Task 1: Generating Ideas

Learning outcome 1: Be able to generate ideas for an original media product based on a client brief.
(P1, M1)

I was given a brief in which I had to plan and deliver a pitch that contained ideas and thoughts for a new magazine for the North London music scene. It had to incorporate the ideas of the vibrant music prospect that the area has to offer.

From this brief I can interpret that there is a specific audience that they are aiming to target. Being based in North London there is already a certain demographic that is being focused on. Demographics being the process of breaking down the audience and helping to focus on a certain group of people. With the majority of the population being between the ages of 16-28 (in the North London area) it shows me that I should be aiming my magazine at these ages and making sure the genre of music being chosen fits to their preference. However there is no specific gender that I will be aiming at as this limits the contents of the magazine. By targeting a love for a genre instead of a gender helps to broaden the contents and doesn't limit the contents. With demographics there is also a certain social class that dominates the North London area, these people are also the audience that I am aiming at for my magazines. There is more of an E (students) social grade. Students are the most common audience for music gigs in the North London area. Even though its majority is students there is also a C1 audience, those who have finished university so not in the A bracket yet but have enough of a disposable income to go out to gigs and buy the fashion that goes along with it. I can also interpret from this brief that the magazine has to be about the ‘vibrant music scene’ this means that it has to be engaging for the audience they have to want to read the magazine and find out about the upcoming events. They want to be intrigued!

In terms of the conventions of a local music magazine there are many things all magazines have to have on the front cover and the contents. These are the items that help attract and entice the audience. They help to create the product and help the audience to identity what they are reading.




Front cover: 

•   Masthead: Usually at the top of the cover, this is the name of the magazine. The same on each issue and usually in the same place. 

•   Central Image: Usually close-up, or headshot of the main article. 

•   Feature article/cover line: This is always bigger than the rest and dominates the page. 

•   Skyline/Strapline: Top and bottom of the page, highlighting stars/stories in the magazine. 

•   Colour Scheme: Most pages will have a colour palette, a defined choice of colour to create a recognisable house style. 

•   Cover lines: Main text on the cover, they advertise the inside of the magazine to entice the reader.  

•   Slogan: Used under the masthead to explain the magazines style and use, makes it stand out from its rivals. 

Inside the magazine: 

•   House style: Continued throughout the pages, same fonts, same colours etc...

•   Headlines/Subheadings: Explanation of the story ready to catch the reader’s attention. 

•   Text Grabs: Quotes from the article that are made bigger, used to break up the columns, to grab the readers attention about the contents of the article. 

•   Anchorage: Text to explain the images. 

•   Masthead: Usually appears in the corner of every page next to the page numbers. 

All the conventions do different things for the magazine, whether it be to entice the audience or to remind the audience about the magazine what it stands for and what it includes. There is always a colour scheme for any type of media product you are creating, usually a magazine will stick to this pallet of colours so that it is easier for the reader to identify the different issues. The masthead and the font of the writing stays the same too, this is also a way of helping the reader detect the magazine.  

As well as all of these conventions there are certain things that actually go inside the magazine such as interviews with celebrities, images, articles about venues and global issues, puzzles and competitions. The tone of the articles will all be breezing through the topic there will be no hard hitting questions or articles that makes the reader have to think about there next step. This is because the music scene should all be about relaxing and nothing else, not having to worry about anything other than the music.

This is relevant to my target audience as they are likely to be students.

I have generated 3 ideas for types of magazines that fit the brief.
I have a mind map of all my initial ideas:  

Ideas:

1) My first idea is creating a magazine with a mainstream genre such as ‘Pop’ music. It will include all the traditional codes and conventions listed before. As well as this it will include interviews with the biggest stars of the genre and contain all the relevant reviews and information for different venues that are the top places to be. Not only will it have intelligence on venues but competitions for prizes that the audience will love. The audience will again be majorly students with the right amount of disposable income to be able to visit the gigs and venues. The rest, who aren’t students, will be those living in the North London area that is interested in this type of music. Pop music is one of the biggest genres in the world and by creating a magazine whose soul purpose is to promote and brand the genre it will have to include interviews with the biggest names in pop history as well as facts and figures to back up the stars so that the audience are enticed. I have created a mood board to showcase what I believe to be representative of pop music. I have also generated sample mastheads with potential fonts that could be used on the magazine. I chose these fonts because I feel they represent the genre in the best way and they look upbeat and exciting which is beneficial to the reader as this will make them want to continue reading. I feel that this type of magazine is favorable to my audience because there is a gap in the market for Pop music for a certain age. The magazine ‘We Love Pop’ is aimed at the younger teen audience for the genre, I feel that this magazine would have a space on the shelves as nothing like it is there.

 

  2) My second idea is for a more niche audience, an audience more focused on an individual genre. I have chosen R&B as North London has a growing ‘Rhythm and Blues’ scene.  The R&B scene has an entirely different demographic, R&B audiences are usually teenagers and younger adults majority being female. This is all down to the, artists, explicit lyrics and how the music videos are shot and what they contain. The female audience are attracted to the romance and love side of the music whereas the male audience will be attracted to the jewelry worn, cars, cash and stereotypically the women shot in the videos. R&B fans are usually from an African American black background. So even though my main idea was to not target a specific gender, with some genres this just comes naturally. Again the magazine will have the customary codes and conventions along with the conventional articles with the celebrities. Along with this there will also be up and coming artists and where they will be preforming, this gives them a easy away to advertise their music to the appropriate audience. Our main audience will be those who have the passion for the genre of music, no age, no gender just a pure love for the sound. 
I have created a mood board to showcase what I believe to be representative of R&B music I have also generated sample mastheads with potential fonts that could be used on the magazine.

Everything shown in the mood board above is a clear representation of what I believe the R&B genre to be.

3) For my final idea it wont be based on a definite genre but ‘Everything North London’. This idea is a gig guide that will include all the necessary information for anyone in North London to know about the next gigs and where they are taking place. The best thing about this magazine is that it will be distributed at no cost. The way that the producer will make the money will be from bands, artists and venues paying to feature. Targeted at E (students) social grade and again those with a disposable income so that they can attend. Circulation of the magazine will be at an appropriate time so that it allows the reader to plan for their week if it involves going to see one of the featured artists or visiting on the venues the magazine includes and promotes.  

Primary Research: 

I asked the relevant age groups within the North London area about each of my ideas. I asked whether they would be interested in buying the magazine, if they had the money to spend on the magazine and the accessories that come with it, if they thought that the contents would be enticing and if they believed that it would be a successful print. 

1) 19 year old boy, Camden; believes that the best most suitable idea would be number 2, the R&B music magazine. He says that it is what him and all of his friends and family listen to and they would spend the money on the magazine. 

2) 2nd year university student, Islington; greatest idea would be the gig guide as it is not only a guide to what is going around them but would give them an insight on the performers as well as the scene. However depending on the price of the magazine would be the tell if they would purchase it or not.  

3) 28 year old women, Hammersmith; says that the R&B magazine would be most suited to her and her community of friends as they are always looking out for the next best thing in relation to the genre. It is the most up and coming scene in North London and to have professionals write about it to give their insight it would be best. 

Strengths and weaknesses: 

Idea 1 (Pop music magazine): Positives attributes in producing this magazine would be that there is nothing like this for our age group, majority of other pop music magazines are for the younger audiences where as ours targets the locations age group. It will include enticing competitions which will make the money more money. However some of the negative things would be that because pop is such a mainstream genre of music the market is already flooded with these types of magazines even if the age groups are different. As well as this pop music magazines are usually mainly aimed at girls which restricts the target audience. 

Idea 2 (R&B music magazine): The positives for an R&B magazine would be that taking into account the area we are looking at R&B music is the most well known genre, they are a niche audience who are looking for something to fill their music needs. The genre doesn't have a specific gender that they aim for making the target audience bigger. Although the negatives for having an R&B music magazine would be that because it is so niche there is a limited selling audience. Many of the artists aren't as well known as those from genres such as pop which restricts the artists that are going to help the magazine sell. 

Idea 3 (gig guide magazine): Positives for distributing a gig guide would be that all the information that the reader needs is all in place, they won't have to look in more than one place. There is nothing like this on the market for North London. It's a helpful tool for everyone to use. The negatives are that  because it doesn't have a targeted genre it doesn't give the audience an idea of what it includes. The price could also be an obstacle for the audience, as they know they can gather the information from other places at no cost. The age is also a restriction because they are promoting for bars and clubs as well as gigs that under 18 can go to. 

Based on the demographics, the primary research I conducted and my analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each idea, I have decided to create an R&B magazine; I feel like this will be most beneficial to my audience considering who they are. By creating this print media, we are catering to the wider society in North London about their music scene. It will feature an interview with an up and coming artist from the North London area. Including all the codes and conventions of your typical magazine there will be specifics to provide for the R&B style. With a precise colour pallet of Grey, Yellow and Black the magazine will have a confident house-style. It's the best idea to use as this is what the audience are going to want more, they are going to want to know about the latest R&B artists and they want to know all the inside gossip of their favourite genre.