Generating ideas [U21: P1, M1]
Learning outcome 1: (U21) Be able to generate ideas for an original media product based on a client brief [P1,M1]
Brief Break Down-
My brief states that I need to create a 'print based music magazine for North London' (explicit). My goal is to create a product for The London Magazine showing the 'vibrant music scene' North London has to offer, meaning I can look into a range of genres, artists and locations linked to North London (implicit). I'm required to make a pitch and create sample pages for the magazine, including a double page spread and a front cover for the magazines first edition (explicit). I need to 'produce original content', meaning I could take primary photos, create my own graphics or even fonts (implicit & open to interpretation); I also need to show my process in the creation of the magazine through images, videos and written documentation (explicit). The target audience, music genre, content, creative choices and the cost of the magazine is open for my own interpretation.
Initial Ideas-
One idea for this product could be to create a genre based magazine, focused on the growing popularity of certain genres in North London, such as Alternate rock, Grime and pop music. This way I could showcase new music within each genre, making recommendations and reviews, and as a unique selling point, having links or bar codes that take you to Spotify or YouTube to hear new music.
I could also look at up and coming artists, possibly focusing on a range of genres by targeting artists that grew up or perform in North London; so for example I could have an artist featured on the cover and have the double page spread be an interview with that artist.
As each genre of music have completely different demographics, I could target a niche audience within North London and help genres and artists gain popularity, though showcasing music or giving new background and information on specific songs: meaning the double page spread could be an interview the artist explaining the lyrics behind their song and the meaning behind it, allowing for the artist to humanised and people to find deeper understanding in the music.
I could also look at up and coming artists, possibly focusing on a range of genres by targeting artists that grew up or perform in North London; so for example I could have an artist featured on the cover and have the double page spread be an interview with that artist.
As each genre of music have completely different demographics, I could target a niche audience within North London and help genres and artists gain popularity, though showcasing music or giving new background and information on specific songs: meaning the double page spread could be an interview the artist explaining the lyrics behind their song and the meaning behind it, allowing for the artist to humanised and people to find deeper understanding in the music.
Idea one: The Bastion: Rock Magazine
Content: A genre specific magazine focused on the popularity of Rock music within North London. the magazine would focus on Rock but delve into sub genres and new, up coming artists in the genre, but it will mainly be an 80s rock revival magazine. The magazine would function as a review system, where the editor will listen to music, create top tens for the month, and eventually the year, of a mixture of new and old Rock songs. On the double page there will also be reviews on new song releases and recommendation including a bar code to scan, taking you to the Spotify page to listen to the recommendation play list for each month, as a unique selling point. The cover page will be very masculine, limited to black, white and an accent colour of red, connoting blood, anger and rage which Rock music helps vent, paired with bold , metallic or jagged typeface. The magazine could be called The Bastion as it's reminiscent of monosyllabic rock band names like The Killers, The Doors, The Beatles etc. It's also very masculine, meaning stronghold and a symbol of strength and the love of rock music is a stereo-typically masculine trait.
Target audience: The demographic depends on the artists. So overall the magazine would have a broad audience due to the diversity Rock Music offers. With 80s rock groups our target audience would be 30-50 year old C2, C1 males, most likely fathers, however with modern rock bands and alternative rock we'd have a secondary target audience of 20-30 year old demographic of higher education students and adults, primarily male, but with more female fans than the 30-50 group. The magazine will focus more on being an 80s rock revival so my primary audience will be 30-50 year old working males with a secondary audience of 20-30 year old men and women.
Cost and distribution: The magazine would release monthly and would be sold in news agencies near residential areas to heighten the chance of fathers or men in general finding the magazine while shopping on their way home or on their commute to work. As I'm aiming for an adult demographic and the magazine realises monthly it will cost around £3-£4 as its a more realistic price for a working 30-50 year old man.
Idea Two: Bonanza
Content: My idea is to look at niche genres that have been growing in North London and give the creators a voice in the hopes of gaining more popularity. The first edition would be focused on Indie Pop, looking at several artists and songs, each artist having their own double page spread to talk about their music, discuss the meanings behind the lyrics and promote their albums and concerts within North London. Each magazines style and look will depend heavily on the genre featured, so for the first edition it will be illustrative, contain and pastel or muted colour pallet and have 80's throw back tones, as the genre of Indie Pop does. The front cover would have a featured artist, but I want the cover to look very illustrative and artistic. Where as I want the double page spread to continue the artistic aesthetic but have a detailed interview with artists, talking about the lyrics of their song and where they'll be performing and when. As a unique selling point there can be links to the songs within the magazine so that you can listen to the song, while reading about its purpose. The magazine could be called 'Bonanza' as one word magazine headings are common and some of the most popular magazines in general have one word names- Q, Milk, Vogue, Time etc. Bonanza is synonymous with Treasure-trove and this magazines goal is to offer a range of new music- there for a treasure-trove of music.
Target audience: The demographic for indie music is students within higher education or university, primarily students in creative subjects like the arts and media. The target audience for this magazine would be 17-24 art and media students. This fits with the artistic tone I want the cover to have and the grungy, pastel colour scheme. Art and media students are primarily female, so my audience will lean more towards 17-24 year old women of a range of ethnicities within higher education, however my secondary target audience could be 17-24 year old men in higher education.
Cost and distribution: as I'm looking into a niche audience of university students I don't want the magazine to be too expensive, so the magazine would be sold in a range of corner shops, news agencies and supermarkets in order to catch a consumers attention while getting lunch, shopping or on their commute to school or work. The magazine would be released monthly and be advertised on schools and campuses around North London, primarily being sold in shops within school districts. An estimated price would be £1.50 to £2.50 for the magazine as its a moderately cheap price for a monthly produced magazine.
Idea three: The 15 Minutes
Content: an artist based magazine that finds young talent in North London and gives them a voice to gain some popularity and sell their venues. The magazine would cover a wide range of genres of music, but focus on two or three artists a copy. It would be a relatively thin magazine, show casing interviews, about the artist, venue advertisements and columns about promoting your own music and how to get into contact on the double page spread. The cover of the magazine depends on who's featured on the cover, however the style will be simplistic in order to allow changes depending on artist and genre and to reach the widest audience possible. The title will be bold, simplistic font with white or black and then an accent colour reflecting the artist featured. So for example if a female pop singer was featured the colour scheme may be white and hot pink. Or if a Jazz performer was featured, a warm purple scheme. The magazine could be called 'The 15 Minutes' as we give an artist a chance to speak in an issue, allowing for the classic 15 minutes of fame, however our purpose it to get their voice out there and give them more popularity. The 15 minutes is also a play on how short a read the magazine is, it will be a concise, quick read to find new talent and shows to watch within North London. 
Target audience: Since it's aim is to find new young talent and help them promote their career, the age range for the audience would be around 12-18, male and female of any race or ethnicity as the magazine wants to get variety in both genre and people. By having a range of ages the magazine will need to stay fairly simply for the younger readers, but have enough information for the older audience to want to pick it up. The magazine has contacts for young people to call in and sign up to be featured, but it's also to showcase the artists to the community. Therefore a secondary target audience would be families, looking for a nice evening out around North London.
Cost and distribution: The magazine is small, therefore its cheaper to produce in large quantities, it's also targeting children, teens and young adults as a primary target audience, so will be a free hand out, given at venues, around schools and campuses to encourage young musicians to find work. The revenue stream will come from venues we promote along with the artists and the businesses that buy the magazines in bulk to give out. As its a short magazine, it will be released weekly on Mondays, offering suggestions for young artists shows over the weekend and reviewing the pasts weekends success.
Conclusion-
I've decided to go for idea two, Bonanza, as it showcases up and coming vibrant music North London has to offer by exploring new genres each edition. which is a clear brief requirement. It allows me to create the most original content in both primary photos and graphics out of the three and the market for breaking down song lyrics in print is untapped and helps both the artists and readers find a deeper connection to music - again this links to the client brief. With my first idea it strayed too far away from the North London links and just became other rock magazine in an over saturated market; the idea was too generic and combining technology with an older audience wouldn't have worked. Idea two has a millennial target audience who were raised with technology therefore using Spotify links so that you can listen while learning about the lyrics works better for a younger demographic. Idea three, despite clear links to North London, it relies too heavily on audience participation and the artist based magazine went too far into the territory of venues. Where as, idea two can showcase the talent and venues in the area, but focusing on genre, allowing for niche genres to grow in popularity and inspires new talent in North London, this all echoes the several client requirements.I want to start the first edition with Indie pop as it has come up in North London venues, but not as prominently, so there's defiantly a market for it and I think explaining the music and giving artists a voice will allow for more Indie Pop musicians to get gigs in North London.
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