Magazine Deconstruction

This is Blues & soul magazine, it is the most popular soul magazine. The filter on it is quite retro which conveys the genre and a lot of bright and bold colours are used in the text to attract the audience and demographic.  

The Masthead: The font of the masthead looks like it could be 'Impact Bold', this can connote that the magazine writes articles that are bold and that make an important contribution to the music industry.  It is written in yellow, this can connote that the one of the magazine's values/ethos is to represent the chosen genre of music in a joyful and happy light.  The colour yellow also symbolises 'riches',
The main image: It denotes an attractive black female undressing or dressing. She takes up about 3 quarters of the page implying her importance to the magazine. This woman will show sex appeal to men which encourages them to buy it. She is the main focus as her fans will see it more value for money as the focus isn't on anyone else but her.

 Her hair is slicked back and simple which implies classiness. The director of the shoot would've directed it like this to convey an enigma and mystery. Her skin is showing and she isn't wearing trousers or proper clothing, the only clothing denoted is the yellow material and her arm seems to covering her breast as she pulls down her boots and is undressing, This has tasteful sex appeal to men that like the genre and the boots connotes glamour and femininity which woman may look at and aspire to or aim to mimic.

On the blues and soul magazine website i found this:

ABOUT BLUES AND SOUL

Published 6 times a year, Blues & Soul Magazine covers the latest UK and US urban music info, including; News, charts, reviews, event and clubbing info + our signature world renowned in-depth interviews and on influential artists past and present.

   

       

               This magazine doesn't publish any other genres and is niche and it appeals to its niche audience. It's target audience is mainly males likely aged 24-30. This is conveyed from the front cover as we see a male gaze portrayed by the main image. The Mise en scene is clear and not busy. It is blue which isn't a harsh or exciting colour so the focus is on the sexy woman with promiscuous boots and bright eye catching yellow clothing; the colour yellow is typically linked to joy and happiness. Because of the mise en scene the focus is mainly on her. Also the target audience can also be seen as male as the text and layout of the magazine is bold, simple and there isn't a lot of text. In addition, blue is stereotypically considered a masculine colour.

Research of Neo soul

R&B music accounted for the third biggest genre in the music industry by 2008

Influenced by R&B, 1970s soul, and 1980s Hip hop, Badu became associated with the Neo-soul sub-genre in the 1990s along with artists like D' angelo

1980s–early 1990s, 

Neo soul developed during the 1980s and early 1990s, in the United States and United Kingdom, as a soul revival movement. It earned mainstream success during the 1990s, with the commercial and critical breakthroughs of several artists, including D' angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill and Maxwell. Their music was marketed as an alternative to the producer-driven, digitally approached R&B of the time.

These pictures are of 3 Neo soul artists I like. Erykah Badu, Etta Bond and Lauryn Hill.

Erykah Badu is the queen of Neo-soul.

Neo soul is a genre of popular music. The term was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contemporary R&B.

Adele is mainly a soul/ Neo soul artist and she was the second highest paid female in the music industry in 2015.

Q was the most popular music magazine in January -June 2006 and Blues and soul was the most popular soul music magazine in 2014-2015. 

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated as R&B or RnB, is a genre that comes from popular African American music in 1940s. R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy. Lyrics focus heavily on the themes of triumphs and failures in terms of relationships, freedom, economics, aspirations, and sex. Which can often be reflected in media texts like RNB magazines. In the 1980s, a newer style of R&B developed, becoming known as "Contemporary R&B". It combines elements of rhythm and blues, soul, hip hop, blues and funk. Popular R&B vocalists at the end of the 20th century included Michael Jackson, R-kelly, Stevie Wonders, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.

Questionnaire

1. How old are you?

    14-15      16-17          18+

(Please circle)

2. What is your gender?

       Girl             Boy

(Please circle)

3. Do you like magazines with opportunities to win things and free gifts?

                 Yes     [    ]                        No    [    ]

(Please tick)

4. Would you enter competitions in magazines?

                 Yes     [    ]                        No    [    ]

(Please tick)

5. How much would you pay for a music magazine?

£0-£1      £1.01-£2     £2.01- £3 

(Please circle)

6. What magazine do you favour the most out of these magazines?

(Please tick next to your choice)

7. What is your favourite music genre?

(Please state)_____________________________________

8. Are you interested in R&B?

Yes                   No
(Please Circle)

9. How often would you like to see a magazine published?

Weekly      Monthly       Annually
(Please circle)

10. Where do you usually check up with the latest music?

Radio        Friends                Internet          Magazine

(Circle a minimum of one and a max of 2)

11. What colours would you prefer on a magazine?

Dark colours                 Light colours
(Please circle)

Contents page progression

This is my contents page so far, I edited the background to a library picture as I am reading a book and its well suited. There are still improvements that need to be made.

Looking and taking Alternative pictures

I'm considering using this image instead as it fits all the requirements, anchors and conveys the themes of the mag.

And this picture seems stiff, fake and isn't relatable to other students, i feel this is an unrepresentative portrayal of students that isn't good.

This image is an option and fits requirements.

This picture isn't framed to my liking and looks odd to me. 

I don't like how this image is slanted.

I have taken some pictures and I'm deciding again which ones are most appropriate for my magazine. The main story is ways to avoid stress during exams so i could use a picture of me smiling being a happy showing a happy student. Theres also a picture that looks like I'm studying, I'm unlikely to use the ones with a computer as it doesn't anchor any themes from the mag.

Progress of my magazine

This is what I've done so far.

Getting my picture

This picture is a midshot and one I will not use due to the fact that it doesn't relate to the story on the magazine and suits more of a glamour genre.

This image is the one that i will use as it relates to the story of the mag which is "Ways to avoid stress" this is good as its appropriate for the genre college magazine as there is stress during exams. Also the image shows a stress free student. This is what my college magazine looks like so far with the image. I feel this is the most suitable look though it is unfinished.

Preliminary Task - print

 Today I have decided to work on the layout. This includes finalising the house style of the preliminary college magazine. I will work on the mast head and the text surrounding the main image.
Also i am going to plan what my image will look like, this will consist of looking at example magazines to see what may suit my magazine. I will develop an idea out of professional magazines to ensure the best outcome. Next lesson I will take pictures to put in my magazine. Also I will annotate magazines to develop my understanding and ideas.