Final Decisions

Final Decisions

• 1.
  Final Decisions Genre &Price & Audience & Research By Lydia Hughes
• 2.
  What music Genreand why? It is evident that the music of today has had an enormous aftermath as a result of previous artists. As thoroughly explained in my ‘Reasoning for Photo-Shoot Plan & Magazine Name’, I made it extremely clear that I believe the music of the past has been the most influential upon the music of today, such as Elvis Presley in particular. After conducting research on Elvis Presley, I acknowledged the different arrangements of genres that he incorporated within his music, which as a result created a complete new sound. As previously expressed, I discovered how ‘The King’, combined a variation of musical sounds, including Pop, Country, Gospel and R&B. Looking back at my survey analysis, I discovered a clear link between consumer’s favourite genre of music, with Elvis Presley’s sound also. As shown in my survey analysis, the two genres that retained the most votes included Pop and R&B. As a 16 year old myself, I too recognized that the dominant artists currently include names such as Rihanna and Beyonce (both Pop and R&B singers), suggesting that Pop & R&B obtain a wide audience. The list of names on the next slide indicate that Pop and R&B have dominated the music industry for many years. Artists such as ABBA, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, The Beatles and so forth, are the types of artists that retain the biggest titles in music history – music that will live on for an eternity. On that account, I believe it is more than obvious that Pop and R&B will allow me to entice an audience from two generations, generating a wide target audience for ‘Vinyl Revival’. At the age of 16 (maybe even younger), names such as the ones stated on the next slide are iconic and therefore relatable to whatever age group. Moreover, at the age of 45 (maybe ever older), it is obvious that this age range still acquires an optimistic social life, allowing those to enjoy the music of this generation. For that reason, I have decided to create a hybrid magazine through the use of two genres - Pop and R&B. It is evident from the research above that both Pop and R&B are the most well known music genres in the world and therefore acquire a wide audience.
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  Current Pop andR&B Artists Previous Pop and R&B Artists Rihanna – Pop and R&B The Beatles - Pop Beyonce – Pop and R&B Elvis Presley – Pop and Rock Bruno Mars – Pop and R&B Elton John - Pop Usher – R&B Madonna - Pop Chris Brown – R&B Frank Sinatra – Swing and Pop Alicia Keys – R&B Barbra Streisand – Pop Miley Cyrus - Pop The Rolling Stones - Pop Adele - Pop Michael Jackson - Pop Lady Gaga - Pop Stevie Wonder – R&B Enrique Iglesias - Pop Mariah Carey – Pop and R&B Christina Aguilera - Pop Bee Gees – Pop and R&B Jennifer Lopez - Pop ABBA - Pop Katy Perry - Pop Duran Duran - Pop Shakira - Pop Aretha Franklin – Pop and R&B Taylor Swift - Pop Whitney Houston – Pop and R&B Justin Bieber - Pop Chaka Khan – R&B Potential Artists for my magazine include current and previous artists of Pop and R&B:
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  I have decidedto target my music magazine to a predominantly ABC1 audience profile, since I have purposely priced my magazine at £4.99. Like Q magazine, I would like to give ‘Vinyl Revival’ a glossy finish, so that it gives my readers the incentive to keep the media product as a keepsake, conveying it’s influence on it’s target audience. Although my survey analysis made me aware, that the majority of people (71.43%) voted for £0-2.99 as the price they would pay for a music magazine, 28.57% of the respondents also voted for a price of £3-4.99. For each new issue of Vinyl Revival, I would like my magazine to be full of entertainment and therefore also comprise the latest news within the music industry. For that reason, I will not sell Vinyl Revival on a weekly basis, as information may be repeated in each issue, if it was to be distributed weekly. Instead, I will sell Vinyl Revival on a monthly basis at £4.99 so that I can ensure profit, while consumers also have a lot to look forward to. On that account, it is evident that the majority of working class people are much more reluctant in buying a music magazine that costs £4.99. Therefore, the ABC1 social grade ensures that my magazine will meet high sales on a regular basis due to their higher disposable income. Over and above that, a main feature that I would like to include in my music magazine includes an ‘Upcoming Concerts’ section . For that reason, it is clear that my music magazine must retain an audience that is financially able to afford concerts frequently, making the information featured in my magazine informative for their needs. In addition to the above, my genre (Pop & RnB) corresponds extremely well with a young target market and so I have decided to target my magazine at teenagers (16+). However, as expressed previously, my music magazine will also maintain key information on previous Pop and RnB artists. On that account, I will create a hybrid magazine that not only retains two genres, but also targets itself at a wide audience. For that reason, I have decided to target my music magazine at an audience of 16-45 year olds, since this is an age range in which both current and previous music is recognized. Additionally, 16-45 is an age range in which attending live concerts is an entertaining recreation for all. In my Photo-Shoot Plan, I came to the conclusion that each image will depict young females (1-2) incorporating music into their daily lives. Although my magazine will target males and females, I believe I will target a predominantly female target audience. On slide two, I expressed the variation of artists that I would like to feature in my music magazine on a weekly basis (both current acts and previous acts). Out of the 32 artists listed, 18 of those acts were female, while 14 were male. On that account, ‘Vinyl Revival’ will still feature male artists massively, however women artists will be the main focus point. * Who is your target audience and why? * * How much are you going to charge for your magazine and why? *
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  Ideology – Whatare the aims of that particular genre and how does your magazine tie in to those beliefs/rules? Yet again, it is brought to light that Pop and R&B retain great power across the music industry, both in the past, present day and future. On that account, the set of beliefs that I have given to Vinyl Revival is to incorporate the music of past generations into the magazine also. Teenagers, such as myself do not realize the impact that the music of the past has had on today’s style of music and so I believe it is completely necessary for them to be made aware through the coverage in Vinyl Revival. Therefore, the one believe that I would like to give to my magazine is to enhance the younger generations appreciation on past generations of music. Unlike Billboard magazine, I would like my age range to cover the majority of music lovers that incorporate music into their every day lives (16-45).
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  Institution – Whichmajor publishing company would be interested in your magazine and why? What can your magazine bring to the company that they don’t already have? What other magazines do they publish, are they related to your magazine, if they are what makes them different? After conducting my research, I discovered that the four main magazine institutions include BBC, Emap, IPC Media and Bauer Media Group. In my opinion, I believe Bauer Media Group would be extremely interested in publishing Vinyl Revival since it is completely different from any other music magazine that has been published by Bauer Media Group. Bauer Media Group is a multinational media company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany which operates in 16 countries worldwide. Since the company was founded in 1875, it has been privately owned and under management by the Bauer family. Worldwide circulation of Bauer Media Group’s magazine titles amounts to 38 million magazines a week. The Music Magazines that this publisher provides are: Q, MOJO and Kerrang. Kerrang! Is a brand that specializes in Rock Music. It originally began as a magazine and in 2004 Kerrang Radio was launched. A Kerrang TV channel also exists and as of 2005, all of its programme content is music videos. Both Vinyl Revival and Q magazine sell with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing, with an emphasis on style. As expressed on slide four, Vinyl Revival, like Q magazine will retain a glossy finish, creating a classy and expensive style (reasoning for my ABC1 target audience and £4.99 price for Vinyl Revival). On that account, it is clear that Pop and R&B are not focused upon in neither magazines and so Vinyl Revival will be extremely new to the company, generating a greater fan base. All three of these magazines are advertised on their websites as being men’s magazines. On that account, Vinyl Revival will offer Bauer Media Group a new target audience since Vinyl Revival is hoping to target a predominantly female target market. It has been calculated that 12.4 million people on average, listen to a Bauer media radio station. This Institution owns the number one and four top commercial radio stations in London. Kiss is one of their high-ranking radio stations, which attracts and is targeted at the younger audience (the Kiss network reaches 4.4 million listeners every week). Using the official Kiss website, I acknowledged that ‘KISS 100 continues to successfully hit the mark with its young London target audience, reaching more 15-24s and more 15-34s than any radio station in London. Every week 2 million listeners tune in to the best dance music on offer in London’. On that account, it is clear that Vinyl Revival will be able to promote itself through it’s relations with Kiss Radio Station, since Vinyl Revival also targets a young audience. Moreover, free promotion allows Vinyl Revival to invest more money into the magazine itself, generating a valuable profit. Vinyl Revival is also promoting itself to a predominantly ABC1 audience profile and so the majority of Upper Middle Class citizens are more than likely going to attain cars that already have a radio built in, obtaining Kiss Radio Station. As a result of Bauer Media Group, Vinyl Revival will be able to reach out to it’s target audience effectively and appropriately for their needs.
• 7.
  What research haveyou done to provide evident of your decision? In my opinion, I believe my survey analysis allowed me to make the majority of the decisions for my music magazine. In my survey analysis, the majority of respondents selected Pop music as their favourite music genre. The other genres that exceeded 20% of the votes included Rock, R&B and House music. On that account, it is quite clear why I chose to base my music magazine on both Pop and R&B, as they also have a clear relation with one another. When conducting my research on iconic Pop and R&B artists, I came to realize that artists such as Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and the Bee Gees (previous artists), as well as Beyonce, Rihanna and Bruno Mars (current artists) compose/composed both Pop and R&B music. On that account, these genres have a clear relation to why I want to base my magazine on previous and current artists. Both generations of artists are iconic and conveniently categorize themselves as Pop and R&B artists. As a result of this, Vinyl Revival can comprise articles on a variation of Pop and R&B artists, including previous and current artists of Pop and R&B genres. Furthermore, I believe a younger generation will allow me to meet their demands successfully, since I am 16 myself.
• 8.
  What other musicmagazines influenced your thinking? After conducting my research, I came to the conclusion that Billboard magazine obtains a wide target audience due to it’s coverage on current music. Since the music world is and has been dominated by Pop and R&B music for a very long time, I believe it is quite evident that Billboard is very conventional in the respect that they ensure they feature current music only. Like Billboard, I would like to feature key information on current artists in the Pop and R&B genre in my magazine. However, if I were to change one aspect of Billboard magazine, I would like to comprise previous Pop & R&B artists such as Whitney Houston and so forth. Artists such as Houston still acquire a huge fan base since their music is endless to whatever generation. For that reason, Billboard has influenced me to incorporate an add on feature into my magazine, that many other music magazines do not acquire, creating a Unique Selling Point for my magazine . It is therefore, safe to say that by choosing Pop and R&B as my magazine’s genres, I can ensure my magazine will obtain a wide audience and as a result a loyal fan base. Since Pop and R&B dominate the current music generation, I will use Billboard’s conventional method of incorporating current Pop and R&B music into my magazine. In addition to Billboard, Q magazine has also inspired me to give Vinyl Revival a glossy finish, since this increases the value of the magazine.
• 9.
  List of PhotoShoots, Camera Conventions, Angles, Type of Model(s), mise-en-scene As expressed in my photo-shoot plan, I’ve desired images that relate to iconic artists within the music industry, that have had an incredible impact on today’s artists. For that reason, I would like to incorporate a Harley Davidson (idolized by Elvis Presley) into my magazine shoot as this gives of the impression that Harley Davidson’s are still identifiable to the youth, so why aren’t previous artists also (such as Elvis Presley himself)? On that account, for my double page spread I would like to picture an artist/model laying on top of a Harley Davidson (outside), whilst listening to Pop or R&B music through her headphones. This therefore illustrates the difference in technology from how music was listened to for previous generations. On my front cover, I will depict two models holding a Vinyl Record, whereas on my double page spread I will depict one model listening to music via a set of headphones. Since my target audience is predominantly women, I have decided to use two female models throughout my magazine. On my front cover, I will depict two models, whereas on my table of contents and double page spread I will depict one out of my two models to allow focus to be brought upon them individually. Both models will be dressed casually in jeans, Nike Air max trainers and a Harley Davidson Jacket, which gives off the impression that the youth are free to do as they wish, as they have their entire lives ahead of them. On that account, music will be an enormous part of their lives e.g. concerts and so forth. For my front cover, I would like to photograph two female models holding a Vinyl Record, both wearing Harley Davidson jackets. As well as this, I would like to depict both models using a medium close up shot, since this shot allows viewers to catch sight of their true emotions noticeably. Moreover, I would like to capture my image at eye-level so that viewers can identify with the subjects, the way they would see them in real life. Furthermore, I would like both my models to stare directly at the camera, causing direct address. As a result of this, Vinyl Revival viewers will acknowledge the artists emotions even further. On the other hand, for my double page spread image I would not like my model to carry out direct address. Instead, I would like my model to look up at the sky, while listening to her headphones lying on the Harley Davidson. By looking up at the sky (away from the camera) my model will give off the impression that music takes my model/artist out of reality, conveying music as a true form of art. Over and above that, on my contents page I will include images such as the image used for my double page spread as this will be one of the featured articles in my magazine. On that account, I would like all of my images to be taken outside as this is the type of location where music is expressed (festivals).
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  What content willbe on your Front Cover, Table of Contents and Double Page Spread? Why? Even though I am creating a hybrid magazine, I would still like to retain a conventional format to all three of my publications. For example, on my magazine front cover, I would like to incorporate typical conventions such as a clear Masthead stating ‘Vinyl Revival’, a Main Feature Headline and Image, Price, Barcode, Date, Issue Number and so forth. As explained on the previous slide, I would like my main feature image to be the main focus point of the page. For that reason, I will place the image in the very heart of the magazine front cover – other conventions used will all revolve around the main feature image. After conducting my research, I came to the conclusion that the above method is used by all music magazines and is therefore a typical convention. This is because the main feature image is what draws in the attention of viewers, in view of the fact that music revolves around their musical talents and therefore a music magazine revolves around them. As discovered in my research, I also came to realize that the majority of front covers depict model(s) looking directly at the camera, creating direct address. As a result of this, my two models will use direct address to entice readers in to buy the magazine. Additionally, on my contents page I would also like to incorporate typical conventions including images of featured articles that are existent within the magazine, including page numbers upon each of these images. In total, I would like to include at least 4 images on my contents page alone so that I can give my viewers a clear insight into what my magazine contains. Furthermore, on my double page spread I would like to include other typical conventions such as a Drop-cap to show readers when to start reading the article. Along with a main feature headline and image, I would also like to include a stand first on my double page spread so that viewers are given a clear insight into what the article is going to be about. Over and above that, my article will involve an interview between the artist(s) and the interviewer. This article will feature as the main headline and image on the front cover. On that account, I believe my magazine will be a great success, since Vinyl Revival will not go against the norms of a music magazine as it will retain a variation of conventions used by music magazines.