Laura LeeMUSIC GENRES.

In order to gain inspiration for my own music magazine I have looked into various types of music genres. This

will enable me to make a decision on what music genre my magazine should be about to make the best of all my skills. As well as researching into the basics of the individual genres I have also looked into the individual

target audiences and the most common colour schemes used for various magazines surrounding the same

genre, this research will then benefit me when I come to begin the creation of my own music magazine.

INITIAL RESEARCH

POP

Pop music is a genre of popular music which originated in its modern form in the 1950s, deriving from rock and roll. The term pop music is often used interchangeably, even though the former is a description of music which is popular and can include any style. As a genre, pop music is very eclectic, often borrowing elements from other styles including urban, dance, rock, Latin and country; nonetheless, there are core elements which define pop. Such include generally short-to-medium length songs, written in a basic format often the verse-chorus structure, as well as the common employment of repeated choruses, melodic tunes, and catchy hooks.

Pop magazines are most commonly very bright and colour in order to attract the intended audience. As we can see from the examples above most pop magazines use bright pinks and purples which implies that the target audience is likely to be teenage girls. The main image on the cover is either of an attractive male artist that teenage girls are likely to see as their ‘celebrity crush’ if this is not the case the image is usually of a female artist who many teenage girls will look up to and aspire to be like. The image will always be someone who is current and is always likely to be someone who is currently appearing in the top 40 chart as it is likely they are being listened to frequently which is why a magazine will place them on the front cover.

INDIE ROCK

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include indie pop, jangle pop, C86, and lo-fi, among others. Originally used to describe record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock. As grunge and punk revival bands in the US, and then Britpop bands in the UK, broke into the mainstream in the 1990s, it came to be used to identify those acts that retained an outsider and underground perspective. In the 2000s, as a result of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet, a number of indie rock acts began to enjoy commercial success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term.

Indie Rock magazines tend to use a plain coloured background creams, whites and light greens seem to be a popular choice. In some cases the model is wearing something brightly coloured which adds a contrast to the light background. The models are usually over posed and tend not to face straight out towards the audience and if they are facing the audience there is commonly a prop or item of clothing that could be seen to block out the audience from making a full connection with the model. In some cases like with the ‘peppermint’ magazine cover the model in a sense blends into the background which again helps with a sense of mystery. All these poses and backgrounds will stand out against others that are sold around them as they are used to show the difference between each music genre.

ROCK

Rock music is a genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the 1950s, and developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and later, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s' and 1950s' rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of other genres such as blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, classical and other musical sources.Rock magazines tend to have dark grey or red backgrounds as these are colours

that can be linked to anger which is stereotypically linked to the rock music genre. The models are also commonly wearing darker clothes and their stance is usually confident and could be seen as fairly threatening as it is thought that rock artists and people who listen to rock music are of a more aggressive nature. The mast head is usually white to stand out against the darker background and the font is usually bold and slanted which I think resembles the confidence that rock artists and those interested in rock have.

METAL

Heavy metal (often referred to as metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are often associated with masculinity, aggression and machismo.

Like rock magazines Metal magazines tend to use darker backgrounds but are usually accompanied by something that is brighter and more in your face whilst still keeping intact with the masculinity that stereotypically accompanies people that listen to metal music, this includes the female listeners. The pose of the models tends to seem very confrontational and reflects the aggression that comes across in the music. The mast head text all seems to be bold and straight on immediately catching the readers eye in the same way a metal fan is likely to do with the clothes that they stereotypically wear.

JAZZ

Jazz is a music genre that originated at the beginning of the 20th century, arguably earlier, within the African-American communities of the Southern United States. Its roots lie in the combining by African-Americans of certain European harmony and form elements, with their existing African-based music. Its African musical basis is evident in its use of blue notes, improvisation, polyrhythms, syncopation and the swung note. From its early development until the present day, jazz has also incorporated elements from popular music especially, in its early days, from American popular music.

Jazz magazines commonly use blue, white and grey backgrounds and some occasionally use a brighter colour like the orange jazz journal magazine. Male models are usually used and they tend to be dressed in a black suit and are very often playing a brass instrument. The model’s eye’s are usually focused on their instrument rather than facing out towards the audience, this is done as a way to show the passion that they hold for the music. Using this this technique for other music genres may make the audience feel less connected with the model but, on a jazz magazine it seems to make the audience feel like they are connected to the model and takes them instantly on a journey into the jazz industry before they have even read the magazine. When a female model is used the shot is usually a medium shot and like the male models she is faced away from the audience, female models do not seem to be given an instrument as commonly as the males are which gives the impression there is more to it than meets the eye.