13. FOCUS GROUP

Here is a video of my focus group with 3 of my peers who judged a total of 4 music magazine covers and answered questions that I asked them on their opinions of each.

I found it really helpful having a range of views from different backgrounds i.e races, and sexes ;This allowed me to understand what may have possibly been more appealing to individual people, however I ensured that all of these individuals were fans of the genres that I listed on my survey and they gave me their honest views along with those that took part in my survey.

5 quotes + explain how they'll impact magazine

1. "The colours work really well together and they also stand out a lot" - reference to the XXL cover that has Chris Brown on the front. - Theo

2. "the XLL cover is more of a Hip-Hop kind of vibe, whereas I feel like the (Billboard magazine) with Janelle Monae could appeal to people that like R&B or Soul, maybe a wider audience than the XXL" - Selina

3. "i don't really like The Rolling Stone cover, I think the layout is a bit boring and quite simple". - Theo

4. I don't like this one (XXL cover with Chris brown on the front) because I feel like there's too much on the page, and the colours, the texts that's on placed on the background  are similar shades so would make it a bit difficult for people who are colourblind..." - Nia

5. "The artist on the front of the magazine cover definitely attracts me to purchasing it, and the fact that it is a more current artist as well." - Selina

With these quotes I am actually able to understand exactly what the members of my focus group really felt about the particular magazines from the genres, They allowed me to get a range of opinions, and now am able to generate an idea of what should and should not be included in my own magazine cover. this focus group helped me gain a basic idea of what does/doesn't visually work well and what those in my peer group prefer to see on a magazine cover. Each of their judgement were fair and in turn I will use them all again when doing my focus group on my actual magazine draft.

12. HISTORY OF THE GENRE

Hip hop is a broad conglomerate of artistic forms that originated within a marginalized subculture in the South Bronx and Harlem in New York City among black and Latino youth during the 1970s. It is characterized by four distinct elements, all of which represent the different examples of the culture: rap music (oral), turntablism or "DJing" (aural), breaking (physical) and graffiti art (visual). Despite their contrasting methods of execution, they find unity in their common association to the poverty and violence underlying the historical context that birthed the culture. It was as a means of providing a reactionary outlet from such urban hardship that "hip hop" initially functioned, a form of self-expression that could reflect upon, proclaim an alternative to, try to challenge or merely evoke the mood of the circumstances of such an environment. Since its evolution throughout the South Bronx, hip hop culture has spread to both urban and suburban communities throughout the world. Hip hop is simultaneously a new and old phenomenon; the importance of sampling to the art form means that much of the culture has revolved around the idea of updating classic recordings, attitudes, and experiences for modern audiences—called "flipping" within the culture. It follows in the footsteps of earlier American musical genres such as blues, salsa, jazz, and rock and roll in having become one of the most practiced genres of music in existence worldwide, and also takes additional inspiration regularly from soul music, funk, and rhythm and blues.

different time frames in the genre :
1980s
New school hip hop
Golden age hip hop
Gangsta rap and West Coast hip hop1990s
East vs. West rivalry
2000s and 2010s

1980's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lDCYjb8RHk

New School HipHop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHRnvjCkTsw

Golden Age HipHop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXco_ity0fw

Gangsta rap and West coast HipHop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbSm6HsX_ek
AND 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P690t9IzvjU

East vs. West Rivalry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJC2ax18oQM
vs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCVT7tqO-YA

2000s 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuAWTZ5jPxY
 2010s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEMsjeq43_U

11. HISTORY OF THE GENRE IN IMAGES; new and old (HIP-HOP)

The mood boards I have created represent the difference between modern day Hip-Hop and 'Old Skoo'l, they incorporate what are classic mis-en-scene aspects on the genre as it is a particularly male-dominated genre there are a large amount of males photographed. The more modern artists are what we may call 'blinged-out' with numerous pieces of jewellery and have particular poses showing tattoo's that are a typical aspect of the Hip-Hop culture. We can obviously see that jewellery has been a theme throughout the ages, therefore must be incorporated into my own magazine because of the basic conventions that have to be included on a Hip-Hop cover. 

10. HIP-HOP MAGAZINE MOODBOARD

With the magazine I have selected for my moodboard on Hip Hop I can see that trends on most of the magazines from the particular genre incorporate red quite a lot as this is a very bright primary colour that can be used to represent both romance and danger, and the genre is normally affiliated with violence and a very violent/angry lifestyle this would easily be identified with this genre. therefore I will ensure that this aspect of my cover will be included. 

Another convention of a the Hip-Hop genre is jewellery and we can see that they include a lot of tattoos as well, this may be included into my cover however not all of the rap artists have tattoos so I will not have to include this. However fashion has become a huge aspect of the Hip-Hop culture we recognise and more and more artists are becoming more involved in the fashion world so i will make sure I incorporate current fashions into my cover artists dress. Without this aspect the artist may be hard to recognise.

All magazines from this genre include artists from the particular genre, most are male dominated because the genre is however females are not rare on Hip-Hop covers because of the male audiences they appeal to. Most of their poses are very similar, and also have stern faces as well which attract but also intimidate readers into potentially picking up an issue.

9. READER PROFILES

Here are my reader profiles for 3 potential magazine of the Hip-Hop/R&B/Neo-Soul genre, these will provide me with a basic idea of what my consumers of each of the magazines will want me to provide them with. From these profiles I can extend my own thoughts on what is appropriate on a magazine for that particular genre.

8. RESULTS FROM MY SURVEY

From these images it is clear that there are obvious personal opinions from my peers on what they prefer on a magazine. I have previously analysed each questions answered however I chose to represent them in this way so that it was clear to see the opinions of the participants clearly, and that in the case of a large range in a focus group there will always be different views however this evidence will help me when producing my own magazine as the majority have agreed that when producing a magazine the aspects that are most important are crucial to making a magazine successful.

7. QUESTIONNAIRE

Here is a print screen of the questionnaire I used to gain information from a group of my peers to get an brief idea of what they want from a magazine and what exactly they'd prefer. This helped me when asking questions for my focus group of 3 people with different tastes. Due to the amount of answers I got from this questionnaire I able to direct my questions closely to the magazine covers that were in front them.

Question 1 - This question would be the first question to ask each individual as I would like to have an average as to how many people actually buy music magazine.

Question 2 - This question would give me a general idea of how often people buy magazines, and the type of magazine that they'd regularly purchase.

Question 3 - The price of a magazine is extremely important to the consumer and therefore will allow me to get an idea of what prices are acceptable.

Question 4 - gives me an idea as to which of the 3 genres that I am better accustomed to will be more appealing to the audience I aim to appeal to.

Question 5 - This question from involving 3 very different magazine covers will push me in an appropriate direction when deciding on what cover most prefer and therefore i am infer as to why this may be.

Question 6 - This question will help me understand what exactly it is appeals readers to a magazine, and therefore I am able to cater to my audiences needs.

Question 7 - I believe content is very important, and if there is too much the reader may not be want to purchase the magazine.

Question 8 - I asked about the colour scheme because it is crucial when designing a front cover and also when appealing to readers as well.

6. POTENTIAL QUESTIONNAIRE QUESTIONS

These are the questions which I will ask people in order to gain some basic knowledge on which genre I should choose to base my music magazine on. After gaining the results from these questionnaires, I will use this information to create my magazine through brainstorms on what both the consumer and I would prefer. Using this quantitative questionnaire, I will then create another set of qualitative questions which I will ask my focus group and gain a detailed amount of opinions.

5. RESEARCH RATIONALE

I have a large amount of access to people in the young adult age group, because I am an Alevel student in constant contact with those in the age bracket (15-19) and therefore I believe that they will be better suited to take part in my focus groups, and one-on-one interview that I will undertake when undertaking audience research. Gaining audience date and opinions will aid me to make an informed decision i.e what will appeal to your target audience. I aim to conduct a total of 2 focus groups and all conduct one on one interview with individuals inside/outside of my age bracket so that I can have a rage of opinions and data, I aim to have a well balanced amount of information that will then aid my magazine construction. The interest of those in the age group i have chosen to involve is very important.The resources I will need will obviously be a camera, computer and potentially a YouTube channel to save my videos on as a good way to make them accessible to the masses. I aim to set up online surveys; this will act as my quantitive data and this way I will ask questions that will give me a basic understanding of what readers of my magazine would want. I will also conduct investigations – focus group and direct interviews as well will act as my qualitative data as I need to gather as much information from these. I will ensure I conduct key questions that will allow me to gather as much information as possible. I have chosen these particular ways to conduct research as I believe they are the best ways to do so. I will ensure that those I interview in my focus groups, interviews and surveys are those that have an interest in the genre to be produced for my magazine.

4. MAGAZINE COVER RESEARCH

Originally I believed that this magazine was the best, however there are clear issues that can be highlighted that I initially did not recognize. I realized that this magazine is not as professional as the other magazines with a more clean and focused look.The main image is not a close up and therefore the details in the background become focused on by the reader. However the quality of the main image may not be the best, it is better fitted for what may be a style magazine. This is somethign I would like to incorporate in my own magazine, even though this is very unconventional. A current trend in a lot of Hip-Hop magazines and artists are the incorporation of urban fashion into magazine and album covers - something I hope to do in my Hip-Hop magazine.

3. MAGAZINE COVER DECONSTRUCTIONS

MAGAZINE COVER DECONSTRUCTION

BELOW is a recent example of a deconstruction of two very different magazine covers, using similar artists of the R&B/HIP-HOP genre.

2. MAGAZINE DECONSTRUCTION (PRELIMINARY)

PRELIMINARY DECONSTRUCTION 

Below are earlier examples of deconstructions of 3 very similar magazine covers, using very different artists with very similar covers and colour scheme.

VIBE MAGAZINE

Here this magazine’s front cover we have KENDRICK LAMAR who is named Hip Hop’s greatest MC – Vibe magazine is traditionally a hip hop and R&B magazine, so this would be why it has a musician from that particular genre on the front page.

At the moment Kendrick is a force not to be reckoned with in the music world, and the features he supplies for artists are ones that may have him written down in a book about the Greatest. A medium close up of Kendrick’s face and angle of gaze is crucial for a magazine like this in showing not only his dominance but also in encouraging us to purchase the magazine as it seems like the model on the front is – staring right at me. By Kendrick being the main focus he commands your attention, in comparison to another cover which may have more than one individual on it. Kendrick’s head is slanted slightly upwards, with his hand clasped together by his mouth – as if in prayer, this ties into the feature which says ‘THE NEW GOD MC’. The significance of him in white is very clear as because he is referred to as a ‘GOD’ – white which is a colour that represents purity and holiness encourages the readers’ perception of him. He also appears to go against the typical rapper, which is what we’d normally see on a magazine like VIBE even though he does have a lot of jewellery on its very subtle and not excessive. The masthead on VIBE magazine is in capital letters and is also in red text, this allows the title to stand out from the background. The use of red, clashes well with the ‘holy’ image portrayed by the magazine. The colours of Kendrick’s outfit match well with the background therefore allowing his face to be the main focus of the page.

ELLE MAGAZINE

This magazine uses Miley Cyrus as a model for their front cover, unlike VIBE magazine ELLE caters to a different target audience, ELLE is high end fashion and VIBE is not. Miley Cyrus is a well known pop musician but as of late she has been a pioneer for fashion and this is why she’d been chosen for the ELLE cover. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Miley – so to put her on this cover would boost sales. As she is the only person on the cover, and the colour scheme is very basic Miley is the main focus. Because this is a long shot image, and the angle of gaze is slightly tilted – the aim of this image is to seduce and entice and attract the potential reader. This magazine is not a music magazine but it does have a musician on it so does have some connection. The text used is very thin, so the image at the centre of the page remains the most important, reading the cover I can see that there is a feature about Miley’s controversial behaviour as well. Both magazines have text that range in size depending on if they are a feature or an insert, but the layouts are very different as they are for different purposes.

ROLLING STONE

Rolling Stone magazine has quite a simple layout, there is one main image of Rihanna that takes over the majority of the page, and even though her eye is closed there is still an angle of glaze – this makes the magazine seem sensual and inviting because of the model used on the front of it. The cover has a very basic colour scheme and so nothing really pops out to me exceptionally, 1 because the image is so big and 2 because there are no colours worth noticing. Whereas on VIBE there was a lack of varied colours but it still remained intriguing. To me the Rolling Stone cover is the least appealing, even though I do love the image of Rihanna on the front, to me it's not something I would buy and that's all because of the layout.

The similarities between these two types of deconstruction are that they are all of musicians from the R&B/HIP-HIP genre, as I feel most comfortable with these as I know a lot about the artists and the kind of audience that they are appealing to. With my bridging unit deconstruction (directly above) I was not as sure of the conventions but still understood the layouts importance however I aim to incorporate what I know are important layout techniques and conventions when designing my own magazine for my brief.

1. INTRODUCTION TO MY BLOG

Welcome to the TRIBUTE.
This blog will contain post of my music magazine consisting of a magazine cover, double page spread and contents page suited to my brief, given to me by my AS media teacher and with this brief I hope to produce a music magazine that caters to my target audience. With my previous experience of constructing a magazine cover, and also my further research into magazine made by my peers along with research into the music industry for each lesson I hope to produce a R&B/HIP-HOP magazine because I have - not only a lot of interest in this genre but also believe that I could personally provide a great service by producing a magazine that is very different to what is already out there. At the moment I am quite nervous, however my interests are music and fashion so I aim to incorporate these into the designing process to ensure my magazine is to a high standard.