My music magazine product both uses, develops and challenges the forms and conventions of other media products, in this case a music magazine. I have tried to follow the basic key concepts of a music magazine, in which I have placed my masthead at the top-centre of the page, in which the central figure is covering a small amount of the text to highlight his significance. I have used the font “SF Automation” as my font for the “BASE” logo in which I manipulated in Photoshop, using a gradient overlay and an additional shadow effect around the text. I stuck to the colors red and black because these colors seem to be the classic colors associated with the rap culture – the genre of my magazine. I believe the logo follows the conventions of some existing magazines, for example it could be compared to “VIBE” magazine, in the sense that this masthead is bold, bright and in block capitals. Furthermore, I have experimented with an outer shadow, which somewhat challenges the typical conventions, but I believe it works in its own right.
An example is the masthead used for the “VIBE” and “Q” magazine. The “VIBE” masthead uses big, block and crisp capitals as in contrast, “Q” uses a more simpler font with a shadow effect which I have also used.
However, the masthead for my magazine does also challenge the codes and conventions of real magazines, as the text is filled with a red and black gradient overlay. This challenges the conventions of other rap magazines because mastheads are usually one color, so therefore more simple. In spite of this, I think my masthead works because it combines the conventional and unconventional features of a masthead, making it unique and therefore more eye-catching and memorable. I believe the mise-en-scene of my images follow the typical codes and conventions of other music magazine products. This is because I used a variety of settings for my photographs, ranging from a graphitized underground to an urban brick wall, similar to those used to those in magazines like “The Source” and “XXL”. These landscaped fit in well with the concept of my magazine, because they reflect the essence of the urban street culture associated with rap which is something I wanted to capture. In addition to this, the majority of my images follow the conventions of magazines by displaying the rapper as quirky, serious and not caring what others think. This non verbal communication is used effectively to portray their mode of address – they’re looking directly at the camera in most of the shots.
The costume and props used throughout “BASE” are typically conventional. This is because the rapper used in my magazine wore costumes which included big high-top shoes, a bomber jacket, white trousers and a blue Toywatch. All of these items could be found in real music magazines. In addition to this, the props features are commonly used in existing magazines as they are staples of the urban rap image – for example the black, iconic microphone used to produce and record there lyrics.
The people featured in my magazine throughout are quite unconventional. This is because they’re quite young and not as extreme or obscure in their appearance as some artists in rap magazines. In addition to this, most rappers in real magazines, for example “VIBE” seems to include a female in their magazine. Therefore I have been unconventional by not featuring a woman in my music magazine which may well not be effective for the female audience. However, because my target audience is male teenagers to late twenties, I have followed the needs of my target demographic. I think the unconventional choice of people in relation to existing magazines will not be a problem. This is because by using male teenagers on the front cover, contents page and double page spread, the target audience will be able to relate and aspire to be like them; the target audience are more likely to be interested in a single male rapper then a band that consists of females.
I created the title “LAWLESS” by using the “SF Automation” font on Photoshop and then by using another font “Ihminen” placed human figures on top of the lettering. Furthermore, I then added an outer glow and drop shadow to it. I think my title is slightly unconventional in the sense that the letters are positioned at varying angles, whereas real magazines tend to keep their headlines in a straight line. However, I feel that this will appeal more to my teenage/early twenties audience because of its visual impact. On the other hand, the title is conventional in the sense that it has the largest font size on the double page, as well as being bold and standing out with the drop shadow. In addition to this, the way the title appears looks slightly worn away and slightly rough, which is similar to real music magazines like the ones analyzed at the start of my project.
The written content of my magazine furthermore follows the codes and conventions of a real music magazine by covering similar topics in the questions. For example, it asks aboutwhat the rappers favourite song is, what fellow rapper do you admire/hate, what music do they have on their own IPod, how they came up with their name, who has been there major influence and there worst tune etc. All of these topics could be found in a real rap music magazine aimed at teenagers/young adults. In addition to this, the standfirst follows conventions by introducing the rapper at the start of the interview with a punchy line. Furthermore, the editor’s review is featured on the contents page has a chatty, familiar mode of address which is conventional.
The main musical genre of my music magazine is rap with hip-hop influences. This is quite clear throughout my magazine because of the props, costume and setting on display. For example, I used a microphone as the page numbers, used a variety of shots set in an urban setting, and have included a free rap mix tape on the front cover. In addition to this, the rappers and artists listed on the front cover and in the contents page are of the same genre. As well as this, the use of black, white, grey and red throughout my magazine (classic urban colors) and the mise-en-scene of the images emphasizes that “BASE” is a rap magazine. Real music magazines suggest their genre by the use of mise-en-scene of their images and the artists included, therefore my magazine followed the codes and conventions in this case.
The layout of my magazine is mainly conventional. This is highlighted on the contents page which displays an interview in columns beneath a standfirst and title. Moreover, the photos are arranged at angles (similar to printed photographs) with quotes scattered around the page. As well as this, my front cover follows layout conventions by having the masthead at the top of the page, a list of artists down the right-hand side and a main headline located down the left-hand side of the page.
The bar code positioning is also conventional, as it is situated at the left-hand side at the bottom of the page, which is familiar amongst many of music magazines.
My contents page contains elements that follow the codes and conventions of existing music magazines. For example, it features a subsciption area in which you can download the magazine on your mobile phone. However, in comparison to the contents pages I have viewed as research, the layout of my contents is not as regimented and spacey as “XXL” and “VIBE” magazine, thus making it slightly unconventional. In spite of this, I think that the arrangement of the photos, use of neat columns and fairly mix of simplistic and bold fonts would appeal to the target demographic more than a spacey, simplistic layout. 
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