Music magazine survey/questionnaire

I handed out the follow survey to 10 people all within my demographic (male, 15-25 years old) which I detailed earlier. I have put the percentage each answer got next to the answer itself.

1. What about this magazine appeals most to you?
Layout 50%
Images 40%
Colour scheme 10%

2. Do you think that the articles included in the mag
are appropriate?
Yes, all 90%
Yes, most 10%
No, few 0%
No, none 0%

3. What was your favourite part of the mag?
Front cover 30%
Contents page 10%
double page spread 60%

4. would you be willing to pay £2.99 for a monthly magazine
of this quality?
Yes, I would be willing to purchase it every month 70%
Yes, but not that regularly 20%
Occasionally 10%
Rarely 0%
Never 0%

5. Does the main article interest you enough?
Yes 90%
Not sure 10%
No 0%

6.Do you feel that the house style was effective?
Yes, very 80%
Yes, mostly 10%
Not sure 10%
No 0%

7.Do you believe that the magazine reflects your demographic interests?
Yes, very 80%
Yes, mostly 20%
Not sure 0%
No 0%

8. Finally, would there be anything you would change about the magazine?
The only serious answer that was really given was "the main article should be about someone actually famous", but this was changed to "no" when I explained that I had to take the pictures myself.


I feel that on the whole it was a very positive outcome, and many of the people included in the questionnaire actually complimented me highly on the realistic magazine effect I've managed to create. The only criticism that I was later given was that some of the older music i've included is not the their personal taste, however that is only a matter of opinion, rather than a major fault with the magazine itself. I can therefore conclude due to these results, that if this was to be published a real magazine, would have a very good chance at becoming popular, and would be able to compete with Q and NME. However, to gain a much more clear picture, I would have to give this questionnaire to many more people.

Annotated double page spread

Annotated contents page

Annotated front cover

My music magazine evaluation

For my magazine, I have decided to follow many, if not all, of the forms and conventions that most music magazines use. This is because I believe that it is a well tested way of creating the magazine, that is obviously successful, so why change it? I have used a very common set out for my magazine, for instance the front cover has a main image taking up most of the page, with an eye catching title, and other articles shown on the left hand side. As I have already mentioned in this blog, the two main rivals of my magazine will be Q and NME, and I have taken a lot of inspiration for the forms I use from them; mainly the way they are set out and the use of images; as well as this, I have tried to duplicate the way that they write and portray the artists. However, I have also tried to alter my magazine in a way that, in my eyes, work better than these other magazines. For example, I feel that my title on the front cover is placed and sized, so that it doesn't draw to much attention away from the main articles that are shown.

My magazine is very much angled towards "indie" men that are interested in the "indie" type of music (for example the Artic monkeys). I feel that this group in particular will be the most inclined towards buying a music magazine, and the sales figures of NME and Q back this up. Even though their sales are not as high as they have been in recent years, the sheer amount is quite a lot more that many other music magazines. As well as this, this type of music is also my favourite, so I felt that I would be able to create a magazine around it best. I created my magazine to represent this particular social group, by using a masculine colour scheme, with lots of black, red and white. However, I also used other colours, such as yellow to make it different and stand out, just how "indie" men like to see themselves. As well as this, I obviously included lots of articles about indie bands, and the pictures I used were very light hearted and looked very natural, so that the reader could get a real sense that this magazine really understands that music should be fun and easy.

The ideal reader for my magazine would be a male, aged around 18, and would follow the "indie" fashion, as I have already mentioned. (skinny jeans, long hair, checkered shirt etc). He would be very interested in music and feel that it is a large part of his life, he might also be part of a band himself. He would be outgoing and have lots of fun, but would also take his education quite seriously, without it taking up all of his life.

from doing this piece of coursework, I have been able to obtain a very firm grasp of the working of photoshop, though I admit I had already had some experience of it before. As well as this, I now have a very deep understanding into the world of magazines, and have been able to learn how the work and are created. As well as this I know the conventions of music magazines, and how to break these conventions without ruining the magazine alltogether. However, I did struggle at first with InDesign, as I have never used it before, and did get quite frustrated. In the end though, I think I did learn how to use it quite well, but more practise is needed to fully understand it.

Music magazine double page spread

Music magazine contents page

Music magazine front cover

My Magazine

The Title

The title of my magazine is going to be "Doors". I have chosen this to represent the idea that the magazine is going to "open doors" for people into the world of music and to create pathways into new tastes and bands. As well as this it is also the name of the popular rock band "The Doors", so the affiliation will be similar to "Rolling Stone" magazine. Finally I feel that the title sounds fresh, up to date and suitable for my target audience.


Price

My magazine is going to cost £2.99, and will be released montly. I have chosen this price, as I have studied the prices of similar magazines and have taken into account the amount of pages (180-200) and the type of paper (glossy). The magazines that "Doors" will be competing against will be NME which costs £2.20 and Q, which is £3.90. Therefore mine is not the cheapest but it is not too much more than NME, and is quite a lot less that Q.

Target Audience

The target audience for my magazine is going to be 15-25 year old males. I have chosen this, as they, in my eyes, are most likely to want to buy a music magazine. To attract this audience my magazine will be bright, fresh and almost simplistic. The type of music my magazine will represent will be indy, and some heavier rock. This will appeal to this age group, as it is very popular within it. This will not create a niché audience (as Q and NME also have articles about this type of music), but hopefully it will be appealing enough that I will be able to get sales. I think the price of the magazine will be a big part of this, as it is very competative.

Bauer
I have chosen Bauer Media to produce my magazine, as they are th perfect company to do so. They produce other popular music magazines such as Kerrang and Q, therefore they are ideal, as these magazines are bought by my wanted age group, so they will know how to advertise "Doors" in the best way possible.

Magazine Producers

Magazine producers

Bauer Media Group (Bauer Verlagsgruppe) is a German publishing company which operates in 15 countries across the world. The company was founded in 1875 and has since been privately-owned and under management by the Bauer family. Bauer has been managed by four generations of the Bauer family; Originated in a small printing house, The Bauer Publishing Group has grown massively. The Bauer Publishing Group has 282 magazines worldwide, as well as TV and radio stations. Current music magazines they produce are Q, and Kerrang. This would possibly be a good company to produce my magazine, as both of these magazine will be similar to mine.

IPC Media is one of the UKs leading consumer magazine and digital publishers, with a portfolio of magazines selling over 350 million copies each year. It groups titles under five magazine divisions: Connect (women's weeklies such as Now Magazine and Look), Inspire (leisure and specialist), Ignite! (men's lifestyle and entertainment), SouthBank (women's lifestyle and home interest) and TX (portfolio of television titles). In addition, there is Marketforce, the UK's leading magazine distribution business. Digitally they have WOTV and goodtoknow. This may not be a very good company to produce my magazine, as it mostly targets women and leisure, and my magazine will be mainly targeted at men.