Research : Music Magazines
The new musical express
This was the first Music magazine. The NME was the first ever broadcast news which was dedicated just to music. When this was first released in 1940's it was called 'the accordion and the new music express'. The reason for this was because the accordion was a popular instrument in this era. This later changed in 1952 to 'The new musical express'. This magazine is still going to current date however, people know it to be called NME. As you can see it has changed its content from the 1950's to the present era. in the 1950's it was heavy handed in text information with minimal images. Now to present day it consist of a mixtures of both.
Q
'Q' is a magazine which deals with a wide range of up coming artists. It doesn't have a pacific genre. This magazine consists of internees, artist updates, promotion for artists, upcoming artist and photographs of the artists. The magazine has an extensive review section which features; new release, reissues, music complications, film and live concert reviews and well as radio and television reviews on the artists.
Uncut
'Uncut' is a magazine which focuses mainly on music however, it also included film and book sections. Uncut also have a DVD magazine which is under the same publishers. Uncut was laughed in 1997 by the editor Allan Jones. it was first launched as a monthly magazine which was aimed towards 25 - 45 year olds. The idea of Uncut came from Jones (the fist editor) from his own disenchantment about what he was doing with melody maker.
Revolver is a rock and heavy metal magazine. I was published by Newbay Media. Before covering heavy mental, rock and hard rock solely, it used to be a more mainstream oriented magazine. it featured cover stories, bands upcoming tours, album reviews, instrument reviews and celebrity advice column. compared to the others this magazine covers a wider range of information personally about the bands. It covers up-
coming bands from all over the world, rather than all the focus on mainstream acts.
Kerrang:
Kerrang is an English magazine devoted to rock music. it is currently published by Baver Media group. It was first published in 1981 as a "one-off" appearance in the 'Sounds newspaper' In the early 200s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. It was aimed at a teenage gothic audience. Kerrang was founded in 1981 by (which was the editor at the time) Geoff Barton. The first cover launch which Angus Young appeared on. this was a huge release for the magazine as it appealed to a wider audience.
Mix mag:
Mix mag is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine which was published in London, England. The first issue to be produced was in 1983 as a 16- pack black and white magazine, which was published by Disco mix club. House music began in the 1980's. This led to the editor and DJ Dave Seaman to turn the magazine from a newsletter for DJ's into a magazine which covers all dance music and club culture.
Metal Hammer:
Metal hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine which is published in the UK by TeamRock. Mental Hammer articles featured both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the heavy metal music. The first issue was published in 1983. They got the offer to publish a German version however, the editor at the time were not interested.
Maverick:
Maverick magazine is a country music subscription magazine. This magazine, compared to the others, it is for a smaller range of audience. The content of this magazine contains, new releases, live gig reviews, book reviews and the editor's picks. As you can see this magazine offers a free track CD. This boosts the sales of the magazine.

The blues:
The blues magazine is published both print and digital editions but only 4 times a year. Unlike the others which were mostly monthly subscriptions. Being the only one which offers a digital edition, it will have a larger approach as todays society are based around the internet.
My chosen artist, which is Matt Corby, fits into the music magazine NME. This is because NME has a wide range of artist all at different genres.
Research: The Conventions Of Existing Magazine advertisement
To help us get an understanding of what a magazine cover should included. How we set on doing this is by looking at 8 different album cover and comparing them to each other.
This is all the conventions which we found
on each of the 8 magazine advertisement. From down this has shown what
each advertisement include and some which not as many include.
These are 2 out of the 8 of the
magazine advertisement which we looked at. As you can see they are
both very different. the first one is more common with the artist image
and album cover and the second one is more text heavy.
However, they both have similarities such
as, they both contain the artist name and
the album which it is promoting. Unlike, some of the magazine advertisement we
looked at they both contain reviews. This allows the consumer of music to get a
opinion from a professional level.
This research allowed to understand which
conventions is needed when coming to design our own magazine advertisement.
From doing this we have extended our knowledge on magazine advertisement and
have found out that some can be a whole A4 page spread and some can be a
quarter of a page at an A6 size.
This is an A4 magazine advertisement. This
included the same common conventions as the other 2 however, unlike some, this
is just advertising the album release. However, this one has the up-coming tour
dates and also included the album release and where you can buy the album when
it is out.
RESEARCH: EXISTING MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENT FOR MATT CORBY'S
INTRODUCTION
ME AND mea HAVE CHOSEN TO RESEARCH INTO MATT CORBY'S EXISTING MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENT, HOWEVER WE COULD NOT FIND A SOURCE FOR THESE MAGAZINE COVERS OR FIND ENOUGH MAGAZINE COVERS PURELY BASED ON MATT CORBY.
Magazine articles
Here are some images from magazines that have written an article on Matt corby and his music. We could not find a magazine cover on Matt Corby linked with these magazine, however the article still shows us useful information.
The Brag
WEBSITE LINK: THE BRAG MAGAZINE ARTICLE
Paste
WEBSITE LINK: PASTE MAGAZINE ARTICLE
MAGAZINE COVERS/POSTER ADVERTISEMENT
Here we have found magazines/poster advertisement of Matt Corby's music. These covers are not like the typical advertisement we have previously researched about.
1
2
3
4
Other magazine advertisement
HERE IS A MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENT FOCUSED ON A DIFFERENT ARTIST HOWEVER MATT CORBY IS FEATURED IN THE COVER. THIS WAS THE ONLY PHOTOGRAPH WE FOUND THAT CLEARLY SHOWS A MAGAZINE COVER AND INVOLVES MATT CORBY.
Experiments: Tesing Magazine designs
Introduction
After a range of research Hannah and I feel confident enough to start design our magazine cover. We have also started filming and from some of this footage we have taken photographs along the way and from these images we have experimented with them.
Number one
for our frist experiment we used a photograph we captured during a food colouring experiment for the video. This is a very artistic image which links to some of Matt Corby's 'Telluric' album artwork. After creating these test i noticed i have spelt the album name Telluric wrong and from this i will have to make sure we double check each spelling before creating and finishing the final magazine design.
![]() |
| This is the original photograph shot from the food colouring experiments within the music video. |
1
2
3
4
![]() |
| Above is screenshots of us trying different layouts of the artist name and the album title. We prefer the layout number 2 however for this image lay out number 4 is the most suitable. |
![]() |
| We tried out a different font to see if it works better and it did so we carried on tesing from this font choice |
After choosing the font and colour arrangement we adding in the information needed on the magazine cover. This information is inspired and influenced from research on Matt Corby magazine advertisement and other artist magazine covers.
Number 2
For our seconded experiment we tried a different photograph that it took of Hannah when we was filming and capturing are for our filming location post.This image captures nature and structure which is an important feature within our music video, this will help link both types of advertisement together successfully.
To split up the information needed we added a second rectangles shape and dimmed the opacity to 59%. This successfully allowed the writing to be seen clearly while exposing the photograph behind.
To add more information that wasn't in writing form we placed a image of the album 'Telluric' cover in the top left corner. We both wasn't to sure on this feature however it does add more colour choices while splitting the features apart allowing a less compacted design.
We removed the rectangle to see if the advertisement look less compacted, however the informtaion in the second rectangle is needed and it also does not effect the layout of the cover.
Number 3
We decided to try another photography for our magazine cover. We took the image from our photography and lighting experiment post of an extreme close up of Ophelia's face. This was a suitable image to test with because the lights and exertion is very creative and leaves room for any colour platelet.
We decided to try another photography for our magazine cover. We took the image from our photography and lighting experiment post of an extreme close up of Ophelia's face. This was a suitable image to test with because the lights and exertion is very creative and leaves room for any colour platelet.
![]() |
| here we just cropped the image to suit a magazine templet which will make a successfully margin advertisement. |
Because we have previously tested founts and a range of colours we know now that the Papyrus font and the colour white work well with any image and any layouts.
Also from our pervious experiments we know that a small and low opacity rectangle helps break all the features up successfully, creating a more professional appearance.
![]() |
| Adding the real album front cover on the magazine cover helps match the two media platforms cleverly together. |
![]() |
| Here is the finish outcome from this experiment. There was less testing step with this advertisement because of our pervious experiments working well and suiting the image we wanted to create. |
Overall
We will continue to use Photoshop when making the final design and outcome of our music magazine advertisement. We have found these experiments useful because now we know the most suitable and artistic techniques that we will re create in the final design.
Final Design
Introduction
After collecting and exploring a range of research on existing magazine advertisements and our own designs Hannah and I have now created our final design. We chose the Number 2 design as a starting point because we liked the aesthetics and outcome as well as feedback from the target audience ,however we will have to change certain features to achieve a higher standard advertisement as well as adding our own completed CD album cover to enhance the promotion of Matt Corby.
Target Audience Feedback
To understand which advertisement apeals to our target audience at the moment we have asked a range of our tagerted audience to chose which cover they find the most interesting and unique.
Number one
Number two
Number three
Conclusion
From this we now know that number 2 was the most popular due to its aesthetics and layouts. We are now ready to progress on our final design and complete it. We will continue to use Abobe Photoshop to allow is to enhance the advertisement and result in a big quality finished magazine advertisement.
Final Music Magazine Advertisement
Introduciton
After the research we have gathered and the experiments we had trailed we are now ready to complete the music magazine advertisement. We was going to use images from the music video hoovered we decide to keep it to the photograph of Hannah that we tested with previously.
Steps
Here we have screenshoted each step we took to complete the music magazine. We did not need to carry out a lot of steps due to the number 2 magazine advertisement that we have only adapted to create the final outcome.
1
We started with the chosen pervious experiment with the magazine advertisement. We looked back at our research and concentrated on what was missing and what we need to add to improve the design.
2
We noticed the we needed to add logos from other social media sites to explore and highlight the range of contact the viewers cn make the Matts Music. Here we have chosen the Facebook logo and we were just playing around with the positioning which we resulted in the far left corner where the other information is positioned. This was the must successfully positioning because it doesn't over power the advertisement but it doesn't become noticed either.
3
Here we wanted to add more media logos so we chose Twitter which from the Facebook logo positioning we knew to also place it at the bottom but this time in the bottom left corner to split the logos apart.
4
Here is a blow out picture of the whole advertisement at this stage in the making. Not much has changed but we have added certain features to improve the promotion of the album and the artist.
5
The next step was adding an image of the finished CD Digipack which has been place in the top left corner which attracts the viewer but does not distract them from other features.
We chose the front cover image only because all four panels was to busy and distracting when placed onto the advertisement.
Final Outcome
Here is the final outcome of our magazine advertisement which we have created from researching and experiencing a range of techniques and ideas. We have included the artist name, the album title, contact information/social media sites, persuasive text and a image of the front cover CD digipack.
Target Audience Feedback
1
We started with the chosen pervious experiment with the magazine advertisement. We looked back at our research and concentrated on what was missing and what we need to add to improve the design.
2
We noticed the we needed to add logos from other social media sites to explore and highlight the range of contact the viewers cn make the Matts Music. Here we have chosen the Facebook logo and we were just playing around with the positioning which we resulted in the far left corner where the other information is positioned. This was the must successfully positioning because it doesn't over power the advertisement but it doesn't become noticed either.
3
Here we wanted to add more media logos so we chose Twitter which from the Facebook logo positioning we knew to also place it at the bottom but this time in the bottom left corner to split the logos apart.
4
Here is a blow out picture of the whole advertisement at this stage in the making. Not much has changed but we have added certain features to improve the promotion of the album and the artist.
5
The next step was adding an image of the finished CD Digipack which has been place in the top left corner which attracts the viewer but does not distract them from other features. We chose the front cover image only because all four panels was to busy and distracting when placed onto the advertisement.
For target audience feed back we asked our target audience what they thought of our final magazine advertisement. These were some of their responses:
' From looking at your final magazine advertisements and research I like how you have included the essential of what you usually see on Magazine advertisements, such as contact information, title and name of artist and their album. What I thought worked best was how you have your CD Digipack in the top corner to link the both together.'
' I like how your Digipack image and magazine advertisement image and the same positioning. There is a clear link between both CD Digipack and Magazine advertisement as you have used the same style of font and font colour. The positioning of the text by using the darker areas in the photograph. It works well.'
Overall, our target audience thought that this music magazine advertisement worked well and both thought that the idea of having the digipack in the corner to show and advertise the music of our chosen artist.
' From looking at your final magazine advertisements and research I like how you have included the essential of what you usually see on Magazine advertisements, such as contact information, title and name of artist and their album. What I thought worked best was how you have your CD Digipack in the top corner to link the both together.'
' I like how your Digipack image and magazine advertisement image and the same positioning. There is a clear link between both CD Digipack and Magazine advertisement as you have used the same style of font and font colour. The positioning of the text by using the darker areas in the photograph. It works well.'
Overall, our target audience thought that this music magazine advertisement worked well and both thought that the idea of having the digipack in the corner to show and advertise the music of our chosen artist.






























































