Magazine Evaluation (EH)

Media Front Cover Evaluation: ELIF HUSEYIN

My front cover uses the general conventions of a music magazine. However it challenges the typical conventions of a Hip Hop & RnB magazine i.e. by not sticking to a typical image or use of vocabulary. This could also help make competition for the music magazine world as Hip Hop & RnB magazines are quite masculine. It would help or maybe bring out a positive sign to people’s views on music magazines as Hip Hop is appreciated by the feminine audience too. Music magazines shouldn’t just be about music and charts in general. It should use similar features like non music magazines- however considering that it should be linked to music in some way. I have added a ‘real life’ situation on the front cover- which is to do with music. I believe this would encourage readers to understand music can be thought of and considered in many ways. I have also included a promotional offer on the banner of the page. This offers readers free ringtone downloads- this is a positive effect on how well the magazine can be sold. 

Social groups are represented in so many different ways that is difficult to be able to differentiate your cover. My magazine would be suitable magazine for people who take a respectable interest for Hip Hop & RnB. By the look of the cover it is clear that there aren’t the usual conventions of the genre featured on it which is the particular image or body language. Instead, I have shown the individuality of the person and also made it clear to others that different people share an interest in genres such as RnB & Hip-Hop. This can challenge other genre magazines to not be so stereotypical.

I think an independent publisher will distribute my music magazine cover as it is so different than the typical Hip Hop and RnB style magazines. They would encourage or show people that these genres aren’t about danger or a specific social group. It is about individual thoughts and people who enjoy different taste of music. This will help society to stop being so stereotypical about music and how it is categorised. Music is for everybody- people shouldn’t feel isolated about certain genres.

The audience for my music magazine cover will be young women aged 13-25. Although 25 year olds may not share the same thoughts and opinions as younger RnB and Hip Hop fans, I have still taken into the consideration the older fans of the genre. I have taken this idea by looking at artists such as Jay Z, Beyonce and 50 Cent, which are the older type of artists from this genre. The magazine is to help the younger audience encourage them to understand the conventions of the genre- but not only that it is to help them understand and respect other genres.

I used a range of images on my front cover. There is a picture of myself and my group member (close up) which dominates the page. This will help indicate that my magazine is aimed for a female audience. The colours also represent this as I used, purple, red and pink. I made the title an exclamatory phrase. This helps drag attention because it hints something interesting and is easy to understand. In a formal magazine these kinds of conventions will not be used as the editors will think that the audience will not take the magazine seriously. I believe that magazines are meant to be part of the mass media which provide entertainment for the audience and therefore, informal and easy to understand language should be used in magazines- whatever they are. As a feminine magazine- using bold fonts will make it look too masculine and deprive the female audience’s attention. A caption on the cover uses quite bold font to emphasise its importance. “YOU VOTED...Elif and Eman to interview Chris Brown!” This is printed in bold font using two different colours. Again, I have included exclamatory vocabulary to connote the excitement of it. The main thing that I believe will attract the attention of the audience is the editors’ picture on the front page. This will allow the audience to feel and be able to share or oppose views with them- it also helps with not making the reader feel alienated as they can see who the editors are. I also used an offer as a banner on the cover- this will encourage readers to buy the magazine. So it is a positive point for the financial side of things.

The construction of this front cover has given me a better insight of Photoshop. It can enable me to do various things technologically. However, I think that not putting a real image and replacing it with a computer manipulated image can seem a bit deceiving. If magazine companies try to get attention of the readers then they should put real pictures rather than computer edited. In some cases it may be effective and can possibly drag attention- but it must be edited up to a certain point and that it isn’t to the extent of false advertising.

If I were to make another music magazine front cover, I would try and do a male music magazine. I would like to see how different the conventions can become just by gender difference. I also want to see whether men attract the Hip Hop/ RnB magazine more than women. It would be helpful to see these differences but also take note of comparisons, if there were to be any. I would also consider people I choose to feature in my cover who represent Hip Hop and RnB. Finally, I will consider putting the price of my magazine lower as it is currently £2.75. I must take into consideration the younger audience and whether the price is suitable for them.