Audience Feedback of Final Magazine

To find out about what other people thought of my magazine, I asked two people to take this audience feedback record sheet and make their comments about my magazine.

Comments from Audience 1

"I like the colours used throughout the magazine. I also feel as if I can look up to the artist featured. The colours andn artists the rock genre really well, but I dont really think I can see how Indie music is incorporated into it"

About Audience 1

Her name is Fiona, she is 17, loves going out to gigs,favourite music is indie/alternative music,lives in a small town.

Reflection on results from Audience 1

I asked Fiona to look at my magazine and fill out my feedback sheet because she's the type of audience that i'm aimed my magazine at. From these results I've found out although I incorperated the rock genre into my magazine, I havent done as much for Indie. I think that the style of my magazine (colour, masterhead) is in style as a rock magazine, however the artricles that it features focuses on both genres. Fiona also agreed that my front cover was the weakest element of my magazine, I'm disapointed in this because I feel as if I tried so hard to try and make it work, but I don't think it looks as professional as the other elements of my magazine. However she did say that she liekd tthe artist and felt that she could look up to her, I think that is a good result bercause many girls need role models to look up to.


Audience 2 Comments

"I love the conents and double page, because they look like you would actually see them in a proper magazine. The front cover is alright but I think its the colour or something that just isn't right with this front cover. I like the contents page becaue it actually made me wanna see some of the magazine articles, and I really like the interview because she seems like a well cool girl. But yeah overall I think its good."


About Audience 2

His name is David and he is 23, he lives in a small town, goes out clubbing and also is going to festivals this summer. Rock and dubstep are his favourite genre's music.

Reflection on Results from Audience 2

I decided to ask David for feedback because although hie like dubstep, he still liked rock msuic and is 23. This gives me the chance to find out about what people think who also have other music intrests and also in a higher age band. He also thinks that the front cover is not as strong as the other which I already know, but at least it shows that its not just me thinking that it doesn't look right. I think if I had more times I would definitly change my front cover. He talked about how he liked my contents page because it made him want to read the articles. This is good because thats what I wanted from the contents so that intrigues the audience to go and read the artcles. He also said how he like the artists, this is good because I wanted her to look edgy but also approachable and rewlatable to the audience.

Overall thoughts

Overall I think that although both audience aggreed that the front cover wasnt at the strongest, they both thought that the artist was relatable in some way. They also agreed that the text is as if they are talking to a friend and also think that the magazine represents the rock genre well, but maybe should incorperate the indie genre more. Overall I'm pleased with the feeback that I got because it helps me realise that what I've done wrong and understand how I could improve my magazine to be the best that I could make it.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full production?

When I look back at my preliminary I think that my skills and knowledge on magazine distribution has grown a lot.
When I first started my preliminary I carried out rough research inot collge magazines, however when I researched into music magazines I felt as if I actually used that information whilst I designed my magazine.
I feel as if I’ve learnt how everything that you use in your magazine e has to be there for a reason, whether it to be to represent something/someone, to advertise or to make it seem more professional, everything in a magazine is put there for a reason, one way or another.
With my preliminary I designed in Publisher because that’s the only programme I knew how to work and therefore I don’t think it looked as professional or was a s effective as my music magazine. The images where taken without any planning behind them, unlike with my shoot where I planned location, costume, set, lighting, costumes and poses beforehand. This is why my magazine turned out looking more professional also.
I’ve learnt that it’s so important to how you address your audience and how to make the reader feel certain emotions. I addressed my audience as I was talking to my friend, this made the reader feel as if they were talking to someone they could trust their opinions on, therefore would allow to give ideas to the reader about certain music artists.
I’ve learnt that although you need to make your magazine look interesting and original you need to make it easy to read to the reader. Because there’s no point in doing a really complicated Masterhead if the reader can’t read what it says. I’ve learnt to find the line between being simple and also being too complicated.
I've learnt how important it is to build up your brand name. I've learnt that its all about the brand and once you build up a reputation for your brand then people will recognise it and it will become stronger and stronger.
The preliminary helped me learn from the mistakes that I made and instead of focusing of what I did wrong, use those mistakes and think ‘what can I do next time to prevent that from happening’. The preliminary helped me get prepared to the task ahead. However I feel that with the preliminary I designed it the way it thought it looked nice and worked well, instead of the way I though the reader would like and would represent certain themes and ideas well.
I also learnt was how magazine institutions work and which company’s distribute which magazines. This helped me because it helped me realise the industry and understand how the process works.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this music magazine?

I have learnt so much through the duration of this project about technology. Before I started this project I would use Microsoft Publisher and Paint if I was ever going to do editing, however now I don’t think I could ever go back.
When we first started the project we did a rough workshop which gave me a overview of both InDesign and Photoshop. Before then I had never used either programme before in my life, so I was interested and enthusiastic about using them both.
So at first I knew the basics but it wasn’t until I actually started editing I learnt about the different tools on both programmes. In Photoshop I learnt that you can change pretty much everything on a photo. The main features I used on Photoshop where the magic eraser tool and the paint brush. Both of these features enabled me to get the right effect that I wanted on the images I used and the Masterhead.
In Indesign I learnt how to edit text and rearrange them into any style of shape I wanted. I liked this because it enabled me to achieve the elements of my magazine which I probably wouldn’t of been able to achieve in any other programme.
Overall I have progressively learnt throughout this project how to use this technology. I started with the basics and have progressively got better and better at editing and creating elements with pictures and documents it has also given me an insight to how magazine editors create magazines and how much work goes into creating every little detail.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I firstly attracted my audience with special deals and offers on the front cover. In my research I did previously the audience that I’m appealing to don’t like to spend money on magazines, therefore I knew to attract my audience I needed to make my magazines issue cheap on a special first issue offer. This would ensure that when the next issue came out full price they previously remember the magazine and hopefully want to buy it again. Also within my magazine I feature a sneak peak to the next issue and a money off coupon. This is again appealing to my audience because they want to spend as little money as possible on magazines but more on going out and clothes.
I addressed my audience informally. I did this so that it would seem as if the people writing the magazine are just like the reader and makes them seem more relatable. In the interview I asked questions that I knew the audience would want to know about the artist. For example ‘Have you got a boyfriend?’ instead of asking something like ‘what do you think about the current economic situation’ because I knew that’s not what the audience would want to know.

Who would be the audience for your music magazine?

The audience for my music magazine is males and females from the ages 16-29. This is because these are the ages of people who are most interested in the rock and indie music genre. They may go to festivals, gigs, go out partying and most likely listen to lots of music every day. The main thing about this audience is that they want to have fun and always want to have a laugh.

What kind of media institution might distribute your music magazine and why?

My music magazine is a rock/indie music magazine, therefore I don’t think that any of the following magazine institutions will distribute my magazine because they will not want to have two magazine I their institution that are similar because they’ve already covered that part of the market.
Bauer media- This company distributes mojo magazine which is a alternative music magazine which is quite similar to indie music therefore I don’t think will distribute. IPC-Distributes the very popular NME magazine which is also a rock/indie magazine which would be our main competitor, therefore wouldn’t work to be competing in one company. BBC- Even though the BBC doesn’t have any magazines which are rock/indie magazine I think that my magazine wouldn’t be appropriate for the BBC brand.
I think that the company Emap would distribute my magazine because Emap distributes many magazines and the only younger audience music magazine that they distribute is smash hits, I think that they would distribute my magazine for it would fill their niche in the company.

How does your music magazine represent different social groups?

My music magazine I think relates to both genres. The female genres because the artist Dani doesn’t care about what people think about her. Girls will look up to her because many girls have insecurities and want to not care about what people think. The girls will also find her relatable because she talks about her the industry is fake, which makes people think that she prefers being the normal girl which girls can relate to. The magazine will appeal to the male audience because the artist Dani is strong willed and attractive which will seem attractive to the male audience. The social groups I think that will like my magazine is the rock/indie groups that enjoy that type of music and go to many of UK’s music festivals.