My Free Magazine

From my first drafts I have decided that my magazine will be a free magazine. This means that it will be  a lot less cluttered than the leading music magazines such as 'Q' and 'Vibe'. Examples of free magazines include 'Loud and Quiet' and 'Crack'.

First Draft of Contents Page & Evaluation

For my contents page I decided to add a twitter column for readers to contact the magazine and comment on previous issues or what they would like to see in the next issue. I have followed the conventions of a free magazine and not included many pages or items to keep the theme of a fresh mini magazine based on the Hip-Hop/Rap genre. I also didn't want to fill up the page too much to also follow conventions of a free magazine.

First Draft of Double-Page Spread & Evalation

For my first draft of the double page spread, I followed the theme that the artist that I was interviewing, "A$AP Callum" has a split personality. This is shown by the two pictures with different facial expressions of the artist and also in the use of the two opposite colours which emphasises this. I have kept the same font as the front cover to follow the same impression throughout the magazine, this will also be kept the same for the contents page. After gaining feedback I have discovered that the two pictures do not contrast enough to be considered opposites and therefore will need to be changed when it comes to the final piece.

First Draft of Cover & Evaluation

For my first draft of the front cover I have stuck to the conventions of a free magazine. The main conventions of a free magazine are that the cover is plain and simple, giving every page the look of a poster that you could hang on your bedroom wall. These conventions are clearly shown in my front cover first draft. This cover does alienate audiences however, with the bars seperating the artist with the readers, making it less likely for readers of other magazine ginres to make the step to buy this specific magazine. Also the obvious body language has the same effect, while fitting in with the Hip-Hop/Rap idealisms it still alienates other audiences which would have a big effect on readership.

Free Magazine Research

Here is a link to an article about the rise of free magazines.

Looking at this article it explains that 'they are funded by advertising alone', this means that the advertisements are likely to portray the audience however they are not necessarily going to be linked to the music industry. What makes these free magazines so refreshing and different to mainstream paid-for magazines such as 'Q' and 'NME" are that 'they're not just about information; they are filled with beautiful designs and unique features that cater to a niche but committed market of the underground music obsessives.'

"Because they don't have a publishing house to answer to, independent magazines have more freedom to feature what and who they want." -  This is a huge advantage towards the free magazine industry as it means they can cover a wide range of music genres which will in turn cover a wider audience. This can make up for the fact that the magazines are unheard of.

"We put Coldplay on the cover [in 1999] long before they were signed" says Be Rozzo, co-founder of emerging free magazine 'the Fly'. This shows that although free magazines are only just on the rise now, they have been involved in artists that have gone on to be stars beforehand. Other examples include the Vaccines, Franz Ferdinand, Jessie Ware and Peace.

Key Pictures from First Photo Shoot

I used this shoot as a practice so that I could get used to using the camera. These are some examples of shots from my first shoot.  The theme of these shots is links to the genre of my magazine as it about rebellion and a 'hard-up lifestyle'. These are typically the sorts of images that you will find in magazines with a Hip-Hop/Rap styled genre. The last picture differs to the first two in the fact that I won't be including it in any of my drafts, it was just used as a chance to experiment with taking close-ups.