How did you attract/address your audience?

This question focused on the audience of my piece, and how I would attract them. I began by discussing the codes and conventions of a music magazine, and what would be required for it to sell, and then I went into more detail specifying the specific features that I have included and why I included them, including the colour scheme and the specific codes and conventions of a music magazine. I also discuss the uses and gratifications theory, and apply it to my magazine and the genre of music.

How did you attract/address your audience?

There are several things that my magazine contains in order to help it sell. Firstly, I have included all of the codes and conventions that are required to be included in a magazine, such as a bar code,a masthead, a website, price etc. These are used in order for people to be able to recognize that the magazine is built for entertainment. In addition, a specific masthead is often used as a method of recognizing a specific magazine or genre of magazine, such as a short red logo often can pragmatically relate to NME.

I have also included several features that will appeal to my specific target audience. Firstly, the main image, the first thing readers of the magazine will see, is recognizable towards my target audience. The reason for this recognizances is the stance and the clothing my model is wearing. They appear fairly serious and angry, which is a facial expression often used by models of the indie/rock genre. My model is also wearing a cardigan, which is often considered to be worn by people who are part of the indie culture. In addition, my model is looking directly towards the reader of the magazine. This allows for the reader to feel involved with the magazine, and give the reader the idea that the model is looking directly at them.

I have also used a quite dark colour scheme. This is significant because often, the indie culture is referred to as using quite dull and plain colours, and thus this allows for the reader to recognise the similarities between my magazine and the indie culture. Often, the colour scheme of a magazine is changed throughout each edition of a magazine, but several things, most notable the masthead will stay the same colour. Despite this change, generally indie/rock magazines never use colours such as bright red or yellow, as these contrast with the common convetions of this genre.

In terms of the uses and gratifications, my magazine adheres to each of the features explained. Escapism is relevant, because often people read magazines and listen to music to get away from life, and it helps to relax them. Furthermore, in terms of personal relationships, music is a big discussion point between all ages, as music appeals to everyone, and therefore people may read music magazines to get involved with music, and therefore have the ability to discuss it. In addition, music magazines often have sections dedicated to user-involved content, which can often be guides or instructions on how to play a certain song for example, highlighting evidence of surveillance. Finally, the idea of personal identity is relevant, because most people have an interest in at least one type of music, that allows them to feel reassured in themselves. Despite my magazine perhaps not appealing to every type of person or music fan, I feel everyone can get something out of music magazines, as they allow user-interaction, and give the reader the opportunity to recognise who they are.