Cover Analysis - Rolling Stone with Amy Winehouse

This is the May 2007 issue of Rolling Stone, featuring Amy Winehouse, and it's slightly older than my other examples, but I'm hoping it will show the conventions of a music magazine front cover haven't changed much. Rolling Stone is also generally different to the other magazines I've chose to draw inspirations from, as firstly it is much more rock-orientated as I can immediately denote from the cover lines, but it is still a very mainstream music magazine, so it may be good that I look at something like this in case I decide to have a hint of rock in my magazine cover, just to acknowledge it's current hegemonic status. Secondly, it mixes music and politics, just like Clash mixes music and fashion, but I find combining music and politics slightly more unusual, yet it is still an incredibly popular magazine, so this leads me to think about combining the music element of my magazine with something a bit more different, and not just the conventional fashion combo.
Starting with the image, I think this is subtly different to Q, Clash and Billboard in the way there's no background, no props and no out of the ordinary clothes to distract from the image of Winehouse herself. This is a way connotes that any excesses of being a celebrity have been removed for this cover, in order to make her appear like one of the target audience. Also I think the simple overall style is to suggest innocence to match what the cover line is about, also it suggests it's about her personally - just her and nothing else.
I think her stance is incredibly telling as to how they are trying to present her. She's known for wild behaviour, but here they are trying to completely contradict this with the preferred reading of her being shy, timid and quiet. I take this from the way her head is tilted and down and from her arms being like that down by her side, as this pose really reminds me of what a little girl would do when she's feeling guilty for doing something wrong. She's also looking into the camera with puppy dog eyes as if to say to "I've changed and I'm a different person now". I think this is definitely the main element of the image, as the other covers had so much involved with their images, but not this one.
Her clothes very simplistic, just a plain black vest, but this does mean she's showing flesh, cleavage and her bra strap, which all contrast with her stance, and make it all seem imperfect, therefore signifying to the audience she's still a bit of a wild child even those she's ashamed of things she has done (drawn from the pose). This contrast also gives it quite a sexual feel, which may appeal more to men, therefore leading me to think it's target reader could possibly be male, which may match the use of politics content, as men are more often interested in politics and tend to get further in that business.
Her tattoos and hair are also a large part of her identity, therefore main focus points of the image, and also maybe a reason why they chose not to have props or a background. The tattoos which are clearly on show are a signifier to the audience and are a symbolic sign of the lifestyle of rock music, which I interpret to be a technique used to appeal to the target readers.
Also her hair and make-up are how they always are, it's not like she's been dressed up for this cover shoot, and this idea supports the concept that it's the real Amy Winehouse inside, her own words and her own opinions.
The colours used again link into the image, like on Q, the red being like the red of her tattoos, the blue being the same colour as her bra, and the black like her hair and vest which I think ties the cover together to look presentable to the reader, not just random. The white is also a colour that is used on every cover so this magazine twists the conventions slightly by using white for the background, rather than the text like on the other covers. However, looking briefly at my collection of covers I gathered as I began my research, white is used for quite a lot of the backgrounds, so maybe it is part of the convention. These colours are also that of the American and British flag, and as it is an American magazine, featuring a British star, the colour helps enforce the link between the 2 musical countries.
The font used on this cover is different to that of the others, this one being serifed and more detailed. It gives a more classic feel to it and personally, I interpret it to be for an older audience than the others, which would connect to the fact the combination of contents includes politics, something else which may be more respected by a person as they get older. The font of the masthead has also allowed Rolling Stone to become very iconic as almost the main music magazine of America, which isn't something I considered when Clash used a more detailed font for it's masthead, as that looked as if it was more there to attract readers than become a corporate logo.
The language of the cover lines again uses the artist's name as the biggest main part of the individual cover line, just like the other magazines. However, "The Diva & Her Demons" part is another reason I chose to analyse this magazine. Rather than focusing directly on the music, this cover line heavily suggests it's about everything but to do with the artist. This got me considering whether I wish to do a completely music-orientated feature in mine, or dabble in other aspects of the celebrity I feature. Also the "&" makes it seems as if they come in a pair, again contradicting the innocence of the image which suggested it's like she'd repented for her sins. This phrase also suggests the magazine has the use of diversion for the reader, as they can get involved with her life rather than thinking of their own. However, I mentioned before I thought that because of some elements of the image and content, that the target reader was male, however, this story which sounds as if it could be quite emotive, seems to be more a of a women's cup of tea, meaning the targets readers of Rolling Stone could be both male and female. The genre of the magazine is not mentioned, however the artists mentioned pretty much sum up the genre. These bands also suggest the target audience is older, like the politics and font do.
Although this cover wasn't exactly the style I'd like to do, I still think analysing it helped me gain knowledge of the techniques used to appeal to target, as I could see how Rolling Stone appealed to those slightly older. It also provided me with extra confirmation of conventions, like white colour being used and the artist overlapping the masthead.

Cover analysis - Clash with Duffy

This is the May 2008 issue of Clash, featuring Duffy as the
cover star. I chose this as Clash is one of the main magazines I'm drawing inspiration from, and like the issue of Q, it shows a solo artist as the main feature in the kind of style I'd like to use, but I think this is more aimed at both genders unlike that particular issue of Q.
The image of Duffy is fairly close up, a very similar shot distance to Madonna on Q, therefore it has a similar sort of effect, in that it is quite intimate and personal. However I don't think it connotes Duffy being the reader's friend, because of the microphone acting like a barrier between her and the reader.
The microphone is quite a motivated sign to use as it's an old-fashioned style, something that I've noticed artists often use to give them some credibility and to suggest their work is done from scratch and very meaningful, yet this is how I personally read it because of my own individual circumstances, so possibly to a typical male who just denotes it may just represent her music as being old-fashioned and therefore something they'll not be interested in. This then gives a characteristic of the target audience Clash are appealing to by using using the microphone as a prop, that they are more interested in something that's a bit quirky, than the manufactured kind of music which would have been represented had they used an average black microphone. It may just have been used to emphasise that Duffy's style goes back to basics, that it's not gimmicky or over the top with electro riffs and what not, which matches the connotation of her black clothing being so plain and the pearls she's wearing as earrings. The image has a general tone of classiness, which is signified by all the signs of Duffy's style, the microphone, the plain clothing and the earrings, which I think definitely proves pop is sophisticated and doesn't always need to be Disney pop to be considered as popular/mainstream music, therefore it can dabble successfully with other genres.
Something the other covers haven't used are graphic as part of their main image, but this manages to use them very subtly to again add a grown-up feel as well as promoting stardom. The shine of the mic, the stars around "Duffy" and the faded yellow circles suggesting show lights or paparazzi all connect back to the idea of Duffy not being presented as the audience's friend, but more as a friendly superstar. I think these subtle graphics are incredibly effective, yet I cannot put my finger on exactly why they work so well. They are something I would consider on my own cover, as I think they do add to the grown-up tone, something I'll need to make sure I do to present pop in non-cheesy way.
Moving onto the colours, it is definitely starting to become clear that a co-ordinating colour scheme is a convention of popular music magazines. This magazine uses white, cream and pink mostly, the cream tying in with Duffy's hair, the pink corresponding with the background, and the white just being the general stand-out colour. The white and cream are quite neutral, but the hot pink adds a youthful touch to the whole classic tone of the cover, so that it still appeals to the target audience and doesn't look too boring.
Unlike both the other magazines, Clash uses more detailed fonts for it's masthead and main cover line. It's masthead is very recognisable, and also the it is in front of the image of the celebrity which is unusual, so therefore conveys the opposite idea to Q and Billboard, where it needs to promote itself and use some kind of attention attracting fonts to draw in readers. It also suggests to me Clash may be for a younger target reader than Q and Billboard, which would make sense, by using the bright colous and subtle graphics as these will probably be more appreciated by a younger audience. Also the main coverline uses a swirly serifed font, therefore in-keeping with Duffy's style and tone, and may have also been used to steal attention from cover lines featured that aren't as important, therefore making one celeb interview stretch a long way.
In the language a lot of genre is referenced, like "soul", "electronic", "hip-hop" and "Sixties", therefore it's trying to connote to the reader that it has a large variety and can be for anyone, also the fact that the genre cannot be simply denoted from the cover helps this. Not many puns or play on words are used on this cover, which contradicts my idea that Clash is maybe for a younger audience, however it may just be fitting to the convention of straightforward language to just deliver it's main selling points simply. Similarly to Q, Clash just uses the artist's names as cover lines, with a small description, so that with a galnce the target reader will know the kind of content included.
Overall, I do quite like the main image of this cover, as I really like the subtle graphics used, however I prefer the language and layout style of Q, as it seemed to be compact and well laid-out so parts could be read in a methodical order. I do like the warmth this cover displays with it's colour scheme and lighting, and makes for a very inviting appearance.

Cover Analysis - Billboard with The Jonas Brothers

This is the June 2008 issue of Billboard, the American chart magazine, featuring The Jonas Brothers as the cover stars. I chose this because this is the exact kind of cover I'd like to make. It uses a prime example of pop music, Disney stars the Jonas Brothers, yet it doesn't connote any cheesiness, therefore a grown-up idea has been encoded very well.

I'll start by analysing the image, as like with the previous Q cover, the image is a vitally important part of the cover, and depending on whether the potential buyer likes it or not, determines whether they'll bother to read the cover lines and therefore buy the magazine.

It's a full length shot, which I personally don't think is effective as a a close-up or even a mid-shot, as it makes the audience feel far away. However, it does provide a very picturesque, perfect idea, and tries to connote that these men are every inch the superstar. Also, for the female audience, it doesn't hide any of them and is almost trying to show off all of their attractiveness. The stances they're in are very casual, cool and mostly open body language where their chests aren't blocked, so the preferred reading is that they're trying to welcome the reader and seem friendly. I think this has been encoded well, as it seems to be quite obvious it's very casual, however it could be interpreted as the poses being intimidating, and may remind some people of the way "cool", mean kids stand at school passing judgement on others, therefore this would have a negative effect on people who are likely the target audience.

I think the fact they're standing at the bottom of a staircase is an extremely abstract concept and is a sign with not much anchorage (except from the fact the Jonas Brothers are standing at the bottom of them). I do think it's part of the reason this cover pulls off a classy tone, as the staircase itself is very elegant with the intricate banister and neutral stone, as it would remind the audience of an expensive house. The meaning could be interpreted in so many ways though, as a straightforward denotation would be that it just connects to the cover line "Step Up" which is simple a pun, but the connotations are endless. A common reading may be that the stairs represent the band's journey to complete success and they're only just starting out, therefore suggesting the magazine's lucky to have this interview with them, "before they were famous" style (although they already are famous), so it implies the reader should want to know more. The stairs could also be negatively interpreted with a similar meaning to the stance (of the mean kids), because it could be saw that it's as if they are on a pedestal compared to normal people. Yet this interpretation would be great for their huge female fan base, as it would be as if someone's relating to how they feel about them.

I think their clothes also play a part in the sophistication of pop on this cover, as their smart blazer, waistcoat, tie, braces and shoes give a tailored edge, really showing how pop has grown up, as these are one of the most talked about boy bands at the minute. It proves the pop genre is just as fashion orientated as rock and indie, therefore levelling it. Also, it is something a normal man could wear so it brings some connection to the target reader.

The colours of the cover lines are, like Q, matching the logo, which keeps it all together and in-keeping, however I think the bright green and blue provide that injection of old-fashioned pop into the cover, which then contrasts with the neutral staircase and clothes of the Jonas Brothers, just like how the old-fashioned monochrome colour scheme contrasted with Madonna's futuristic style. Also the white that makes up the rest of the colour scheme is very effective, especially the WOB contrast. I think the way the logo incorporates both bright colour and white really gives a representative feel of popular music, and I think it would appeal to anyone who remembers doodling by filling in the holes in their handwriting, which is the effect the logo mimics. A convention that is now emerging is the featuring artist covering part of the magazines masthead, to show importance and a good reputation of the magazine.

Similar to Q magazine, simple fonts are all that features over the whole cover, as the cover lines are secondary features in the way a reader will look at the cover. The are slightly rounded fonts, which are softer to look at, but still very clear, making a very comfortable look. Bold and italics aren't used, but the size of the text varies greatly according to importance, but also provides variation in the cover. It does seem to me that this cover is a lot more spaced out than Q, but I found a larger impact came from Q, where there was a lot on the cover, as well as the international star featuring.

The language used is all very basic and in a straightforward tone, except from the occasional pun like "Step Up" and "long road to No.1", and this then reminds me that Billboard is also aimed at music industry officials, so this style of language would probably appeal to them as they probably just want no fuss and facts delivered to them efficiently. However a large range of musical names varying in genre are shown, which would be very appealing to the mainstream music lover who'll be reading Billboard for chart information (it also mentions "chart" on the cover), therefore proving that the magazine is a good surveillance source.

I'm impressed with the overall vibe of the cover, which I think personifies modern pop well, and it also backs up some of the conventions I concluded from the Q cover, like artist overlapping the masthead, simple fonts and colour scheme, but I think this image is much more typical even though it's a long shot, rather than the suspected conventional medium close-up, as it's a generally a plain, open image.

Because I was curious to see what the article for the Jonas Brothers was actually like, to see if it portrayed pop well and to see whether it was serious or quite casual, I searched for the spread of the interview on Google, but I just managed to find an extract, which I shall analyse in detail to get an idea of the writing style I want to use.

Cover analysis - Q with Madonna

This is the May 2008 edition of Q, featuring Madonna as the cover star. I think this particular issue of Q is aimed more at women, generally denoting this from the "Women in Music" and the fact it has a female celebrity on the front, so I chose it as I'm not sure whether my own target audience will be gender specific or not.
I'll focus on the image of Madonna mostly, as I think it's quite an unsual stance, but I will explore the other elements.
It's a fairly close up shot, from the chest up, giving it a feeling of intimacy, maybe trying to connote to the reader it's personal to them and because she's about the distance away a friend would stand it could be the magazine trying to ease the reader into a comfortable position or hinting that the article inside can substitute for personal relationships. However, I interpret the fist facing the reader and the hood-up to be very hostile and anti-social, which probably isn't the preferred reading, therefore I don't think it's been coded well as it seems contradictory to the close-up shot.
The hood is a signifier with many possible interpretations, but personally I think the preferred reading is that it means she's hiding something, secrets, that may be revealed inside the magazine, when assumably the hood comes off. This would compliment the closeness of the camera shot, and it is a technique I think Q is using to appeal to the target audience, who are probably interested in celebrity gossip and secrets of their lifestyle. Alternative connotations of the hood, which will be influenced heavily by the reader's opinion of Madonna, could include she's trying to hide away the fact she's a celebrity (possibly the signified meaning of someone who feels her lifestyle is excessive?), by appearing in something the target audience may wear, however this probably wouldn't attract readers if they interpreted it like this as the are considering buying Q because of the music made by celebrities. Also her celebrity status is reinstated with the display of the Chanel logo (seen as the reader views the headline) as it's like the visual form of name-dropping. The hood may also be hinting towards the recent "hoody culture" formation, yet that isn't really who this magazine will be aimed at so wouldn't be a very effective connotation, so it could possibly be an aberrant reading coming from a member of a that very stereotype.
The colour scheme of the image is very monotone, black and silver, which gives both a futuristic feel (trying to promote Madonna's youth to prove she's not a crumbly old celeb who's embarrassing to listen to?) and possibly a tough vibe. The half-glove gives off a biker/gangster feel, the silver pattern looking similar to a knight's chainmail, yet these hard interpretations are softened by the edge of girly, blonde, curly hair peeking round the side.
Her facial expression is what I call the "seduction pose", often used on perfume adverts as I learned in GCSE Media Studies, but possibly not used for the aspirational value it holds on advertisements. She could have been positioned like that in order to attract the continuous male buyers of Q, who wouldn't be interested in the womanly feature of this issue.
To finish the image analysis, she overlaps the masthead of the magazine, suggesting importance, but also suggesting the magazine name and image are recognisable, therefore promoting a good reputation.
Moving onto the colour used, the colour scheme matches that of the logo, which seems unusual for Q, as I know from looking at other issues they don't normally do this. I was thinking that maybe it was to appeal to the more womanly audience of this issue, as the cover now looks very colour co-ordinated and neat, which may connote a very perfect and organised vibe to women browsing the magazines shelves as they will appreciate how matching it is. Also they may have used the same red as the Q logo for the text because it is a symbolic sign which may be read by women as the original and very iconic lipstick colour (pillar box red), so it appeals well to the target audience in the preferred reading. However, the black, white and red, may also by very symbolic to a film fan, of horror movies, so this could be an aberrant reading which wouldn't have the encoded effect. Also, the colour scheme may be viewed as quite classy, as it is mostly monochrome, like a silent movie, which contradicts the messages portrayed by the futuristic style image, therefore suggesting that it's a bit of both - grown-up but up to date.
The font is very clean-cut, no serifs and no ambiguous letters. I think it's plain and simple as a signifier that it is sophisticated, to allow the colour to give more emphasis and for the bold and italics to be more noticeable. This therefore allows the magazine to draw the reader to certain points, where the very mundane font is slightly different in colour, size or shape (like the headline and quote), as this is where the readers eye will naturally be attracted to. The only variation of the very square font, is the Q logo, which looks as if it has cover from a serifed font, and this gives the whole magazine a classic look, and makes it seem like a reliable source as it's not gimmicky as if it's trying to hide something. Also, this connotation is actually enhanced by what I mentioned before, that Madonna covers it slightly, suggesting that is has a good reputation and doesn't need to put it's corporate image too "out there" in order to attract readers.
The language of the cover lines used altogether seems to promote popular culture, another reason why I chose this cover as this is the area of music I wish to create a magazine about. As well as featuring a veteran of mainstream music (Madonna), all the acts lined up to interview her are very recognisable and successful in this current time (therefore I consider them as mainstream). I think this "gathering" that it's presented to be would really appeal to the audience as it's so many celebrities packed into one feature, and it personally intrigues me when celebrities collaborate in some way, so it should therefore draw the reader in. Also the way the list of celebrities is laid out, like a shopping list, with ellipses and the "all" in italics seems to emphasise just how many people are featured and prove to the reader what a good source of diversion the magazine can be as it's like a whole world of celebrities. Also the acts who are "at the movies" and "in a pub" are referencing to very mainstream pastimes, therefore presenting celberities on a normal human level, another aspect of celeb lives that the public are interested in. I think the indexical sign of the Great British flag promotes a patriotic feel, but with the sticker style it is brought up-to-date therefore much more appealing to the fairly young target audience of thsi magazine.
To conclude I think this particular issue of Q promotes popular music and presents it in a very grown-up, sophisticated way. I think I will take a lot of inspiration from this if I decide to feature a solo artist, as this is the kind of thing I'm trying to promote. I also noticed it doesn't annouce it's genre therefore leaving the possibility that anyone can buy it, depending on the impression they get from the cover. I think possible conventions I can draw from this, although it's the first one I've looked at are the image overlapping the photo, simple fonts, few colours or a scheme and the headline (name of featured celebrity) almost rivalling the logo in size. I don't think the image is that conventional, so I will look into other images to see if they're any similar.

More genre talk

After thinking it over and talking to some of my classmates, I have definitely settled into the idea of making a pop-based music magazine for the over "tweens".
I will decide more specifically on my target reader after I've analysed covers, articles and double page spreads, as then I'll have a better idea of the methods used to appeal to the target reader and be able to visualise how I could use similar techniques for audience I choose. Alternatively, I was considering leaving my target reader open ended, as I want this pop magazine to be for all those who feel stupid reading Top of the Pops for pop info. However this may be difficult to use when it comes to evaluating how my cover appeals to my specific target audience (How did you attract/address your audience?) when I don't have one, so this will have to be a decision I make later.
I say pop-based because I might dabble slightly in other genres with the artists I feature in my magazine, in order to represent mainstream for what it is; popular music that can be a little bit of every genre and is unthreatening to the masses. Like it's not just pure pop, there's crossovers into RnB (Alicia Keys), Dance (Madonna), Rap (Kanye West) and Rock (Pink) and these all make fusion genres of pop.
However, I still don't like the word "pop" to describe this. Although the preferred reading and denotation is that it is just popular music, but as the 1990s reception theory states, my decoding of "pop" is heavily influenced by my cultural experiences of it. After seeing countless TV commercials advertising "Pop Party" CDs in sickeningly juvenile primary colours, with small children dancing in them, it really conveys a childish vibe to me. It also reminds me of the cheesy pop hits of the 90s, like the Macarena and the Spice Girls, probably because of first school discos, but this is definitely not a signified reading I'd like my readers to pick up on, hence my problem with the word. If I do feature the genre of my magazine on the cover, I'm considering using "Popular Music" instead of "Pop", but I do think it's too formal and is a signifier with many possible meanings, some negative and some positive. But on my research into other covers, I'll take note if they do declare the genre, which has the effect of a caption on an unmotivated sign; gives it much more anchorage. However, if they don't mention it, it leaves the magazine fairly unmotivated (although images of celebrities are fairly motivated in themselves) and open to the reader's interpretation, which may in turn attract more readers if they don't think it's tied down to 1 area of music.
Also, while going about my day, a very early idea occured to me for my cover image. Although I haven't even started research yet, from my general divulging into the media (X Factor and teen magazines) I've decided that if I choose to use a girlband on my front cover (which is something I'd consider because of the success of recent girlbands) I could use a fashion statement that seem to be the style at the minute. Girlbands have always been co-ordinated outfit wise dating all the back to the Spice Girls and Destiny's Child (and probably before that which I'm not aware of, being born in the 90s) but the recent trend I've noticed is to have different style black skirts and each with a different coloured top. I think it's derived from the latest theory of dressing to your body shape, and so acts as a good representation of modern culture. Obviously I'd have to consider this idea much more when I'm further into developing my magazine to see if it'll be right for audience, but it's a start.

Genre Decision

Before I started in depth research into the covers of music magazines, I felt it best to gain a rough idea of the branch of music I'd like to create my magazine in, as I think the techniques and paradigms magazines use to appeal to their readers vary greatly for each genre of music.
I've recognised that the dominant hegemony of music magazines is that of the rock genre, which I think follows a shift in the music industry, in Britain especially, as it becomes more edgy and open to accepting more variations, or it could just be "the" music of the decade. But with artists coming from everywhere now (like MySpace a la Lily Allen) and not having to be signed to a record label for success, there seems to be even more of a need for music magazines that feature new acts that music junkies feel the need to know about to feed their "individual" music tastes. However, music and print being institutions, they are there to control and regulate individuality, so is the new spangled individuality actually that unique? I don't believe it is and this is why I feel it isn't necessary to make a magazine that fits in with the recent movement.
I looked into making a magazine of a genre not so currently popularised, but after the browsing of various magazine stores, I decided I didn't have enough knowledge of one specific genre to make a magazine out of it. After Mr Furness' advice to follow my own music taste, which doesn't consist of any major favourites, I made a list to see what if what I liked could fit into any area. After making a long list with the help of my playlist, I decided that it was most closely suited to mainstream, and although it could be argued that rock is now Britain's mainstream music, I mean real mainstream - pop mainstream.
I then decided to look for inspiration I could use from real magazines. I searched for a list of top pop music magazines on Google, and found a useful list on About.com. It featured Q, Clash, Rolling Stone and Billboard. Yet I was left in dismay that even these, considered closest to pop, were still heavily influenced by the rock culture as I could instantly tell from the connotations I could draw off the front covers. I couldn't believe that in a society where pop reality shows like the X Factor rule Saturday nights for a lot of people, where squeaky clean Disney stars are becoming more infectious by the minute and where pop acts like Girls Aloud, Leona Lewis and Madonna are still going strong, that there wasn't a magazine deciated to this massive music genre (except from Top of the Pops). On further investigation, I've discovered that features on these kind of artists are reserved for general teen magazines like Bliss and Sugar. So I concluded that pop must no longer be for the older teens and we are all expected to be hardcore ravers or headbanging moshers, and that people interested in pop over the age of 12 just don't want a magazine about it, as the flop lauch of the Popworld magazine (which was axed after 1 week) proves. However, when collecting magazine covers of the 4 magazines I'd decided were closest to what I want to do, I noticed the American magazine Billboard was featuring pop acts like the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus on their covers, yet still doing it in a fairly sophisticated way, as was suggested to me by the signifiers of an elegant staircase and music equipment. Not only were they featuring fresh faced stars like this, but there were also covers with Missy Elliot on and Alicia Keys, from a slightly different, yet still very mainstream genre. I couldn't compare this to a UK equivalent, but I think that as a lot of the UK public have similar music taste to those in the USA, I thought it would fit in well. Unfortunately Borders didn't stock the USA import of Billboard, and although I've read that it's more aimed at music industry officials, it's graphics, language, codes and general style of the cover really suggests to me that it can be read by any member of the general public.
So after a massive contemplation of what genre of music to do, I conclude that I shall try and stick to mainstream pop without veering too greatly into rock territory (although I'd like to represent a couple of different groups of society on my front cover), however at the moment I have a problem with the word "pop". It connotes a strong vibe of cheese to me... :p

So can pop be sophisticated? Yess!

Beginning the main task

I plan to carry this out in a similar order to my preliminary task, but in a lot more detail and in depth analysis when it comes to research and drafting. This is a brief outline of the steps I'll take;

1. Research into existing covers and pages
2. Research into target audience
3. Planning and drafting of cover, contents and double page spread
4. Organisation of photo shoot
5. Creating the final product

I think any other tasks will occur naturally within these areas of work, as there may be things I discover I need to do in order build a sucessful magazine. At the minute, I don't have any ideas for what I would like to do, so hopefully I'll decide on my genre and then carry out general research as well as specific research to the genre I've chosen.