allowed me to have a picture spanning across the spine of the page. This wouldn't be possible on a conventional "glossy magazine" because of the way the pages fold inwards at the spine.
The rest of the page is pretty conventional in its layout, with it divided into 6 columns and featuring an enlarged quote from the article and the bulk of the article filling up the remainder of the page. Whilst following convention might sound boring conventions are usually there because they are effective.
I also followed convention with more of my double page spread, one example being that the page has page numbers and features branding from the magazine. In terms of the general look of the double page spread in terms of how the masthead looked and was layed out, I was inspired by a double page spread from alternative magazine "Loud and quiet" which featured a similar serif font for the masthead, similar picture positioning, and the colour scheme of the page (loud and quiet double page spread) as a whole is very near to the one used .
The ultra-simplistic look of my contents ways challenges convention slightly in the fact that it is so simplistic, as opposed to a lot of pop music magazines that have far more "going on" on the contents page, with a lot more features, sub sections etc.
However among modern alternative music magazines it is becoming a style in itself that the simpler a page, the better. For example i-D magazine has very little on the cover, and that which it does it very small, simplistic text. so whilst simplicity may challenge mainstream convention, it fits the convention of the sub-culture into which I was aiming my magazine.
In terms of the models used I think I largely followed convention with their appearance and clothing, in terms of modern alternative musicians. For the cover picture I followed convention in terms of having a more "studio" look photograph taken against a white background with 4 filter lights to eliminate shadows. With the picture for the double spread, i took the picture outside with natural lighting and a different background. I wanted my magazine to have a bit of a more varied appearance, as I felt that having all pictures took against a white background would not only would this be a bit boring, but also unrealistic as it is rare that magazines would stick to only one picture format. So I believe I followed convention by utilising a variety of different backgrounds.
I largely followed convention in terms of page layout, as I had the masthead beginning in the top left of the page, and the rest of the type in the lower 3rd. For the general look of my magazine I took heavy inspiration from “the gentlewoman”, which could be considered to be unconventional in its design and ideals. I liked the idea of it being a print publication, similar to Loud and Quiet, as opposed to a glossy magazine. This being another way in which it has challenged convention as the vast majority of magazines are glossy and not print. The background is a kind of off-white colour, which I wanted to mimic the colour of a print publication like a newspaper.
The barcode and price are in a conventional place on the page, I kept them small so they would fit the margin better, and also because a barcode shouldn’t be a large feature of the page anyway. The masthead/branding of my magazine is conventional in many ways, the text inside a coloured box is a frequently used style by magazines, such as "i-D" or "Q". However, whilst I used this convention I would argue that I also developed it, as the typical "text inside a box" logo is usually much larger whereas I tried to create a minimalistic logo.
For my Double Page spread, I also believe I both largely followed convention, whilst in some ways challenging it or developing it. For example by making my magazine a print publication, it allowed me to have a picture spanning across the spine of the page. This wouldn't be possible on a conventional "glossy magazine" because of the way the pages fold inwards at the spine.
The rest of the page is pretty conventional in its layout, with it divided into 6 columns and featuring an enlarged quote from the article and the bulk of the article filling up the remainder of the page. Whilst following convention might sound boring conventions are usually there because they are effective.
I also followed convention with more of my double page spread, one example being that the page has page numbers and features branding from the magazine. In terms of the general look of the double page spread in terms of how the masthead looked and was layed out, I was inspired by a double page spread from alternative magazine "Loud and quiet" which featured a similar serif font for the masthead, similar picture positioning, and the colour scheme of the page (loud and quiet double page spread) as a whole is very near to the one used .
The ultra-simplistic look of my contents ways challenges convention slightly in the fact that it is so simplistic, as opposed to a lot of pop music magazines that have far more "going on" on the contents page, with a lot more features, sub sections etc.
However among modern alternative music magazines it is becoming a style in itself that the simpler a page, the better. For example i-D magazine has very little on the cover, and that which it does it very small, simplistic text. so whilst simplicity may challenge mainstream convention, it fits the convention of the sub-culture into which I was aiming my magazine.
In terms of the models used I think I largely followed convention with their appearance and clothing, in terms of modern alternative musicians. For the cover picture I followed convention in terms of having a more "studio" look photograph taken against a white background with 4 filter lights to eliminate shadows. With the picture for the double spread, i took the picture outside with natural lighting and a different background. I wanted my magazine to have a bit of a more varied appearance, as I felt that having all pictures took against a white background would not only would this be a bit boring, but also unrealistic as it is rare that magazines would stick to only one picture format. So I believe I followed convention by utilising a variety of different backgrounds.
Friday, 10 April 2015
Picture Gallery
I uploaded all the pictures I took over the duration of the course to a flickr gallery which can be found here.
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