Case studies

CASE STUDY 1

With the masthead it is behind Rihanna but you can still tell that it is ‘Billboard’ magazine. This magazine is one of the biggest music magazines that there is so once you have made it on that you know that you’re quite famous. The font is not very formal suggesting it is more of a social magazine. This could imply that they want to be more informal and appeal to just normal people, not discriminating and just focusing on one group of people. The red and green colours in the title could show that it is gender neutral. Again this shows that they are not discriminating towards one gender and are appealing their magazine towards everyone.
The main image of Rihanna can be seen as quite provocative as she is appealing to the male readers and she’s looking right at them. It is very sexual and it is like she is enticing you in to pick up the magazine and read about her life.
However, the caption ‘my fans don’t really know who I am’ can be seen as the gossip side which could be targeting her fans as they can get to know ‘the real her’. Also it could be seen as critics not knowing her too so she could be telling them to reassess their opinions of her.
The main image of Rihanna is the first thing the people see. Her fiery passion could be represented with her red hair and red lipstick which symbolise lust, passion and fire.

When looking at Billboard's contents pages the layout and structure is very clear and well set out. This makes it easier for the reader to find the specific stories that they want to read or it gives an insight as to what they can expect from the magazine.
The left side lists each page within the magazine, yet to the right the main features are outlined.  This area also includes images making the overall page much more visually appealing.
The red, yellow, blue and green colours that have been used in the masthead are presented throughout the page as well creating a continuing theme.
For the contents title, it is a stylistic font which has also been repeated throughout the page in various areas. In terms of image, the cowboys are aligned neatly against the bottom of the box whilst the text works neatly around their hats

In this double page spread the image has been stretched over both sides of the double page spread. This makes the picture stand out more and can show that the unusual layout style could link to an unusual story.
The pink and black from the image has been created as a theme throughout the spread with quotes. Colours being a continuing theme has once again been used just like the contents page which could show that the magazine always sticks to this specific layout rule.
In many magazines such as Vanity Fair the first letter of the first word is always massive but in this article in Billboard magazine the whole first sentence is massive which could be seen as more appealing and trying to show that it is an important story.
The stylish font could connote class and sophistication. It could show that the text is powerful and means a lot and because it is quite a formal font it could show that the text is reliable so the reader sub-consciously believes the text.

 

 CASE STUDY 2

When looking at this cover, it initially strikes you as feminine due to the pink background, female model and flower props. This could suggest that this specific article is more aimed at women.
The yellow subheadings on the left is linked to the yellow flower props so they like to match the colour scheme. When looking at the image, the lighting casts no shadows giving connotations of pure and perfect. The fact that her skin and make-up could be seen as faultless also gives connotations to perfection. She is staring at you in order to draw you in and entice you to pick up the magazine.
The feature artist text "Katy Perry" is the largest feature text as she is the main attraction. It also stands out as it is a completely new font, creating a distinct new identity for itself.

This is a contents page of a classical magazine because the pictures on the contents page are more mature and there are various instruments on it which are part of the orchestra. The contents page is more organized and it is not over crowded with text and big pictures, the target audience of the magazine looking from the contents page is for a mature audience so it looks like it is for people aged 19-45 because young teenagers don't tend to listen or be interested in classical music or anything classical. The way that the magazine has been set out and the pictures used on the magazine reflects the target audience of the magazine because the layout of the magazine is organized and it is not messy and all over the place and teenagers and children tend to be messy rather than adults. The information on the contents page is set out in rows which shows that the magazine is for a mature audience and the pictures link in with the layout and target audience of the magazine because you don't see teenage rappers in street clothing; the clothes that the people are wearing in the magazine are more formal like suits.

This page-spread is neatly broken up by image and text. This could show that this structure is a lot simpler than the design, simply including three columns of text with two images. To break up the overall layout, the use of pink text has been used to mark a specific area. This is more of a typical double page spread as the text and image are separated. The image of the Alexandra Burke being quite free gives various connotations of power and freedom. There is also eye-contact with the audience which shows that she has a direct relationship with the audience.

 

BILLBOARD MEDIA KIT

 

The media kit for billboard magazine has a lot of things which will attract the media. Firstly the pictures have very famous and well known celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Usher and Taylor Swift. As the media love reporting on celebrities this will attract them and show that Billboard has all the best people in the industry. Secondly the slogan underneath the title says 'THE BEST IN MUSIC', this allows Billboard to advertise themselves as being the greatest music magazine around and this too will attract the media. They have a range of different cover lines along the side which takes you to all the different things that they have included within them. This promotes the idea that because they are the best they have a range of things that they have within their magazine and it shows that they may well be the best because of how much they have. 



double page spread on file sharing

File sharing downloads-article

ILLEGAL DOWNLOADING: THE TRUE STORY    

 

Alright, admit it! You’ve all illegally downloaded something before. Whether it be music or films, we’ve all done it. But is it really affecting the music industry more than we actually tend to think? Or are all the artists exaggerating just so we buy their music for them to earn more money?

Firstly, let’s look at the different advantages and disadvantages of illegal downloading (AKA file-sharing). Firstly, file-sharing downloads are so much quicker and easier for you to download music or films. Just think about it, you can be at home relaxing on your bed and all of a sudden you think of a song from your childhood memories. You want to listen to it instantly, don’t you? So you get out your mobile phone or laptop, and you download it there and then. Boom! You feel like a child again listening to your music from your past.  

However, on the other hand you could argue that with all these different types of file-sharing downloads, you’re bound to have one that is filled with a various amount of viruses. These can in an instant turn your phone or laptop into a type of playground for viruses. They can range from making your phone slow or even messing with the entire system of your laptop, and it’s definitely not worth it just for a film that is going to come on Channel 4 eventually, even if it is a few years down the line.

Do you want to know just how much file-sharing downloads have affected the entertainment industry? From 2004-2009 alone, approximately 30 billion songs were illegally downloaded on file-sharing networks and that leads on to my next statistic. In the decade since file-sharing site Napster emerged in 1999, music sales in the U.S. have dropped 47 percent, from £9.3 billion to £4.9 billion.

Personally, I think that file-sharing downloads are better because as the world is advancing technologically all the time there is no reason for it not to be advancing in the music industry. Nowadays people prefer things to be on their doorstep and so file-sharing downloads are the most popular things out there right now. I have a Blackberry so the website that I use to download music is tubidy.com. All you have to do is type your song into the search box and download mp3, consequently you have your music into your phone ready for you to listen.

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