'BUMP!' Magazine Evaluation

Our class practical was to create a front cover of a music magazine. I worked in a group with Susan, Chris and Ali. We decided our genre of the magazine to be R&B and so we came of the title ‘BUMP!’ and the slogan ‘BOP TIL U DROP’. Susan and I worked on the summer issue, while Chris and Ali developed their winter issue. Our magazine was aimed at mainly teenagers and also those who enjoy listening to R&B in their twenties. The summer issue cover featured the new group artists ‘CASE-Y’ posed as us sitting on the stairs. Other images me and Susan included were of Rhianna and Chris Brown representing their exclusive interview, and Chris and Ali indicating their free poster.

Our ‘BUMP!’ magazine use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real music magazines. Our title is bold and presented on a tilt to show its R&B swagger. The use of the title being in capitals with an exclamation mark, kept the masthead stand out like other magazines. Also, the use of the slogan being in capitals written in slang, help represent the genre and its street and edgy side to interest teenagers. The style and the colour of all the fonts used are brash, ‘in your face’ and perfect to make it look appealing for the readers. Both images used, illustrate a confidence pose that most R&B artists pose as, nowadays. The standard faded background of two colours is a style that some R&B magazines choose to keep it fresh and typical. The free poster is a graphic used by many other music magazines attracting teenagers mainly, because they usually don’t have any money and appreciate the things that do come as a bargain.

‘BUMP!’ music magazine cover, represents different social groups and not just one. This is shown by the main cover image of two boys and girls from different racial backgrounds. Our genre R&B represents this because nowadays people who listen to this type of music come from different origins and different sexes.

The kind of media institutions that might distribute our music magazine cover are mostly TV adverts and billboards. This reason would be because that’s how the majority of magazines are promoted. Within a TV advert, a short clip should promote the new act ‘CASE-Y’ and emphasise the line of the group being “The biggest, the best and baddest artists”. This would be effective because the quote has alliteration in a list of three. The advertisement could also highlight the special offer of a free poster. In a billboard, the magazine cover should be layered with the emphasis of the small price. That way you’re attracting more buyers.

The audience of our music magazine cover would be mainly teenagers and also others aged in their twenties who enjoy listening to R&B. This is easily noted because, most of the images used are of us (teenagers) and the other is of R&B artists (Rhianna and Chris Brown). Also to mention how there is a mix of the sexes and racial background, to help create a non niche, yet larger audience.

Susan and I attracted our audience by straight away emphasising the main cover line of the new group ‘CASE-Y’, and their free poster. This special offer is effective as it influences our audience to want to buy it. The other cover line of Rihanna and Chris Brown’s exclusive interview is also useful, as it is what majority teenagers gossip about. Not forgetting the affordable price of £1.40, this symbolises it not being about the quantity of the cost, but the quality of the magazine.

During the process of constructing our magazine front cover, I have learnt a lot. Firstly, I have learnt about how much effort and time can be put into one front cover and not just the magazine in its own. I have learned how to use Photoshop’s features e.g. styling a font, deleting a background by using the ‘wizard’ tool, cropping an image, bringing the image to the front/back of a layout, etc. I have also learnt how little details of a music magazine cover perceive the genre of it e.g. editors might use 'chick' font for a girly teenaged magazine, because of it looking feminine and curvy. I have learnt that in a magazine, more cover lines and images don’t look overcrowding and unappealing but average and acceptable.

If I was given the choice to make another front cover, I would change the genre of the music and chose something more challenging. I would have thought of a backup location just in case our prime location was out of bounds. However, other than that I wouldn’t change anything else. I worked well with Susan to develop our summer issue and all in all we worked positively as a group to help the making of ‘BUMP!’ magazine.