Changes

I have decided to make ROGUE a weekly magazine rather than a monthly one as I think this would allow me to produce a magazine that is better for the target audience, 15 to 26 year olds, as it would be quicker to read and so would fit in with studying, part time jobs or spending time with friends.

Colour Scheme Changes

    I have changed the colour scheme of my magazine to red, white and black instead of blue, white and black. I believe this will make my magazine look more professional and the red will fit in with my genre as it is a typical colour used to illustrate frustration and anger - both of which feature in rock music.

Final Article

Final Article

More Test Shots

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Changes To My Article

   I have decided to make my article a 'question and answer' interview as I believe this will give the readers an insight into the artists personality and give them more of a 'voice' in the magazine rather than just a long story-like piece of text.

Test Shots

 

 

                     

                    

                          

DRAFT ARTICLE

      The last time we saw Miss Blews she had just released her last album and was on a high: winning countless awards, touring the globe, headlining festivals and was even engaged to the lead guitarist of her band, Prosthetic Head.
   After the break up of her engagement and band, we heard nothing from her for a year."I went through a really tough time" Tiffany tells ROUGE, " I had just found out Mike [Dexter, her former fiancé] had been sleeping around and it completely destroyed me."
But she couldn't escape him. "I had to stick with it for the sake of the band and the fans, but touring with him nearly killed me."
  She finally escaped from the band in 2011 after Prosthetic Head's last tour.  "I knew it had to be me that left. He was the founder and had been friends with the other guys for years." She explains.
When she left she didn't know what to do. "I was out partying with friends until the early hour of the morning,
drinking non-stop. Even when I wasn't out I would drink all night. The lowest point came when I collapsed at a club and needed my stomach pumped... That made me realise things needed to change."
   Tiffany went to rehab and recovered with the support of her close friends and family. "Music was the only thing I'd ever loved doing or been any good at. I wanted to get back out there."
But it would be difficult. She'd never been on her own before as she'd always had her band to back her up. "I got in touch with some old friends in the industry, called in a few favours and such. Within a few months I had some tracks and was signed up to a new record label."
  Through the social media sites Twitter, Facebook and YouTube she managed to publicise her new sound and gained a lot of attention from old fans and new ones. "All the support I got was incredible. I was the happiest I had been in a long time."
   Before long she was back on her feet and now she's better than ever -with her new album and plans for a tour later this year. "My new album is dedicated to all of the people that have helped and supported me. Its now my own style, as I haven't had the help of bandmates. I truly think its the best work I've ever done. I'm glad to be back."


TiffanyBlews' album, COLD WAR, is out later this month.

Inspirational Magazine Covers

 

 

ROGUE: Mock Version

       

   I need to change the colour scheme I have chosen for my magazine as it doesnt make the artist stand out enough, however and I think the font I chose  for the magazine name fits around the genre and the rest of the design. I like the images I have chosen, burt I think I need more of a variety of artists and other images within the magazine in order to create a busier layout as I have seen in other magazines of my genre. In my final version of my magazine I also need to make the article longer as it seems too short and change the layout of the contents page as it looks too plain - I need to make it seem less of a list..

Analysis Of Institution

  Bauer Media Group is an institution that publishes both Kerrang! and Q magazines and owns their brands. It was founded in 1875 and is based in Germany, but publishes magazines that have a mainly British audience.
   Kerrang! is a weekly magazine aimed at fans of rock music, aged 14+ as it features younger bands like You Me At Six and Sum 41 - as well as bands familiar to an older generation such as Guns N' Roses and Metallica. The Kerrang! brand has generated lots more branches other than the magazine such as a music channel, a successful website, a radio station and a tour of rock concerts. This mixture of different bands and media has allowed the brand to reach a large audience, so has created an enormous revenue for the magazine.
   Q is a monthly magazine that features mainly Indie, alternative or pop artists. It is aimed at a different audience to Kerrang! as it is more clean-cut and based on a different genre of music, although there has been some cross-overs with artists such as Muse and Kings Of Leon. Much like Kerrang! it has branches such as a radio station and a TV channel, although that was shut down in 2012.

    I think Bauer media group would be a great institution to publish my magazine as it is a large successful company that  has experience in the style of music magazine I hope to acheive. I believe that Rogue could generate a large audience, much like Kerrang! and have different branches such as a radio station and television channel.

Magazine Analysis: Kerrang!

    Kerrang is a UK based rock music magazine first published in 1981, and is one of the most popular rock music magazines in Britain.

   The front cover features Avenged Sevenfold dressed in dark clothes with lead singer, Matt Shadows in the foreground, emphasising his importance in the band. The band name itself is in lage writing, showing that they are the main feature in this issue, and is in the band's own font - adding a unique touch for the band. There is a pull quote, "We're under the microscope..." which would encourage consumers to buy the magazine as they would wish to know who said the quote and why. Fans that know the band well would realise that becuase this is an issue from 2010, the drummer - Jimmy Sullivan - had recently passed away, so they would wish to buy  the magazine to find out how the band was coping. This would also account for the plain grey background - illustrating that there is a 'gap' in their band that cannot be filled. The word "Exclusive!" would also encourage people to buy the magazine as is the only place that people can see this interveiw.
   The mast head is in the classic kerrang font and is partly concealed by Matt Shadows and Synyster Gates' heads, showing that the brand is very well known as it can be recognised with some letters missing. There is a banner at the very top and bottom of the magazine that both state features inside, and there are scale images of posters inside the magazine. All these insights into the contents of the magazine would encourage people to buy it as they would know what sort of thing they would be buying, so would not be disappointed in their purchase.
   The main clour scheme, red, white and black is used to create a very 'rock' feel to the magazine and, as with Rock Sound, the layout appears to be very disorganised - showing there is a lot going on with the music and contrasting to clean-cut pop magazines.

   The contents page has the colour scheme black, white and yellow - contrasting colours used to make it easier for the reader to see different sections of the magazine.  There is also a small piece of writing from the editor stating what is in this weeks edition - which causes the reader to feel more involved with the making of the magazine. The editors picture and signature add a personal touch that realates him to the readers - giving him an identity rather than just being part of a corporation.
   The large image of Slash in the top half of the page shows that he is the main feature of the magazine, and there are smaller images beside him showing other artists that are featured.
   In the bottom right corner there is an advertisment to persuade the reader to get kerrang "delivered to your door" which is used to encourage people to subscribe tothe magazine, therefore making the business more money.

   The double page spread has a colour scheme of red, white and black, colours which are often assocated with My Chemical Romance, the band that are being interviewed. The title for the page is a quote from the band, and unusual feature that would create interest for the reader as they would want to know why that quote was so important.
   Along the side of the article there is a banner that tells the reader about some of the songs by the artist, which in turn would encourage readers to go out and buy their album.
   The images of the band all use sepia tones that draw attention away fom the band to what they are actually saying in the article. The lead singer, Gerard Way, is the largest image - emphasising his importance within the band. Each of the photos is at a recording studio, which is related to the subheading where it it stated the band "invite kerrang! to their recording studio" and therefore allows the readers to get an insight into how the bands music is put together and the process of making their songs.

Magazine Analysis: Rock Sound

  Rock Sound is a British rock  music magazine that was first published in 1999. It is a monthly magazine that costs around £3.80.

  The cover features two artists from two different bands that are often associated with each other. In the background Pete Wentz is dressed in dark colours, which contrast with the bright blue that Mark Hoppus wears in the foreground. The magazine is full of contrasting colours - red and black, blue and yellow. This is used to draw the readers attention into the page, making them interested in what has been written.
 The mast head is the largest text on the magazine, however it is placed behind Mark's head, so it shows that the magazine is quite well known as it can be recognised with part of the name missing. The main piece of text is "Blink-182 & Fall Out Boy" as it is the names of the bands that the people on the cover are from. The bright yellow text that is used to draw in the readers attention states "world exclusive!" and "the only interveiw" which would encourage people to read the magazine as it is the only place that fans of the artists can see this interveiw. The red writing in the top left corner reports that there are 3 "free posters" with the magazine which would encourage people to buy it as they are getting more for their money. As Rock Sound is known for selling the magazine with a free CD, this would also greatly improve the chance of someone buying it because consumers like getting a good deal for their money. At the top of the page there is a banner, and in the bottom left corner there is a list - both telling consumers other features of the magazine.
   The layout of the magazine is very busy and un-organised, which is a very common feature of a rock music magazine as it illustrates how there is a lot going on in the sounds of the music and the contrast between that and the clean-cut pop music and magazines that are parallel to that type of music.
   An unusual feature of this magazine is that of the bar code. There is a piture of a female, Luna Coil, holding it up for the audience to see. This is a good way for the magazine to be unique and quirky, as well as getting the image of another artist on the page without taking the focus of attention away from the main artists in the magazine. The bar code features the price, month and issue number, as well as the website - so it used to inform the reader of all the finer details of the magazine without getting it mixed up in the stories.

The contents page for the magazine features two of the artists from the band Fall Out Boy, the main feature of the magazine. Pete Wentz is in the foreground, with Patrick Stump behind him, which is because Pete is the 'face' of the band, whom most people would recognise. They are both wearing boxing gloves and have aggressive expressions, which relate to the pull quote "I have no tolerance for anthing right now" as it shows neither of them are going to be messed with and are up for confrontation if a situation arises.
  The contents of the magazine is in a translucent black box, which allows the reader to both see the entire picture and clearly read the white writing. The page numbers are in red and the page titles are in white capitalised letters, so they are easy to distinguish from each other and the rest of the text. The smaller white writing allows the reader to further establish what will be on each page and therefore encourage them to read on.
  The name of the magazine, date and issue number are in the top right of the page so will make the magazine stick in the readers mind when reading, therefore causing them to remember it the next time they wish to buy a music magazine.

 

   There is just one image of the band on the double page spread, however it takes up almost the whole two pages. This is unlike other magazines that have many pictures of the featured band, but it allows the reader to see a better image of their faces up close. It also encourages the reader to focus more on the artist's thoughts, ideas and songwriting rather than their appearance. The band themselves seem to be dressed in their own clothes and are just in a grassy field, which relates them to the audience more than if they were dressed in costumes in a studio.
   The title of the page is the band name, A Day To Remember, which is written in the bands own font - thereby adding their own touch to the magazine. Before the main body of text there is an introduction which is highlighted with contrasting black writing in a white box. This piece of text tells the reader about the band and what the article will be about. Partway into the main text there is a pull quote which will immediatly attract the readers attention, exposing them to the lead singer, Jeremy M cKinnon's, ideas. This will entice them into reading the article as they would wish to know the context of the quote and what he is talking about.

Magazine Analysis: Alternative Press

Alternative Press is an American magazine based in Ohio and founded in 1985. It is a monthly magazine that has 112 pages.

   The band featured on this issue is 'Motion City Soundtrack' and the focus is on the lead singer, Justin Pierre. This is due to him wearing red, which draws in the readers attention whereas the other band members are in white. This could be because having the whole band in bright colours would have been overwhelming and not given a clear focal point. However, this could be a negative feature as it highlights the perception that the lead singer is the most important member of the band, so other members are overlooked.
   The mast head is yellow, so bright and stands out. It is large and takes up a large amount of the page and subsequently makes the reader remember the name of the magazine so it stays in their mind for when they next chose to buy a magazine.The name 'Alternative Press' is very long, so they have shortened it to 'AP' as it is easy for the audience to remember.
The band name is in the font style of the film Back To The Future which will make people wonder why  that font is used and what relevance it is to the band. It is much larger than the rest of the text so to illustrate that they are the main feature of the magazine. This is supported by the quote "We were always the band that didn't go out. But should've." which is likely to interest an audience because the quote is out of context, and so would make them want to find out more about the band.
   The banner at the bottom of the page is used to entice the reader into buying the magazine as it shows other bands or artists in the magazine, which may encourage people to buy it even if they are not familiar with or do not like the main artist featured on the cover.

 

   The contents page is based around the main image of the main feature of the magazine, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong. There is only one image on the page, which shows the dominance that the subject has over the magazine - he is in one of the worlds most famous rock bands and so the magazine would make a big deal of showing they have featured them. He is wearing black and has dark hair, so attention is drawn to his face, which is making eye contact with the camera, so would make the readers feel more involved with the magazine as it seems he is looking at them.
The text on Green Day is in a white box, and so stands out from other pieces of text on the page. This will draw attention to the article, especially as the word 'Green Day' is in red capitalised letters.
In the contents page, the magazine does not conform to the conventional three-colour pallet. It used a variety of colours: black, white, red, yellow and cream - which aids in the highlighting of key bands and the features of the magazine.

  The double page spread's background is that of a band photo. This makes the text and images fit together as there is no barrier between the words and the band. The photo itself uses sepia tones so it is styled to match the location of the photo, with old fashioned or alternative characteristics. The band photo takes  up half of the spread, so illustrates the power of the band and how they are the prominent feature of the magazine.
At the bottom of the page there is an inserted image of the band again, which helps the reader to view them in different environments and helps them become more accustomed to the artists.
  The main body of text is split into two columns and discuses the band's music. After the title of the spread there is a small fact file about the band, telling the reader where they are from,  their latest music, interesting facts about the band and similar artists. This would give the reader a little information about them if they have not been aware of them before.
The next piece of text on the page is entitled 'Under The Influence' which informs the readers to which album most inspired the band and so gives an insight into the band's interests and history.

Music Magazine Pitch

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