Evaluation Question 7

Evaluation Question 6

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 5 - Evaluation of p.i

PLEASE NOTE...

Changes have been made to the products in order to meet specific criteria. The products shown in both the original and montage videos of the interview are those of the previous versions.

The original evaluation is here, starring Joseph Jordan as the interviewee:

The awfully edited montage version which I pretty much wasted my time making is here, mainly for the purpose of uploading an educational video with more 'taste' than what other students do (it's an awful video though):

These are the questions I asked:

1. What aspects of the front cover appeal to you and grab your attention, and what else stands out?
2. What aspects appear unsatisfactory or ‘just short of the mark’ in your opinion, and what would you like to see improved?
3. Can you identify the genre of the magazine at a first glance?
4. Does the colour scheme work for the genre, and if not, why?
5. What do you think of the use of the images?
6. What is your view on the text such as the cover lines and the DPS article, as well as their presentation in terms of the language used?
7. What do you think is the magazine’s Unique Selling Point?
8. Personally, would you buy the magazine, and why or why not?
9. Is there anything else you would like to mention?

Final Product: p.i

UPDATE (09/05/2016)

Effects removed from featured participants

Front Cover

Contents Page

Double Page Spread (DPS) with Article

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 3

Based on the genre of my music magazine ‘p.i’ and its contents, I think that it would be best if it is distributed through its own business.

p.i is designed to be unique in its genre as there are no known magazines that focus around electronic and experimental music. The fonts and colour scheme also provide the feel of a magazine that has never been distributed or read by the public before.

Companies such as Bauer and IPC generally distribute magazines of common genres such as pop, rock, alternative and R&B. With prior consideration, I have decided that the magazine should be distributed independently, through its own business, rather than with an aggregator because of the genre of the magazine and its unique approach to its target audience.

This choice may or may not be the right one in the long term, but for now it is the best option because other companies and aggregators will not be entirely, if at all, aware of what purpose p.i is trying to serve, let alone know and understand the electronic music genre and the artists who produce such music. If needs be, a publishing company can be chosen at a later date, based on how well p.i turns out in its own right first.

Also for now, p.i will pilot as a paper magazine and digital copy, which will provide access for the majority of people who are interested or would take interest. It may have a radio station in the future depending on how successful it is as a publication, but this is not expected or needed; podcasts can be released on the website and through services such as iTunes, Google Play and Spotify, and free or paid tracks can be presented on SoundCloud and sold in dedicated compilations on Bandcamp.

Distributing the magazine in shops and supermarkets is very much possible, but p.i needs to have a stable financial status from the successful publications in smaller shops and digital distributions on the Internet before taking to more significant places.

I am aware that there are magazines that appear to take off upon their release but fail in their first three years and cease publication and activity. In regards to the fate of p.i, I cannot make any guarantee that it will succeed or fail in its first three years, and being the type of magazine it is yet having the ethos of conveying its messages to the general public, it could go either way.

Evaluation Question 1

Questionnaire & Analysis

Following the completion of my questionnaire, its distribution to various people and the collection of responses from them, I can now provide the data and analysis as follows. 21 respondents initially participated, but one respondent withdrew from the survey after Question 2; therefore, the results for Questions 3 to 10 have been answered by 20 respondents. This has not had any significant impact on my data collection and/or analysis.

Question 1: What age group do you fall under?

Most of the left side of the pie, approximately 9 of the 21 who responded (42.86%), are aged 30+; also most of the right side (equally 42.86%) are 16-18. Two respondents are aged 19-24 and one 25-29. The brief I provide for this is that there are a lot of young and older people who participated in the survey.

Question 2: What is your gender?

Surprisingly, two thirds of the 21 who responded (66.67%) are female, whereas one third (33.33%) are male. I also supplied the Transgender and ‘Prefer not to say’ options, but no participants selected these options when they took the survey. (This means there are no transgender participants or any who decided not to disclose their gender.)

After this question, one respondent of the 21 withdrew from the survey, leaving just 20.

Question 3: What subgenres of electronic music would you like to see? (Please choose four!)

For this question, I asked the participants to select exactly four out of sixteen subgenres from a checkbox list that they would like to see in the music magazine, or to specify one extra subgenre not listed. The majority of participants, approximately 14 of the 20 who responded (70%), would like to see Electronic Dance Music in the magazine (stated as ‘Dance (EDM)’ in the survey), making this subgenre the most popular choice. In joint second place are House and R&B/Soul, each with 9 respondents (45%), and in third place is Indie/Experimental with 8 respondents (40%). The rest of the options are not as popular, leaving the four specified subgenres as the ones to be featured in the magazine by default.

Question 4: What content would you like to see in the magazine? (Please choose three!)

For this question, I asked the participants to select exactly three out of seven categories of contents from a checkbox list that they would like to see in the music magazine, providing the same questioning concept as Question 3. 17 respondents (85%) said they would like to see information relating to ‘festivals, gigs and performances’, making this category the most popular and its content worth featuring. 10 respondents (50%) said they would like to see ‘interviews with well-known and upcoming artists’, making it the second best, and in joint third are ‘the latest electronic music news and releases’ and ‘free music on CDs’, each with 9 respondents (45%). The rest of the categories are not as popular, leaving the four specified categories of contents as the ones to be featured by default.

Question 5: Would free contents or vouchers in the magazine, if included, encourage you to buy the magazine?

This is a simple yes, no or unsure question. 16 respondents (80%) said yes, which clearly shows that free stuff in the magazine (particularly free CDs as mentioned in Question 4) will encourage them and likewise readers or potentials to buy the magazine. 4 respondents (20%) said they did not mind or were not sure; no respondents said no – what a surprise!

Question 6: Which three colours do you think would be best suited to an electronic music magazine?

Again, I used the concept from Questions 3 and 4 and asked for three colours out of the applicable fourteen and the optional ‘Other’ that would be best suited to the colour scheme of the music magazine. The three most popular colours selected by the respondents are Black (60%), Blue (45%) and Green (30%). For reference, and for one reason or another, nobody chose brown…

Question 7: Which three font styles do you think would be best suited? If you need a better understanding of the answers, feel free to search for them on a search engine such as Google.

For this question, I asked which three fonts or font styles out of an applicable eight (and the optional ‘Other’) would be best suited to the music magazine. To ensure that the respondents understood the question, I suggested that they search for fonts and font styles, particularly the options themselves, using Google or a similar search engine like Yahoo or Bing. The three most popular font styles selected by the respondents are Sans Serif (65%), Techno-like (55%) and that really cool looking 70s/80s font style from the old magazines called Avant-Garde (45%).

Question 8: How often would you like to see the magazine published?

For this question, I asked how often the music magazine should be published, providing four options to choose from. The most popular frequency is Monthly, with 12 respondents (60%); the less successful candidates are Weekly (25%), Fortnightly (10%) and Seasonally (5%).

Question 9: How much would you pay for the magazine?

This crucial question asks how much one would pay for the music magazine, with decisions being based on its contents and publication frequency; I asked how much the respondents would pay, providing three options (in the currency GBP). The best price range is £2.00 or more, with half of all (10 respondents/50%) choosing this range; the second best range is £1.00 or similar (40%) and the unsuccessful range is £0.50 or similar (10%).

Question 10: Would you buy, or consider buying, this music magazine that focuses on the electronic music genre?

“So much for that,” I could say. I asked the respondents if they would buy the magazine or not, and provided four options. 11 respondents (55%), being just over half of all, said no! It’s not all bad though; the respondents will have most likely made this choice because the electronic music genre is not really to their taste, and as I provided the opportunity for them to comment and explain their choice, I was not surprised to see the majority of these respondents say exactly that. 4 respondents (20%) said sometimes, 3 (15%) said not sure and just 2 (10%) actually said yes.

To summarise the results:

• Q01: 16-18 and 30+ are most common.
• Q02: Mostly female respondents! The rest are male, no transgenders or refused disclosures.
• Q03: Dance (EDM), House, R&B/Soul and Indie/Experimental.
• Q04: Festivals, gigs and performances, interviews, latest news and free CDs.
• Q05: Yes! Free stuff would make them buy!!
• Q06: Black, Blue and Green.
• Q07: Sans Serif, Techno-like and Avant-Garde.
• Q08: Monthly publications are best.
• Q09: £2.00 or more is a good price range.
• Q10: All this useful information, yet over half are not going to buy the magazine!

Planning

Props List

No additional props were used when photographing the participating models.

Costume List

No additional costumes were worn when photographing the participating models; standard clothing was used, worn upon entry and exit of the studio.

Location Report

The location used for all photography is as follows:

Room W16, West Block

East Norfolk Sixth Form College

Gorleston, Great Yarmouth

Norfolk, England

NR31 7BQ

Contacts

The following contacts are all participating models:

Production Schedule

This schedule shows the production process in which the front cover, contents page and double page spread (DPS) with article were created. (Note that the tense is set in the past.)

Week 1: The production began with the fundamental designs to the front cover, contents and DPS being made. Potential participants for the photoshoot were consulted in this week and the following responses were received: Ashleigh, Peter and Toni accepted, and I also considered participating.

Week 2: The photoshoot with Ashleigh, Peter, Toni and myself in W16 at ENSFC took place; other potential participants were offered the opportunity prior to the photoshoot but were either unable to attend or declined it.

Week 3: Additional tweaks to the front cover, contents and DPS were made; discussions around its production took place between myself and my tutor to see what needed to be done and where elements could be improved. A second photoshoot was then considered with Emily, but confirmation was needed before anything took place.

Week 4: The second photoshoot with Emily in W16 at ENSFC took place as she agreed to participate; the best photos were chosen for the front cover and DPS afterwards and further tweaks to all products were made.

Week 5: In the final working week before Christmas, the DPS was completed along with its article, while the front cover and contents were still in progress. Concern arose around the use of colours on the contents page, and this was not resolved in the week.

Week 6: Returning from the Christmas holidays, work continued on the products and tweaks were made to the design of the front cover; a draft of it was printed out for evaluation and corrections.

Week 7: At last, the front cover was completed after the major overhaul following the draft evaluation from the previous week; the contents page was also completed after minor tweaks and checks were applied and the colour use dispute was put to rest.

Week 8: All products were completed and printed out for procession and marking. The schedule officially terminates here; however, an extra week may be instated if any corrections are made and will be shown below.

Colour & Font Mood Board (combined tasks)

Magazine Publishers Analysis

Bauer Media Group

Bauer Media Group is a European-based multi-platform media company founded in 1875 and based in Hamburg, Germany. It is one of the most significant media companies as it manages a portfolio of over 600 magazines, as well as over 400 digital products and 50 radio and television stations globally. Some of the most popular brands acquired and owned by Bauer, as well as those acquired from EMAP in 2007, include Heat, Grazia, Kiss and Magic.

In the UK, Bauer Media is the sister company of H Bauer UK. Bauer’s activity in the UK initiated when they launched Bella in 1987, and they continued to expand with the eventual purchase of EMAP and their titles in 2007, as well as EMAP Radio in 2008 which has been rebranded as Bauer Radio.

Bauer’s music publications include Q, which focuses on indie and alternative and once had their own radio and television stations, and Kerrang!, which focuses on rock music and currently has a radio station and a text request-based television station that plays music videos requested by viewers.

Future PLC

Future PLC is a media company founded in 1985 by entrepreneur Chris Anderson, well known for distributing the now-ceased Official Nintendo Magazine and maintaining the TechRadar and MusicRadar brands. Future currently focuses on digital publication where possible, and publishes over 30 magazines relating to video games, technology, films and photography.

The MusicRadar brand is currently owned by Future and provides information, news and reviews for musicians, as well as content relating to the incorporated music production titles including Guitarist and Computer Music.

Guitarist is another brand relating to music, and is a monthly-published music production magazine first published in 1984. It is focused on the use of the guitar and the broad range of genres from blues and folk to alternative and country; its total circulation from 2013, used here as an average, is 25,047. Reviews, interviews and news articles are also covered in the specified genres.

BBC Magazines

http://www.bbcworldwide.com/uk--anz/ukpublishing.aspx

BBC Worldwide have a publishing business, currently Immediate Media Company, that extends their programmes to audiences around the world by publishing various magazines in their name. The BBC state that they “strive to maintain the highest editorial and commercial quality and standards” of all of their magazines, whether wholly owned or licensed.

The majority of their magazines are published in the UK and range from Countryfile and Wildlife through to Focus and Good Food, not forgetting Top Gear and Doctor Who for the fans and supporters of the programmes themselves. For publications outside of the UK, the Top Gear magazines are very popular in most places as the programme reached critical acclaim, while Good Food and Science World are some of the other magazines distributed in some of the listed countries.

Focusing on the music relation, the BBC Music magazine was first issued in June 1992 and is published monthly, and its North American equivalent was first issued in March 1993. It sees 13 issues per annum and as of this writing has a total circulation of 37,530. It focuses on classical music, alike the broadcast output of BBC Radio 3, but it also provides sections on jazz and world music; each edition includes an audio CD with recordings of full-length works in these genres.

Music Magazine Analysis

For my music magazine analysis, I am focusing on Q, the popular UK-based music magazine which I have used in previous posts.

Q was founded by journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth in 1986, at a time when they felt the music press was below satisfactory. It was first published in October 1986 by EMAP, which set itself apart from rival magazines and publications as the standards and overall quality of the publication itself, particularly that of the printing and photography, were much higher, not forgetting to mention it was published monthly. Its originally proposed name Cue was intended in that the definition in context meant to cue a record prior to playing it, but this was changed to the letter Q to avoid confusion with the game of snooker, and the magazine stated in its 200^th edition that its single-letter title would be more prominent and noticeable on newsstands. In 2008, EMAP sold its consumer magazine titles, including that of Q, to the European-based Bauer Media Group, who at this present time (as of the date and time of this writing) own the magazine and its assets.

Q features releases and reissues of music, as well as film, concert, radio and television reviews, in its extensive review section, and anything that is reviewed, particularly albums and releases, are rated with the star-rating system (from one to five stars). The magazine devotes itself to interviewing and promoting popular musical artists, and it is renowned for compiling lists such as “The 100 Greatest” lists. Every other month, a special edition focused around an influential musician, time period or genre of music is published.

Q primarily focuses on the indie, alternative and singer/songwriter genres of music, and its target audience consists of the people who listen to such music, as well as those who take initial interest. The style of the magazine, mainly regarding the colour scheme and use of fonts, provides the alternative feel with the frequent use of red, black and white colours and serif and sans serif fonts.

Q also used to have a radio station and television channel affiliated with its publications, named Q Radio and Q TV, which featured music videos and interviews involving artists and bands in the indie and alternative genres. These closed down in 2012 and 2013 respectively, of which Q TV was replaced by celebrity-oriented Heat TV on 3^rd July 2012, while Q Radio was replaced by Kisstory (a spin-off of Bauer’s Kiss brand) on 7^th May 2013.

Magazine Industry Analysis

As a whole, the magazine industry in this day and age has taken off with many magazines and their genres, including music, television, entertainment and gossip magazines, being published for the public to read. The industry’s marketing capabilities see businesses thrive off of the money made from the magazines they sell after publication, and this is because the magazines we read entertain us in different ways and we continually return to our shops to purchase their latest issues. As we, the readers, continue to purchase and subscribe, the businesses continue to earn our money; the ongoing cycle provides stable dynamics for the industry to function and provides an exceptional sector of business to invest and work in.

Regarding the facts and figures relating to the magazine industry, households spend around £3 or £4 on magazines each; multiply that by the number of households in each of the areas of the country such as East Anglia, East Midlands, South West and so on, and soon enough thousands of pounds are being spent on magazines in England, as well as the rest of the UK. About 90% of consumer magazines in the UK are sold in newsagents and supermarkets, and sales and publications have varied where television and online-only publications have competed. The overall amounts that businesses and publishers make generally vary, but will normally see some hundred or thousand pounds be made from publications each year, although these earnings may be reduced where they are put back into the business for continuous investment.

Advertisers aim for magazines to promote their businesses and products as they know many readers will notice them, and to advertise in any popular magazine it will normally cost in excess of £200 for a quarter of a page, and perhaps less for uncommon or infrequently published magazines.

Textual Analysis of Existing Media Products