Intertextuality

We live in a post modern era where everything has been done before and we recycle the same ideas over and over again. There are clear recycled bands and artists in the music industry, for example in the rock and roll genre the 'Beatles' and 'Oasis':

Similarities between the two bands:

• haircut/style
• facial expressions in photos
• clothing
• the amount of people in the band
• both wear black and white.
• sunglasses

 

In the pop genre there was a similarity 'Madonna' and 'Lady Gaga':

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  Similarities between the pop artists:
  • blonde hair
  • iconic hairstyles
  • unique costumes
  • makeup
  • similar body shape
  • music- catchy,repeative,high-pitched
  Oppositional Reading
  In magazines the audience can feel it is gossip, not trusted and can be rejected for culture and political. For example 'LARD' magazine was full of photos of dead bodies and isn't very interesting to read about. On the front of the 'Beatles' American Album cover they posed in a butchers with meat on them and are smiling happily, this was at the time of war so was not the best timing.
  • Visual Motifs is something you see recurring for example in the pop industry many woman are into the new craze of 'twerking' and songs about 'butts'.
  • Hyper Real photos are used in pop magazines than the reality. They over edit images to make it look different and to what they want e.g. skinny and more tanned. In rock magazines like authentic and real photos.
  • R&B genre doesn't care about the authentic look and tries to make it look unique by using cartoons and manga styles.
  
  
  
  

Analysis of Double Page Spread of Billboard

Billboard Magazine

• The main image: only takes up half the page not spread over the double page spread. This is an abstract way to focus of the spread is the image, in Billboard magazine they always focus on one artist this gives the magazine a lot of room for the text. Having Beyoncé on half the page gives the artist all the attention on her and her music. She is looking directly at the camera with a dull facial expression on her face this can relate to her being described as 'Fiercely' in the headline. A metal cage is covering half of her face this can represent her fierce personality and makes the reader interested in the artist.
• The Headline: it is 'Fiercely Creative' this is associated with her being a strong independent woman. The of the headline is large because it grabs attention and persuades the audience to read the article.
• The By-line: contrasts against the background colours to make it clear to read for the audience. The by-line tells you who wrote the article.
• The Stand: is at the beginning of the article which gives the reader information about the artist and article. The stand sets the scene fro the article because it tells you hat they have done. It also summarises the article in one sentence therefore it is a short overview. It tells us that Beyoncé was announced by Billboard 'Woman of the Year' this is an important award to the magazine and change the colour of the text so it stands out.
• The background: is not a block colour it goes from a bright purple to a grey (gradient effect). I think purple is a strong female colour and shows she is a strong female and gets across the fierceness.  

'Billboard' Magazine

Billboard magazine is my influence/inspiration and I think this is the only magazine that is targeted to an older teenager. Billboard has a more mature and simple layout on there front cover and has more music artists that appeal to a certain audience. There isn't as many colours as the other two examples but there is a pop of colour in the title so it is eye catching and helps the reader see the magazine quickly in the shop. "Top of the Pops" has different layout and colours on each magazine, whereas Billboard has similar layout making it easier to find and buy it.

 

 

 

'We love Pop' Magazine

Another example is "We (love heart) Pop" has a target audience of young teens especially girls. The main colours are pink, red and yellow and this is eye catching and entices the target audience. They have many different famous singers and bands e.g. Ariana Grande, 5SOS, 1D, The Vamps and little Mix to appeal to all the audience. In large font it says "Summer Rocks!"  this tells the reader that this is the summer edition and tells you what is popular in summer.

However I don't want to concentrate my audience on younger children and teenagers. I want it to be related to issues and ideas for older teens e.g. 16 to 20 years. Because I feel there is a gap in the market between kids and adults therefore I want my magazine to fill the market. 

'Top of the Pops' Magazine

I have decided to base my music magazine on the music genre pop. I chose the pop genre because I listen to most popular the charts. There is many different pop magazines targeted at different audiences.

For example 'Top of the Pops' has a target audience of young people especially girls you can this from the colour scheme. The magazine has chosen pink as its main colour this entices young girls and makes the magazine look 'pretty'. They have put issues which happen to the younger audience and want to make people more aware e.g. bullying. In big font it says "Bullies made me stronger" this is to show young girls that even celebrities go through bullying therefore it makes the audience feel no longer alone. The pop magazine also says about fashion to give another reason why should buy the magazine for fashion tips and advice.

 

Media Institutions

IPC media was founded in 1968 and owned by 'Times Inc.' and has a head quarters in London.IPC stands for  'International Publishing Corporation'.

• IPC Media Music magazines are dedicated to music and music cultures featuring many different famous musicians, but also new musicians that specialize in certain types of music.
• IPC Media- one of the UK's leading consumer magazine and digital publishers, selling over 350 million copies per year.
• IPC company owns the music magazines NME and Guitar and Bass.
•  Five magazine divisions:

- Connect (Woman's weekly magazine)
- Inspire (leisure and specialist)
- Ignite! (men's lifestyle and entertainment)
-Southbank (woman's lifestyle and entertainment)
-TX (television titles)

Large Publishing Houses
Hearst Corporation is one of the nation’s largest diversified media and information companies. It has a majority of interests e.g. 'San Antonio Express-News', 'Good Housekeeping', 'Cosmopolitan' and 'ELLE'. They also own leading TV networks for example 'Lifetime','A&E' and 'HISTORY'.

As I am making a Pop magazine for teenagers I wanted to research where different young pop magazines are published, to see which is best suited.

• 'Top of the Pop's' magazine is published by Immediate Media Company and aired a TV show for the magazine but it was cancelled in 2006. They don't just publish music magazines they cooperate with BBC and sell there magazines such as BBC history and BBC wildlife. They publish preschool magazines, educational magazines and preteen magazines. It is a UK based Company and started in 2011.
• 'We love Pop' magazine is published by Egmont Company in which they publish magazines and books for babies to teens. They also publish 'Go girl' another teen pop magazine. I wouldn't choose this publishing company for my magazine as my magazine is for a slightly older audience.
• 'Billboard' magazine is owned by 'Prometheus Global Media' and is an American company. They sell entertainment blogs, TV shows and magazines. I wouldn't use this company as it is not UK based and publishes a big variety of media. 

Target Audience

I think my pop magazine called 'Emerge' is targeted to teenagers within the ages of 13-20. I think more females would be more interesting in reading my magazine. I think the typical audience will have interests in fashion, pop music and celebrities. I don't want to make my magazine expensive therefore not everyone can afford to read it. I have chosen this audience group because I feel like there is a gap in the market for pop music magazines especially for teenagers (that are not too childish). There are pop magazines for kids e.g. 'Top of the Pop's' and 'We (love heart) Pop'. I want to make my magazine easily readable therefore I am going to think about what fonts I am going to use. I am also going to make my photographs appealing to teenagers so I am going to choose a model who fits in the target audience.