Coursework- Completed

After all that time, I have finally finished working on the pages.

Three Pages: Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread

Audience Feedback

After I have finished working on all three pages, I wanted to find out what the potential customers would think about the product. As the result, I have asked for students from the school to comment and give thie feedback on their honest opinion about the pages. I have picked, two males and two female students, to make it more equal, as the magazine would target as customers from both sexes. I have tried to pick students from different age groups, however, it was pretty complicated as only sixth formers would count as the target audience.
I have printed out two sheets, the first one displays all three pages, whilst on the second one, there are couple of questions included, and they are:

1. What do you like about the magazine?

2. What changes could be made?

3. What do you not like about the magazine?

4. How much would you be willing to pay for the product? ( Without looking at the price tag on the front page, which on purpose made small so one could see it)

5. Would you purchase the product?

Other comments...


And this is the feedback that I got from four students, that I have asked:

1. What did you like about the magazine?

• The content is very professionally selected and the pictures on the front is highly eye- catching
• Looks at potentially at good DJ's, that could help to attract the audience
• Vibrant Colour
• Good use of technology- modernised
• The layout is simply which helps to concentrate on the images
• High quality images

2. What changes could be made?

• Place content on one line
• Include more writing on the front page
• A bit more ''summerish'' feeling could be brought, talking more about summer festivals
• Include more text on the double page spread

3. What do you not like about the pages?

• The word contents is seperated
• More information could be brought about future projects
• Too much whits space on the Double page spread

4. How much you willing to pay with you looking at the price?

• The answer has ranged between £3.50-£5.00

5. Would you purchase the product?

Three people have said- Yes, but one person has said- No, due to the fact that she was not interested in this particular genre and also she does not like reading any music magazines in the first place.

It is very pleasing to see that there had been many positive comments said. However, by looking at how the magazine could be improved it would help me in the future, where I could learn from my mistakes.

As the price is high, for a magazine, I was curious to find out how much people would be willing to pay. People have said that they would be willing to pay about five or four pounds, due to the high qulaity of images and useful and interesting content.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms or conventions of real media products?

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms or conventions of real media products?

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How does your media product represent particular social groups?

BPM is vastly aimed at younger generations, at customers between the ages of 16-23. All of the images portray artists and bands from similar age, which helps to attract the audience. The bright colours and bold busy pages attract younger readers because BPM appears to be informal and to a certain extend exciting. The colours and the general layout could also reflect upon the interests of the customers, so it is important to understand what they are intrested in. As the result, I have carried a market research to understand in depth how I can make the product which would directly reflect and represent upin particular social group. As well as the interests, the colours set the general mood of the customer. The reader of the magazine, would not be all of the customers between the ages of 16-23, but be keen on the fashion and music updates. Even though there would little of advertisment to be used in the magazine, the adverts would include winning tickets to the festivals and live show of an artist.

There would rhetorical questions to be used throughout the magazine, to keep the audience not only interested but also participated. The language, the tone and even amount of foul words reflect on the target audience. For example, if my  magazine would be aimed at readers from higher economical class and between the ages 35-50, the articles and language would be more formal and 'educated', but it is not! Any product that is being made, its biggest goal, is to satisfy the customer!

The ratio between the images and text, is pretty equal. As we can see from all three pages, that there is a mass amount of useful text and also images involved aswell. Using the double page spread, as an example, we can see that on the left hand side, there is an 'exclusive' interview with DJ Kolosov, whilst on the opposite side- there is an image of him, which covers nearly a whole page.

During the research which I have done, I have asked both female and male potential 'buyers', as the result, which meant that there would not be any jokes made about opposite sex, and provide infromation that would interest both male and the female. This would bring an idea of equality, as both sexes are interested in the same genre of music.

Taking the information from the statement sheet, the target audience would be the readers aged between 16-23, both sexes, coming from any ethical background and possibly economical background aswell. However, spending four pounds on the magazine every month, can not be afforded by many, which meants that the content, the layout and the images provided would be very interesting to read and to look at.

Overall, the representation of the target audience is very postive and to a certain extend energetic, however, I would not say it is stereotypical. Today, the majority of teenagers would listen to pop music, wheres BPM concentrates on House and Electro.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I do not think that there is a gap in the market, to similar genre which I have created my music magazine. DJ Mag, and Mixmag are the music which also target at readers between the ages of 16-23, which enjoy listening to house and electro music. However, DJ Mag concentrates vastly on the DJ equipment, and there is too much advertisment present whilst Mixmag provides many interviews with artirsts and DJs.

The reason why the company would want to distribute BPM, is due to several factors. Firstly, the price of the magazine is pretty cheap in comparison with the direct competitors (Mixmag and DJ Mag). Secondly, BPM does not only concentrate on music itself, but also include other topics- fashion and a small part of movie industry. Thirdly, and most importantly, the quality of the writting and images would for sure attract a vast amount of audience, as even in the first issue of the magazine, there are interviews with DJ Tiesto and David Guetta, who are one the biggest DJ's on the planet and an exclusive interview with Swedish House Mafia.
Mixmag's distributor is Development Hell Ltd, which is not a known world-wide company, which is a massive marketing disadvantage in order to attract the audience. Bauer Media Group, would be a perfect distributor for BPM, as it already has a massive experience in selling the product successfuly and also profitably.  They distribute other magazines which Q and Kerrang, which concentrate on other music genre's, which means that there would not be overlap present of two magazines, concentrating of the similar genre's.

Below is the background information ,which I have looked at, in order to find out more information about BPM's direct competitors, and what I can possibly do in order to make my product stand out.

Mixmag

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Furthermore, these are the covers of DJ Mag and Mixmag magazine, placed in ordered, as we can see, the front covers are very much a like.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Before making my magazine, I carefully considered my audience.  In my treatment sheet I wrote:

The BPM reader is aged between 16-23, as the magazine vastly concentrates on the genre in the music industry that is becoming more and more popular- House and Electro music. As mentioned, even though the target audience is between 16-23, the magazine could be read by younger/ older generations, as there is no inappropriate language that is being used. Parents of readers will fall into C1/C2 socioeconomic group, as the price of the magazine is quite expensive ( in comparison with other mainstream magazines) due to high quality paper and the depth of the research that had been undertaken by our editors. The magazine would only concentrate on the DJ’s which are famous and well- known in the music industry but also artists that are beginning their career, this would give opportunity to younger generations to promote and establish their music in the industryThe most common reader of BPM would be the person, who is intelligent, caring about their health and able to socialize and communicate with other people well. The slogan of the magazine is simple but gets the message across- ‘Hear the Music, See the Music, Live the Music', which certainly reflects on the target audience of the magazine. Today, the music which people listen does not only reflect upon the mood of the person but also the personality aswell.

Below are the pictures, that had been taken from the computer or online network of my friends, who would most likely to be describes as the target audience for BPM.

This is Alex, as you can see he is very interested in bikes and other adventerous and to a certain extend dangerous sports. His other interesets are socialising with friends, clubbing, and DJing when he has got free time. He is 18 years old, who certainly fits in the in the target audience of BPM magazine.

This is Lukas, another friend of mine who enjoys surfing and wind surfing. Similar, to Alex, Lukas is a very sociable person who gets on with many people. He is a big fan of Swedish House Mafia, and enjoys listening to House music. As we can see from the front cover, Lukas would certainly enjoy reading BPM as its not only covers CD reviews but also a massive interview with Swedish House Mafia.

How do you attract/ address your audience?

As 70 per cent of people would buy the magazine, on the spur of the moment, which meant that, making the front cover had been the most important target in order to attract the audience. The magazine would need to eye catching, which in my case had been done through the use of special affects. Furthermore, the magazine would be need colourful, as the result I have a wide range of colours but still had  considered of not making the magazine too inappropriate. 

The price also plays a part in attracting the audience. The price for BPM is relatively cheap- under five pounds, which is affordable to the target audience from wide range of economic backgrounds. However, on the other hand, some people would consider five pound and a lot of money, which meant that It was up to me to make sure that the money would not be waste

The content of BPM does not only cover, everything about house and electro music. It also concentrates on fashion, a little bit of television and online industry, as you would see you on the content page. As the target audience is 16-23, which covers a wide range of year  groups, it is important to address the content in the appropriate way by not including foul language.

What really would help BPM to attract the readers, and provide them with the competitive advantage is concentrating on the bands and artists which specialise on the genre of the magazine. In my case, the biggest interview would be with Swedish House Mafia, who are very demanded amongst the house music, and other DJ’s include David Guetta, DJ Tiesto, etc.- which could be all seen on the front cover. The image itself is unique in the sense that it is ordinary. As the result, this would describe the readers and their personalities.

As mentioned I have undertaken a lot of research before starting the project, but also throughout the process of making the pages. The purpose of improving on each of the drafts, is to make sure that the page would be perfect, without any little mistakes.



Through the use of rhetorical questions, little games and quizzes that are especially being set up to satisfy the customers and make BPM more interesting.

Feedback

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Before even strating the project of creating three pages, I have undertaken a small research in order to find what my potential customers would be interested in. As you can see, these are the aspects which help attract the audience, by looking at the powerpoint:

• price
• artists that are included
• how often the magazine is being published, its important to make it too often as some people would not afford and the content would become weak and boring.
• If there are freebies invloved- what would they be?
• Subgenres of the magazine

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing media product?

What have you learnt about technologies from the

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Loooking back at your preliminary taskWhat do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Throughout the year, I have certainly strongly felt that there had been a positive progress present, which lead to the improvement of the final product. As we can see, below, are the final versions of two magazines, at the top, is student's magazine, which I have created earlier on the year, on after that, is music magazine, which has been created by using all the skills and experience that have been learnt over the months.

As we can see, the front cover of the music magazine does not only look more professional but also vastly concentrates on the target audience. As mentioned, I have undertaken some research in order to find out what the potential would be interested, whilst, in comparison, with the school magazine, no extra work had been done.

When I started to use Photoshop, I hadn't used it before creating the three pages for the music magazine. This means that I was able to transform my experience, and learnt from my mistakes in order to make it as good as it is. The quality of photos, had to be high in order to make sure that no marks would be lost. In order to make high quality photographs I had to use a professional camera and I found out as much as I could about how to take good photographs.

Furthermore, due to the greater use of technology, I have found some websites which have not used before, and they include Dafunk, Dafont, through the use of these websites I was able to make the pages look more interesting and unique to a certain extend.

For the preliminary work, not much blogging was done, in comparison with the work for the music magazine. I have made sure that I have blogged regularly and shown the development of my work throughout.  I have also used Slideshare, in order to transform my powerpoints online.

To conclude, I would like to outline that, for sure, I have improved my technological skills and this would help me with the future tasks.

Final Version- Contents Page

1st Draft of Contents Page

May you comment on how I can improve, please

Screenshot- Contents Page

Below is the screenshot which shows how much I have done so far.

Photoshoot for Contents Page

Inspiration to my Contents Page

At the moment, I have no idea what and how to layout the contents page for my music magazine. I have searched on internet, looked at hard copies, however, nothing at all had been brought to my attention. Below, is an example of the double-page spread of the VIBE magazine, which I would be using as my 'inspiration' for my contents page.

FINAL VERSION- DPS

2nd Draft of the Double Page Spread

For now, this is the final version. After I would finish the content page, I would look at the three pages together, if I would need to change something , it would be done later on.

These are the changes which I need to fo before publishing the final version:

• instead of 5 columns, enter 6 which would bring all of the text on one side, and leave more space for the image.

Making the Double Page Spread

This is the screenshot taken whilst I was designing the double page spread

The Interview with DJ KOLOSOV

The key word with DJ Kolosov is "discerning." He didn't play a ton of gigs outside of the UK in 2011, but every single one of them seemed to be at one of the best venues that country or city in question had to offer.

So how did it all begin?

My father worked in the music industry; he owned a production company. So since I was an early age, since I joined college ( at the age of 13)after school, before school and sometimes during school time, I used to sit down and watch how my father worked with different artists in order to create a piece of music.  The genre which was relatively new ten- fifteen years ago- house music but I loved it straight away. My father’s initial idea had been to create something new, and never heard by the crowd before- and to a certain extent it worked. At the age of fifteen, I refused to do higher education, I wanted to proceed a career in the music industry, like my father did. During the day I was giving away free CD’s and during the night  I worked as a promoter in one of the night clubs.  This gave me the money to get started.  As time progressed I was able to meet new people and that gave me an opportunity to work for different production companies.

What advice would you give to up and coming DJs/Promoters?

My best advice would be to never give up, and do anything you physically can in order to achieve your goals. Honestly, I never thought I would become a DJ, and have the opportunity to play world- wide, however, I never depended on anyone else, my family, especially my father, in order to get where I am.   I worked during the day and the night- in order to achieve my goal.

Where would you like to be in five years? Ten years?

That is a very hard question to answer. As the market is very competitive, new DJ’s enter, bring something ‘fresh’, whilst other DJ’s leave, it’s a circle of life and no-one knows when it could be your turn to retire (laughing). However, this doesn’t stop me from putting my heart and soul into the music which I love not only playing but listening to.

What was the first event you ever played at/put on?

The first event which I played at was one of my friend’s birthday party. It was the first gig I got paid for and it meant that I could buy new equipment and go travelling.  I never ever depended on my parents and their money. The first time I played at a club was when I was seventeen  and as the result my music caught the attention of a couple of large music companies, that wanted me to sign  a contract with them.

Which other countries have you played/put parties on?

I have played in Miami, Ibiza, New York, Milan and London. The list is pretty short so far but I have been invited to play in other countries and major cities next year, but for the moment I will keep the destinations as a secret.

What’s the best event you’ve played at/put on?

Last year I was invited to play at Creamfields festival in Liverpool, which had 50,000 people there!!. The atmosphere was extraordinary and energetic. Hopefully, I will get an invite to play on the main stage again, next year (laughing)

Out of all the tunes you have, which one ‘never fails?’

Every year, there are many songs and mixes that become very popular, however the one that gets the crowd going is Steve Angello- Rave n Roll, as everyone knows the words to the song.

What other DJs you rate?

I admire the music of Axwell and Eric Morillo, as they play similar kind of music to me. There are a number of uprising DJ’s which I show a great interest in- Tale of Us, Luciano and Jamie Jones. By looking up at other people, there is always something to work for.

If you could stage a rave anywhere, where would you choose?

My dream would be to play at Tommorowland in Belgium. The festival attracts over 100,000 people but it’s not just about the crowds,  it would give me an opportunity to play along side other incredible and very talented DJ’s.

There's honestly not much to say about DJ Kolosov at this point. What's most amazing about the progressive house king's longevity, however, is the longevity itself. Dance music is a young man's game, yet Kolosov continues to add colors and countries to his already voluminous gig diary. Few DJs on this list have played Cyprus, Thailand, USA and UK. He did it in the past 12 months. It's his professionalism, consistency and dedication that keeps him booked every weekend in clubs around the world. The music, meanwhile, is what keeps crowds coming back year after year.

1st. Draft of the Double Page Spread

Interview Questions

So how did it all begin?

What gave you that initial push?

Who’s throwing the best parties at the moment?

Which other countries have you played/put parties on?

What was the first event you ever played at/put on?

What’s the best event you’ve played at/put on?

Out of all the tunes you have, which one ‘never fails?’

Funniest thing that ever happened at an event?

Other DJs you rate?

What advice would you give to up and coming DJs/Promoters?

If you could stage a rave anywhere, where would you choose?

Where would you like to be in five years? Ten years?

What made you choose to apply to Club DJ?

Work done so far- DPS

Double Page Spread

I have started to work on the double page spread, and not sure which photo to use and how the page would be layed out. This is the example, which I came up with this lesson. If you like or do not like it SAY SO!

The process of making the front cover

Front Cover

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Final Version of the Cover Page

2nd Draft of the Front Cover

This is the second draft- hopefully the last one. If you do not like something, please comment

Feedback- 1st Draft of the Front Cover

Unfortunately I have made a silly mistake of saving the first draft as the jpeg, which leads to me not being able to make any changes. Now, I have to start over again. These are the changes which I would make during the process- move the barcode to the right hand side, make the writing- Swedish House Mafia bigger to make it stand out and perhaps change the font of the writing.

1st. Draft of the Front Cover

May you please comment if you like the front cover, if not, how can it be changed.

Thank you

Photo for the Front Cover

 This is the image which I would use for the front cover. This weekend I would be making a front cover itself by adding on articles and the title of the magazine. Below is the original image, a photo of my friend taken by me personaly.

This is the font which I would use instead the one I have created previously. I have taken the font from the website called dafont.com and then changed the colour. The reason why I have used bright colours is in order to make the title to stand out and be eye-catching.

Rough Design of the Title

This is the rough version of the font and colour scheme which I would be using on the front cover of the magazine. Please comment what changes i can make in order to make it look better and higher quality.

BPM Slogan

I have decided, that I would have a lsogan that would represent my magazine and this is what I came up with:

Hear the Music, See the Music, Live the Music


I would most likely to use the slogan at the front cover page.

Font for the Front Cover

May you please choose you favourite cover!!!

Photoshoot for the Music Magazine

I did not take many photos for the magazine, as I knew exactly what I was doing.

The Treatment

The Treatment

The magazine: BPM ( beats per minute)

Target Readership- The BPM reader is aged between 16-23, as the magazine vastly concentrates on the genre in the music industry that is becoming more and more popular- House and Electro music.  As mentioned, even though the target audience is between 16-23, the magazine could be read by younger/ older generations, as there is no inappropriate language that is being used. Parents of readers will fall into C1/C2 socioeconomic group, as the price of the magazine is quite expensive ( in comparison with other mainstream magazines) due to high quality paper and the depth of the research that had been undertaken by our editors. The price of the magazine would fall by over 30 per cent, if you subscribe for over the year, which would benefit for not only the customers but also for the magazine production company as we would gain long term relationship with the customers. The magazine would only concentrate on the DJ’s which are famous and well- known in the music industry but also artists that are beginning their career, this would give opportunity to younger generations to promote and establish their music in the industry. As the result, the magazine not only satisfies the customers, but does by making  a profit which is being used for further improvements. The most common  reader of BPM would be the person, who is intelligent, caring about their health and able to socialize  and communicate with other people well. The slogan of the magazine is simple but gets the message across- ‘ Work Hard, Play Hard’, which certainly reflects on the target audience of the magazine. As the magazine  is based and published in London, BPM give opportunity to undergraduates and students studying at A-level  to have a work experience, the jobs would include promoting events, publishing articles and carrying out research. As the result, with out having to spend the finance to promote and inform people about our products, the customers would do it themselves- through the use of ‘word of mouth’.

Form and Style- as the genre of the magazine would be house and electro which for me is associated with bright colours- red, yellow and orange. By making my magazine bright this would certainly help BPM to stand out in comparison with the competitors as it would be very eye- catching. BPM would be ordinary A4 full colour magazine, the quality of paper is high which bring the price up. Cover uses models which either older generation of the the target audience, this had been to that the target audience would look up to the DJ's which are place on the BPM front cover. Each issue, BPM will feature celebrities, but would not use 'gorgeous female pop- stars' as a marketing strategy in order to attract the male audience. On the front cover, there would not be much writing or offers to be made, this had been done in order to show to the audience that what BPM is about is to concentrate on the content rather than on the image of the magazine.

Themes and Typical Features- The magazine is targeted at both sexes, as music plays a major part in everybody’s life, where both male and female can share the same interest. In the magazine, different sections would be included that would satisfy both sexes ( Fashion, CD Reviews and interviews with DJ’s or famous artists). . The reader of BPM would have a wide range of interests- ranging between being interested in the upcoming dance music events, reading about famous artists, gossip and latest clothing in the music industry. The clothing line which we promote, is the business which works as a partner.

Potential  Advertisers: There would not be much advertisement to be seen in the magazine, but kind of adverts which would be present would be- promoting festivals ( Creamfields and Tommorowland), purchasing DJ set online by providing a link or possibly giving tour dates of the artists.

Editorial Team- The editorial team of BPM is made up off a professional team who have been working in the music industry for over 10 years. The team, consists of eleven member, who are able to attract and persuade customers to buy the magazine. Furthermore, two members of the publishing team still attending university but they are extremely hard working but also talented who able to bring new ideas and ‘fresh’ articles.

Choosing the Layout for the Cover, Content and Double Page Spread

Cover Page

Content Page

Double Page Spread

May you choose your favourite one, please.

Thank you