20. Stereotypes of an Indie Rock Fan

What i expect an Indie Rock fan to be like

"This is our decision, to live fast and die young. We've got the vision, now let's have some fun. Yeah, it's overwhelming but what else can we do? Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?"-MGMT (Time To Pretend)"

• After researching  'indie rock' i have found that the music often reflects the lifestyle of fans. Lyrics relate to a carefree way of life, when peoples attention isnt on everyday worries but focused on living their lives to the fullest.
  
  Stereotypical features of an indie fan:
• Doesnt care about what people think or label them as, they pride themselves as being themselves despite what people may think or say.
• Often have a quirky Style. Outfits look messy yet put together. They wear alot of denim, baggy jumpers & T-shirts that often have a quirky image.
• Have a relaxed and easy going personality, doesnt worry about school,work or gossip.
• Their style is iconically used in photography.
• Expected to be seen at music festivals in the summer.
• Can be labelled 'geeks', seen as intellegent.
• Young,aged between 15-25
• Even though the music industry is dominated by male artists,there seems to be an equal number of male and female fans.

19. Focus Groups

Focus groups (primary,qualitative research) on indie rock


In order to gain information that would help me put together my magazine, i asked various people questions about what they would want and expect from a Indie Rock magazine. This will help me find the common material that people would want. 
i asked a group of people twelve questions and these are the results;


1)what do you expect from a music magazines?
Interviews with popular artists
New Releases
Top 40
Concerts
'Ones to Watch'


2) What types of adverts do you expect?
Clothes, Album releases, Concerts.


3) What do you want articles to feature?
A day in the life of/ inside the life of


4) How much would you pay?
£1-£5


5)What do you expect from the name?
Short,snappy,one word & one syllable 


6)What colours do you expect?
Clashing,quirky,splashes of different colours,blues/blacks.


7)What makes you want to buy a magazine?
Cover,reputation,attractive artists,price


8)What gender would you prefer to see on the cover?
attractive, has to be about a subject that people would want to here about.


9)What do you think should be on the cover?
short,snappy,sell line, a taster of whats inside.


10) what could make a magazine stand out?
articles about things other than music.


11)Whats your favourite Indie artist?
Ed sheeran


12) What do you think the stereotype of Indie fans is?
Wealthy, Not bothered about opinions, quirky,messy,individuals. 

After looking through the answers i have realised that readers want an affordable magazine that is worth their money. They want to be given an insight into artists lives and feel a part of the music that they love. Fans want the cover to stand out and be different compared to other music genres. They also want features in the magazine to reflect their own style, maybe an article on fashion included in the magazine.


I'm going to use this information when i take photos that will be included in articles and the cover, so that the reader can relate to the image portrayed by the artists.I'm also going to make sure that the magazine included the things that they mentioned. Overall i think this focus group has helped me a lot. 

18. Niche Magazines

Niche Magazines

A magazine will either have a 'niche' market or a 'mass' market. A magazine with a mass market will be 'broadcast' as it is aimed at a wide audience with a wide range of types of people willing to read it. A magazine with a niche market will be 'narrowcast' as it is aimed at a smaller,more specific audience that have a particular interest in the genre.

Pros

Niche magazines usually have a loyal audience that purchase the magazine consistently. This is because the contents of the magazine is aimed specifically at the target audiences interests rather than covering a wider range of interests and not having as loyal readers.There are also less conventions niche magazines need to follow, this means that they have can create trends that wouldn't necessarily be expected.As more people become interested in the genre of the magazine, more people will purchase it. This means that if the magazine place a new band on the cover, they will automatically be backed by the lloyal fans that purchase every issue, allowing more people to hear about it and enabling the fan base to grow massively. In other words its alot easier for record companies as they're directly reaching the bands target audience and gaining fans quickly rather than having to work alot harder for the band to grow. 

Cons Its not uncommon for nich magazines to be discontinued. Due to the fact that there is far less people interested in the genre, less money is generated compared to that of broadcast magazines who have a large amount of readers. In addition companies will be less willing to pay for their products to be advertised within the magazine, they're more likely to want to advertise in a bigger magazine that has larger amount of people who read it. This is another issue that relates to the money problems linked to niche magazines.

An example of a nich magazine is 'Country Walking'

17. Research Methods

Research Methods
Primary; This is a method of research that is done by yourself, this way individuals results can be gathered. An example of this could be questionaires. The method is successful because results are as recent as they can be, and will be specific. However, this method takes a lot of effort and costs alot.
Secondary; This involves you gathering information from others reseach, this can be done through things like blogs or just websites in general. This method is cost effective, but there is no way you can be sure that the information you gather is correct.
Qualitative; This method involves a small group of people who have opinions on the subject at hand ( eg. our focus group was qualitative ). This method can often leave you with biased information but will enable you to have a broader range of answers to your questions.
Quantative;This enables you to gain an 'in depth' overall view of your subject.Its means that you will be able to identify a trend in your results, however your results wont be opinions, just statistics.

16. Magazines that go against conventions

Magazines that go against conventions - Raygun.

'Raygun' was an american alternative rock magazine published in 1992.
David Carson (director) gave an idividual and somewhat artistic style to the magazine. Covers were chaotic but showed flare, unfortunately the style was not always seen us readable, as different and 'nice to look at' as it was.
The magazine had to stop being produced due to the lack of sales. This could have been due to the negativeity reflected on the constant change of house style.

15. Extended Tropes

Extended Tropes
Artists will most often sing about subjects of interest to them, the most common examples of this are songs about love and war. However another less noticable trope is that of people listening to the music in clubs and bars, the dj will not play the music loud enough and so the artist vents their frustration. They do this through their lyrics and aking the DJ to 'turn the music up' in their songs.

A trope maker is the initial inspiration for the trope. For this particular example the trope maker was the song 'play that funky music white boy' by wild cherry. Once you listen to songs created after this eg. Rhianna 'pon de replay' (hey mr dj, won't you turn the music up?) you can see how this trope has been taken and adapted through the years to fit in with different generations.

On the other hand, although it is common for artists to follow tropes within the industry, it is also not unheard of for rebellious artists to flip a trope and attack the meaning. A band called 'the smiths' released a song called 'panic' which has the repeated lyrics 'hang the dj,hang the dj.) This is refered to as a subverted trope.
Examples of an inverted tropes could be 'evacuate the dance floor' by cascada and 'dont play that song again' by Nicki French, as they completely reverse the meaning of the original trope.

14. Bricolage & Barcodes

Bricolage - construction or creation from a diverse range of available things.  (In this case music genres)


An example of this could be the song 'walk this way' by run DMC and aerosmith. They incorporated features from both hip-hop music and heavy rock and composed the song through rapping and scratching over a heavy rock track.

Bar codes Bar codes are a simple way of interacting with readers. The reader scans these codes using smart phones. This will link them to the website of the magazine. This leap in technology has been produced in recent years, simplifying the steps needed to adress a reader.

13. History of Indie Rock

History Of Indie Rock
Independent music (indie music) was firstly used as a term to describe artists being independent from major record labels.
These artists are autonomous and self made,they did everythiong from recording to publishing by themselves.In other words, these groups were not interesting in gaining help from big industry labels. However now it is seen as a genre with artists that differ from generic pop sounds and style.


After researching i found it hard to find out when indie rock really did first begin, most sources said between the 1960s and early 1980s. I did find that the band 'The Velvet Underground' did inspire indie music, they were the first to record their music independently. However they were pretty unsuccessful and sold few records.


The 1970s is an era in which more experimental music has origainated. A handful of bands tried to be diverse and create new, fresh sounding music. One form of music that emerged here was 'Progressive Rock', sounding considerably different to that of 'The Beatles'. It is thought that this was the base of the electronic instumental era that erupted in the 1990s. Music bands like Sire records became popular, followed by a 'new wave' form of msuic being created.

In the 1980's Indie music exploded. This period allowed for a new form of music called 'alternative music' to immerge, it was a sound created out of a distortion of garage bands.


However in the 1990's Indie music changed completely. Although the music was more popular and filled a gap in the industry, it was being commercialized. Artist became tied with major record lables rather than creating their success off their own backs. This upset alot of the orignal indie music fans, but this sounds like it went unnoticed due to the growth of the genre.


Overall i found that the Indie Music industry has changed completely over time.It started of as being more of a protest agains major record labels and generity & couldnt really be labelled a 'genre'. However to the disapointment of the original fans the meaning changed.Artists joined the labels that they were once completely against. Nowadays i think that Indie music can be called a genre, it fills a gap in the market and juxtaposes the sounds of pop.

    (The Velvet Underground)

12. MoodBoard

Excuse the really bad print screen ive had to use, my laptop isnt as swanky as the school imacs :(

MoodBoard
For my moodboard i researched images of various popular indie bands. I found that their style was so similar, its messy and quirky and reflects a carefree yet sometimes reckless attitude. This research has reinforced the idea that Indie musics target audience is young adults. Male artists often wear suits and their facial expressions are often serious, these features wouldn't appeal to a younger audience as they would find it boring rather than quirky. I also found that the indie music genre is widely dominated by young adult men. I also found it ironic how bands in the indie genre want to step away from the generic pop style and be something different, yet have almost identical styles to each other.

11. The Four F's

THE FOUR F's

Function - What are the magazines objectives?
Formula - Elements which make up the magazine eg. how many articles
Frame - Margins and gutters for printers
Format - How is the magazine presented?

I need to take in into consideration the 'F's', as they are the four main points that help make up a professional looking magazine, which includes all the typical conventions expected.

10. Deconstruction of NME music magazine

NME
The NME has been published weekly since March 1952, beginning as a music newspaper but moved to a magazine format, changing from news print in 1988. It was British best selling music newspaper in 1970s. The first issue was published on 7th March 1952. In May 2008 the magazine had a re-design and was aimed at an older relationship and less poppy. Circulation of the magazine has fallen since 2003, this could once more be again due to the internet and most information being easier to get from there and other appliances such as iPods. 


TITLE
The title of the magazine is obviously NME, it stands for 'new musical express'. After purchasing the magazine i found that it features different genres of music not just indie rock, these genres include; punk,metal and hiphop. I realise now that it is called NME because if features new music and a regular basis. 'Express' has connotations of a newspaper which links to the kind of paper used within the magazine as it is similar to that of a paper. 
READERSHIP
I think that the target audience of this magazine is teens and young adults, perhaps even older as it feature's music from the past. This kind of magazine would definately not be aimed at an audience of a younger generation then that i have mentioned, this is because music within this genre often includes explicit lyrics such as; swearing, sex and drugs. As parents pay for this age ranges disposable income, they would not allow for their young child to read a magazine that features these things. I think that they would be more likely to pay for a less offensive pop magazine that features role models. I know that it is targeted at an older audience because of the serious expression on the artists face, the colour scheme features colours like black. Artists included in the 'anchor' (The red and white text at the bottom of the page) have names such as 'eagles of death metal' this name has negative connotations, something a parent wouldn't allow a child to read. Readers will firstly 'interact' with the magazine through features in the front cover as it will be the first thing they will see. Features within the magazine that the reader can interact with include, a letters page, competitions page and through the advertising.
THE COVER
The front cover includes three images of music artists. The main one is a picture of Lily Allen with choppy black hair and a grungy oversized tartan shirt. The Tartan shirt was a common type of clothing worn by 'punks' in the 1970's, she's also wearing chains and has sullen looking eyes. Which reinforces the meme of punk fashion portrayed in the cover. I noticed that Lily's face has been edited so that she looks pale &  has no colour or small features shown. This also contributes to the punk image. In addition Lily is looking straight at the camera, meaning that it looks like she's looking out to the reader, this is used as a form of direct mode of address. The white and black 'splash' beside her has been deliberately written in the font it is shown in. This is because it was used by the punk band 'The Sex Pistols' back in 1977, this could show that the magazine is trying to bring back the trope of punk fashion. Intertextuality has been used by doing this, the sub-editor has mixed punk fashion with indie music. After researching the magazine i think the editor has done this in an attempt to attract a wider ranger of readers, perhaps adults that once read the magazine back in the 70's or people who listen to punk now.
THE PRESENTATIONThis magazines presentation has been done extremely well. It still maintains a professional feel whilst appearing random and almost skatty. Inside, Articles can relate to the style of a newspaper, i think that this works well for the indie rock genre. The colours and layout are much more plain and 'tidy' inside than the cover again i feel tis works well as it indicates that the magazine is serving a purpose rather than being filled with images like othermagazines.
The layout kind of reminds me of blog posts.
THE MODE OF ADDRESSI'dsay that the language used throughout the magazine is informal,upbeat and friendly. The text used welcomes the reader and isnt intimidating to read. Do to the friendly approach you could say that the writer aims to build trust and almost make a relationship with the reader. Readers are encouraged to interact with the magazine and share their opinions through the fan page, twitter and facebook. This is a simple and effective way for the editor of the magazine to show readers that the magazine is 'for' them, they're opinions matter and will be taken into account.
ADVERTISINGAdvertisments within the magazine are obviously aimed at the magazines target audience and reflect the themes in the magazine. Advertising in magazines is a quick and effective way of sending out messages to the reader. For example, an advertisment commonly found in a music magazine is one for gigs, the gig will be the type of music genre that will appeal to the reader  as they have brought a music magazine thats subject is the same as the gig.. Its effective because they are directly contacting the type of people who would be interested in watching the gig.
PUBLICATIONThe magazine has been being published for over 50 years. It was first released by IPC media in 1952. Its circulation from january to june 2010 was over 30,000. This could be due to the magazines effective use of publication 'platforms' such as facebook and twitter.

9. Quote

"The ideology of the music will affect the design. A pop magazine may, for example, use bright, primary and pastel colours and use smiling pop stars. A heavy metal magazine will use clashing and aggressive fonts, and colours, and have grimacing bands on the cover using rude gestures."

8. Intro to Indie Rock

I have chosen 'Indie Rock' as the genre for my magazine. This is because i wanted to chose something a little different, i felt that genres such as pop would have been the most popular. Even though i enjoy listening to this type of music i wanted my blog to stand out. I think that because i have an interest in indie rock, i will concentrate on the tasks at hand and want to 

7. To do list

FINISH MAGAZINE QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!
DO NICHE THINGS

6. Memes & Tropes

Trope- the conventions and stereotypes of a magazine. eg Typically used features on the cover of a magazine. 


Meme- A feature that someone used first, before anyone else. The idea becomes popular and spreads across the industry, typically then becoming a trope. 


GENERIC CONVENTIONS OF POP

• Artists costumes link to fashion at the time
• Smiley
• Dance Routines
• Music videos often follow a story line relating to the lyrics of the song
• Bright colours
• Artists act as 'role models'

GENERIC CONVENTIONS OF RnB

• Videos include some sort of dance, however not in routine. This is often shown in a nightclub or party.
• Often aimed at ages 13-25
• Videos feature some sort of showing off either through jewellery, cars or money 
• Based on the physical appearance of either the Artist or extras
• Artists aim to come across as being dominant
• Often features offensive language  

GENERIC CONVENTIONS OF ROCK 

• Rock has been found to influence fashion
• Often has no storyline to the music video
• Colours are often dark and unconventional
• Artists often aim to shock listeners and stand out
• Songs are fiery and often feature negative emotions

5. Terms used in magazine industry

These are typical terms used in the magazine industry;

• Title - the name of the magazine, usually presented at the top of the page
• Banner - a strip of images or a phrase across the cover
• Sell Line - a catchy phrase used to attract the reader
• Splash - written across the front cover of a magazine, to attract the eye
• Menu Bar - these are at the sides of the cover page, informing the reader
• Burst - a shape, usually in the corner of the page, with information included in it
• WOB (White On Black) - this is white writing on a black background
• Puff - this is a short snippet of text to attract the reader quickly
• Ear Piece - a piece of information, presented in the corner
• Call-Out - part of the front cover that shouts out at the reader
• Barcode - a machine-readable code, to define the price
• Tag-line - a memorable phrase
• Boost - the biggest sell line, to increase sales
• Dog End - a 'pretend' fold in the page, usually to present the page number
• Direct Mode of Address - when the information talks directly to the reader, using pronouns. Eye-contact from the model on the front cover could also convey direct mode of address

4. Music Genres

3. School Magazine

This is my first attempt of a magazine cover. I have done this in order To show how much i will improve  over the course.


I used the analysis of good and bad school magazine covers and the information gained from the focus group to shape the design i have created. 
I have made sure that the colour of the font is the same throughout the cover and contents page, this shows continuity that makes a magazine look professional. However, the font that i have used is simplistic and shows no character, which could lead to a readers attention not being drawn to it.


It was important for me to include ideas from the focus group as it was a direct way of gathering ideas of what the target audience wanted. Although it proved difficult to include all of them on the cover, so i had to chose ones that i thought would attract the most interest. 


I wanted the cover to look light hearted and fun so used bright colours ( one of the things the year 7's wanted). I also used features such as italic, bold and caps lock to highlight aspects and make them stand out.

To ensure that the contents page maintained a professional feel i spaced out subheadings so that the page didn't look to busy or cramped. 


Overall i think the quality of my work will improve loads over the course because i will have more time to get used to the software, i'd like to be able to improve editing techniques, for things like the title so i'd be able to give the magazine its own unique feel.