Ray Gun - Magazine

Ray Gun was an alternative rock 'n' roll magazine from America. It was first published in November 1992 and was led by founding art director David Carson. The style challenged conventions and was chaotic and abstract- but however it was not always readable.

Ray Gun produced over 70 issues from its initial release in November 1992 to November 1999.

However, it may not have lasted for many years as it was so far from the 'norms' of a magazine and was far too outrageous for a mass audience.

This is the cover of the October 1997 issue

Questionnaires

Questionnaires - Primary research, Qualitative research

I asked several people questions related to my chosen genre of Alternative Rock in order to establish what people would expect to see in a magazine for that particular genre

Number asked: 4
Gender: Female
Age: 16-17

1. Are you interested in Alternative Rock?

- Yes

- Yes

- Yes

- Yes 

2. Would you be interested in a Alternative Rock Magazine?

- If a band they liked was featured 

- Yes - Its interesting

- Yes - They like the genre, it interests them 

- Yes

3. What is your overall impression of that genre?

- OK

- Interesting

- Laid back but a bit edgy

- Laid back

4. What kind of artists would you expect to see in a Alternative Rock magazine?

- Coldplay, Florence and the machine

- Coldplay

- Coldplay, Oasis, Blur

- Coldplay

5. What colour scheme would you expect to see?

- Black, grey, sharp colours like bright blue etc

- Black and white

- Black, grey, red

- Red, black, grey, white

6. What would the articles inside be about?

- Bands, up coming artists, albums

- Bands, genres

- Bands, gigs, album reviews

- Up coming artists, interviews

7. What is your impression of Alternative Rock fans?

- Similar to Rock but not as hardcore, chilled out

- Bold

- Laid back

- Calmer than Rock fans

So...
These results show:

• Alternative Rock is quite popular 
• People are interested in magazines for that genre
• People think the genre is laid back, interesting and a bit edgy
• Coldplay are the most popular/recognised for the genre
• The colours should consist of black, grey and white but also featuring bolder colours like red and blue 
• The articles featured should be about bands, upcoming artists, albums, gigs and interviews
• The fans who would be likely to be interested would typically be chilled out, laid back and calm but can also be quite bold 

An example of Niche Magazines

An example of a niche magazine is 'Bird Watching'

Bird Watching:

Frequency: Four Weekly

Circulation: 

• 2010: 17,511 - Just over 7,400 of this was newsagent sales, Just over 9,800 were subscribers to the magazine 
• Late 2011: 16,627 

Niche Magazines - Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Loyal fans - would be likely to purchase the magazine regularly
• Specific content 

Cons: 

• Would make less money
• Low budget - may not be the best quality content  

Magazine terminology and definitions

Mast head - Title; must be distinctive so it is easily recognised (especially when displayed amongst it's competitors)

Cover lines - Small eye catching sentences surrounding the main image

Main cover line - The main point which is most likely to be about the person/people in the central image

Main image - Central image on the cover

Left third - Vital for sales in shops when magazine is not shown fully and only some of the masthead and cover lines are visible

Price - How much the publication costs

Barcode - In order for it to be sold

The Four F's

The Four F's are the main conventions of magazines - and so I will try to incorporate these into my magazine in order to create a professional looking product

Formula - The elements that make up the magazine. For example, the number of articles
Function - The magazines objectives
Format - The magazines presentation
Frame - Margins and Gutters for printing

Research Methods

Primary

This is collecting 'primary' data such as questionnaires, direct observation, telephone interviews etc

Advantages

• Addresses specific issues
• Can be controlled to fit to what needs to be discovered in the research

Disadvantages

• Time consuming
• Can be lied on/ not taken seriously
• Expensive

Secondary

This is a summary of existing research processing already collected data such as research reports, company websites , magazine articles etc

Advantages

• Low expense
• It is much quicker to carry out - data has already been found

Disadvantage

• Data may be out of date leading to - inaccurate results
• The data may not be about exactly the same issue/topic the researcher wants

Qualitative

This type of research finds the why and how through analysis of information. This could be through interview transcripts, survey responses, emails, notes, feedback forms, photos and videos etc

Quantitative

This is asking peoples opinions using a structure to find facts and statistics. This could be through surveys or questionnaires

ABC

ABC - Audit Bureau of Circulation

UK magazines ABC  

• Of the 500 (both free and paid for) magazines in the UK only 144 increased circulation year on year  

• The PPA have said that on average magazines have lost 1.4% of circulation year on year, according to stats from the last 6 months of 2011

Why might this be happening?
People can now access information about their desired subject from the Internet and may not feel the need to go and buy a magazine to find out something they can find quicker online

Top 3 best selling magazines

1. Tesco magazine - 2,018,375  
2. Asda - 1,949,451 
3. The national trust magazine - 1,948,384   

These 3 magazines may be the top of the list for many reasons. Tesco and Asda because they are the magazines 2 of the UK's biggest supermarkets and get many customers regularly. The national trust is a major charity and is supported all across the UK and is advertised widely on mediums such as TV, Print, Internet etc  

Top 3 worst selling magazine 

1. Auto Trader South and West Wales - 1,069
2. Auto Trader South London, Kent, Sussex, E Surrey, S East - 3,456
3. Auto Trader Scottish - 3,846 

These 3 magazines are all Auto Trader - other variations for different areas are also in near the end of the list too. This could be because people may not have the money to buy a new car or have found other more beneficial ways of selling their vehicles. 

Tropes

Trope maker - The intital inspiration for the trope

Inverted trope - A trope reversed

Subverted trope - A trope that deliberately turns the trope on its head, or attacks it

For example - Many artists have sung about DJ's

Trope maker: 'Having a party' by Sam Cooke - 'So listen Mr DJ keep those records playing 'cause I'm having such a good time dancing with my baby'

Other artists have then gone on to release songs following a similar theme such as:

'Evacuate the dance floor' - Cascada
'Play that funky music (White boy)' - Wild Cherry
'Re-Rewind (The crowd say Bo Selecta)' - The Artful Dodger feat. Craig David
'Music' - Madonna
'Play' - Jennifer Lopez
'Pon de replay' and 'Please don't stop the music' - Rihanna

However, some artists have taken a different approach to singing about DJ's

Inverted trope: 'Don't play that song again' by Nicki French - 'Oh DJ, please don't play, Don't play that song again'

Subverted trope: 'Panic' by The Smiths - 'Hang the blessed DJ, Because the music that they constantley play'

Bricolage

Bricolage: Something that is created from a variety of available things - such as whatever materials are at hand

Bricolage can be applied to music - For example the song 'Walk this way' was originally by Aerosmith. However, it was later re released by Aerosmith and Run DMC. The original release was a rock song but the re release was mash up of rap and rock - the first song to be of this new sub-genre

Q magazine: Publication

Who publishes the magazine? 
Bauer Media Group

What other magazines does it publish? 
Bella, Take a break, that's life!, TV Choice, Total TVGuide and Kerrang!

What other media interests does it have? 
Radio:
Bauer radio is a division of Bauer Media Group which is divided further into two separate companies Bauer Place and Bauer Passion

Bauer Place:
Northern England CHR - Which includes 10 separate stations for Northern England
Magic Radio Network - including 9 stations throughout England
Other FM stations in England - City Talk 105.9 and Wave 105
Northern Ireland Stations - Cool FM and Downtown Radio
Scotland FM Stations - 8 stations
Scotland AM stations - 6 stations

Bauer Passion:
Kiss Network - 3 stations
Kerrang! Radio - throughout the UK
Digital only stations - Heat Radio, The Hits Radio, Q Radio, Smash Hits Radio

TV:
Bauer Media Group owns 50% of the British television company Box television and their television channels include -
Q TV, 4Music, Kiss TV, Kerrang! TV, The Box, Magic TV and Smash Hits TV

How much does the magazine cost?
£3.99

How often is it published?
Monthly

What is its circulation/readership?
The magazines total circlulation is 80,418 and the readership is late teens to adults

Does the magazine have a website or other media platforms?
Q has a website www.Qthemusic.com and also as it has an association with Glastonbury Festival it produces a free daily newspaper available only at the festival and also a review magazine at the end of the festival

Q magazine: Advertising

What are the main types of products being advertised?

Albums/CD's and Concerts are what the main ads are about and as 'Q' is a music magazine those adverts are to be expected

Who are they aimed at?

The readers of the magazine as they obviously think that they would be interested in those products to put them into the magazine

Why are these products featured particularly?

To encourage the sale of the albums and concerts

How much of the magazine is taken up with advertisements?

20 pages of the 146 are adverts. Some of these pages have many advertisements on. It is clear that adverts are an important aspect of the magazine for there to be so many.

How do the models featured in the advertisements relate to the target audience?

They are mostly of the genre of the magazine - so of different variations of rock.

Q magazine: Mode of address

How does it address it's readers?

It is quite conversational and almost as if the writers are chatting to a friend at some points. An example of this is the letter to the editor.
It is also very inviting such as on the front cover 'Meet the knew Simon Cowell' - which seems as though they are literally introducing you to the person.

What sort of language is used?

Taboo in places: on the front cover and one of the first things that would be read by a potential buyer is 'Meet the new Simon Cowell... (and this ones not a bastard). This expresses a laid back back image and that is a common though of the genre.
Its is also quite humorous: such as describing Skrillex as a 'noisy git'

How and when are readers allowed to address the magazine?

Letter to the editor: Readers are told that it is their magazine 'Then tell us what you want more of - it's your magazine'. This  encourages a good relationship with the reader and make them feel important and in control of the magazine. There is also a double page spread dedicated to 'mail' - letters and tweets from the readers. This again shows their importance as their opinions get a whole double page spread.

What types of articles/features does it contain?

16 page gig blowout! - big section dedicated to gigs so obviously very importent to the readers
Top 50 tracks of this month - regular feature
This month in pics - another regular feature
Many interviews with artists - as the readers have a say in the contents of the magazine to a certain extent these are obvioulsy what readers of a magazine of the rock genre are interested in reading
18 most influential new voices in music - new talent
Older artists - section on Motley Crue - for the older readers and introucing to the younder genreation
Album reviews - music reviews are key for music magazines

Q magazine: Presentation

What do you notice about the magazines presentation?

Central image - everything else surrounds this image (it is the only image on the cover). Their nothing placed over her, only over her hair. The actual image is a very close up shot.
It is also quite a minimalistic design but the different font sizes give a cluttered feel to keep the edgy look the magazine seems to be going for (judging by the taboo language used).

Does it look cheap or expensive?

I would say the magazine looked expensive. Mainly due to the glossy cover, which makes the magazine look quite sophisticated even though it is a music magazine.

How does it compare to other similar magazines?

'Q' sets itself apart from the others and has created a unique look. It does not look cliched and for really young people like a pop music magazine such as 'Smash Hits!'. Nor is it wild and crazy looking like magazines for more similar genres, other branches of rock, such as 'NME' for indie rock or 'Kerrang!' for heavy metal.

Q magazine: The cover

Cover image:

Head shot of one female - Florence Welch from 'Florence and the Machine'
Facial expression - serious, moody and vulnerable

What do they tell us about the target audience for the magazine:

Could be aimed at both men and women
Men: because they may be attracted to her
Women: may aspire to be like her/look like her

What else appears on the cover:

Title - 'Q' very dominant and with the red background it is eye-catching
The rest of the cover is information about what is inside that issue

Why are particular items in the magazine featured?:

'16 page gig blow-out' - majority of the genre would go to events such as gigs so by placing this feature on the front would attract them
'Zane Lowe new column' - Zane Lowe is quite popular and a new column is something new that would interest regular readers
'Skrillex dance genius or noisy git?' - would make the potential reader intrigued and want to know what the opinion is of the magazine

Stylistic features:

Mostly bold font, although some italics are used in the left hand corner for the words 'in New York' etc.
Sans serif is the main font used to create a modern image for the magazine, however serif is used for the tagline, new column sign and the 'I feel so alone' line. This challenges the usual conventions of a magazine by including two different font styles -  when commonly only one is used.
As for the colour scheme, the writing is mostly white, hints of bright blue can be seen (the same blue of the talent's eyeshadow), only the box the title 'Q' is in is red - making it more eye catching to the reader and drawing in their attention.

Q magazine: Readership

What type of reader is it targeting and how can you tell? 
Late teens to adults, as someone recent (Florence and the machine) is on the front, but someone older (Motley Crue) are shown at the side - interesting the older readers.

How does the reader interact with the magazine? 
Readers will interact with the magazine firstly through the central image, depending on how they feel about who it is may determine how they feel about that particular issue. However regular readers/fans of the magazine may still be interested in the publication regardless of the person/people on the front. Interaction may be encouraged through the cover lines too as if they are about a person, band, subject or event that the reader is interested then they would be likely to read it.
In the issue I am analysing one of the cover lines says 'Meet the new Simon Cowell' which seems to be appealing to a reader on a personal level and is talking directly to the person reading it. Inside the issue, readers can interact with features such as a whole two page spread dedicated to readers letters and tweets and also a readers poll, further on there is a section where people have submitted their questions for a singer to answer and readers comments on acts they've seen live.  

Q magazine: The title

Name
Q

Why is it called that?
It was originally going to be called Cue, as in cueing a record to play but however the name was changed to Q to avoid confusion with people thinking it was a snooker magazine. In the 200th edition Q explained the use of the single letter Q also stands out and helps attract attention on newsstands.

What are the significant words and what are their connotations?
The actual title is the most significant word seen on the front cover. Aside from that the name of the person on the front 'Florence' is visibly obvious. This is to confirm the person on the front for the reader and to perhaps draw in her fans to get even more readers for the magazine. The word 'Gig' also stands out as perhaps an indication as to what the readers are into and also what some of the contents in the magazine are about.

Another Example Of A Music Magazine

Magazine: NME
Release: Weekly
First Issue Release: 7 March 1952
Country: UK
Total Circulation (First half of 2011): 29, 020

NME, similar to Q, mainly feature artists of their genre but do however feature other artists as seen in the pictures below.

An example of a typical artist on the cover



















This is an example of an artists of another genre appearing on the cover

















Based on the fact that both Q and NME also feature artists not typically associated with their genre, I now that this this is an option for me with my magazine.
However, despite this I think I will aim my magazine only at the intended genre of Alternative Rock because this is something that doesn't seem to be done by magazines associated with that genre, such as the two I have mentioned.

My chosen genre...

For my magazine I have chosen to focus on Alternative Rock. I have chosen this because it is a genre I am interested in but however, think it will be a challenge to create a music magazine based on this genre.

Example of an Alternative Rock magazine:

Magazine: Q
Release: Monthly
First issue released: October 1986
Country: UK
Total Circulation (First half of of 2011): 80, 418

Even though many of Q's front covers have been typical alternative rock artists such as Snow Patrol, Oasis, Florence and the Machine and Coldplay. Some however, have been other artists such as Adele, Jessie J, Cheryl Cole and Lady GaGa.








An example of a typical Alt Rock artist















An example of a artist that is not typically Alt Rock

Heavy Metal

Heavy metal (sometimes just referred to as Metal) is a genre of rock music. It was developed in the late 1960's/early 1970's. It originated in the Midlands of the UK and the US. Heavy metal is usually associated with masculinity and machismo.

Sub genres:

• Black metal
• Death metal
• Doom metal
• Glam metal
• Gothic metal
• Groove metal
• Power metal
• Speed metal
• Stoner metal
• Thrash metal
• Traditional heavy metal

Created: Late 60's/early 70's UK and US
Main instruments used: Electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, vocals, keyboards
Key places: Australia, Bay area, Brazil, Britain, Germany, Gothenburg, New Orleans, United States, Scandinavia

Black Sabbath: One of the most popular heavy metal bands of the 70's

Pop Music

Pop music (popular music) was derived from rock and roll in the 1950's. This genre appeals to a huge audience hence why it is 'popular' music. It is influenced by many different genres such as urban, dance, rock and country. Pop songs tend to be of a simple structure usually consisting of repeated choruses, a melodic sound and have a catchy hook.

Sub genres:

• Baroque pop
• Bubblegum pop
• Christian pop
• Dance pop
• Europop
• Indie pop
• Operatic pop
• Power pop
• Soundtrack
• Sophisti pop
• Synthpop
• Space age pop
• Sunshine pop
• Traditional pop
• Teen pop

Created: 1950's in the United Kingdom and United States

Main instruments used: Vocals, electric guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, acoustic guitar, piano, synthesizer, drum machine, sequencer, sampler

Key places: United Kingdom and the United States 

Britney Spears: One of the most popular pop singers since the late 90's 

Alternative Rock

Alternative rock (also known as alternative or alt rock) is a genre of rock music. This genre emerged from the independent music underground in the 1980's and gained wide popularity by the 1990's.


Sub genres:

• Indie rock
• Indie pop
• College rock 
• Jangle pop
• Paisley underground 
• Dream pop
• Shoegazing
• Noise rock 
• Noise pop
• Grunge 
• Post-grunge 
• Britpop
• Post-Britpop 
• Math rock
• Post-rock 

Created: Late 1970's/ early 1980's in the United Kingdom and the United States 

Main instruments used: Electric guitar, bass, drums, keyboards

Key places: Georgia, Illinois, Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Seattle (US), Manchester (UK) 

Oasis - one of the most popular Alt rock bands of the 90's and 00's.

Music Genres

• Alternative 
• Blues
• Classical
• Comedy
• Country
• Dance
• Electronic
• Hip-Hop/Rap
• Jazz
• Metal
• Pop
• R&B
• Reggae 
• Rock
• World 

School Magazine

This is my first attempt at a magazine cover. I created this using the information I gathered from analysis of other school magazine covers and from the results of the focus groups we conducted. Using all of this I created my magazine to include bright school colours of black, white and red with a simple, clear font. All text was put into text boxes to keep a clear, simple and easy to read theme that could be read by everyone. Some of the specifically asked for elements such as 'free Cucina vouchers' and 'teacher interviews' are displayed on the front cover because they are some of the things that were asked for by some of the focus groups we interviewed. 

This is the contents cover I created. I made sure that all contents had been asked for by the focus groups and I was careful to include what they said they would buy. I included pictures that were relavent to the school. The colour scheme and font were also kept consistent to try to create a professional appearance. 

Overall, I think I could have made the magazine much better however, I did not huge amount of time and so I couldn't spend too long on this project.