Evaluation

Evaluation

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AS Print - All Final Pieces

Music Magazine - Final Cover

Final Cover

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Music Magazine - Final Double Page Spread

Final Double Page Spread

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Music Magazine - Final Contents Page

Final Contents Page

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Music Magazine, Contents Page Attempt 2

This is one of the 2 versions of my contents. Compared to my other contents page the background colour is white.

I feel I have kept to the basic layout as that was good to begin with. I have put a main image in the middle of the page which is my cover story as this is very important.

I used white as it is a plain and simple colour and I wanted to see the difference with the light cream colour that I used on my other version.

The fonts I used I think work well for a contents page. The title is with the font Old Newspaper Types which is bolder than other fonts so you know it's the heading on the page. The other 2 fonts I have used all seem to work well. I used tom's handwritten new, for quotes so you can disinguish between the fonts and as it seems like it's handwritting font which can connote the artists' own words as it is a quote from them. Lastly, Arial Rounded MT Bold is used for the text body in the small bits under the artist pictures, this is a simplistic font as it is own a bit of background information and isn't too important.

In the bottom corner I have an advert, in NME magazine they have an advert to promote subscriptions to their magazines but I chose to have an advert for a University open day as for the age range this magazine is aimed at it is more suited than a subscription.

The images I used are the same size except for the one in the middle. The middle image is my cover story so I want that to have more exposure than the other images as I want more people to read this. The images in contrast to the text are colourful as they need to be more eyecatching because they relate to the more important stories in the magazine. The page numbers they are on are written in Premier League as these are bold numbers and eye catching. In a white box they stand out well so you only really see the image and page number, the 2 most important things.

With the main image I chose only to put a quote rather than any other information as it is a teaser like my front cover so if you want to find out more about the mysterious man you have to turn to page 19 to reda the article.

I chose not to put an actual page number on my contents as in my research I discovered that magazines differ from whether they use one or not and I felt mine would suit not having one.

Music Magazine, Double Page Spread Attempt 2 (Left Handside)

This is my second attempt at the left hand side of my double page spread. On this side of the page I have the article which is only half of a complete article as with the title there is not space for a complete article. The article would be completed on another double page spread as this is modelled on a conventional 4 page cover story from many music magazines. Between the story of my article I split it up on the other page with a large image. Having the imageadjacent to the article splits up the heavy reading of the article so then people don't get bored reading, if they find the text too strenuous.

To keep both pages consistent I have decided to use the same font, Underground Between, for the title and the first letter of the article. The stroke behind it is hte same colour, though twice as large for the title as it is bigger. The background colour is too the same with at least one of my right hand side page attempts. This helps show that the pages relate and it also keeps them consistent to one and other.

The title, "Norfolk's Saviour Returns" is important. It tells people that the artist is from Norfolk, but he is special to them as he is labelled as saviour. This also relates to the glowing around the pictures on the magazine of the artist. The position on the front cover is also religious so saviour is a key word to use there in relation to this. The returning factor shows that he has been away.

There is a small bit of information underneath the titlte giving the reader a bit of information about the article as so far through the magazine there is nothing but teasers for them to see about this main article.

The main article tries to remain quirky, with information and quotes about the artist and past details. It is written in size 11 font of Myriad Pro as it is nice, plain and simple to read. There is a clear gap in the middle which seperates the two parts of the article.

With this attempt there is a plain white background, I wanted to see the difference compared to the light cream and see which combination worked better with the other page.

Music Magazine, Double Page Spread Attempt 1 (Left Handside)

This is my first attempt at the left hand side of my double page spread. On this side of the page I have the article which is only half of a complete article as with the title there is not space for a complete article. The article would be completed on another double page spread as this is modelled on a conventional 4 page cover story from many music magazines. Between the story of my article I split it up on the other page with a large image. Having the image adjacent to the article splits up the heavy reading of the article so then people don't get bored reading, if they find the text too strenuous.

To keep both pages consistent I have decided to use the same font, Underground Between, for the title and the first letter of the article. The stroke behind it is hte same colour, though twice as large for the title as it is bigger. The background colour is too the same with at least one of my right hand side page attempts. This helps show that the pages relate and it also keeps them consistent to one and other.

The title, "Norfolk's Saviour Returns" is important. It tells people that the artist is from Norfolk, but he is special to them as he is labelled as saviour. This also relates to the glowing around the pictures on the magazine of the artist. The position on the front cover is also religious so saviour is a key word to use there in relation to this. The returning factor shows that he has been away.

There is a small bit of information underneath the titlte giving the reader a bit of information about the article as so far through the magazine there is nothing but teasers for them to see about this main article.

The main article tries to remain quirky, with information and quotes about the artist and past details. It is written in size 11 font of Myriad Pro as it is nice, plain and simple to read. There is a clear gap in the middle which seperates the two parts of the article.

With this attempt there is a ligth cream colour for the background as it helps give character and make everything stand out well.

Music Magazine, Double Page Spread Attempt 4 (Right Handside)

I have now edited my right hand side of my double page spread a lot compared to how it used to look.

Compared to my other attempt this one has a white background rather than a light cream colour. I wanted to again see what the difference was with having plain white rather than a subtle colour.

I started off by resizing the image and making it a lot smaller, leaving in room to add a small border and page number. I took this decison so that it could relate to my other double page spread and it was also important to make sure that I had a page number in there so the reader knew what page they are on. Also adding the border with a background colour makes the 2 double pages consistent, so you know that they do go together.

I put a glow around the artist in the image because I want people to know he is special and he has been classed as "Norfolk's Saviour" so the glow adds to the aspect of him being important.

I levelled the whole image as I realised that I had a red filter over the image because of the original camera settings and this image is as natural as it would be to the human eye.

I used the font Underground Between for the quote as it is very easy to make

out and gets the audience's attention. I made the piece of text at the bottom a lot smaller due to the fact that it is less signifcant information.

I chose to put the page number on the inside of the page because it is unconventional, this way people know that my magazine is slightly different to others and trying to get noticed, even if it is with small details. Another reason is that page numbers are what people often look for and if they don't want to read an article they won't by simply skipping the page number. Having the page number near the spine means that people have to look in on the article to see what page it is meaning there is a higher chance the article will be read.

Music Magazine, Double Page Spread Attempt 3 (Right Hand side)

I have now edited my right hand side of my double page spread a lot compared to how it used to look.

Compared to my other attempt this one has a cream coloured background to help make the image stand out to the audience. The background colour is a near shade to the artist's skin tone which links the background colour and the image effectively.

I started off by resizing the image and making it a lot smaller, leaving in room to add a small border and page number. I took this decison so that it could relate to my other double page spread and it was also important to make sure that I had a page number in there so the reader knew what page they are on. Also adding the border with a background colour makes the 2 double pages consistent, so you know that they do go together.

I put a glow around the artist in the image because I want people to know he is special and he has been classed as "Norfolk's Saviour" so the glow adds to the aspect of him being important.

I levelled the whole image as I realised that I had a red filter over the image because of the original camera settings and this image is as natural as it would be to the human eye.

I used the font Underground Between for the quote as it is very easy to make out and gets the audience's attention. I made the piece of text at the bottom a lot smaller due to the fact that it is less signifcant information.

I chose to put the page number on the inside of the page because it is unconventional, this way people know that my magazine is slightly different to others and trying to get noticed, even if it is with small details. Another reason is that page numbers are what people often look for and if they don't want to read an article they won't by simply skipping the page number. Having the page number near the spine means that people have to look in on the article to see what page it is meaning there is a higher chance the article will be read.

Music Magazine, Contents Page Attempt 1

This is one of the 2 versions of my contents. I have a light cream colour. I don't personally know if this will work, my feedback will be a help about whether to use this or a white background.

I feel I have kept to the basic layout as that was good to begin with. I have put a main image in the middle of the page which is my cover story as this is very important.

I used this background colour to help enhance the text on the page and it matches one of my options for a double page spread. The colour is different to any colour on the text or images so this means that it is effective at making everything else stand out on the page.

The fonts I used I think work well for a contents page. The title is with the font Old Newspaper Types which is bolder than other fonts so you know it's the heading on the page. The other 2 fonts I have used all seem to work well. I used tom's handwritten new, for quotes so you can distinguish between the fonts and as it seems like it's handwriting font which can connote the artists' own words as it is a quote from them. Lastly, Arial Rounded MT Bold is used for the text body in the small bits under the artist pictures, this is a simplistic font as it is own a bit of background information and isn't too important.

In the bottom corner I have an advert, in NME magazine they have an advert to promote subscriptions to their magazines but I chose to have an advert for a University open day as for the age range this magazine is aimed at it is more suited than a subscription.

The images I used are the same size except for the one in the middle. The middle image is my cover story so I want that to have more exposure than the other images as I want more people to read this. The images in contrast to the text are colourful as they need to be more eye catching because they relate to the more important stories in the magazine. The page numbers they are on are written in Premier League as these are bold numbers and eye catching. In a white box they stand out well so you only really see the image and page number, the 2 most important things.

With the main image I chose only to put a quote rather than any other information as it is a teaser like my front cover so if you want to find out more about the mysterious man you have to turn to page 19 to read the article.

I chose not to put an actual page number on my contents as in my research I discovered that magazines differ from whether they use one or not and I felt mine would suit not having one.

Music Magazine, Front Cover 3rd Attempt

From my first attempt I have not changed the front cover too much. I have kept the image as it was though editing the colour slightly by levelling it as it had a red filter over it which came from the camera I had used.

I have mainly changed the stories on the front of my magazine cover and the positions of them to try to make things seem more set out. Stories on the right hand side are aligned to the right where the left hand side is aligned to the left. I removed one story on the cover about the artist in the picture and substituted it for a headline above the masthead. This is in the center of the magazine and is eye catching. It is like the iamge and is only a teaser as you don't know much about the artist in the picture from the front cover.

With the image I put a glow around the artist. This is because a glow is often associated with an angel and the artist has his arms out like a religious figure so adding the glow makes him seem like a 'saviour' and also makes the audience know he is important. I have also added a shadown to the bottom of the artist to make the image seem less photoshopped than it orignally appeared before. There is only a small amount of grass around the artist and it is hardly sprouting up, this simplises new life and a new beginning for the artist.

I have kept the masthead font as Hard Rock but have changed the font at the bottom to Fucked Plate. Both of these fonts are inkeeping with the cover and also the hard rock theme of the magazine. The stroke around the Fucked Plate font is blue and it is hard to make out in comparison to the other fonts. I wanted it to remain blue because the image is on a cliff near the sea so the blue defines the sea of Norfolk. It also means people spend longer looking at the font trying to work out what it says, meaning they take an interest in your magazine and there could be a higher chance of them buying it.

Compared to my other attempt the difference with this one is that the artist is more central on the cover. In comparison with the new headline he is pretty mcuh in alignment which means your eyes are drawn in to both the artist and the headline.

Music Magazine, Uprising Final Masterhead design

I chose to use Hard Rock as the font for my Uprising Masthead. I chose this font because it keeps in tone with the magazine's type of music genre audience. The font itself is quite easy to make out when at a large size, which being one of the main features on my cover is definitely going to be large. Some parts of the letters are missing which works well because often in the rock world it is not all glitz and glamour, it is not always 100% which this title is not. This means that relates to the niche market of rock fans it is aimed at, it won't be appealing so much to a classical music fan.

The reason I chose a dark blue stroke behind the masthead is that the cover's main image is set on Old Hunstanton cliffs which are by the coast. With the main article being around a returning artist to the area I felt making it blue would symbolise the sea, because the image of the sea on the cover is in black and white.

I think this is effective and appealing.

Music Magazine, Front Cover 2nd Attempt

From my first attempt I have not changed the front cover too much. I have kept the image as it was though editing the colour slightly by levelling it as it had a red filter over it which came from the camera I had used.

I have mainly changed the stories on the front of my magazine cover and the positions of them to try to make things seem more set out. Stories on the right hand side are aligned to the right where the left hand side is aligned to the left. I removed one story on the cover about the artist in the picture and substituted it for a headline above the masthead. This is in the center of the magazine and is eye catching. It is like the iamge and is only a teaser as you don't know much about the artist in the picture from the front cover.

With the image I put a glow around the artist. This is because a glow is often associated with an angel and the artist has his arms out like a religious figure so adding the glow makes him seem like a 'saviour' and also makes the audience know he is important. I have also added a shadown to the bottom of the artist to make the image seem less photoshopped than it orignally appeared before. There is only a small amount of grass around the artist and it is hardly sprouting up, this simplises new life and a new beginning for the artist.

I have kept the masthead font as 'Hard Rock' but have changed the font at the bottom to 'Fucked Plate'. Both of these fonts are inkeeping with the cover and also the hard rock theme of the magazine. The stroke around the 'Fucked Plate' font is blue and it is hard to make out in comparison to the other fonts. I wanted it to remain blue because the image is on a cliff near the sea so the blue defines the sea of Norfolk. It also means people spend longer looking at the font trying to work out what it says, meaning they take an interest in your magazine and there could be a higher chance of them buying it.

Compared to my other attempt the difference with this one is that the artist is less centered. He is more to the left, how he was on the original cover.

Shinedown's new album, not shining so brightly!

Today American Rock band Shinedown released their deluxe version of their hit album, The Sound of Madness. Previous deluxe albums have had 25 tracks on them with this only having 20, so for the Jacksonville boys they really need to make sure this album is worth the loss of 5 tracks.

Shinedown are a 9 year old band, formed mainly by lead singer Brent Smith they have stormed the US by due to the limitations of their record company, Atlantic Records have struggled in the UK. This is due to album only being sold as digital downloads with a hard copy not easy, or cheap to get hold of in this country.

Atlantic Records have some big people on their books; James Blunt, Phil Collins and 3OH!3 are all big artists that have signed with them. It seems that Atlantic pushes some artists more than others in the UK. Being over 6o years old it is not a new label, in fact it is owned by Time Warner, a very powerful media company.

Shinedown admit themselves they are a 'grass roots' band and that The Sound of Madness was the only one of their 3 albums to get real exposure in the UK, so this deluxe album should be good.

Sadly, this is not the case. The 'new' album actually only contains 3 genuinely new tracks with, 3 already being re

leased during this year and the rest from the original album. They new pull version of, The Cro

w and the Butterfly is a complete shambles compared to the original music. The background mus

ic to the vocals sounds like a bad hip hop track conjoined with a dance track.

It's not all doom and gloom with the album, Breaking Inside featuring Lzzy Hale from Halestorm is a breath of fresh air to a now out-dated set of songs. Her vocals add a new edge to the track with a different sort of flow to whole set out of the track. The first 14 tracks are amazing, I can't take that away from the 4 piece band, but these have been around since 2007 and it is time they did themselves justice.

I am a big Shinedown fan, owning every song and album they have released but will admit that this album feels rushed. It doesn't seem fair to the fans to chuck on a few tracks which many true fans would have already purchased previousley in the year. This does not compare to the true shock of them to ruin one of their best songs, I think that will remain a mystery.

In my honest opinion, it's worth just buying the new version of Breaking Inside, and saving your money for the eventual release of their 4th album.

This review is for the UK version, not the American version including DVD.

Picture Source: http://itunes.apple.com/us/preorder/the-sound-of-madness/id404058000

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/252/4022918.png

Taylor Swift at the Teen Awards

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Can modern day media make more music known?

Jon Curtis is probably to many people just someone who sings on the corridors of the London Underground, maybe an annoyance to passers by, or he could be that one talent lurking in the shadows who really needs to be unleashed.

The London underground is often busy with people coming and going but through stations such as Picadilly Circus and Leicster Square you hear the brilliant talent of Jon Curtis, with a sign that simply says; "Jon Curtis, Like Facebook iTunes" manages to get himself well known. When passing through these stations the music echoes around the stations and once you get down to find the the artist playing this you see the sign advertising this. People don't really have the time to stop and listen completely but seeing this sign you go home and search into his music. His Facebook fan page has 2232 fans, and a reasonably priced album for £3.95 obviousley something is working.

Jon has one numerous awards for his musical work but can he manage to get any further than the London Underground? I personally hope he can, he just needs to find the right record company to take him on and I feel he could go far.

The Two Apples Combine...Finally!

What a suprise, cash stricken EMI makes a bumper deal with iTunes to finally sell The Beatles' records on their music store. Weeks after Terra Firma lost their multi-million court case iTunes announces the sales of every album from this Livepudlian band. Every album is priced at £10.99 with individual singles costing 99p.

It's hard to see which Beatles fan will want to buy all this when they've likely to have already bought all the back issues of the albums on Cd and just burnt them on their computer. This might be a big step for iTunes and EMI but it isn't like people haven't been downloading Beatles tracks already, sites such as Pirate Bay offer the complete collection, but they didn't make a big fuss about adding them to their listings.

There is another offer for big Beatles fans, you can purchase an 'online box set' of the Beatles for only £125. It seems that The Beatles might be trying to save EMI once more. Apple built up the fact The Beatles would be on their music store earlier in the week, with all the albums going on sale 20 minutes before the expected time of 3pm.

When going onto the iTunes store the homepage immediately flashes up with The Beatles, unlike normal iTunes viewing there is no advertisement for 'App of the week' like usual, instead there are nice neat boxes all containing pictures of the 60s rockers. Clicking on them sends you straight to a page about The Beatles; of which straight away advertises the £125 box set straight away.

There are some key questiosn that really need to be answered about this subject; is this an attempt from EMI to make The Beatles save them once more? How well will the sales actually do? And lastly; has this been in the pipeline for a while, or has it come to that time of year again where a desperate EMI looks for some cash flow to help balance the books?

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/nov/16/beatles-albums-launch-itunes

BBC Teen Awards - Not Worth It

The BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards took place yesterday at the HMV Apollo Theatre in Hammersmith London. Many big faces turned out for the event which is dedicated to teenagers from the ages of 14 to 17. Such 'star' performers included; JLS. Taylor Swift, Professor Green, The Wanted and Katy Perry.

The crowd was full of screaming girls idolising over people they really knew little about. There were about 4000 mad teens in attendance. The awards were overshadowed by the celebs there, many people on stage trying to speak where unable to be heard because of the blood curdling screams from the crowd. It seemed every girl there was a mirror image of the one to her left or right, all in skirts or dresses and taking pictures on either a Blackberry or an iPhone.

I myself was at the award ceremony and from past experience at gigs felt the crowd to be rather unpleasant with girls punching and kicking to try to get a look at the 'fit' boys on stage. The music was drowned out from screaming or tone deaf girls singing along obviously unaware of pitch or a key. The best part for me was when Tinchy Stryder came out on stage to present an award, the music was not of the best quality and the bands were not for me. I ended up leaving during the chorus of Love Story by Taylor Swift. Looking back on it I wasted money going to an awards show where no one cared about the sensitivity of the awards, and was only interested in seeing their idols and screaming their faces off!

Music Magazine, Double Page Spread Layout

This is the basic layout for both of my double spread page, pages. The one on the left is the page which will contain my article. It has a conventional title and will then have a start of an article as I won't be able to fit an entire article onto my double page spread because on the other page I will be having an entire page devoted to the artist I write my article on.

On the other page I intended to have an image of the artist I will write my article on. There will also be a quote from the artist. These are both conventional themes in music magazines. When doing magazine research I discovered that NME sets out many of their double page spreads this way.

When I create both of these pages I will be making them as two seperate A4 pages because it is easier to see where the spine of the magazine would be and that way you don't have parts of the other page carrying over onto the other page.

Music Magazine, Contents Basic Layout

This is the layout for my music magazine contents page. On it I have included all the usual things you expect to see on a contents page such as images and details of articles but I have also taken ideas from other magazines such as NME.

In NME I noted that they had an advertising space for themselves, so in my contents page I have put a space for an advert, this advert will be in keeping of music.

The images and text are for the things that don't occur often in my magazien and I would want to publisise more as these as these are more important than other stories.

I have a list at the bottom of the page for the others articles that I would print, things that often occur in my magazine.

For my first contents page attempt I will expand on my layout.

Front Cover Images

I have now decided on the 2 images I wish to use for the front cover of my music magazine; Uprising. This includes the main image of a music artist and also the background image on the front cover.

The image of the artist I chose to use because it is mainly different. In the shops a lot of magazines have the same idea when it comes to the cover, an artist facing the front and taking up the entire page, but this image is more unconventional. The artist to start with isn't facing the camera so that means you don't know who it is, so it can make you want to read on and find out who it is. The way he is positioned, with his arm out in a cross ca

n denote a religious figure, which then putting him on the cliff top can make it seem like he has been sent by God. The clothes the artist is in are very normal because he's just a normal guy who made something for himself, this way it relates to the audience showing that anyone can make it in life.

The background image I chose to use is from Hunstanton Cliffs. I felt that the cliffs are good to use because of their positioning and what they can connote. The view from

the cliffs appears to be endless which could give someone the idea that the artist's music won't end. The cliffs are also up high and near the sea so positioning the artist on the edge of the cliffs, meaning the height adds a meaning of power and also with the sea makes it seem like he is coming out to the world about how good his music is.

I think combining these 2 images works well because the position helps compliment the cliff edge, together it makes it seem like he could possibly have been put there by God because of the cliffs and the sea seeming endless.

In later images used on my front cover the artist has been levelled out in Photoshop and the cliffs have been zoomed in on one specific area and turned to black and white.

Guy's a goner

After weeks of accusations in the media by Terra Firma about the handling of their purchase of EMI back in 2007, Citigroup have won the court case.

With Terra Firma buying EMI for £4 Billion even though it's worth £1.8 Billion they wanted £5 Billion, though reduced to £1.5 Billion at trial. Though now it seems the tables have turned. With Terra Firma losing the court case they could have to relinquish EMI to Citigroup after £2.6 Billion in loans to Terra Firma.

Guy can't claim that it was just a quick decision as it took more than 4 hours over 2 days for the jurors to deliberate their verdict.

The shame is that neither side has come out of this looking brilliant and the truth is that reputations for both have obviousley gone done ever since the suing in December 2009.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/04/guy-hands-citigroup-claim-fails

Picture Source: http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2009/12/12/news/photos_stories/cropped/025_guy_hands--300x300.jpg

Music Magazine, Double Page Spread Attempt 2 (Right Hand side)

I have now edited my first attempt at a double page spread. I have resized the image and moved a portion of it off the page. I have also made the image mid shot which means it is a more zoomed in image of the artist which means it is clearer to make out who he is. This is important as it is the first main look at the artist because on the front cover he has his backto the audience meaning this is the first opportunity to have a look at him.

The quote that I have originally had has been cut down to make it shorter so it is easier to read. It is quite important around the sense of the article on the other double page spread.

In the bottom corner is a small caption which just enforces the fact this is Arron's new career attempt.

I am happy with this effort now so I will improve it once more then go onto the other double page spread.

Terra Firma and the case with Citigroup

Terra Firma are a private equaty firm who in 2007 looked into the prospects of buying EMI. Labelled "Project Dice" many at Terra Firma probably wish they could re-roll teh dice with this one as the purchase of EMI is considerred to be one of the worst in history.

Back in 2007 when Terra Firma bought EMI they paid £4 Billion for a company estimated at £1.8 Billion, with the mistake costing Terra Firma billions and their reputation founder of the company Guy Hands wanted some sort of compensation.

There were 2 main factors that Terra Firma didn't know that caused them to put in such a high figure they ultimately blame the bank Citigroup for. Hands claims that Terra Firma didn't realise that EMI were in such a bad state. The fact EMI are in such a bad state is one of the causes that means Terra Firma are struggling with their own business as well as EMI. Though EMI has people on the books such as Katy Perry, Robbie Williams and Iron Maiden they still struggle financially making huge losses. Terra Firma are trying to come up with ideas to sort this problem such as making a deal with Warner Music but the original purchase has cost them dearly.

Citigroup the bank that were setting up the deal to sell EMI are reported as being kept up to date with buyers in the running, yet Terra Firma were not aware Ceberus, a private equity company who were going to make a 2 stage big with Warner Music, had pulled out. In the courts this week Terra Firma's lawyer David Boies claims that Citigroup were hungry for money. Another claim was that Citigroup's Mr Wormsley told Mr Hands that Cerberus were to make an offer, if Citigroup are found to be guilty it could cost them a cool £5 Billion.

With the jurers off to make their decision the story continues.

Sources: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/8108689/Terra-Firma-and-Citi-lawyers-close-arguments-in-EMI-case.html

http://www.economist.com/node/17314604

Picture Source: http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2009/12/12/news/photos_stories/cropped/025_guy_hands--300x300.jpg

EMI - Electric & Musical Industries

EMI are one of the big 4 record companies along with; Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. A lot of big artists are signed with EMI, people like Robbie Williams and Katy Perry being key artists.

EMI has a list of these set up on their website for you to view, it sends you directly to the band's website, that's if they have one. Their website is quite a good way for their signed artists to get publicity because they put news on their website about their artists in a running newsfeed. Looking at the news it is bias towards their acts, obviousley they aren't going to slander themselves but thing likes Katy Perry getting cut from Sesame Street for being 'too low cut' doesn't feature on the site. There is immediate evidence of them being bias towards themselves when they talk about EMI Music. "EMI Music is one of the world's leading music companies, home to some of the most succesful and best known recording artists." When EMI describe their acts with that statement it shows why people would want to get signed to such a big and famous record company. The website itself seems rather basic, but the EMI logo in the top corner is what matters, for in media the simple use of a logo can mean more than an actual products capability. eg. The Apple iPad isn't the best in the market but the Apple logo makes people want it. The website works well as many of their stories are cross media, so Gorillaz working with Microsoft and Katy Perry on YouTube. The colours of the website also work well, red and black on a white background is simplistic but easy to see, so people will read the website.

The artists aren't all big names, there are quite a few artists that not many people would have heard of if they didn't listen outside of the Top 40. EMI is very much for the mass market, it has a range of genres signed to it's company, from Metal to Afro Beat. There is a page on the website showing all artists but on the homescreen to the left is a column and in that are the names of EMI's biggest selling artists and most popular, clicking on the tag then takes you to a bit of EMI's website where you see all the latest news about that artist. A lot of artists are with a record label which is under the EMI Label, such as The Beatles with Apple Records. The artists and EMI work together to publicise each other, EMI has massive pieces about a popular artist on their website and the artist has the EMI logo on their Cd. It seems unfair for EMI but when you think more people buy a Cd of an EMI act than people looking at the EMI website it seems to be fairer.

My favourite EMI artist is Iron Maiden, I'm not a huge Maiden fan but I very much like them. When I purchased their new album I bought it from iTunes and so didn't see the actual Cd and only looking back on iTunes today realised it says that this copyright of sound is owned by EMI Ltd. I think EMI will be losing out on publicity on acts now the internet is bigger for music sales, the part that mentioned EMI on iTunes was on a readmore so you don't immediately see it. I don't think the rise of downloads will affect EMI too much due to the fact they still make money from their big selling acts and EMI being a well known name artists will still want to sign to them.

Picture Source: http://routenote.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/emi-logo.png

Music Magazine, Double Page Spread Attempt 1 (Right Hand side)

For my first double page spread page I have decided to use the entire page for an image of my artist who is on the front of my cover. It is a first chance for the audience to get a proper look at who is in the magazine and from his stance against a faded brick wall you can tell the kind of person he is going to be.

The image is trying to show that the artist is relaxed and he is a laid backed, chilled out kind of guy.

So there is some information to go along with the picture I have included a quote from the artist which relates to the article about him.

I will edit this page by slightly altering the picture's contrast and maybe moving a select part of the picture off the page. I want to change the font on the quote to make it clearer but also to show that the artist is more acoustic rock than heavy grunge.

Uprising on Facebook

I put my second concept idea for Uprising on Facebook.com to getsome feedback on people's thoughts who hadn't completed a questionnaire. I was pleased with the feedback, some posotive and some negative. I hope touse this feedback to help progress my front cover.

Classic Rock Front Cover Review

I am reviewing the front cover as you would see it if you were buying it in the shops. This means that the free Cd is still on the cover.

The large masthead is probably the first thing that catches your eye when you see the front cover. The R and K and bigger in proportion than the O and C which means it is a really eye catching word. This means it can easily attract people from the niche market of Rock music because it's in big bold letters at the top. The word Classic might be ahead of it in the name but the fact it is much smaller and almost perched in the top of the masthead means it's more extra information, to then add the edge that it's older Rock. Being called Classic Rock and having it in big letters it can appeal to the older generation, instead of current Rock bands like Shinedown you are looking at things like Black Sabbath or ZZ Top.

Just above the masthead is a small red bubble mentioning a free Cd. Free is in big capital white letters, people are often drawn into something if it is free so this is an important thing to have on the front.

The free Cd is risen off the page slightly so it immediately makes you grab that part of the magazine. The design on the album cover is important to keep in with the music theme else not it loses the design that the cover already tries to portray. Apart from black there are 3 main colours used on this cover, green, blue and red. These all are different from the colours on the rather simplistic main cover. They are eye catching because Classic Rock's selling point can often be the free gift. The colours work well together and with a picture of a skull being central and then green leaves round the outside it reminds you of death. The colours take away the sadness death usually holds with people and just makes you think of proper hard Rock 'n' Roll.

The main feature on the cover is unsual for a magazine as it doesn't contain a picture of any artist within the magazine. Instead it features a gold computerised symbol which is there to show the greatest 150 debut albums. Gold is a key colour because it often means; class, wealth or style, which goes hand in hand with being great or classic. The black behind the main focal point makes the gold stand out even more. The gloss effect of the cover also makes the gold shimmer in the light. This magazine cover tries to actually make itself seem classic and classy.

The only extra information is tucked away at the bottom, this means it doesn't affect any of the focal point on the main image but you still get left with the important information.

This cover is rather simple but contains everything you need to know without the cover become overloaded and looking too busy to read.

"Contents October 2010 Issue 150" - Classic Rock Contents Page Analysis

When you look at this page it is very bright colours and a vibrant picture of Ozzy Osbourne is very noticeable next to a white column filled with red and black text.

The picture is very vintage but it has vibrant colours and Ozzy's skin tone is very rosy pink which shows a lot of life in this picture. This portayal of life also goes well in connection he is 'living life' and at the same time giving himself a tattoo in the image. Ozzy has very open eyes and his jaw is wide open too, it really shows experience and makes the picture feel more alive than just being a vintage shot. There is a small caption at the right of the shot which talks about Ozzy's greatest album to date, this makes you want to read on and then discuss your own opinion compared to theirs. The image really sums up Classic Rock because Ozzy is often called the 'Godfather of Heavy Metal' but many recognise him with the Rock world so it is a perfect first image to use in the magazine to keep the audience interested.

The information for the contents is actually split into 2 pages, this contents page gives the details of the more key features that you will only find in this issue. There are 6 main chunks of texts that all give detail on what is in the main magazine with the numbers in red and then the title of the paragraph in bold black. The information isn't too necessary as the bold text can be enough for someone to then read on, but it gives you that extra bit of information you might wish to know.

At the bottom there is then a special mention for the cover story. It is already discussed up the top of the page but that feels more formal than this piece at the bottom. It seems more like a headline but within the contents page so even there, the front cover has an impact upon the audience.

"Greatest Debuts" - Classic Rock Double Page Spread Analysis

With this double page spread you notice that there is 3 main sections; a small column to the left with great debut albums, a Jimi Hendrix article and then an article on the album "Mr. Tambourine Man" by the Byrds.

Looking at the first column you notice that the background colour is a pale green with the album's name being in red and everything else in a black font. There are small pictures of the different album covers and then a small chunk of information on them. There are only 5 to the column which means it's not a long list and are small little bits of text to read away from the main articles. I think these work well because if you have just read an entire article you want some short text to break up the long haul of words so you don't get bored. The fonts work well to separate out the different bits of text, both the artist's name and the album name are in capitals so you can tell them apart. The album's name is in red as for this article it is more important. The other nice thing about these are that you can think, "Oh I had that album." This then makes you think about listening to the music mentioned so it really gets you thinking.

The middle chunk spreads out of both pages, the article being on the right page and an image of Jimi Hendrix on the left. The image is a black and white one but is very detailed. The entire image isn't shown but due to his fame and the small captions at the bottom it is easy to recognise who it is. The picture looks very innocent and an honest man. There is also half a vinyl disc at the bottom with a quote from Pete Townshend, this adds to the picture to back up how important Jimi Hendrix is. As there is a big image and a couple of quotes and notes surrounding the image you can already tell that Classic Rock believe this to be an important debut album as he has the majority of the double page spread.

You are caught to the text with a big capital B which is there to make sure you look at the article and don't skim past it. The text is in a long column but easily broke up into paragraphs, each adding to the one before it. The paragraphs detail a small history surrounding the time period that the album was released, the information isn't too in depth and gives you enough to be intrigued with the album. I think the style is good as it also includes some personal opinions from the writer but there's a good chunk of interesting history about the album and how it set Jimi Hendrix on the path to fame.

The last article has a pale green background like the first and a black and white image at the top. The album cover is shown to the right and immediately you pick up on the quote in the middle which is in a crimson font and also the 'Did you know?' bubble to the side of the page. These catch your eyes straight away so you go to read them and are immediately in the centre of the article and eager to read on.

The article's text starts like the Hendrix one with a big capital B to also catch attention but the article is slightly different. This one is set out like an interview but without any questions, instead the interview tells the story and then after bits of speech there are small bits of history which don't over analyse the text which has gone before it.

I think this is a good double page spread because of the colours, the 2 pale green pieces don't look fixed to the page so it doesn't seem to bogged down, and if you could imagine it as reality the page would be light and airy. There might be a lot of text but the spacing out and colours don't make it a daunting task to read it all.

NME Front Cover Analysis

This cover seems to have a lot going on when you look at it, the front cover seems busy with a mixture of coloured fonts, a masthead and a sadistic looking man in the background.

The fonts and colours stand out a lot on this front cover, a use of Red, Light Blue and White stand out well against the dark background. These colours are quite innocent, with the line reading; "I've got a right to tell my story" as though this person has been silenced for a period of time. A main use of the colours on this cover would be to really catch your eye. The words Carl Barat are in big capital letters and have a light shadow behind them. This helps to bring the letters out into the foreground more and show that NME have an important interview inside. These 2 words also stretch across the entire page meaning they are very hard to miss. The text seems very unorganised and different things are thrust across the page with fonts that don't seem to keep in any type of pattern. Bits of the stories at the side cover Carl Barât's hair which also makes the cover seem messy.

The image behind the text is very bold, you are drawn into Carl Barât's face immediately and especially his eyes which seem to have an angry glazed look on them. The background of the image is fazed out and so too is his jumper and neck, with his face being the only part of the picture not distorted in some way. His skin tone is very dull which helps draw you into his blue eyes which are in some ways mesmorising. The fact the eyes are at eye level when you look at the magazine could have a sort of hypnotic effect where you then want to have a look and see what is in this issue. Or this is what NME hope for, the cover is overloaded with text and a blurry picture which distorts your eyes. The cover might draw you in but when you actually try to look at the information it is rather hard to concentrate on one specific area as there is so much on the cover.

I personally don't really like this cover as I find it is very jammed with information and if it was a bit simpler would be more effective at making me want to read inside. The cover might have eyes that draw you in but the surroundings are too full with text which makes the cover seem overloaded.

"Inside This Week" 25/09/2010 - NME Contents Analysis

When you look straight away at the contents page you notice that there are many different colours and these all come from sperate images on the contents page. The images are all the same size except one image which is noticeably larger which is because it is a main story in the magazine, this is good for NME because what they want to be key focus of the reader's time can be because they have a large image publiscing it. Everything is noticeably spread out and incomplete boxes help to also seperate stories so nothing is overlapping or too confusing to the reader. This is a good method to use because it means you know which picture relates to which piece of text.

The text itself is split up with different fonts that relate to the pictures on the contents page. They all have their very own quote with them and then the quote is in a more stand out font that the writing below which gives extra information about the article that the image relates to. The quotes give the audience a small isnite into the kind of article it will probably be, about how the artist talks and what kind of artist it is that NME are chatting to.

A feature I really like from this contents page is the fact there is no numerical order to the contents, NME order the images to their importance, then put their page number in a white box in the bottom right handside. This makes the contents feel more open and less like a list, meaning there is more chance you will read it, thereby making sure you read more articles.

In a small gap in the bottom is a very small column labelled, 'Plus' which contains a maximum of 3 words per line and a page number relating to it. This is because this is regular stuff to magazine, this is helpful to save space and it also reduces any kind of long list you oftenly see in a contents page.

On and ending note NME manage to sneak in a cheeky little advert for themselves in the bottom right corner. The background colour of this is red, which is a very eyecatchign colour meaning people will more than likely look at this after looking at the images. The writing is large and white so it stands out. The slogan reads; "WANT TO GET NME FOR THE BEST PRICE POSSIBLE?" This is brilliant way to advertise as people start to think of money they will be saving on this £2.30 magazine. Then in much smaller font it offers a subscribtion. I think the advert in the corner is very well done because when a magazine has a subscription on an entire page you often skim past it if you aren't interested.

"Carl Takes Aim" - NME Double Page Spread Analysis

As soon as you look at this double page spread you are straight away drawn into the larger than life picture of Carl Barât holding a gun. This picture really sets the tone for the double page spread on offer, something trying to be rebelious and edgey.

The picture of Carl Barât is taken at such an angle that the gun is distorted and you immediately catch hold of a set of demonic and possesive eyes just behind the gun. The picture is also accompanied by a small quote, which without reading the rest of the article you have to presume comes from Carl Barât. The quote reads; "IT WOULDN'T WORK IF THERE WEREN'T FRICTIONS - IT'S THE FUCKING LIBERTINES". This quote helps to back up the image NME are trying to portray with the image of Carl Barât being all rebelious and a bit of an anarchist. Even in writing "fucking" is still pretty strong language that shows to the reader that this guy has some attitude.

The colours of the picture are rather bland, the black on the leather jacket Carl wheres isn't a dark black so it makes the whole picture seemed very chilled out, and Barât kind of looks like he is on drugs. White often means purity and though there is a cream in this picture it works in a total irony of the fact he is carrying a pistol in a gangster style way. The picture is really quite important for the double page spread and relating articles as it gives you an idea of the kind of man Carl Barât is even if you don't know anything about him.

The opposite page has over half the page taken up with a massive title that just says; "CARL TAKES AIM". This obviousley has more meaning to the fact that Carl Barât has a gun in the picture opposite but relates to the fact he has just completed a solo album.

Before reading into the article there is a sub-headline which gives a small bit of detail about what the article will be about. Then you notice 2 capital letters, a W and a T which show the start of new paragraphs or a lead on in the story of Carl Barât. I think these are good because it helps to break up the article meaning people won't feel too sufficated with the length of the article.

When you get into the actual article is starts in the middle of a story that Carl Barât is telling. I find the article to be rather dull as after Carl says something there seems to be a narational piece where it is then described about what Carl's just said. I find this to be rather boring as there aren't really questions asked it's just someone putting everything into an explanatory list which is disguised within a paragraph.

I like the picture idea, though the actual picture I would have differently but I don't think the article is that great.

Music Magazine Questionnaire

When I was thinking about my music magazine I decided it was a good idea to do a questionnaire. To start off with some basic thoughts from people I used a sample of 10 teenagers to fill in my first attempt at a questionnaire as to gain some knowledge on people's thoughts about music magazines.

My first question was about people's age, I wanted to find out the age of the people I was asking, 80% were 16 or over which was my ideal age range, with 1 person being 11 or 12 and one other being 15. It was good to ask people 15, 16 and over as my magazine is very much a teenage aimed magazine. One person asked was not a teenager, this is good also as it means that I can find out opinions from other age ranges.

My second question was really about music genres, I feel my magazine is a very much aimed at a the market of Rock, Alternative or even Metal so it is important many people like this. As you can see from the bar graph only 3 people weren't big fans of these 3

genres.

Questions 3 and 4 were very much linked, as question3 asked about how often people read music magazines. Of the people asked a poor 60% said they never read music magazines which then gave limited answers to question 4.

I feel question 4 was too open as it askde what music magazines people read, there were a wide variety. What I could see though was that people that liked the Metal genre read magazines relating to that market and same with people who read Pop magazines.

Question 5 was an important question as it asked about what attracted people to music magazines. The cover and the articles were the 2 most selected things people purchased a music magazine for. The other things people looked at were price and prizes.

I think that this question will be a big help in how I sculpt my music magazien as it shows that most people look for these 2 things to be good quality in a music magazine.

Question 6 wasn't too important for me with my cover as I won't actually be selling my magazine but I want it to be as authentic as possible, so having a price people like to pay adds to the look of the magazine. Most people said £1 to £2.99 was ok, at the moment my magazine is priced at £3.99 so I might decide to bring the price of this down.

Question 7 is very much like question 5, it asked what peoples' favourite part of a music magazine was. Most people said either the articles, cover or free gift. This again backs up the fact I have to write the articles well and put a lot of attention into the front cover.

With Question 8 I had a selection of 4 covers; Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, NME and then my Uprising and asked people their favourite with question 9 asking reasons for this.

The equal winner for the most preferred covers were Classic Rock and Uprising. Reasons were that these covers were not overpacked and that the colours worked well.

For my final question I asked people to say what they would change about my cover, Uprising. Some people said to slightly enhance the colours on it and change the font type and size for some bits.

I think these answers can be quite helpful as I know what to base my magazine ideas around and try hard to think about what is important in a music magazine.

Music Magazine, Front Cover 1st Attempt

I think my first attempt keeps to my layout quite a bit, I have made sure that I have kept to the layout. Looking at my magazine I can easily say that it is rather unconventional compared to normal magazines.

The masthead acts as a logo as well as a normal magazine title. I used the font HARD ROCK which I downloaded from www.dafont.com. I think the title works really well as it makes the magazine look grungy which is good for a rock magazine. The title is rather large which means that it is very eye-catching. I used a dark blue tint behind the lettering so it stands out well and it often signifies calm things, and that is what the colour does. It helps to reinforce the sea, which is in the background but is in black and white.

The puff at the bottom is also written in HARD ROCK but I think I will substitute this for the font, Fucked Plate. I think the fonts I use are important as they need to show anarchy because this is a rock magazine. I want to substitute the font at the bottom because I think that it is quite hard to understand.

The main image is of someone standing with his back to the camera and arms out. This is unconventional for a music magazine as usually the artist is facing the audience, but having him facing away means the reader will want to go on and read to find out more because they know limited information about the artist. Also the pose he is in is reminiscent of Jesus, so it makes him seem very important. An important feature to note is that the artist is on top of a cliff facing out to the sea, it signifies coming out to the world and showing that he is here and important. He is high up when on the cliff so it shows power and importance. The green around his feet is there to show new life, green often symbolises this and this is a new artist so it shows that he is important and new.

The stories to the side of the main image I think work well as they fit around the image, I think I will edit the stories as some of them would be better for being different entirely. The font I am using for those at the moment is quite standard so I am going to change that for a different font which would work well for my niche market of rock music.

If I had to say 2 things I liked about my magazine it would be the main image as it's different so it would be more noticeable if in the shops. Another feature I like is the title, I think the downloaded font works really well to show what type of music genre this magazine is aimed at.

A couple of things I think I could improve upon would be the font at the bottom, to make it easier to understand but keep in mind the grungy look I am going for with the front cover. I would also change the shading of the black and white behind, I think I want to change the contrasts on the image just to make sure I get the perfect colours.

I like my magazine cover but will be expanding on it some more.

Music Magazine, Front Cover Basic Layout

This is my basic layout for my Music Magazine.

I have very much sectioned things out and have tried to keep things simple with a simple layout. I don't want everything too overlapping so have kept it at this stage very block layout, though in my magazine it won't all be in squares of information.

The Masthead is one of the most important features to do, it has to be very eye catching and I want mine to be a mix between a logo and a Masthead, so when people see this Masthead they recognise the fact that it relates to my magazine.

Under my Masthead I want a title for my magazine, this will relate to the main image I choose on the front of my magazine cover. I might decide to substitute the headline for a puff at the bottom of the page that gives extra detail about my magazine or put what my image relates to in a piece of text to the side of the image so people then have to buy and ultimately read the magazine to find out what it means.

My image is in the center of my magazine, this is because I want it to be the focus of my cover and to show that whoever is on the cover is quite important. I haven't decided on an image yet but I have a few ideas.

The text on the front cover will relate to what is in the magazine, there will be small amounts of information so that the readers want to read on to find out other stories.

For the moment I plan to have the barcode at the top right corner near the Masthead but think that I will move this to the bottom because the barcode is not at all an attractive item on the cover and the sole purpose of the cover is to attract the audience into buying your magazine over another one.

In the next week or so I plan to expand on my front cover with a few different ideas before deciding on a final one. This could include a change in image used and stories.

Magazine Name

I just don't want it stolen so I'm Blogging it! UPRISING! A magazine for new artists breaking through the ranks!

OMG EMI, Bad Day at the office

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23884534-bad-day-blur-photographer-sues-emi-after-cleaners-bin-archive-collection.do

Write piece on this

School Magazine Cover Finished

This is my final version of my school magazine cover. It has changed since my original concepts quite drastically, each atttempt I have done I have made it look more like a magazine at each stage and that is why each change seems so diffrent to the last. With this cover I did it all on Adobe Photoshop which means that the clarity of the cover is much better than before.

There were many stages to my magazine cover, I started off by taking a high angled mid shot of a student outside the front of the school. I then took this image to Photoshop and made it black and white. I wanted both the student and the school to be key things on the front cover so then copied the colour from the original image so the image appeared to be layered and these things then stood out from the page more effectively.

I imported my logo onto the cover as this was a key feature for my magazine, and because this in itself is eye catching I put it next to my masthead in the top left corner. I then put a stroke around it in the colour white, with a 7 point thickness, so that is stood out against the background and was legible.

The text on my cover was done in 2 fonts, Cooper Std and Marker Felt. The different parts of the cover were done in different font sizes depending on how important the text was. I wanted the text colours to be blue then red every other word to follow suit with the school colours, but this was hard to read against the red colour of the school door, so to sort this problem out I put strokes of white around the words as well as my logo. I used different size strokes to corispond with size of the text, the smaller the font size the smaller the stroke.

Some things that I have done in my school magazine I can help use for my music magazine, in my music magazine I will also have colour main images upon a black and white background to help focus the audience's attention. I will also consider using stroke around the text on my page so I can easily see the text and lastly will also use a big logo for my music magazine so I can cathc people's attention wuickly and easily.

Another post will appear showing ste by step account of how I created my front cover.

The Presidential Pod

With music downloading very big across the globe it's only right to find out that United States President Barack Obama has his own iPod and there are a few key artists dominating it.

Obama said that he used to have American rapper Jay-Z on his iPod until recently. Jay-Z is a multi award winning artist signed to Roc Nation, a music production Jay-Z helped come up with alongside its parent company, Live Nation. Though now Jay-Z doesn't dominate the Nobel Peace prize winning President's iPod.

Instead Obama likes to listen to a bit of Nas and Lil Wayne and is starting to get his daughters into his music taste, he said it's nice to see them 'hipping to things'.

Nas is an American rapper signed to Columbia Records, a part of Sony Entertainment, he has ironically had a feud with Jay-Z, someone who Obama has kicekd off his iPod on favour of Nas.

Lil Wayne is a Grammy Award winning American rapper who is signed to Young Money music label, Obama said that his "rap palette had greatly improved". With Barack Obama saying whose on his iPod is it only a matter of time before David Cameron admits to having Wham, Elton John and Chico on his iPod?

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/11434229
Picture Source: http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/4obama20final20ipod20copy_2.jpg

Contents Page Mock Up for School Magazine

This is the mock up for my contents page of my school magazine. On it I have included all the usual things you expect to see on a contents page such as the page numbers and details of articles but I have also taken ideas from other magazines such as NME.

In NME I noted that they had a cheeky advertising space for themselves, so in my contents page I have put a space for an advert, this advert would be appropriate for a school magazine so I would probably put an advert from something around the school, like I could advertise a school disco or event that I wanted to help raise money. This could be one way of making mass market and also using a cross media technique because I could incorporate maybe something musical around the school which is happening.

I have a list in the middle of the page for the main articles that I want to print, things that don't often occur in my magazine, such as a key article like a fire. Then for things that appear regularly in my school magazine I will have them in a small box of extra things in the top corner. I will then have images to show the kind of things in my articles. The colours will be red writing on a white background so it's simple and eye-catching.