Question 5

COVER AND DPS MODEL
One of the ways in which I attracted my target audience was with the cover model. I use the band as a whole to create unity. None of them are really too over the top or unreal to look at they just look like your average lad. This is something I wanted to do because I felt that in order to create empathy, they had to be there to relate to and with the cover models I have, they just look like someone you would pass in the street. I feel that this image bends the rules a little bit and doesn't portray a musician as over the top and the mundane works as a tool to increase potential sales of my magazine. I wanted them to look confident, as they do; but only in terms of your tradition masculinity- that men are winners. And the fact they show no emotion suggests the traditional, hegemonic stance.

THE USE OF FAMILIAR ARTISTS
As well as including an up+coming newer artist on the cover of Verve, I also wanted to incorporate artists who would be recognised by the readers. I included Noel Gallagher and Bruce Springsteen, both of which have been a huge influence in the music industry over the years and have had many hits with the public within the field of rock and with Noel, British Rock- a key theme of mine. I only feature their names because gathering images of them would be impossible to use to a standard so good. The use of famous and old yet still current artists will give the reader a sense of familiarity, instead of them seeing a new magazine which only caters for the unknown and unsigned. In this respect I try to meet half way with new and old and these two artists represent that.

GIG GUIDE
On my front cover I offer up a gig guide. I do this to try and entice my audiences into buying my magazine. Then once they have bought the magazine, they'll likely read the content and there's always a chance they'll like it, which could garner a larger audience. I also place it within a golden star because that pushes it on the outside of the colour scheme and makes it something visible.

When you look at my contents page, I also mention the gig guide as being on page 6 and in the Specials part of the contents. This is me trying to emphasise to the audience that they should look at this because some people may only be buying the magazine for that reason, and it just makes it easier for them to follow. This way, they may return back to my product.

REVIEWS COLUMN

Speaking as a teenager, I know that when I have money, I want to spend it on things that I need, or that are worth while, and therefore I tend not to buy as many music albums as I used to. On the occasion that I want to buy some new music, I would much prefer to read some reviews about the album, and see what other people either my age or older think about it before I spend my money. I usually rely on NME magazine's 'Reviews' section to set me on the right path, and that's why I thought it would be necessary to include a 'Reviews' section in mymagazine. When someone picks up my magazine and flicks to the contents page to see what will be included, they will find that there are a number of reviews which will inform them of which albums are rated highly by professional critics and whether or not to spend their money on them. In my magazine Contents, I call the review second 'Hype' to create a buzz around the release of this new album.

SPECIFIC GENRE

As previously mentioned, the audience that I was trying to attract was teenagers who are into Indie/Alternative music rather than generic pop music. In order to do this, I had to model my whole magazine on this genre, as this audience wouldn't be attracted to a bright pink magazine with a pretty pop girl posing on the front as they aren't as interested in that genre of music. I took inspiration from NME and Rolling Stone magazine primarily; one of the Rolling Stone special editions. To introduce these newly designed covers, Rolling Stone issued a Jay Z special which was all I needed for inspiration. Their simple layout and sparse coverage caught my attention, and I really liked the way only red and white was used with his clothes working as a third colour, unlike Kerrang magazine which I find oppressive.

I haven't replicated this cover exactly, but I have only used the main colours on the cover of my magazine, although I have used a selection of different shades of this colour. Like Rolling Stone, this opens up an opportunity to change the colour of each edition by either matching or contrasting this colour to the costume of the cover model. This simplicity of my cover won't over-face the reader, and will allow them to take it all in without finding the cover too full.