Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop of challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

When first researching the music magazine genre I found that there were many magazines that were genre specific, and largely targeted at a specific audience. Therefore I decided to challenge this convention when creating my final product, in creating a magazine that would cater for a variety of tastes, music and audience expectations. 

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My product represents the social group of teenagers + ranging from 17-24 years. There is no set gender of whom my product is targeting as, as part of my unique selling point I aimed to create a music magazine that was suitable for a range of different readers.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

After completing my industry research I have decided that to distribute my product i would use a media institution such as Bauer Media. As it is an extremely successful institution and publishes a wide range of magazines, many similar to that of the product I have created. Bauer Media also consists of radio, TV, online and digital businesses which would then create more entertainment for my target audience that they could associate with my magazine, therefore expanding the audience.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I addressed my audience firstly by creating a questionnaire to allow me to gain an insight into what my target audience were interested/looking for in a highly satisfying music magazine. I then showed a focus group a rough flat plan of what my final product was going to look like, to see if they had any recommendations as to what I should amend/add to the front cover.

Looking back at you preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

When looking back at my preliminary task of a Sixth Form magazine, I feel that my photography skills/images I have chosen to use in my Music Magazine are of a lot higher standard and appear more professional in general. I feel this has improved due to more experimentation through lighting and editing of the photographs. I have also developed my presentation skills, again creating a more professional looking product.

Final Product

Subcultures

Subcultures are meaning systems, modes of expression or lifestyles developed by groups in subordinate structural positions in response to dominant meaning systems. There are many Subcultures in our society, and they form through recognition of similar interests, music, rituals and fashion which are different from the mainstream culture. Subcultures have expanded their ways of interaction onto the Internet since the Internet became a useful tool for communication. Through blogs, members in subcultures can easily find other members and interact with each other within the blog community. Other features that act as social elements in subcultures include the same tastes in music, use of colours, and their display names or icons that show their characters of being a part of the culture. For members to communicate effectively with other members in the blog community, their choice of music, fashion and interests are limited to those that are acceptable in the subculture.

Fanzines

A fanzine is a nonprofessional publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest. Typically, publishes, editors and contributors to fanzines receive no financial compensation. Fanzines are traditionally circulated free of charge, or for a nominal cost to defray postage or production expenses.

By the mid 1960s, several fans of active science fiction and comics recognized a shared interest in rock music, and the rock fanzine was born. Paul Williams and Greg Shaw were two such fans turned rock zine editors. Williams 'Crawdaddy' and Shaw's two California-based zines, 'Mojo Navigator' and 'Who put the bomp?' are among the most important early rock fanzines.

The punk subculture in the UK spearheaded a surge of interest in fanzines as a countercultural alternative to established print media. The first and perhaps still best know UK 'punk zine' was 'Sniffin Glue', produced by Deptford punk fan Mark Perry. 'Sniffing Glue' ran for 12 photocopied issues.

In the UK, there were also fanzine that covered the local music scene in a particular town or city. Mainly prevalent in the 70s and 80s, all music styles were covered, whether the bands were playing rock, punk, metal, futurist, ska or dance. Featured were local gig reviews and articles that were below the radar of the mainstream music press. They were produced using the technology of the time, ie typewriter and letraset. Examples included 'Bombsite Fanzine' and 'City Fun'.

I have found that the diverse content of fanzines is one of the most striking features. There is a perception that fanzines deal with one particular band or personality, however the majority of fanzines are exactly the opposite of this. In fact, the majority of music fanzines do not even limit themselves to just covering a variety of music. Fanzines also commonly include articles on films, books, short stories and pieces on the zine producer's life. Art and drawings are also commonly an important part of many fanzines.