Clash Magazine Research

Clash music publishes the magazine so unlike Q, smash hits and Kerrang it is a single magazine within the company unlike Bauer who have many. Clash also have other media interests that are competing in the festival industry and having a website with up do date news and videos, which can be located around the world. This is done because costs are low and as technology develops more people are using the Internet. The Scottish government gave Clash a grant of £230,000 to develop their online presence. They have used this to their advantage by advertising free downloads on their front page. The magazines total circulation is around 40,000, which is reasonably high for a magazine, which established in 2004.

Clash magazine is a monthly-published magazine in the UK. First published in 2004, Clash’s editor Simon Harper targets the magazine at a teenage and young adult market that is interested in indie music and very much up to date with soft rock. Like ‘Q’ magazine it is one that is monthly published however it is not a hybrid. It concentrates on soft rock and indie music, which is very popular with men and older females. Clash is for people who buy music and want to read about music. In-depth and exquisitely written, Clash is dedicated to music and fashion, this means the magazine is a hybrid.

The magazine is targeted at teenagers and young adults both male and female who enjoy indie and soft rock music. This is shown by the variety of artists who are in the magazine. For example this magazine includes James Blake as well as Adele and Chases and Status. All three are very different artists however they all sing the same sort of music.  The magazine interacts with the reader by showing all of these varieties of artists and especially in the strapline, which tells the reader what to do. By telling them to watch out for fifteen artists. Including popular well-known artists shows the reader that the magazine is up to date and includes all the new news and trivia about indie music.

The Front cover only contains one image unlike ‘Smash hits’ and ‘Kerrang’ magazine, the picture is a close mid shot of James Blake who is the main headline and he is staring right into the camera. However he looks serious and determined, unlike the other magazines where they are all smiling or doing something.  He is wearing a checked shirt with the top button up, which is growing in style with the longer hair scraped across the face. As you can see his skin is perfect, this is because he has been Photoshopped to look clean and new. This connotes with him being a new artist, his name is in big serif letters in yellow to match the background because as he is a new artist, people need to know his brand identity unlike established artists such as Rihanna.

The masthead is in its conventional place at the top of the page however is in front of the images head unlike Smash hits, Kerrang and Q which are partly covered by the images. This may be because ‘Clash’ isn’t as well known so the brand identity is not strong enough just yet or Clash decide that they want to advertise their magazine more because of the popular content it has to increase their brand identity and increase sales and circulation.  The magazine cover also contains many cover lines, which give information about what else is inside to increase their selling points to increase sales. The magazine cover contains many other artists, which shows that the magazine has huge variation and a lot of information. Above the masthead it shows that free music is also offered inside the magazine, this gives another incentive for the magazine to be bought, this does show that Clash are up to date with technology as they are following a trend of online downloading. This is also good for the music economy as it stops people from downloading illegally so it is favoring the music industry.

All typefaces are serif because of the informal, relaxed content it has inside. Unlike Classic or Contemporary music it is not formal, serious and intense so the text is bold and clear and not posh and old. This symbolizes the intent of the music and how it is played as well as the lifestyles the artists live.  The background is a gradient with a darker yellow brightening downwards to show that James Blake is a hot new prospect because it is the colour of the sun. The yellow is a heated colour that is bright and connotes new things.

2010

2011

Many Clash magazines have this sort of layout and look very similar because it is effective and bright. Clash is a new, young magazine compared to others, which have been around for a lot longer time.  As you can see the Clash masthead has changed over 2010 to 2011 and this is interesting as Jay Z’s mast head is very new and young however the new 2011 masthead is much more simple and bold. Both pictures contain a close mid shot. And both have a big banner headline going across the page.  Both pictures are Photoshopped and simple. However these two magazine covers contain older well-known stars that have made their name already. At the turn of 2011, Clash took on an entirely new look, ditching the previous glossy feel and music led design, for an altogether more led approach. In 2013 Clash launched a Smartphone channel which went on to win 'Best Music Magazine' at the Digital Magazine Awards for their IOS Apple Magazine App. In February 2014 it expanded onto Android Handsets.

The publication is based around the larger Clash brand, which extends to live events around the country and festival partnerships/parties (such as RockNess, Snowbombing, SXSW), and the website, ClashMusic.com. 2011 saw Clash partner Levi's and Spotify to bring Primal Scream to London's Electric Brixton for one of their final shows with the former Stone Roses member, Mani.

The Clash Live brand's London activity used to incorporate a once-monthly club night at The Lexington, based around their tastemaking Ones To Watch section, which has played host to acts including Swimming, Three Trapped Tigers, Alpines and Wild Palms. More recently this activity re-branded to be called 'Next Wave' in order to reflect internal changes in the magazine and now enjoys a residency at Hackney's new Oslo venue.

This indicates that the target audience is very unique and versatile in the music they listen too. Paul McCartney and Jay-Z are binary oppositions in music genres and in style. However they have big audiences and huge fan bases. This shows that the magazine is not focused on a specific genre.

The magazine’s presentation is very simple and clear. It can easily be read, which is good because aiming at young adults and teenagers who are known to be lazy readers because of the increase in technology. I believe this is a good strategy. Another advantage is that the front covers aren’t loaded with too much information, which can put readers off because they don’t want to know too much before they are about to read into it. Like many other magazines Clash follows the convention of having exclusivity because the reader will not look for an alternative if it can only be found in one magazine. This is a unique selling point and increases sales and profit throughout ‘Clash’. The magazine looks classy and expensive however it is a good price around £2.50 because it is aiming at people who don’t have great amounts of spare money so they have to limit their cost. However only producing magazines every month it means they have more time for production and people may be willing to pay a little more if it is monthly not weekly. It compares with other magazine like NME and Q who also contain different artists because of the information however Clash isn’t as big and doesn’t have as much funding because it is a singly owned magazine unlike magazines which come from Bauer.

The mode of address for all of Clash’s magazines are the images and how the artists stare right into the eyes of the reader this creates a personal and friendly interaction. By having simplicity it also keeps the magazine fresh and new. It is a trendy cool product and really interacts with its target audience. It features articles about well known popular artists and how they live their lives. Many contain the normality of the artists, which is liked by the reader because they believe there isn’t much difference between them. 

Clash Double Page Spreads: 

I like the simplistic geometric feel to these pages and how they focus completely on the artists. The text and images and put together in almost a collage formal that is gives clinical yet stylish look. 

Q Double Page Analysis

Q Magazine Double-Page Spread Conventions

I have found that each Double Page Spread varies in terms of layout and placement of the title however you often find with Q, that one side is a full image of the artist then the opposite page being simply text. You often find the image overlaps onto the other page making the layout a little more flexible.

The type-face for the articles appear to all be serif fonts. The connotation behind this font type often imply a much more formal and classical feel, creating a sense of authority that comes from such a traditional type-face. This comes from the denotation that it was used for many hundreds of years, originating in Roman Times.

In terms of content, there is always an image of the artist, title (often including some sort of "word play") and at the bottom there is a Q logo, page number and title. Also there is often a feature bubble, and "see next month's issue's interview..." etc

Q Contents Analysis

‘Q’ Magazine’s contents page is in-fact split over two pages. The Title of the Contents page is on the left corner of the left page, in a black, sans serif font, which looks simplistic and suggests that the magazine is viewed by a contemporary audience, as this corresponds with choice of font. The title is also partially covered by an artist, and this shows once again that the Magazine is well established, as regular audience members will recognize that this is the contents page. Under the Title, there sits a sub-heading entitled ‘Q Magazine February 2013′ in black and red sans serif font, which Immediately connotes that the left hand page of the contents, is purely based on a preview of the artists and stories that are going to appear in this months issue, which the audience would find appealing as they are aware of what they are going to be possibly buying and where to look for certain stories/artists. The images of the artists on the page, are neatly arranged in a modern, stylistic collage and are labeled with captions that give reference to page numbers to inform the audience of where to look for particular stories/artists and give an insight into what thew article is going to be about. All of the artists wear appropriate clothes that portray their genre and make them look professional at the same time. In pictures of ‘Biffy Clyro’, ‘David Bowie’ and ‘Say Hello to Palma Violets’, the audience are given direct address. Whereas in the other images, the artists are either posing, performing or in the middle of doing something. Particularly in the image of Liam  Gallagher, the caption reads ‘Liam Gallagher, cosmic adventurer? Heavy!’,  a sarcastic phrase which criticizes him directly. The use of sarcastic language here connotes that the readers of the magazine are in-fact in the older teens – young adult age range, as they would understand this phrase and the meaning behind it. On the right page of the Contents, there is a clear layout, which follows conventions by having three individual columns, two of the same size and one wider. Included in these columns are sub-headings in sans serif font, these being: Cover Story, Features, Regulars and Q Review. Under the sub-headings are small blocks of text next to page numbers, in order to take the reader straight to a specific story.  A single image for each sub-heading is also added to anchor the main story/ies of that section. For example, under ‘features’ there is a medium long shot picture of Rihanna’s ‘pure hell’ and a snap-shot of the new ‘Come as you are!’ rock musical, including songs by Nirvana. Under ‘regulars’, there is a close up shot of Paloma Faith and under ‘Q Review’ is an extreme close up shot of Big Boi.  Slightly over-lapping this image is a Boost, stating that ‘Q covers the best of everything’. This is used to increase popularity and circulation, as audience members learn that there is in-fact other reviews beside music. At the bottom of the ‘Q review’ column, there is a black banner including white, instructive, sans serif text saying ‘Subscribe’, and an image of ‘Q Magazine’s’ current front cover, which is used to promote the magazine and entice readers to subscribe for a cheaper price.

This is the contents page for the November 2012 issue of ‘Q’ magazine, which goes over a double page. The use of having the contents over a double page means there is more room to space things out and arrange them in a way which doesn’t make the magazine look too clumsy and busy. On the contents page there are seven images, plus several illustrations and a picture of this issue’s front cover. The seven images are a mix of photo shoots and live pictures. Live pictures are images that are taken from gigs or festivals, there are two live pictures used on this contents page, one is of a male singer from a band performing, while the other is of a male artist socialising with fans at a festival. Having live pictures on the contents page appeals to the target audience of young adults, as they can relate to the image and familiarise with the type of locations the pictures are taken. On the other hand, photo shoots are pictures that are taken, of artists, in a studio with professional lighting equipment, these types of images can appeal to the target audience of young adults, as they give the magazine a professional and modern look. Photo shoots can also make the artist appear more attractive and therefore more appealing to the target audience, as they would admire the artist and view them in a more positive way. An example of this is the image of Noel Gallagher, in the bottom left of the contents page, as males would idolise him and women could be, arguably, more attracted to him.

Some of the images on the contents page are used to create an enigma. For example, the image for the feature ‘GENRE SWAP SHOP’ is of Maxïmo Park who are a rock band. However, instead of being with the conventional props for a rock band, such as guitars and microphones, they are placed behind two keyboards and a laptop. This creates an enigma to the audience who are familiar with the genre Maxïmo Park is and makes them wonder why they are using that equipment. Furthermore, the enigma created by this image makes the target audience read the subheading and information, the subheading ‘GENRE SWAP SHOP’ makes it clear that there are multiple genres featured and so appeals to a wider audience. Then the information uses direct address ‘Hey bands, try a new style!’ this talks directly to the target audience of this feature, ‘bands’ and makes them feel included in the feature, like it was written only for them. The next sentence ends on an ellipsis, which builds tension and encourages the audience to read the feature and see what happened.

The ‘Q’ contents page allocates a subheading and page number for each story; the subheadings are sorted out into different categories. Across the top of the contents page are most of the stories featured on the front cover, they all include an image, which suggests to the audience they are the important articles in the issue. On the bottom left of the first page is a section categorised as the ‘COVER STORY’, this is where the main cover line on the front cover is elaborated and tells the audience which page it is featured on. As the cover story has its own section on the contents page and is boxed off, it suggests to the audience that it is the main focus and the most important story in the issue. Another category the subheadings are divided into is ‘REGULARS’, which show the audience the stories that occur throughout each issue and do not change. The last category is ‘The Q Review’ on the far right, the information is written in black however the artists in this paragraph are highlighted in red, this makes it quicker for the audience the see who is included in the review. The categories used to divide the subheadings help the audience navigate through the magazine quicker. There is a mix of sans serif and serif fonts on the page, however the larger subheadings use sans serif font to catch the reader’s eye, under each subheading the smaller text is written in serif font. On this contents page two subheadings use rhetorical questions, this technique also appears 6 more times in the information of the stories. Rhetorical questions, such as the sub heading ‘What if they never became famous?’ are used to make the audience think, making the audience think about what you are writing will then encourage them to read the article. Another common technique, I have noticed in the text on the contents page, is the use of personal pronouns, such as ‘Have your say!’ this makes the audience feel they have an impact on the magazine and that the magazine also has consideration to what the audience think. The text on the contents page also uses a lot of exclamation marks; this makes the audience read the magazine in an active tone, making the stories seem more exciting.

The title of the contents page is on the top left page saying ‘CONTENTS’, in a sans serif, black, bold capitalised font. It is the biggest text on the page and therefore making it stand out the most to the reader. Underneath the title it says ‘Q MAGAZINE – NOVEMBER 2012’ making it clear to the audience the magazine they are reading and reminding them of the issue month they have bought. However, unconventionally, there are 5 small illustrations of music artists who are sitting and standing around the contents title. It does not say who the artists are, but this would appeal to the target audience who would be able to recognise them. On the other hand it could appeal to the secondary target audience, as they wouldn’t be able to tell who the illustrations are of, yet it creates an enigma and leaves them guessing. Therefore, the arrow pointing to the illustrations saying ‘Rock Wildlife of the British Isles – see page 28’ will appeal to the audience as they are navigated to where they will get an explanation. Even though, this is rare to see on a title of any kind, I like the effect the illustrations have, as they give character to the text and creates an authentic feel. A bigger illustration is used for one of the features, which is a drawing of an artist in a mocking way, however this is so the audience knows what they have drawn is unrealistic and creates humour.

The main colours used on the contents page is red, black, white and a bit of grey, however it is clear that the house style is red and black as these colours are consistent throughout. At the bottom right of the contents page is a section telling the audience to ‘SUBSCRIBE’; this is an imperative, ordering the audience to do something and is the only large piece of information that is in front of a black shape and so making it standout. In the information it says ‘The world’s greatest music mag brought to your door at a ludicrously low price? Take me to page 84 now!’ this asks a question and answers as if it was the reader themselves; already giving the answer to the audience as a way of making them go to that page. There is an editor’s letter in the magazine, however it is not on the contents page, it is on the page following. They allow a whole page for the editor’s letter, with a list of the Q magazine team, with publishing information etc. Not having the editor’s letter on the contents page allows for more space on the page and also gives a page that is dedicated to staff.  Dead space is used around the edge of the contents page, creating a border, which makes it look more sophisticated and also gives space in the bottom corners of the pages for the page numbers, Q logo and month of the issue which is repeated through-out the magazine.

Q Contents Conventions

I have found that the Q's contents pages have followed the same conventions again in terms of theme. These features include: The use of colour (Red/Black/White) creating an recognisable identity through the colour palette; A large banner and contents title (red); Page numbers on each image (for a personal scrap-book feel, the images often being titled); Same fonts used for various sections (sub-titles/captions) - recognisable group fonts and the sizes of the photographs which they use, establish the main features and focuses within the magazine issue.

Q Magazine Covers

Cover Conventions 

From carrying out my research I have found certain codes and conventions that Q use, which create a strong theme and identity for itself and making it recognisable.The use of colour is very important here ad the the red masthead stands out and is very strong. The semiotics behind red often draw attention and it is recognised as a stimulant, red is sub-consciously perceived as exciting and energetic. It is also often linked with love and danger. Furthermore, I have found that throughout each cover, elements of red have been used throughout (either involving text or image). This again works with the concept of creating an identity for Q magazine. In terms of text, I have noticed that Q has used only a hand-full of various fonts which work well together. This small group of fonts again links to the concept of creating an identity, making it stand out memorable. For their sub-headings they often use bold capital fonts and for the smaller texts, more classical serif fonts giving connotations of sophistication. You often find the colours of these headings are white or red as they stand out against the backgrounds and work with the on-going colour palette. 

Q Magazine Initial Information & Research

Q Magazine: Textual Analysis from Namita Khade

Q is a popular music magazine published monthly by Bauer Media Group in the UK. It's first issue was published in October, 1986 with a cost of £3.59 per monthly issue.http://www.isubscribe.co.uk/Q-Magazine-Subscription.cfm] . The magazine was originally to be called Cue- which is inspired by the process of 'cueing' a record to play, however, it sounded too much like a snooker based magazine, in result of this the magazine was simply called Q as it is straightforward yet memorable.

Q was launched through Emap publishing in 1986. Emap accelerated its magazine launch programme and established a near monopoly of monthly music magazines in the late 1980s, including Q the publishing company additionally launched Mojo (1993) and Mixmag. The Emap triumvirate of editor Mark Ellen, editorial director David Hepworth and art director Andy Cowles was behind this launch. In his first issue note, Mark Ellen wrote: 'Magazines tend to bracket people by taste, or what they assume that taste to be. This is a magazine that doesn't, but still brings you a wide range of news, comment, interviews and insight. We don't presume to know what you like but we hope you like this.'Paul McCartney was the subject for the first Q interview, setting the tone for the magazine. In September 2001, Emap Performance Network announced it was to launch a masthead TV show based on Q. The show will be called QTV and Radio Q will be broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week across north London. starting in October.

Front Covers Initial Research

Here is a range of front covers I have researched as style models for my magazine. I chose these covers because they are music magazines in the same sub-genre (alternative) of the magazine that I want to make. They also show unique features, for example, the SPIN magazine on the top row refers to an intertextual of the link to the Nirvana album 'Nevermind', which anchors with the coverline ''What nevermind means now''. These covers mostly show a range of mid-shots and close-ups. There is also a medium two-shot in the NME magazine in the bottom right corner. I like how the two-shot and iconography of Jay-Z in the image clearly connote the binary oppositions of different genres being indie vs rap. The colour red is a prominent colour in NME and SPIN magazines. I like how the use of it on these magazines connote a sense of confidence and boldness. It has also give me ideas for colour schemes for my own magazine and various shots I should take. For example, the shots of Lana Del Rey and Kathleen Hanna show expressions and personality of the musician. This seems conventional in the alternative/rock magazine sub-genre. I chose the Dazed & Confused magazine cover because I like the minimalistic approach and how the shot & story in itself connotes power, so there is no need for other coverlines or plugs. In my personal work, I will try out various layouts like the ones showed above. I intend to make a magazine the same music genre as SPIN and NME magazine, however, subvert it slightly by aiming it towards a female audience rather than men.

This table gives the sales figures for the main music magazines 

in 2008, according to www.magforum.com

Introduction

For my AS Media Coursework I have chosen to make a Music Magazine. In order to make my music magazine, I need to carry out research to depict the various conventions and themes carried out by different Magazines. I also need to find who my audience is, what genre of music it will target etc. I will find this out by researching existing music magazines- what conventions they have used and how they market themselves. For my coursework I will produce a Front Cover, Contents page and Double-Page Spread using my own Photographs and will use Adobe Photoshop to produce my work.