Fiona Drake AS Media

BETH – “No, they’re probably not as popular as the used to be, but I have faith that people will carry on buying them, in particular middle aged, ABC1 males who enjoy collecting literature that is appropriate to the music that they enjoy.

AMY – “Yes definitely, I have never seen anyone with a music magazine nor have I ever purchased one myself. They seem to have shrunk behind hoards of lifestyle magazines that offer people more variation.”

HANNAH – “Yeah, you only see older people or emos with music magazines, so they’re not exactly the people that you aspire to be really.”

Music magazines have somewhat died into the background recently, with the amount of them decreasing, and the newsstand space they occupy also decreasing.  The point of the humble music magazine was originally to update and be a side aspect to a genre of music that the reader favoured. The main difference that time has shown, is that favoured music magazines are no longer the low budget magazines that were issued weekly and responsible for the a decrease in the amount of pocket money left over. Yes, the days of magazines written by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts and printed on something that was near enough tracing paper have gone. In their place are monthly published magazine, written by ‘morph-able’ journalists and printed on fancy paper all held underneath the glossiest cover you ever did see. This has lead to music magazines being viewed as a luxury, rather than an item made for everyone. Music magazines have been shifted up a class, connoting that you must be of a certain ABC1 demographic to purchase it, and to show a genuine interest,  you must purchase it, which shows a vicious circle of exclusion (and a vicious circle of middle class teenagers pretending to be kerrang! devotees)

I think that the success of music magazines was due to the fact that they were all encompassing, and suited every demographic. But I feel a certain level of snobbery has been introduced in recent magazine publications, and to buy a music magazine you must suddenly be niche, trendy, unusual and quirky, as opposed to just fancying spending an hour reading a review of Coldplay’s new album. Partially, advances in technology are to blame. People can read all about their favourite artists, and read an album review on itunes on their phone whilst doing something else, which is a vital part of this argument. The fast pace of the modern day has left us unable to do something , unless we can do it at the same time as something else.

"Most authoritative and valued audience research in use for print and digital advertising trading in Britain"

What is it and how does it help?

The NRS is a tool which allows stakeholders of magazines and various other publishing to view the demographics and facts about their readers. This can be invaluable, as through learning about the average reader of their magazine, publishers can tailor many things to appeal to them. For example, a certain demographic may favour a certain writing type, or news feature theme. On a more financial side, advertisers may be reluctant to continue advertising to an audience that is not likely to purchase their project due to incompatible interests and products. This could make way for a more conducive advertiser to be chosen, which would benefit not only the advertiser through increasing sales, but the advertorial company, magazine, and reader.

Readership and circulation

Circulation exposes how many copies of a certain publication have been distributed per month through newsstand sales and subscriptions, in order to make progression and observations on sales, perhaps looking at them over time so that correlations can be made between different covers or article styles used in certain issues and the sales of said issue. This is very useful as it asses the visual appeal the magazine has on the newsstand, and whether the overall visuals of the magazine are appealing to the target audience correctly, an issue which can be raised with the art director of the magazine. Readership, however, focuses on how many people read the magazine, and how this allows them to see the demographic of them, and what other magazines they read. All of this enables publishers to learn more about their audience, and the more they know about their audience, the more they can tailor the magazine to their preferences. Readers will view this as a better magazine, therefore sparking recommendations to other people and continual sales.

Negatives

The NRS is not all good however. The point of the survey is to identify categories in which magazines have more readers. However some categories can be so broad they’re almost pointless. For example, when studying what ages read a certain magazine, one of the categories set is 15 – 34. This is a 19 year age gap, and clearly far too wide. A 15 year old will have very different interests and priorities compared to a 34 year old. Therefore, some categories may be seen as inaccurate, and not pose much help or advantage to people who work for magazine publishers.

Choosing a target audience is tricky, due to many different factors that must be considered. Different target audiences will have preferred mediums for articles to be displayed on, varying amount of time to read magazines which can influence article length, different interests and writing styles. This can cause each genre have a very niche style, meaning design is often similar for magazines that appeal to the same genre.

To avoid blending into the common style seen on the newsstand I’ve chosen a genre that is unusual and somewhat different to magazines commonly sold in large chain shops as the style is so restricted. My magazines specific genre is classical pop. This means catchy, pop/electronic songs, with parts played on typically classical musical instruments, or origins from classical music. An example of this is popular music at the moment is Clean Bandit. They are a band that are increasing in popularity, and therefore increasing the following of the genre and showing a positive relation to the classical influences that are coming into music. This allows a large portion of the magazine to be on new music and it keeps a family like atmosphere. This will also form a very specific look and type of content to the magazine, meaning that immediate identification and unique branding is a given.

Whilst this may seem like the genre of this magazine is too specific to provide a stable audience, I think the fast pace of new music and rapid explosion of following in the genre will keep it going. The magazine also may have a niche genre, but does not have an overly restricted amount of people who could read it. I plan for the magazine to be written in somewhat formal (in the lack of taboo language) style, but with snippets of informalities in the form of humour and personal (but not gossip-y) exclusives from interviewees. Good journalism can be recognised and enjoyed by the majority of people, with the genre sometimes taking a backseat. Not only is this why my magazine would be able to be picked up and enjoyed by the majority of people, but the classical influences open so many doors for new readers. Young people learning to play instruments or people in orchestras may enjoy reading the magazine to find out about new opportunities for people who play and to realise the classical music can be cool. This magazine reinforces that you can break the mould when it comes to classical and begin to lose its stigma. Older musicians may also show interest in this magazine as it can educate them to the lack of restraints and freedom that can attract a whole new generation of classical instrument players, and the sudden boom of classical in popular culture can be inspirational and fulfilling for them.

Audience Profiling

Audience profiling is a way to find out key information about your target audience so you are able to tailor parts of your publication to their preferences. Refining the audience through this allows for better marketing not only to the audience, but to the companies looking advertise in the magazine.

The factors considered are

The answers to these categories often allow for a decision to be made on the person’s socio-economic status. This can then be broadened so the publisher can decide to market the magazine to a certain socio-economic group through writing style, chosen headlines and other factors key to magazines.

For example, typically magazines aimed at the C2DE group (closer, heat) often have bright, crowded covers, with cliff-hanger style, gossip orientated headlines. In contrast to this, magazines aimed at the ABC1 group (ELLE, Essentials, Delicious) have more refined covers that feature complimentary colour schemes and cover lines that are sophisticated and appealing without being overbearing.

Psychographics deal with the audience’s behaviour and personality rather than their job and financial status. For example, 2 people could have the same job and therefore the same income but one might be an introvert while the other is an extrovert, in which case they would have the same socio-economic demographic, but a different psychographic. Psychographics are more detailed and personal than demographics, meaning the publisher is able to personalise the magazine after they’ve dealt with financial boundaries of the magazines demographic.

Even though my magazine could be read by many people, the main demographic would be ABC1, and the main psychographics would be succeeders and reformers with a hint of aspirers. This is because the reader will value the look of the magazine but not make it the overriding reason as to why they bought the magazine. They will also like the fact the magazine is unusual and quirky yet still reputable and organised. 

"This is the guy we've all seen in Borders or HMV on a Friday afternoon, possibly after a drink or two, tie slightly undone, buying two CDs, a DVD and maybe a book - fifty quid's worth - and frantically computing how he's going to convince his partner that this is a really, really worthwhile investment."

50 quid bloke is a term first defined in July 2003 by David Hepworth from Development Hell, an independent magazine publisher, in a speech to the BPI's AGM. A man who buys endless music memorabilia in a vain attempt to stave off middle age, some argue he may end up being solely responsible for maintaining the life of music magazines. 50 quid bloke is typically over 35, and an ABC1 male.

These 40-somethings are ravenous for the appeal of youth and the buzz that comes with it. They leave their local branch of HMV 50 quid worse off, but still brandishing the glossy pink carrier bag like an Olympic gold. Unfortunately, the sense of ‘pride’ only lasts so long once out of the iridescent disc haven. Diminishing looks shot by anyone under 30 could drown 50 quid bloke in pure pity, as they swiftly put their headphones in and sigh a deep sigh of sympathy to the bloke in a polo shirt who’s just spent 50 quid on the same music that they’re tucking into quite illegally.

50 quid bloke has no shame however, as he opens his bag to expose his latest triumphs. He’s probably bought a blur album, and he’s probably planning on playing it at a sensible volume level in his Volvo on the way home. Alongside that, he’s also got an album of radio 2s picks of the year, the frozen DVD (for his daughter), and Tom Odell’s album; which his wife insists he listens to as she hasn’t quite yet go of her radio 1 days yet. His favourite film in probably lost in translation, and his favourite book is The Da Vinci Code. He’s probably wearing either a joules polo shirt his mum got his for his birthday, or trying incessantly yet politely to bring skinny jeans into his generation. (85% chance that they’re being worn with winkle pickers)

At HMV, the BPI statistics confirmed what they already knew. (They are people) “Whom music has always been a central passion, and they have the disposable income," says Gennaro Castaldo, HMV's head of press. It is also possible to flip the situation on its head, and make a case for the 13-19 year olds seen strutting out of HMV (but preferably a local vinyl shop), clasping tatty vinyl to their chest for dear life. For most, this is as much of a statement as 50 quid bloke rebuying parachutes whilst wearing a White Stripes t-shirt.

Through the generation gap, there is one last thread of hope before they completely disconnect. The passion of 50 quid bloke is the main thing that keeps him young. Passion seen in the younger generation is parallel to the passion seen in 50 quid bloke and his friends, as they all have something so important to them, they stay loyal to it. Whether they’re going about it in an incorrect way or not, they are motivated to maintain their interest in something they enjoy.

David Carson is a graphic designer and art director. He is most well-known for his unusual and innovative magazine cover designs. A turning point in Carson’s career was when he was appointed as Art Director for RayGun magazine from 1992 -1995. His style of magazine design showed no continuity or typical conventions of magazine design throughout every issue he designed. He specialised in unusual typography and many claim he started the ‘grunge typography era’.

In my opinion Carson was incredibly brave to disregard magazine conventions as boldly as he did. His magazine covers were always unique, yet not always completely aesthetically pleasing, which showed that to an extent he created these wild and wacky magazine covers to spark a reaction rather than because they were attractive to the public. Problems that RayGun would have found with Carson’s style of design is that the lack of continuity killed any familiarity that that audience could identify with the magazine. If there is even one feature that is always present, in the same place, font and size/colour on the front page, potential readers will be able to identify the magazine in a crowded zoo of glossy covered publications at a newsstand.

However, Carson showed the future of magazine art directors that conventions can be broken, and it won’t be the end of the world. Looking at publications before and after Carson’s 3 year stint at RayGun, the difference is noticeable. Post Carson covers show more spontaneity in the placement and colours used, whereas before Carson covers were more uniform and refined in terms of eye-catching features.

 

It is much more noticeable how more refined and plain the 1990 cover is compared to the 2000 cover, which has many more cover lines on the cover, and has also used 3 font colours as opposed to 1 on the older cover. The newer cover seems more commercialised and eye-catching, due to the influence Carson placed on colours used within magazine design.

Ideology is key in each genre, as each genre will have a representation that is vital to the establishment of the magazines theme and therefore attract the correct demographic of readers.

An easy way for the magazine to show this is through not only the colours and fonts used, but also through the visual appearance of the artist or image on the cover. Each artist will have a look tailored to appeal to the people who listen to their style of music. This will provoke either an attraction to this style, causing desire to be part of the genre, or will create a sense of comfort with a style that the reader has already found to represent them and their preferences. Both of these will cause 2 similar things, an initial attraction, followed by high chances of purchasing the magazine.

For example, this magazine shows key tropes that would attract the target audience of Elle. Elle’s media kit says, “The vast majority (82 percent) of Elle's audience are women between the ages of 18 and 49. Its readers have a median age of 34.7 years. Forty percent of the readers are single, and the median household income is $69,973. "Our readers are young enough to think about life as an adventure and old enough to have the means to live it", said Roberta Myers, editor in chief.” This is reinforced in many aspects of the cover. In particular the masthead, which contains the name “ELLE”. When translated, “Elle” is French for “She”, again showing that the magazine is aimed at women. The cover balances a light hearted look with a more serious fashionable look, perhaps linking to the personality of the reader contrasting with more serious, high paid jobs they do, which explains the high median household income. 

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is used to distinguish what the audience wants, and that they need. Consumerism is the fuel for western lifestyles, constantly driving the consumer to plan and desire what they want. An interesting concept is the possibility of want gradually becoming need. This is an example of how advertising can act as propaganda; reinforcing said product to the audience so frequently they begin to believe that they need the item. This is an interesting concept in the structure of magazine genre and covers. Could the frequent exposure to conventions of particular genres on magazine covers be the reason why people at first want to become part of the group the magazine is aimed at, and then begin to need this item (complete with genre specific tropes) to feel like they fit somewhere?

This mainly reinforces the top 2 sections of the hierarchy of needs; self-actualisation and esteem. This shows the power of the media, and how it potentially is able to convey tropes of social groups so well that it can completely make someone’s self-actualisation and/or esteem become positive rather than negative.