RIFF - Music Magazine Front Cover

In this post, I will show the process of the production of the front cover of RIFF Magazine.

This is the main image of my front cover. I was inspired by the Q Magazine cover, which featured Florence Welch. At first I was going to feature a full body shot on the cover, however this does not fit the codes and conventions of a magazine cover, so I had to retake my photos.

I then added a circular gradient behind the image, to put emphasis on the model, and really make her stand out. 

I then added my masthead, 'RIFF.' To create the guitar neck that replaces the, 'I,' I took a photograph of a guitar neck, before going into Photoshop and turning the brightness etc. right down, to create the silhouette illusion. I was very happy with the outcome, as it was just what I was looking for. The rest of the masthead I then create using the fonts in Adobe InDesign. 

  After placing the masthead in a suitable area, I added a bar code in the bottom right corner, and created the main coverline, 'Rachael Morgan.' I did try a font similar to the one I was intending on using (see on drawn draft of the front cover), however it did not look as good as I thought it might. Therefore, I spent a while trying various fonts, and found that the 'stencil' font worked best. I coloured it white because I was planning to stick to a black and white theme, to go with the rock/metal genre. Soon after, I added a bannerline at the top of the cover. When researching music magazine covers, I found that many had bannerlines, and I thought that, 'Voted Best Metal Magazine Of 2012,' would be suitable.

This is my third attempt at my cover. This is where I began to look less at my drawn draft, and more at what actually works. I edited the masthead, by adding a red to yellow gradient, which really makes it eye catching. 

  I then added another coverline, 'Back From Hiatus FALL OUT BOY,' which wasn't initially in the plan, however after realising that it was acceptable to use read bands in our magazine, I thought that this was appropriate because it is real, recent news.

In my next attempt, I made another bannerline which I positioned at the bottom of the page. This sort of bannerline is featured in loads of magazine covers, as it is useful for adding extra information that would not fit on the cover as singular coverlines. It is often featured on the Kerrang! magazine covers. For my banner, I used an already existing banner from a Kerrang! issue as a template, and added various rock bands that are featured in the issue.

I then added the sub-main coverline, 'Go Through The Looking Crystal With,' which reflects both the Alice in Wonderland theme and the artist's drug addiction. I also changed the main coverline to yellow, as I think it makes the cover more interesting, and works better than the white that I was previously using.

I then added a flash to my cover, with the line, 'FREE POSTERS,' layered on top. After, I inserted various photos I took of my model, some of which I would not have used. I was skeptical at first as I thought tat subsidary images would look strange, however it appeared to work well. 

  I also changed the colour of the word, 'BOY,' to white, as I felt that it didn't work, and that it made the coverline look like two different features.

This is the final attempt, and my final version of the RIFF Magazine cover. I edited the 'PLUS' on the bottom bannerline, as I felt that red worked better with the theme. I then added another image onto the chain of free posters, before inserting a star with a competition to win a guitar and a games console, as flashes like this one are featured in a significant number of music magazines. 

  I am extremely happy with my cover, and although I didn't stick to the plan/draft, I think that going with my gut feeling was best for the outcome of my cover.

RIFF Double Page Spread - Drawn Draft

This is the drawn first draft of my double page spread. As you can see, I've have sketched a brief outline of the main image, however again, I will need to decide after I have taken the photos, and the use the image that works best.
I have titled the article, "Rachael in Wonderland," as the feature is about the lead singer of a band, Rachael Morgan, and her debut album. I used Alice in Wonderland as a theme because one of the band's songs is based on the story.
I am going to try to stick to my plan, however, when in production, I am willing to change things to fit the codes and conventions of a magazine.

RIFF Contents Page - Drawn Draft

This is the first draft of my contents page. I decided to go for a similar layout to Kerrang magazine, because I thought that if I model an existing contents page, it would make the outcome of my own a lot more professional. I left three spaces for images and coverlines, as I think it is an appropriate amount. Similar to the cover, all the fonts and coverlines are not final, as I will have to alter certain aspects as I am in production.

RIFF Magazine Cover - Drawn Draft

This is a drawn first draft of my front cover of RIFF. I haven't added any images, because I am still unaware of what I am going to do, and from experience, I found it better to actually take the images first, and then work the coverlines etc. around the image. I decided to use the masthead "RIFF" as it was voted the top masthead in my online survey, and I think it best describes the magazine.

I designed the masthead in a way that would reflect the genre of the magazine. Therefore, as a rock magazine, I decided to replace the "I" in "RIFF" with the neck of an electric guitar. I was aprehensive at first whether this would work, however I really like the look of it. Although, when I actually create my cover, I will have to take into account whether or not this will work. For my main feature, I think I'm going to focus on the lead singer of a band, and create a question and answer article. All of the fonts I have used for this draft are not final, as I know that I'm going to have to alter certain fonts to fit the conventions of the cover.

Music Magazine Survey and Reader Profile

The volunteers for my survey ranged in ages from 13-30+. I created the online questionnaire with Survey Monkey.

1. Do you listen to rock/heavy metal?

Yes		71.4%
No		28.6%

2. Which name do you prefer for a heavy metal magazine?

Thrash		28.6%
Nu		14.3%
GLAM		14.3%
Power Chord		0.0%
Helloween		0.0%
AIR		0.0%
Riff		42.9%

3. How much would you pay for a rock/metal music magazine?

Less than 50p		14.3%
50p - £1		14.3%
£1 - £2		14.3%
£2 - £3		35.7%
£3 or more		21.4%

4. Please choose three features/stories that you would be interested in reading in a rock/metal music magazine.

New artists		64.3%
New albums/singles		35.7%
Tours and gigs		78.6%
Rock/metal culture		0.0%
Rock/metal fashion		21.4%
Personal information/gossip about artists		50.0%

5. To whom do you think the magazine should be aimed?

Teenagers/Students		42.9%
Young adults (21 and over)		35.7%
30+		21.4%

6. How many images should be on the front cover?

1		35.7%
2		28.6%
3		14.3%
More than three		21.4%

Reader Profile

From my online survey, I have come up with a reader profile for my music magazine. I am going to call the magazine, RIFF, as it is most popular with the public. RIFF will cost £2 - £3, and will be aimed at teenagers/students. RIFF will feature stories about new artists, tours and gigs as well as gossip about the music artists. Readers of RIFF will listen to rock/metal music, as well as obsess over it. Readers have a strong relationship with RIFF and trust the brand. Readers enjoy other media, including film and television. 90% of readers will own an iPod or MP3 Player, and a mobile phone, although still purchase CDs. 70% have access to broadband. Half of the readers of RIFF go to the cinema at least once a month, and music gigs at least 4 times a year.

Rock Music Magazines - Analysis of Articles

This magazine article I took from the American rock magazine, Revolver. I like it's simple structure, with one whole page for an image, with the second page structured in columns, featuring the story's title, and a subsidiary image. White and black are the main colours featured, which I think is appropriate for a rock/metal magazine. The caption on the first image, "Amy Lee. Evanescence," states the artist's name, and the name of the band, but also implies that the article is more focused on her, rather than the band. Although this caption could also have been used as she is the person featured in the photograph, as captions are used to explain the pictures. The dark colours in the photo, as well as the artist having black hair and rather pale skin, reinforces the rock/metal genre, representing the genre of the magazine, as well as giving the magazine a gothic theme.

The headline, "Sweet Sacrifice," is featured in bold, contrasting with the black box, making it stand out. This title links in with the band, being a previous song title, but also with the article, as the text features information about the gap between their previous work, and the return of the band, apparent by the sub-title, "Amy Lee is back rocking harder than ever". The credits are featured at the bottom of the second page

This article is taken from the magazine, Kerrang! It features the typical rock magazine colours: black, white and red. This instantly amplifies the genre of representation, which is also reinforced by the title, "Teen Spirit," which is written in white, with a blood splat-looking background. The image of the fighting artists, links with the youth aspect of the article, and the featuring of dark jeans, long hair and rock music clothing further emphasises the genre. The structure of this article is very similar to the previous article, proving that it is simple, yet effective. However, this article features a main image on the first page, with multiple subsidiary images on the "What are Rolo Tomassi made of?" section. The article also features a quote from one of the artists, that is layered onto the main image, "I just love dancing and screaming" - Eva Spence', similar to the previous article, which shows that key quotes are popular to promote on main images, perhaps to draw in the attention of the reader, making them interested in reading further into the article, as without a taster, the artist may have not been as interested.

This article is taking from the popular music magazine, NME. The structure of this article is quite different to the previous two articles, as the main image is featured on the opposite page, and runs into both pages. There is also just one image featured, which although restricts diversity, it allows the one image to be larger and more powerful. The artist's black straight hair, and dark eye make-up, represents the artist as a rock/metal character.

The article has a very interesting title, "People think I'm an attention seeker, but I'm just honest." I find this unusual, as it is obviously a quote that has been taken from the interview, however I can see how this would attract readers, in a similar way as the quote in the previous article. I also find the font of the title very interesting and stylish, as it represents are more psychological, twisted feel, which fits in well with the quote, as well as the music genre.

Again, black, white and red are the colours featured in the article, which gives me the idea that these are the appropriate colours for a rock/metal magazine.

Overall, although music magazine articles of the rock genre can be structured and displayed in various ways, they all feature similar ideas, such as colours, and representation. This has given me ideas for my article, and a baseline to what my article for a rock/metal magazine should look like, and perhaps the type of information that it should include, especially more focused on interviewing artists.

What I've Learned From the Mock Up Cover...

I believe that I could have analysed ten various music magazine covers, yet still not understand the codes and conventions, and the process of creating a magazine cover as well as I have by creating a mock up of a music magazine.

I found that layering is a very important part of the process, and detailed planning must be prepared before undergoing the task of producing the cover. I found that when making my mock up cover, I hadn't thought everything through, and found myself having to move pieces onto different layers, and understood the effect of layering.

I am now also happier using Adobe Photoshop, as, although it isn't the best job, I learned how to remove a background from an image, and super impose the selected part of the photo onto another background. This has been extremely helpful, because it has given me more opportunity and options for when I create my own music magazine, as I now have the ability to edit photos to create images that would not be possible to take in real life.

From producing the mock up cover, I also learned that mastheads and coverlines do not always fit, and that structure is very important, although editing must be done after inserting the main image, to ensure that the coverlines stand out to their full potential. Therefore, I have decided that when I create my magazine cover, I will plan out the fonts and colours, but make sure that there is room for adjustment and editing, as design and structure can be hard to manage, especially colour.

I also found that a slightly different font can have a huge impact on the way a magazine is represented, and that the layout can also represent the magazine in different ways. For example, to contrasting magazine layouts and designs are Kerrang! and Q Magazine. Q is very classic, ordered, organised and tidy, where as Kerrang! is very chaotic. Both these characteristics make the magazine attractive and eye-catching, however I do believe that it depends on the genre of the magazine.

I also found that there is a range on different codes and conventions, from subtle coverlines, to flashes, however there were no subsidiary images on the mock up I produced. This had made me think about the various codes and conventions I need to include on my magazine cover to make it look professional, as just coverlines and a main image will not suffice.

Overall, I found that creating a mock up magazine cover had provided me with a great deal more knowledge about the process of creating a magazine cover than just analysing covers, and the techniques I have learned will be very useful for when I come to the stage of creating my own music magazine cover.