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So, what IS a music magazine?

 

The web definition of a music magazine is: A music magazine is a magazine dedicated to music and music culture. Such magazines typically include music news, interviews, photo shoots, essays, record reviews, concert reviews and occasionally have a covermount with recorded music.

 

Music magazines have different genres to suit a certain target audience. Depending on the genre and their target audience, they might alter different features of the magazine. To attract their target audience, the publishers have to consider every aspect of the music magazine, such as the mast head, the images, the cover lines, the typography, the colours and the over all connotations that the magazine gives out. If the publishers manage to create a music magazine with the correct connotations then it will prove to be a very popular and long lasting magazine. NME for example, wads first published in 1952, and is still very popular now, this means it has always been well suited for it's target audience and all aspects of the magazine are appealing to it's target audience. Kerrang! as well, was first published in 1981 and still proves to be very popular, because, although it has quite a niche target audience, it has used the codes and conventions well.

 

Modern music magazine also thought it would be a good idea to do one further than just a music magazine, some music magazines also have their own TV music programme and radio station. This further promotes the magazine as it means the readers can also listen to the music that the music magazines contain. Music magazines aimed at a younger audience have also picked up the increasing use of social networking sites, therefore, they usually have their own Twitter, MySpace or Facebook page. This means the audience are able to have more interaction with the magazine and it's editors. The use of advertising is also used effectively in these music magazines as well. The music magazines will contain adverts suited to their target audience, and encourage them to buy it. Doing this, they make a lot of money from advertising companies because they are having their products advertised in a popular music magazine.

 

The main features of music magazines are: a masthead, puff, cover lines, main image, plug, buttons, prominence, fantasy and escapism, Consistency, familiarity and authority, mode of address, sky lines, banners, strap -lines, by-lines and  sell lines. These are all very important to include in a music magazine as, depending on what ways you use it, these are the things that will attract the target audience.    

 

The first music magazine ever published was 'Melody Maker', founded by Theodore Lloyd-Jones and published in 1926 in the United Kingdom. This music magazine was targeted at musicians. According to it's publisher, IPC Media, it is the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It's 1928 "honours list" is regarded as the U.K 's first music chart.

 

However, NME (Short for New Musical Express) was the 'leader of the pack' since it's first issue in 1952. This magazine was in long rivalry with Melody Maker, however, due to the rise of music internet sites, Melody Maker stopped being published after 2001. Other British music magazines such as Select and Sounds had stopped being published between 1990 and 2000 because of this.

 

There are different publishing companies that publish these magazines. Bauer Media publish Kerrang!, Mojo, Planet rock, and Q. IPC Media publishes NME and Future plc publishes Metal Hammer.