Research into magazine pages for musicians:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=musician+double+page+spread&rlz=1C1AVNE_enGB648GB648&biw=1366&bih=623&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj2nfrStfnJAhUBeg8KHQRaCUkQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=9x5s-9KIFp5e8M%3A

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=musician+double+page+spread&rlz=1C1AVNE_enGB648GB648&biw=1366&bih=623&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj2nfrStfnJAhUBeg8KHQRaCUkQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=wv3WszoxkFC_LM%3A

Target audience- For the next part of the musician promotion task, a magazine spread for the artist needs to be made. I have done some prior research into other newsletter promotions that are suitable for the target audience to to gain a secure understanding of what will be engaging for the fans to look at and read. Some examples have been placed in the document with this text. I chose these in particular because both of them are of standout quality, ideal for the young and quirky audience that is trying to be addressed. They can appeal to the audience because firstly, the magazine identifies with various things that they can relate to through their psychographics and what they are interested in- for example, the mention of social media and being recognised as a famous person, as a lot of today’s younger generation are media savvy and interested in current affairs of the famous. This specifically is the audience we are aiming to address through the use of the magazine pages. These are likely to interest those between the ages 16-25 especially because as a part of the younger generation demographics, who may be interested in rock/indie music and articles about it because of their age, gender and class.

Design- It is also noticeable through the two examples and other pages that I am familiar with whilst reading magazines, the white background feature with large, bold and peculiar text on top of it seems to be a popular design choice. This must be because it is aesthetically pleasing and stands out immediately to the audience- perfect as hand-outs for live band events. For this reason, I think it would be good to head in this direction when designing our print magazine pages so that they can look as professional and exciting as others do. The white background is clean cut and makes the image of the artists stand out more. Through the use of IT, the images have been edited so that shadows can be seen behind them; I like this effect and think it could be a possibility for our magazine pages because it looks very theatrical. This would be good to emphasise our performance based shots and then perhaps some smaller screenshots of the narrative could be shown on other parts of the pages. To add more depth to the entirely white background, the use of the border would make it look less plain, like in the Blink 182 magazine pages. One that matches the colour theme we choose would make the magazine pages look more detailed but not so overwhelming, which would make them look aesthetically pleasing.

Layout- As shown in the two examples, the heading and image of the artist are the two largest elements to the pages. Clearly this is effective because its visually appealing layout is what makes the audience pick up the magazine in the first place, so this is an important aspect to consider. Because of the two examples shown and by looking at other magazine spreads in general, the layout with a large image and heading seems to be a strong idea to use in our own work. The speech bubble with the main heading in particular, I think is effective. It is a creative way to lay out the page by making it look both edgy but professional at the same time, which is what the target audience we are addressing should find appealing. If we use a large speech bubble with the title in, plus the image of our performer and then a few screenshots of the footage itself, there should be some empty space about the pages. In these spaces, small text boxes can be put in these places so that some information about the music video can be detailed here. There will be less of these on the first two pages as it will be filled with the main image and title. However on the third page, more screenshots and information to support them would be necessary. The size of text is also important to consider too. I have used the Blink 182 example to demonstrate perhaps what would be interesting to use in our own magazine spread. The main introduction is in a slightly larger, bolder font than the main pieces of information. Also at the paragraphs beginning, the first letter has been made much larger which I see often in magazines and think that it makes the page look professional. I also love the idea that a quote has been taken from the interview and has been added to a part of the page separately so the audience can read a snippet of what the artist has to say.

Content- The content of the pages needs to be a minimal amount, especially when reaching out to our target audience, because they aren’t actually majorly interested in the writing but are more focused on the visual aspects of the magazine. For this reasons, some basic information about the artist themselves, us the directors and editors, and why we chose to do this music video would be enough. Also some information on the third page regarding how the shots were made would perhaps be interesting for the audience to read.