Do Music Magazines Target a Male Audience?

Evidence Q appeals to men: (75% male)

• Aggressive facial expression would deter a female audience from buying the magazine.
• "Sex, drugs and golf" - language appeals to men. Rock star lifestyle that would appeal to men.
• Breathing fire indicates bravery and strength - qualities that men respect and aspire to have.
• Dave Grohl represented as a hero. "Dave Grohl saves rock. Again."
• Sexualisation of Nicki Minaj using the phrase "Little Miss Dynamite".

Evidence Kerrang appeals to both genders: (57% male)

• Cover star is a woman and this will apeal to men, however she's not sexualised so the female audience will still buy the magazine.
• Free posters of a male band appeal to women.
• Bold font of "Paramore" and distressed masthead are very masculine. Capital letters are commonly associated with shouting. Reinforces the aggressive language - "Loud" "Rebels" "Panic". Aggressive appearance will appeal to men.

Evidence Top of The Pops appeals to girls: (14% male)

• 
• Lots of posters of the cover stars. Friendly, smiling faces appeal to girls. Represented as "Boy next door" stereotype.
• "OMG" "Kiss & Tell" "Snogs" "Gossip" "Hearts" - feminine language. Abbreviations used typically by girls. Language softer and centered around love.
• Love heart symbols present the cover stars as heartthrobs. Attractive to girls.
• The competition to "meet the boys" also offers a "cuddle" from the boys. This would appeal to girls.

Task 3 - Outline Your Pitch

I bring to you today a new and interesting indie music magazine that is cool and something that the consumers will want to buy. Missing out on this opportunity would be a huge loss, and I’d like to take this opportunity to explain to why this magazine is the next big thing.

Title

This magazine is ‘Live Lounge’. The alliteration makes it catchy and punchy. It could be easily remembered and repeated to friends, therefore passing on the brand to more people. The name would have impact when repeated. People would want to own a copy of Live Lounge. The name suggests coolness with the indication of live music and strays away from cheesy titles such as Top Of the Pops.

House Style

The house style follows the impression given by the title – a monochromatic colour scheme in greys, gunmetal grey, black and neutral tones. The font of the masthead is urban and edgy, but not futuristic. The masthead is slightly worn to again give it that cool, edgy appearance.

Regular Features

New and interesting features we have in Live Lounge include a spotlight on a new artist each month. This would include an interview and profile etc. Also each month there will be a code for the reader to go online and download an exclusive live track from a band or artist that could be either well known or slightly off the wall. We want to bring our readers something different each month. The magazine will also include exclusive interviews, reviews of new albums and a monthly top 10. These focus on the magazine being ‘all about the music’, which is the magazine’s tagline.

Target Audience

The audience I am targeting with this magazine is adults aged between 20-25. I feel the edgy, cool house style will attract this audience because the look is edgy and urban yet mature. The target audience doesn’t want to feel like they have picked up something for children. Other music magazines in this genre such as NME are purchased by both genders; therefore the neutral colour scheme will not deter either genre from the magazine. However, 66% of NME’s readership is male and therefore I will be targeting the magazine at men, by the bold and strong typography and design. By targeting this at an adult audience, the magazine can be bought more easily by the readers and the circulation of the magazine will be higher. I believe it could reach numbers as high as its competitor NME – around 20,000. This magazine is edgy, cool and interesting. Most importantly it’s all about the music. Are you with us?

Magazine Cover Image Description

Magazine Cover Comparison

Music Artist Scrapbook - Bruno Mars

+ - Ed Sheeran - Album Review

Ed Sheeran came to huge success following the release of his debut album +. Since the release of the album, we've come to expect emotional lyrical songs, with perfectly simple acoustic backing. This is exactly what + gives us, with a couple of surprises thrown in there too.

The first track on the album is the debut single The A Team. This immediately sets the tone and expectation for the rest of the album. The fourth single released from the album, Drunk, is second and flows brilliantly from the previous track.
The fourth track on the album, Grade 8, strays from what we expect. The song has definite R&B influences, whilst staying in keeping with Ed Sheeran's distinctive style.
We're then taken back to classic Ed Sheeran for another 3 tracks, before being thrown another curve ball. The City isn't the strongest track in the album, but the edgy hip-hop sound is certainly a surprise. Similar to this track is You Need Me, I Don't Need You. The song again, has hip-hop influences with rap style vocals. All of Sheeran's lyrics are incredibly clever, but unlike the other deep emotional songs Sheeran writes, You Need Me, I Don't Need You is intriguing and entertaining.

The album ends with Give Me Love. This is a brilliant song to end on, as it sums up everything that Ed Sheeran's music is about. The song is reminiscent of Skinny Love by Bon Iver and is by far one of the stand out songs on the album.

Other standout songs are Lego House, The A Team, Drunk and This. These songs all, in my opinion, showcase everything that Ed Sheeran is about. I would have included Small Bump in this selection, however I feel the acoustic version of this song is far better. The composition of the version released on the album is overworked and takes away from the emotion of the song. As with most of Ed's songs, it's the simplicity of the instrumental that strips the lyrics bare and allows us listeners to really feel the emotion of the song.

Overall, the album is a brilliant debut, which is why I'm not surprised it's been such a huge success. The album showcases Sheeran's talent as most of the album isn't overproduced. His voice is easy to listen to and the overall vibe of the album is very chilled. The deep meaning in his songs doesn't feel heavy or depressing  and are perfect for when you're in a reflective mood.

The Vampire Diaries (Original Television Soundtrack) - Album Review

The CW's, The Vampire Diaries, is incredibly popular and is renowned for it's large fan base of teenage girls. So you might think that this album is a collection of the latest from Justin Beiber and Taylor Swift. You'd be wrong. What gives the show itself a little extra something is its incredible soundtrack, and now they've provided us with a selection of the best songs featured on the show.

The songs have been excellently selected for this album, and should definitely grab your interest if you're looking for a couple of tracks you've never heard before (unless you've watched the show, of course).

The album begins and ends with a sample of the score by Michael Suby. This is brilliant for die-hard fans, but neither of these are the piece of music you would regard as the show's 'theme tune'. I was surprised not to find the music played at the end of each episode on the track list. If you've never seen the show before, these pieces bear no relevance to the rest of the album, and you'll be likely to skip them when listening.

From Stefan's Theme, we go straight into a haunting cover of Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill by Placebo. The way the instrumental is put together is very atmospheric. The vocals, reminiscent of David Bowie, coupled with the haunting composition make this track a little 'off the wall'.

Next there is a change of pace with Currency of Love by the Silversun Pickups. It's a fast, alternative rock song, running for 5.30 minutes - the longest song on the album. The instrumental hook is incredibly addictive making the song's length more of a positive than a negative. This is one of the best, most memorable songs on the album. Unfortunately, this over-shadows the next song Hammock, which has more of a chilled vibe than the previous. In it's own right, the song is pretty good and is definitely one to stick on your iPod.

The next couple of tracks are a little 'off the wall' again. Both of which are atmospheric and slightly haunting. The sixth track on the album, Bloodstream, which has been remixed for The Vampire Diaries is a standout track. From the vocals to the oh so simple piano arrangement, the song takes you to another place. You feel the emotion in the song.

Thinking about it's relation to the show, I think they did a pretty good job selecting songs that marked special moments. Bloodstream by Stateless, Down by Jason Walker and Cut by Plumb are the three songs that fans are most likely to remember from the show. However there is one song that I feel could have replaced one of the less relevant ones (such as We Radiate by Goldfrapp). All I Need by Within Temptation marked a massive moment for fans of the show and therefore I think it would have made sense to include it.

Other than this little blip, the album is a huge success. The selection of indie/alternative artists and the variety of tempos and moods makes for an excellent album. There is something on the album to listen to, however you're feeling. I do think the album starts out better than it finishes, but regardless, you'll still be playing the entire album on replay whether you're a fan of the show or not.

Music Genres Prezi

Exam Guidance

Music Press

Overexposed - Maroon 5 - Album Review

We were first introduced to Maroon 5's latest album Overexposed when they released their first single from the album called Payphone. From this, we could have assumed that Maroon 5 had lost their guitars and were drifting from funky guitar to boppy pop instrumentals. Then, they chucked in a rap with Wiz Khalifa which confused everybody - especially because the song couldn't be further from hip-hop. Although surprisingly catchy, Payphone had me very skeptical about their album.

Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised.

The album manages to sound like new and fresh Maroon 5 material, yet still provide us with the Maroon 5 guitar riffs and sing-along worthy lyrics we've all grown to love.
The first song, One More Night, is by far one of the best on the album. Immediately, you want to sing along. The beat is incredibly prominent throughout, encouraging you to dance along too. Adam Levine's soulful vocals really shine in this song.
From this 'typical' Maroon 5 sound, we drift into a more pop sound with Payphone. The 4th track seems to reach a happy medium between two, with a sound similar to that of My First Kiss by 3OH!3 feat. Kesha.
We're then provided with a couple of pop ballads that are just a little bland, and don't quite compare to previously released slow songs such as She Will Be Loved.
Halfway through the album, we're hit with Lady Killer, the song is full of the funky guitar and soulful vocals we expect from the band. The song has a sound slightly similar to Acid Rock band Jamiroquai.

The standout ballad of the album is Sad. The simplicity of the song, the heartfelt lyrics and the overall composition of the song is brilliant. This ballad could stand up against She Will Be Loved, unlike those previously mentioned.

Overall, the 13 track album is a pleasant surprise. The album tends to pick itself up a bit towards the end (with the exception of the first track being one of the best on the album), however I don't feel any track on the album is bad enough to stop you listening to the album. Adam Levine's voice is easy to listen to and carries some of the weaker tracks. The stronger tracks will have you dancing round the room and singing along when no one's around. It may not be their strongest album to date, but it's still good enough to keep you interested.