I am going to research into different genres of music magazine what will give me inspiration to choose what genre I would like to use for my coursework. I will consider their target audiences and colour schemes used throughout the genres, this will help me in creating and editing my own one.
Rock genre
Rock magazines use dark and gloomy colours as it relates to the hard heavy rock music. For Rock magazines there is quite a large range of target audiences as it is not just aimed at teenagers but also middle aged people as well. Most rock magazines are very busy on the front covers with coverlines and images and large titles.
The music magazine “Rock Sound” I categorized as a “Heavy Rock” magazine. The masthead contains the genre that this magazine is categorized in. The lighting of the magazine cover is very dark which signifies that the artist wants to stay hidden as though trying to conceal his identity.The editor did it because he wants artist to remain hidden as society is against people of a punk nature because of such modern civilisation which demands perfection, and it is also a powerful force which separates some people from the others, especially based on those who are academic and non-academic. The artist do not want to get noticed as an outsider who rebels against ”political correctness” and laws. The colour black is known to be very negative and signifies evil based on religion , therefore, the fact that the artist has a brightly portrayed face represents him as though a person who is standing out from darkness, rebelling against a moulded society; his back is toward the darkness as though all negativity is past him, in contrast to the white face which is in front of him and leading him to a more positive and happier future. The artist is represented as someone of a mysterious identity, possibly due to unfortunate childhood experiences, hence why there is such a rebellious approach to music which releases compressed anger and emotions. Even though he is rebellious and was in darkness , the bright Heaven-like colour on his face signifies his close relationship with a Godly figure and religion, therefore, respects religion more than the demands of society, as religion has helped him get through the worst of times.Tattoos on the artist’s arm are presented as he has been scared in his lifetime, just like tattoos scar the body, he wants to present his tattoos and be open about his life experiences, he clearly wants to present his feelings about his life in the form of Heavy Rock music. The camera shot of “Rock Sound” is a close-up shot because, these genre of music is all about demonstrating your feeling through the projection of vocal lyrics. The magazines have deliberately used this type of shot so that the audience can visualise the facial expressions of the artists to understand how they truly feel. There is red writing on the screen which links to the obvious colour of blood and the international colour of danger, therefore, the audience can understand that a punk lifestyle is a dangerous one and that the artist bases most of his music on fear and danger. There is hand-writing found on the front page rather than computerized text. This signifies that the message written by the artist is personal in contrast to generic and universal, computer formatted text. Computerized text is used by many people in modern society and the artist is using writing in his own style rather than following society’s traits and actions as though rebelling against doing all things that others do without any individuality.
Hip-Hop/Rap genre
Hip-Hop is a subculture that originated from the fusion of African American and Latino American communities during the 1970s, in New York City, specifically within the Bronx. While the term is often used to refer to hip-hop music, in its broader sense hip-hop culture is characterized by the four elements of rapping, DJ’ing, breaking and graffiti. Hip-hop magazines' editors use quite dark colours and red colour which connotes power and authority. Their target audience is teenagers aged form 16-20, because this is the type of music that teenagers like to listen to in this generation. Hip-hop magazines usually uses a large main image of a Hip-hop artist that slightly covers the masthead and stands out to the readers. Generic conventions of Hip-Hop magazine are: guns, chains, jewellery, money, fashion designer clothes, cigars and others. Artists are mainly black and also mainly american, but other races and countries apply, for example Eminem. Sometimes females appear on the front covers, but mostly men.The editors usually use close-up or low angle shot on the front cover to show that artists are big, powerful and strong. Each rapper who appears on the front cover will be shown with his star image and personal identity but also shown in a way that looks like all other rappers. Editors also use special terminology on the front covers such as "swag" , "yo" and others.
