Music Genre Magazines

As part of pre-task research, I have listed some typical music genres of magazines and listed all the conventions, features and audiences that those genres tend to attract or use. Also, I thought about all the representations of social groups and music genres that the magazine industry uses, in order to help me understand how magazines are constructed and why they are successful. Here are the lists I made about music genres such as Dance music, Hip Hop and Metal music.

Music Magazine Cover Representations

Music magazines are widely popular today and have many different genres, which have to be portrayed to the audience instantly, from the cover, in order to attract them to buy and read it. The following ideas show how I would represent some common music genres on magazine front covers.

Dance Music

Intended audience: Stereotypically, young adults and teenagers of both genders. They are usually old enough to go to nightclubs and drink alcohol, too. Overall, the younger generation who are thrill-seeking, young and adrenaline filled.

Colour Schemes:

·         Brightly coloured, neons, in order to portray the fast-paced and uplifting nature of club music.

·         Yellows, pinks, greens and blues would be best, to be eye-catching and draw attention. This would go well with bold, black typography to make them stand out against warm/ intense background colours.

·         A rule of three colours would be best to be effective but not over the top.  E.g. neon yellow, blue and green – appeal to both genders.

Images:

·         Young people dancing in nightclub scenes and cocktail bars

·         Strobe/coloured lighting

·         Dancefloors and DJ’s

·         Youthful images that give good vibes and show ‘clubbing’ music ethics

Coverlines and Stars/Celebrities Featured:

·         Famous dance music artists/ interviews with them

·         Latest chart tracks/news and chart updates

·         Gossip about dance music videos

·         Latest ‘hot’ nightclubs

·         Best selling dance albums

·         Competitions for nights-out with friends etc.

·         The likes of Lady Gaga, Basshunter, 3OH3!, Roll Deep, Cascada etc. – Famous dance music icons/artists

·         Famous dancers and owners of world-famous nightclubs.

Fonts:

·         Sans serif fonts – bold and impacting – reflects outrageous/loud nature of dance

·         Black and white – neutral to stand out against loud background colours/schemes – draw attention and place emphasis on coverlines to attract readers to it on the shelf.

Hip Hop

Intended audience:  Mostly teenagers, young adults and keen dancers or DJ’s. Hip hop is a big part of modern day chart music and so would appeal to a wide range of young people of both genders. It also has a ‘black music ethic’ and associated with rebellion - appeal in this way to audiences.

Colour Schemes:

·         Bold, bright colours, graffiti-style – black and white typography to emphasise it

·         Appeal to younger people in bright, impacting colours e.g. red, black and white together, or blue yellow and black for example.

Images:

·         Stereotypical street dancers, young people having a good time

·         ‘Street life’ pictures – raw talent in dancing, rapping and singing

·         Famous hip hop icons in the media today

·         Dancefloors, dance battles

·         ‘City life’ e.g. New York silhouettes etc.

Coverlines and Stars/Celebrities Featured:

·         Hip hop tracks in the charts

·         Interviews with hip hop icons/artists

·         History/background of hip hop music and dancing

·         Hip hop DJ interviews and information

·         Gossip about hip hop artists’ new songs/albums

·         Interviews with them and their music/dance advice

·         E.g. Flo Rida, Ne-yo, Lil Wayne etc.

Fonts:

·         Mostly sans serif fonts – bold, reflecting bravery of music genre and impact that hip hop can have – personality shown in music

·         Stylistic – graffiti style fonts – reflecting background of music and appealing to young people

Metal

Intended audience:  More mature adults, however also young people that are interested in metal music. Because of the heavy nature of the music, a lot of (mostly male) adults would be an intended/ideal audience.

Colour Schemes:

·         Dark, metal reflecting – e.g. black and silver, with hints of white and maybe powerful, impacting colours like red.

·         Dark backgrounds/plain to make text and images stand out – dark atmosphere

Images:                                Rock legends/metal bands to draw attention

·         Impressive musical instruments

·         Musical icons and their band images/logos (old and new)

·         Dark images/ large concerts etc.

Coverlines and Stars/Celebrities Featured:

·         Latest news about metal genre icons/interviews with them

·         Concert dates and information

·         New songs in charts and compare to old metal iconic songs

·         Guitar lessons/tips/advice inside and concert ticket discounts etc.

·         Iconic metal genre musicians from modern and the past

·         Metal genre artists and graphic designers for bands etc.

·         E.g. Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, Green Day etc.

Fonts:       Metallic, dark, sharp, bold and impacting – heavy rock lifestyle

·         Sans serif – to the point – representing ‘rebellious’ nature of metal music and ‘no fear’ with dark colours – black, silver, grey, white, navy blue etc.

·         Stylised – lightning bolts, rough edges, graffiti etc.

Classical

Intended audience: Older audience, adults and some younger people who are interested in playing musical instruments. Typically a well-educated audience, with good musical knowledge.

Images:

·         Musical instruments, orchestras and famous musicians

·         Some classical singers

·         Sheet music themed images – notes, treble clef – relevant to genre

Colour Schemes:

·         Simplistic and sophisticated – black, white and blue for example

·         Elegant and clean looking, with simple graphics that are eye catching and calm – reflects nature of music

Coverlines and Stars/Celebrities Featured:

·         Information about orchestras, concerts, stage shows all using classical music

·         Interviews with musicians/singers

·         News about albums/recordings

·         Sheet music included and musical advice/tips

Fonts:           Serif fonts – stylised and sophisticated to blend with nature of adult intended audience, with more technical musical language.

·         Eye catching but not too bold or large and more old fashioned with theme of musical scores – appeal to older audiences.