Magazine Research and Annotation

8/2/2019 Magazine Research and Annotation

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Some magazines that I am familiar with


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InitialIdeas

Hip-hop

Rock/alternative

Pop

Soul

R&B

Indie


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Rolling Stone The Vibe The Source


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My GenreMy initial thought was to chose a hip-hop and R&B for my magazine.Some of my personal favorites are Rolling Stone; which is actually said

to be more of a political magazine rather than a music genre, however itis focusing on young television of which Hip-hop and R&B play a largepart of. Another magazine I like and would most likely emulate for my

magazine is Vibe magazine, this is a music and entertainment magazinefounded by the producer Quincy Jones. The publication predominantlyfeatures R&B and Hip-hop music artists, actors and other entertainers.

Lastly, I like The Source. This was founded as a newsletter in 1988; sincethen it has become the world's second longest running rap periodical

and covers some of the world politics, culture, Hip-hop and R&B.

I decided I want to focus solely on the Hip-hop genre, as I feel it is themost relatable to me personally. I have watched this genre change and

grow through out the years, so I am well informed and would be able tocome up with my own appealing and authentic material and be able to

create a magazine that can personally identify to my target audience,which I feel Is the most affective gratification for a magazine to have

(Personal identification).


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Magazines always includesrelevant often mostsuccessful R&B and Hip-

hop stars

Rihanna is standing on abalcony overlooking maybe alarge garden. It resembles aholiday or a type paradise

The Green

backgroundcompliments thestars red hair,creating a tropicalfeel to the image;this may be a playon the stars

Caribbeanbackground.Furthermore, itallows the popstar's seductiveexpression moreapparent and allthe writing more

clear and concisebecause thebackground islight and they aredark.

Main focus is in the middleof the page even covers theTitle of the publication.

The Rolling Stone title is oftenRed hence building red, such a

powerful and noticeable colour anassociation with this particularmagazine


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I feel that Rolling Stones front page

affectively captures its audience withboth, the main appeal of the issue

(Rihanna in my example) and other topicssuch as Britney Spears talks about hermonster comeback being very clear and

concise. Rihannas pose is seductive and

promiscuous inviting the demographicsthat admire her and the short powerful

words in their quotes like monster invitetheir demographic by emphasising thedrama involved in the topic. Furthermore,Rolling Stones covers always reflects the

the individual on the front page very well;it is normally quite personal. I shall

attempt to emulate Rolling Stones clearand concise yet appealing in my ownauthentic way.


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Headline intrigues theaudience as it is the 15anniversary, it means themagazine is successfuland also this maybe be aspecial issue.

Dark background and brightwriting (white red and black),which makes all the text veryclear.

Various artists mentioned in onefront page, this magazinecovers a lot of the R&B and Hip-hop genre

The magazines cover in

blunt terms Name

drops. It does not give a

clear insight on topicsthe artist are involved inlike Rolling stone.However just mentionsthe Artists name and a

vague one wordintroduction. Thissuggests the magazineuses the R&B and Hip-hop artists including in itto capture the differentdemographics that listento the various artists inthe magazine

Text that provokes curiosityin the audience, what is50cent confesses to?..

Serious poses from allthree artist, whilst inflash suits andexpensive jewellery andwatches.

All three artist are very

successful individualsand Hip-hop and R&Bartists whichimmediately intriguesany audience( mainlyyounger generations)as they are very wellknown

Colour scheme of the pagematches the artists elegant

costumes. The red little details

of red make the page moreappealing I personally think

There are many layers to this wholepage.


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I like Vibes front-page, because theinformation is bold and clearer than mostmagazines. Furthermore, the technique ofmentioning artist and a questionprovoking or type of cliff-hanger word(introduction) for example 50centConfesses . Demographics that recognisethe artist will likely wonder what he hasto confess about? an w-*ill seek to readmore.


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Text is less structured than the othermagazines I chose, more scatteredaround the page.

Logo worldly known by Sourcereaders. I think this logo reflects themagazines content and history.

Red is very obviousand also complementsthe artists hat.

The Use basic

font howeverchange colour,size andunderlines toshow focus onthe particularartist on thecover.

This magazine I feelpromotes the artistmore than others ,helping fans connect toR&B and Hip-hops likeBig Sean on socialnetworks like

Facebook and Twitter.I feel, this is anaffective gratification topromote, Socialinteraction. This issomething I want toincorporate into myown magazine

Fans involvement,as the Rookie Of

The Year is a fan

voted competition;meaning TheSource on frontcover shows thatthe magazine is

very relative andup-to-date in TheR&B and Hip-hopGenre.


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The Source I feel is the most relative to the Genreof R&B and Hip-Hop because it perfect synergywith the artist on that genre, because it promotestheir music through the publication and socialnetworks and the magazine itself stays relative tothat genre and also attracts the genres audience.I think during my coursework I shall largelyemulate this magazine as this


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Contents Pages

M t Pl i t i ll th


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Image of an artist iscentral of the page.The artist appearscasual and in his dailyproceedings. The

artist here will be isthe main appeal ofthis issue, he isdressed in diamondswatches and chains, acap and a shirt;suggesting the targetaudience is are youngand urban

Titles are all redand in capitalthis maybe

signifyimportance.

The page is splitvery clearly intotwo columns, I likethis as there ismore clarity to theinformationrepresented.

Unlike mostmagazines, on itscontents page it hasa brief insight into all

the titles in thecontents page.

Bold numberingadds to theclarity of thiscontents page.

Master Plan is apparent in all there

contents pages instead of Contentspage and I like this as it adds a certainoriginality to the magazine

This quote that willmake the reader findout more about theartist/topic. It is short

and affective.

Plain and simple background,this make al text easier toread I feel


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This contents pagelayout is my personalfavourite. It is moreartistic than mostmagazines. This may bea play on the artists

personality and thecontent in his interview.

The whole page is verystructured, all the textappear to almost be inBoxes

Vibe often over-layerthe V this is

because the brand iswell known and

Stylish writing forthe titles addsappeal to thiscontents page

The collaborationof the females

arm on the artists

heart and theartists facial

expression is usedwell to suggest tothe audience thatthere is a n articleof informationabout the artists

troubled love lifethis intrigues the

target audience toread the magazine.

rtist is the main appeal ofhis contents page being in theiddle of the page.

Kanye west is the artist onthis page. A multi-platinumhip-hop artist who appealsto a larger range audience

than most hip-hop artistand this can be seen by theoutfit he is wearing on thispage He appeals to anaudience normally of allclasses in the age range of14-28.

Th I d bl l


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There I a double over-layapparent in this image. The firstto separate the text from theface and the second to makethe text stand out( the redmakes the whit text stand out).The red also adds the feeling

of danger and controversy.

I think this is a well constructedcontents page, because eventhough the main attraction tothe target audience is theimage( the artist the layoutautomatically draws attention

to all the text on the right side(because of t he red shade)

The artist on this contentspage is Ice cube. He isregarded by many fromMTV's list, About.com,

Allmusics list to fans

themselves as one of hip-hop's best and mostcontroversial artists. Theartist has a veryaggressive expressionand this is emphasised

further by the close upshot. Hip-hop is quite anaggressive genre so thisimage appeals to thetarget audience well aswill suggest to a Hip-hopfan that there is contentfrom this very popular

artist in the magazine.This may excite a fan.

The White text is far more visiblewith a red background. Theychange the sizes of the text toestablish titles and thedescription of the magazinecontents, this making it clearer toa reader. Furthermore, the pagenumber are clear and notscattered like other magazines.

Ice cube appeals to C class and below,mainly black afro or Caribbean males,age15- 30


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Double Page Spreads


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The designer used Black &white image to create avintage look; this goesalong with Rolling Stonesclassical style.

This title suggest that thetarget audience are ayoung, urban andfashionable Other topicsor interest that thereader may delve in andare associated with theartist. A fan will beimmediately intrigued.

A multi-platinum sellinghip-hop artist Wiz Khalifais known for being care

less and free and thisshown by the image him

smoking and the text too

Wild style. This text

appeals to his fans,mainly teenager whoalso may share the samefree spirit.

Wiz Khalifa is sittingin a white room

looking distantly atthe floor whilstsmoking suggestingthought and ponder.The artist is alsodressed in a stylishmanner.

The stylish writingmake the page

more attractive

The smoke coversthe artist face

creating mystery andan attractive pattern,which make theimage moredramatic.

The large goldchain and

countlesstattoos suggestthe targetaudience areurbanteenagers


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A poetic quote which issimilar to the artist

Lupe fiascos rap style.The quote also makesthe reader emphasisewith the artist as it is aHumble quote.

Text colour scheme is clear andbold with loud colours like whit andyellow. The colours of the overall

double page spread match the outfitof the artist and this make the pageblend together and more attractive.

This type of shorthandwriting @ suggests the

page to be appealing ayounger and morecomputer literatedemographic.

The artist is wearing a largehoodie and a gold watch

which suggests his targetaudience are young and

maybe urban.

The mostpowerful wordsare in white , asit is easy to see.

External light shows theartist face.

A fading image of theartist in concert. This


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This is a simple contentspage the main appeal isthe artist. He is a multi-platinum sellingcontroversial rapper. TheGame (the artist), is

standing in an intimidatingstance , he also has anaggressive facialexpression which

There is a dark background,

which makes the artist standout as he is wearing a whiteshit.

The Low key lighting

helps emphasise sizethe intimidatingfeeling in this image.

The artist is wearing a vestand is covered in gangsign tattoos. This means

the target audience areTeenagers or male in their20s, that listen to

Gangster Rap hip hop.

Quote createsempathy for theartist whilstsuggesting he is acourageous figure.

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Magazine Research and Annotation