Planning Ideas

The genre that my music magazine will cover is Hip-Hop and a great proportion on southern rap such as Lil Wayne as an iconic figure, which incorporates car culture, fashion trends, nightlife and unique lingo in their songs. The genre will however carry the conventions of general Hip-Hop magazines. I have chosen this genre as I have a great interest in this type of music and would be interesting to understanding why it popular and how it has come about and evolved over time.The genre that my music magazine will cover is Hip-Hop and a great proportion on southern rap such as Lil Wayne as an iconic figure, which incorporates car culture, fashion trends, nightlife and unique lingo in their songs. The genre will however carry the conventions of general Hip-Hop magazines. I have chosen this genre as I have a great interest in this type of music and would be interesting to understanding why it popular and how it has come about and evolved over time especially in the media such as magazines like XXL.

My target audience are fans of hip-hop music in specific young adults ranging from 15-24 as it is popular among younger generations. I will also aim to target fans of the whole Hip-Hop culture in particular south-east London interested in the gangster lifestyle especially in areas like Whitechapel where graffiti is evident. In order to address my target audience I have researched that they are interested socializing, a social status of being 'cool' and clothing such as hoodies, caps and hi-top trainers. The name of my magazine will be 'electrify' because it a repulsive, and powerful word. It tends to convey shock and would appeal to the reader. It connotes a vibe with the reader and outstanding. It relates to my target audience as electricity is transferred through waves and involves strong voltage that can even kill, with this in mind I have used this masthead to demonstrate the similarities with the hip-hop target audience as Hip-Hop is very outgoing and involves a lot of physique e.g. Breakdancing and the transfer of a vibe, in which my target audience can relate to.

My masthead will be simplistic as most Hip-Hop magazine tend to suggest this such as ‘The source’ and ‘XXL’. The color of the font will be red as this will stand out . The focus of my double page spread will be on the latest iconic figure of hip-hop featured on the front cover of my magazine. In this article I will include his latest albums and a feature review in which a recent interview but a highlight of it interwoven in the article which will interest and appeal the target audience. The reader will be entertained, want to know more and will be encourage to buy the next issue. The image/s I use on my double page spread will be of the main artist but maybe a full image to show the audience a full iconic picture of hip-hop culture which relates to my main article.

My focal image will conform to the conventions of magazine as the model will be the main artist of the current issue. My focal image for my front cover will be of a male figure with a hoodie, possibly a cap, and chains as this relates to my target audience which is mostly associated with males as they appeal the most through and have a great impact in the industry. The main image on the front cover will be a close-up mid shot as it will be readers' center of focus and sell the culture of hip-hop and attracting buyers. The close-up shot and the would mean conjoin general conventions of magazine and an arrogant ideology of the hop-hip culture as the expression incarnated in that would resemble this ideology. A low angle will be used to emphasize power by making the artist look big. The mis-en-scene required will be a plain, gray background with light honeycomb patterns so the main image stands out and that is concentrated upon the most as a pose to the background. Clothing for the mis-e en scene will probably be a white background so it easy to add this type of background. The use of gray against the red masthead will appeal to the audience.

My sell lines will include latest key artists such as 50 Cent and Kanye West as they are inspirational and fans would want to know more about them. It would include persuasive information such as 'special edition', latest news as the target audience wants to be updated. It would also include benefits to purchasing this edition such as 'Free cd' or '£20 gift card on music iTunes'. All of which will entice and excite fans to galvanize in this issue.

The history of artists and music will be touched upon slightly in my contents page and its impact today on the growth of hip-hop culture. I will be including reviews from live concerts or recent live shows, interviews and adverts such as trainers to promote hip-hop culture. I will be putting the main feature of the article involving tips to becoming representing the icon of hip-hop culture such as clothes. This will appeal to the targeted audience to read the main article and entice the reader.