ONLINE MAGAZINE PITCH

ONLINE MAGAZINE PITCH BY Courtney Baxter

Introduction • What is your magazine about ? I had a few ideas for my original magazine project including gossip, a children's magazine or my chosen idea which will be a music and entertainment magazine. I decided to create a music based magazine as I have done research on this genre before so my knowledge is wider compared to the others. Music is a big part of my life so this is also something that I will be passionate writing about. I will include interviews from my family members who have previously been involved in the music industry and talk about the demographics within music. I would like to incorporate the quirkiness of clash magazine in my design alongside bright colours and hopefully some interactive segments.

Introduction • What is the genre of your magazine ? My magazine genre is music and entertainment, I will create a magazine based on the infrastructure of the music industry, an insight into the reality of band life and fashion. • Is your magazine going to be released monthly, weekly, quarterly etc. ? My magazine will be released every three months like the magazine clash which I am using as a template. • How much will it cost ? My magazine will be approximately £6 per issue depending on the contents.

Magazine name ideas • Formation – means the process of being formed, relating to the articles on new music and how an artist Is made • Outset – means the beginning of something, the beginning of a new artist, starting to climb to the top (music demographics) • Debut – means a persons first appearance, new artists, new magazine release

Target audience • Who is your target audience ? clash magazines press pack states that 37% of their readers are aged between 21 and 25 (24% aged between 26 and 20) and 52% is male; therefore their target audience are males aged between 21 and 30. I would like my magazine to be aimed at both a male and female audience aged between 20 and 30 years of age. By making my magazine unisex I am allowing my target audience to be wider.

How will it be advertised ? • How will your readers find out about the magazine ? My target audience will find out about my magazine through ads in newspapers and social media platforms. I decided that my magazine will offer a yearly subscription so I would place a voucher for money off in a local newspaper which will both advertise the magazine and interest the audience as you save money. Using social media will allow me to access a vast amount of readers; most people who use Instagram are aged between 18-29, 71% of snapchat users are below the age of 34 and 88% of Facebook users are aged between 18-29 which matches my target audience. • Where would it be advertised ? I will use the social media platforms Instagram and snapchat. On snapchat you can create magazine channels where readers can look at highlights of your issue and intrigue them into clicking the link to your online magazine. Instagram has sponsored adverts which link onto your profile of the magazine page.

U s p – unique selling point • What is your magazines unique selling point ? My magazine will be based on a niche topic; the hardship of making it to the top of music. It will have a personal touch as music is something I am passionate about and something close to my family. • How are you going to make it stand out among other similar magazines in the market ? I am going to incorporate the unique style of clash magazine on my front cover so that it stands out to the reader; BRIGHT COLOURS, DIFFERENT TEXTURES AND BOLD FONT.

Price • How much will your magazine cost ? My magazine will cost approximately £6 each issue and £25 for a yearly subscription. • How di d you get this price ? Clash magazine sell their issues at £6.99 each. I put the price down a bit lower than clash magazine. • How it will be sold (monthly subscription etc) ? My magazine will be sold four times a year, every three months. This allows it to contain well written content and a wide variety of news gathered over a longer period of time.

Design/ flat plan This is an example of what my pages will look like inside. They have bright colours, shapes and an abstract layout. When I take my photos I will put bright colours in the background to make them stand out. I will also alternate between the size of images I have as I don’t want it to look to straightforward. I have left a border around the outside so that it looks compacted and neat. The title will be in bold and thick font so that it stands out and the subtitle will be underneath.

Photography ideas For the front cover I would like to use a singular image of a male artist that looks bold and powerful. This image will be the focus point of my magazine so it must be a statement photo and represent the artist individually.

Photography ideas I would like to explore using bold colours and different patterned, textured effects. This will give a unique feel to my magazine.

The main stories • What will the interview piece be about ? my interview piece will feature my family members who have been involved in the music industry, talking about the reality of being famous, the hardship of becoming big and why music is such a big part of some many peoples lives. • Where did you get the inspiration from ? I researched a few music and entertainment magazines but clash was the one that I liked the most, the design and layout of pages are interesting and the writing is in a style I like.

The main stories • What will the feature article be about ? My feature article will be a review on a new album or a recent fashion look. I would include a brief of the subject, facts and opinions from both myself and friends. • HOW AND WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR YOUR STORY ? I THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO DO AN INTERVIEW ON MUSIC LIFESTYLE BECAUSE IT WOULD BE APPEALING TO MY TARGET AUDIENCE. I AM AIMING MY MAGAZINE at people interested in new and upcoming artists and people generally interested in the music scene. The fashion piece would be part of the music profile and inform people of new styles in different genres.

Pros & cons Pros: • I have prior knowledge revolving music magazines as I studied them for my final major project • My interview will be original • Using clash as a template allows me to be creative and explore different ideas using colour, textures and shapes • Music has a large target audience which will make it easy to suit my product to my readers

Pros & cons Cons • The industry is very competitive as there are a lot of music and entertainment based magazines available • The price of my magazine will be a bit expensive as the content is classed as ‘luxury’ because It focuses on a niche topic; this may put people off buying it • There are a lot of music magazines available so I need to TRY HARDER IN ORDER TO make mine stand out

Thank you

References • PINTEREST, Clash Magazine, [online], last updated: May 2012, viewed: 11th October 2018 - Https://www.pinterest.com/joezadeh/clash-magazine/ • SLIDESHARE, Clash Magazine, analysis, [online], last updated: 8th January 2014, viewed: 11th October 2018 - https://www.slideshare.net/BeatriceYates/clash-magazine-analysis-29820674

ONLINE MAGAZINE PITCH