Titles for Music Magazine

I had thought very hard about what the title for my music magazine should be. I thought of four possible titles for my magazine and being very analytical about it, I narrowed it down to one title which is my final choice. The choices and my final choice are listed below and also why I thought these titles would have been successful.



LDN MUSIC
'LDN' is an abbreviation for London as in to describe this magazine is about London music. This title relates to the genre I am creating my music magazine upon, grime and hip hop. Grime has been established as music which is from the UK, therefore the title 'LDN Music' would fit into the magazine content comfortably. This was my first idea for the title of my magazine as the abbreviation.


GRIME UK
I thought this would be a good title for my music magazine as it shows what genre of music the magazine would be about. A programme called 'Grime Daily' gets up and close with the grime artists, showing interveiws or what some artists have been up to when they are not in the studio. A consumer would be able to tell that a magazine called 'Grime UK' is about all the latest grime artists and what they get up to as it is similar to the name 'Grime Daily'.

UK MOVEMENTS
I beleive that this title would be successful, particularly for a music magazine relating to the genre, grime. Within grime music, a lot of slang terms are used. Many new up and coming grime artists use the slang term 'movements' to describe that they are gradually or in some cases rapidly moving towards success and that they no longer have to struggle to earn a living. Having the title 'UK MOVEMENTS' on a music magazine cover, a consumer would immediately be able to recognise that the magazine is associated with grime music.

UK PRIME
This title would be quite successful for a music magazine as the word 'prime' suggests first. It is essential to have 'UK' in the title because it straight away implies that all music talked about within this magazine is from the UK. At a first glance at the title, it is possible to associate it with grime music because it has 'UK' in the title but the font of the title and the photography will most definately add to what type of music the magazine is about.

These were my four choices of my music magazine titles. After I had narrowed it down to just two titles I had to make a decision. The two titles I narrowed it down to were:

1) GRIME UK
2) UK MOVEMENTS

I had asked five people from my target audience which are people from the ages of 15-21 and they all replied that 'GRIME UK' would be the better title out of those two, but also had a look at the other two titles and agreed that they would not be successful for a music magazine. Threfore, the title that I have chosen to call my music magazine is 'GRIME UK' and I am very happy with my choice as this is what my target audience liked.

Questionnaire & Results Of Music Magazine Survey

Media School Magazine Survey (Answers & results in red and in brackets) 6 Participants

1. Which age group do you fit into?
12-15 (1)
16-21 (3)
22-25 (2)
26+ (0)

2. Which gender do you belong to?
Male (3)
Female (3)

3. Do you buy music magazines?
Yes, I love reading them! (1)
No. (3)
I have bought them a few times, but generally I do not. (2)

4. If your answer is "No" to the above question, what would persuade you or attract you to buy them?
Comment:
A1.
More interesting content

A2.
A gripping headline catering to another interest of mine i.e. film, gaming, sport.. but obviously it must still be relevant to the nature of the magazine (music). It could be a section on the front cover briefly talking about music in the gaming industry representing a section in the magazine where it talks in detail about this or there is an interview with a lead composer for a popular game.

A3.
If there was a list of the latest tracks, free cd's

(The rest of the participants selected another option. They did not select "No")


5. Which genre of music do you listen to? (Select more than one option if necessary.)
Funky house (2)
Grime (2)
Hip Hop (3)
R&B (6)
Pop (2)
Indie (0)
Classical (1)
Country (2)
Rap (2)
Jazz (0)
Rock and Heavy Metal (1)
Soulful (0)
Other (please specify)
Comment:
A1.
Bashement


A2.
Bashement

6. Do you at all buy music magazines and if so, how often do you buy them?
I do not buy them (3)
Daily (0)
Every other day (0)
Weekly (0)
Monthly (2)
Every time a new issue comes out (1)

7.What size magazine would you like to pick up to read?
Broadsheet, because a lot of information can be fitted onto a few sheets. (0)
Tabloid, because they are not too small nor too big. (1)
A5, because it is small and handy. (1)
A4, because they are the size of most magazines.(4)

8. Would you read a music magazine which consists of more than one genre, for example a magazine which consists of Rap and Garage?
Yes, I think I would. (2)
No, certainly not! (1)
Perhaps, if the two genres were closely related. (3)

9. Which colours are most striking to you, when it comes to picking up or choosing a music magazine?
Comment:
A1.
Huh, I don't care

A2.
Blue, purple

A3.
Blue, light grey. I think these should be your theme colours.

A4.
Vibrant colours, dark blue and hot colours i.e. red, orange, yellow - very summer themed

A5.
Funky colours, such as blue, orange, purple, green, pink

A6.

Blue, purple, red

10. What should a music magazine contain the most of? (Tick multiple answers if necessary.)
Artist or album reviews. (4)
Singles or albums that are coming out. (6)
Competitions. (2)
Interveiws with artists or bands. (4)
Other (please specify)
......................................

Comment:

A1.

Should have artists information, eg; where they were born etc. If any well known artist are taking part in any charity projects or anything with young people for example.

A2.

Posters and concert dates.

After I had completed collecting the results and analysing them I have learnt a few things about what my target audience want from me. Fifty percent of the participants of this survey do not currently purchase music magazines and so I asked in my survey what would persuade them to buy these kinds of magazines. In response, the participants generally said that they would like to see a list of the latest tracks from up-coming and well known artists aswell as perhaps a free music CD with one or a few tacks on it. Moreover, I found out that many of my participants mainly enjoy listening to R&B, hip hop, grime, bashement and funky house, so I will therefore base my magazine on one of these genres. All of my participants beleive that having a bright colourful theme would be very attractive. They also stated that the colours should mainly be purple and blue but generally bright and funky colours. I have also found out that in market research, you do not always get the answer you would like and sometimes, you do not get an answer at all. An example of this occuring is question 9, answer 1, "Huh, I don't care."

I have come to the conclusion that I will base my magazine on two closely related genres, hip hop and grime. Also my target audience stated in the survey that the colours of the magazine should be bright and summer themed so I will deliver. I am now going to thin about the title of my magazine and which font should suit the title and genre best.

Music Magazine survey link

To add to my research I had designed a survey for various people to take part in which would enable me to design the perfect music magazine for my target audience. Below is the link to my survey which asks specific questions, in order to gain the most knowledge from my target audience.
I did my survey on "survey monkey" which enables me to make my survey much more structured and understandable. Upon collecting results from this survey, I will be able to shape my music magazine into one which a large percentage of my target audience would admire.

This is the link to my music magazine survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=nMn7vf_2fXOetP1oyx_2fmIVBw_3d_3d

Analysis of Music Magazine

There are three main colours involved in this front cover of the source, which include red, yellow and white. Previous issues of ‘The Source’ include mostly red and some white. In this issue of ‘The Source’, these colours have been used only on the front cover although the red has been used in some places within the magazine.

The red colour on the title suggests confidence and the name itself ‘The Source’, suggest it is the start of all information. Also it is promoting itself in this way by meaning that this magazine is the place to get all the information about hip-hop culture and the sports which are included within this culture.

The layout of the front cover is very clear and is certain to grab attention immediately. The title of the magazine is at the top of the cover. The images of the artists are in the middle but cover up a large area of the cover, layered on top of one another. The typography has been placed in the corners and sides. This layout is eye catching because a vast impact is made with the images as it gives the readers an insight into which artist will be involved in this issue.

The images used on the front cover are very ‘central’. The images are of various music artists, both male and female which are coming up in the world of hip hop. The artists are well known and the biggest image on there is of Lil Wayne (rapper). The images have been collaged over each other, although they are all visible and all of them are relatively large, filling up as much of the space possible.

Typography is kept to an absolute minimum on the front cover. The texts are placed in the bottom corner, bottom, top and the right side. The typography has been placed in this way to expose the images of the artists well. The typography is in a bold font to make the text quite clear and attractive. The texts are in bright colours, therefore after noticing the images they are the next feature to be seen on the front cover. The slightly dark background in some areas around the typography makes it easier to notice them too.

The bar code along with the price for the magazine, issue number, year and month released are all very significant features for a front cover of any magazine. They have been placed in one corner of the front cover of the magazine so the main eye-catching images and typography have not been covered and the essential features I mentioned before have not been totally excluded. It is important to have these features on the front cover, as it avoids the reader looking for the price and whether it is the latest issue or not.