Publication Plan

Title: Current
Positioning statement: Bringing you the weekly charts!
Frequency of publication: Weekly
Price: £2

Distribution: Newsagents, supermarkets and music shops

Rationale: My magazine’s purpose is to inform and entertain the readers about chart music and the weekly UK chart. Interviews with artists and bands will be in my magazine, so that the audience feel as if they get to know and understand them, and their music. It will have up to date news and a bit of gossip to get some different readers to become interested in the magazine.

Style: For my style I will use colloquial language, using quite simple vocabulary and syntax. The magazine is for all chart music fans using a smart, neat presentation, with a simple layout that is not too busy. As I found that its mainly people aged between 12-25 that buy most music magazines, my magazine audience will be mainly aimed at 12-26 year old of both genders, and I will use quite simple syntax, with maybe just a few harder ones occasionally. My main image will be the main attraction of my front cover, so I won’t have too much writing around it, to focus the attention on the image.


Regular Content

· Editors letter
· The UK top 40
· Interview with chart toppers
· Upcoming gigs
· Upcoming singles and album
· CD reviews
· Gig reviews
· Last weeks UK top 10s
· Rising stars
· Future hits






Feature Content

· Download or buy music?
· What we’re listening to
· Do you really know chart music?
· Have your say in our charts
· Is pop dead?
· Who’s your favourite?
· Hopeful rising acts
· We ask the fans their favourite
· Get the music you want easily
· Charts have changed



House Style

Coverlines: Arial, bold

Headlines: Berlin Sans FB

Standfirst: Tahoma

Captions: Arial Narrow

Features first paragraph: Drop capital, 6 lines deep, Verdana, first word in capitals

News first paragraph: First word in capital to stand out, to catch their eye for the rest of the article

Body Text: Comic Sans MS

Colour Scheme: Red, blue, black

Questionnaire result tally

1. 1. Are you male or female?
Male
Female


2. How old are you?
Under 16
16-25
25-35
35-45
Over 45


3. How often do you buy music magazines?
Weekly
Fortnightly
Monthly
Other


4. How do you find out about the UK charts?
TV
Radio
Internet
Record Shops
Other


5. What is your favourite genre in the charts? (Number them in order of preference)
R’n’b
Dance
Rock
Indie
Hip hop
Rap
Pop
Other


6. Who is your favourite band?
Breaking Benjamin
Take That
The Artic Monkeys
The Black Eyed Peas
Blink 182
The Kooks
Jack's Mannequin
Muse
Paramore
Passion Pit
Mcfly
Girls Aloud
Green Day
JLS
Genesis


7. Who is you favourite solo artist?

Christina Aguilera
Bob Marley
Pink
Jason Mraz
Lily Allen
Beyonce
JME
Michael Buble
Paulo Nutini
Lady Gaga
Michael Jackson
Eddie Halliwell
Marvin Gaye
Newton Fawkner
Pixie Lott


8. What do you like to see in music magazines? (Number them in order of preference)
Interviews
Reviews
Headlines
Gig Information
Upcoming artists/bands
Upcoming CD’s
Others


9. How often do you listen to chart music?
Everyday
A few days a week
Once a week
Not much


10. Do you prefer to buy singles or albums?
Singles
Album


11. How much would you willing to pay for a chart music magazine?
Up to £1
£1-£2
£2-£3
£3-£4
More than £4


12. Do you prefer a band or artist on the front cover of a magazine?
Band
Artist
I don’t have a preference


13. Do you prefer to buy music or download?
Buy
Download


14. What is your favourite music magazine?
Kerrang
NME
Q
Moho
None


15. List three words you would associate with chart music?
Inspiring
Tasteful
Dancing
Singing
Pop
Happy
Joyful
Upbeat
New
Good
Lively
Rave
Clubs
Fun
Laugh
Indie
Countdown
Cheesy
Good
Similar
Lively


16. What is your favourite colour?
Pink
Blue
Brown
Red
Green
Purple
Orange

17. Would you buy a new chart music magazine?
Yes
No

My music magazine questionnaire

1. Are you male or female?
Male Female

2. How old are you?
Under 16 16-25 25-35 35-45 Over 45

3. How often do you buy music magazines?
Weekly Fortnightly Monthly Other ______________

4. How do you find out about the UK charts? (Tick which apply in numbered order)
TV Radio Internet Record shops
Other_____________

5. What is your favourite genre in the charts? (Number them in order of preference)
R’n’b Dance Rock Indie Hip hop Rap
Pop Other ______________

6. Who is your favourite band?
________________________________

7. Who is you favourite solo artist?
_________________________________


8. What do you like to see in music magazines? (Number them in order of preference)
Interviews Reviews Headlines Gig Information
Upcoming artists/bands Upcoming CD’s
Other__________________

9. How often do you listen to chart music?
Everyday A few days a week Once a week Not much

10. Do you prefer to buy singles or albums?
Singles Album

11. How much would you willing to pay for a chart music magazine?
Up to £1 £1-£2 £2-£3 £3-£4 More than £4

12. Do you prefer a band or artist on the front cover of a magazine?
Band Artist I don’t have a preference

13. Do you prefer to buy music or download?
Buy Download

14. What is your favourite music magazine?
________________________________

15. List three words you would associate with chart music?
______________________________________________

16. What is your favourite colour?
______________________________________________

17. Would you buy a new chart music magazine?
Yes No

My school magazine

Pie charts of questionnaire results

3. The majority of participants said they buy a music magazine monthly, but because my magazine is a chart music magazine it will have to be a weekly magazine, as the charts change weekly.









12. Most of the participants said they don’t have a preference to whether there’s a band or artist on the front, therefore I can chose either to go on my front cover.

Chart music magazine questionnaire

I asked 20 people to fill out a questionnaire based on their views and opinions on music magazines, chart music and chart music magazines. My results were as follows;


1. Out of the participants I asked 11 were female and 9 were male.

2. They were aged 4 under 16, 6 were 16-25, 4 were 25-35, 3 were 35-45 and 3 were over 45.

3. 2 of the participants read music magazines weekly, 2 read them fortnightly, 9 read them monthly and 7 read ticked other. The answers for other were ones such as occasionally, hardly ever and not much.

4. My participants show that the most popular way to find out the weekly chart is the radio, as it was chosen first 9 times. The second most popular was internet being chosen first 6 times and TV was third being chosen first 5 times. Record shops and other were not chosen first at all.

5. Out of the people I asked most of them preferred R'n'b being chosen first 6 times, second favourite was dance and indie, third was rock, hip hop and pop which were all chose first 2 times each. Rap was not chosen first at all.

6. I was given a wide variety of favourite bands with most people having different ones, Paramore was chosen by 3 people however, also Take That, Muse and Black-Eyed Peas were all chosen by two people.

7. Again there was a wide variety of favourite artists.

8. Interviews was top being chosen first 8 times, upcoming artists/bands was second coming first 6 times, reviews and headlines was chosen first 5 times and gig information and upcoming Cd's were chosen first 3 times.

9. 13 people said they listen to chart music everyday, 3 said a few days a week, 1 person said once a week and 3 people said not much.

10. Most people prefer to buy albums as 16 people ticked albums and 4 ticked singles.

11. No one chose up to £1, 8 people chose £1-£2, 8 people chose £2-£3, 3 people chose £3-£4 and 1 person chose more than £4.

12. 11 people answered that they don't have a preference to a band or artist on the magazine front cover, 6 chose an artist and 3 answered band.

13. 17 people said that they prefer to download music and 3 people said they prefer to buy music.

17. 16 people said they would buy a new chart music and the other 4 said they wouldn't.

Analysis of the magazine covers

• Colour scheme of 4 colours (white, yellow, red and blue)
• Buzz words used - e.g. plus, yeah, oh
• One main image used, centred, group shot
  
• 6 cover stories
• Banner used at top and bottom for 2 different stories
• Smaller image next to top banner, related to the article
• Plain white background
• All people looking into the camera
• Image overlaps the masthead
• Microphones are used by some of the band members
• All members are looking into the camera
• Informal mode of address
• Layout is busy and suits the genre of the magazine (Pop)
  

• Colour scheme used (Red, white and black)
• One main image used, left aligned
  
• Person not looking into the camera
• 7 cover stories
• Background is not plain, it is the background of the image, but unfocused
• Issue date at top left
• Image overlaps the masthead
• Quite easy, plain set out, and not busy, so it's easier to see everything