Types of Questions

Interviews (on bigger articles)vary between 30 to 40 questions in 'MOJO' and 'Q' magazines.


Examples of Questions:

• You were nominated for the Mercury Prize and honoured. Do you feel it was all deserved?


• How would you describe your music?


• What kind of year have you had?


• What type of music do you like and what have you been listening to?


• What plans did you make for the albim?


• What's next for the band?


• How would you describe describe your album in three words?


• Your new single ..........., what does it mean to you?


• can you sum up who you are in a Tweet of less than 140 characters?


• Where do you think you'll be in 20 years time?

Examples of Article/interview Openings and ways to introduce the interviewe: from different music magazines:

• Florence Welch talks to David Buckley about a shocking year of inaccurate descriptions, trailers fires and surreal Jako face-offs... -MOJO


• Director Sacha Gervasi tells Andrew Male how... -MOJO


• Animal Collective have made MOJO's album of 2009. Fear the roses, Noah 'Panda Bear' Lennox tells Will hodgkinson... -MOJO


• At an age when most men favour the forgiving loose-fit, Sting, 58, is wearing a figure-hugging grey T-shirt... - MOJO


• The singer looks fit and alert... -MOJO


• LILY ALLEN-At decade's end {THE WILD CHILD} is busy by impending global meltdown, her carbon footprint... Oh, and her new Land Rover. -Q


• NOEL GALLAGHER- {THE CHIEF} kept Oasis on top in the '00s - then walked away. And that, says his friend RUSSELL BRAND, was the best thing to do. -Q


• FLORENCE & THE MACHINE-Before that Brit Award {THE CHANTEUSE} could be found pondering whether to have fish ot beef with her Smirnoff Ice. -Q


• 'He played with Hendrix, toured with Muddy Waters, got tips from BB King and befriended the Stones. Clapton checked him out in Cream days, Kid Rock had him play on his album, he's a long-time fan of Ministry...and he won the Marshall '11' award at this yera's Classic Rock Roll of Honour. He is Billy Gibbons, and these are some of his stories. -Classic Rock


• The biggest new British act of 2009. Florence Welch is a "fussy little English girl", apparently... - Uncut


• Music from the outer limits. This month: Brooklyn drone specialists Mountains and '70s Detroit punks Death. - Uncut


• Alcohol baths, 50 jobs, dronking with Janis Joplin... the blueman abd former hobo answers your questions about his colourful past. - Uncut


• From The Daily Mirror archive, these rare and mostly unpublished pictures from 1963/64 capturethe fresh-faced Fabs enjoying (and enduring) the raging phenomenon of Beatlemania on the rise...-Uncut

Double Page Spread Research

These are some examples of double page spreads, which I have found very influential when making my magazine.
I have found that:

• The article introduction seems to alway be in bold and the first letter is always made bigger to show the start of the article.
• I have found that before the article starts, they put in a picture of the band with a quick description of what/who they are.
• the article normally goes over at least two double pages, maybe more.
• Other pictures that have been taken to o with the article are sometimes put into a collage, they are put straight but sometimes are put on slants.
• Also, the double pages always have pull quotes either putting them by the picture or in the centre of the text.
• 'MOJO' magazine state what the following article is by the bar just before the first page.
• The text style is mostly kept tidy and professional looking however the pull quotes are made to look more edgier.
• In some of the intros, key words ar put in bold indicating feelings and thoughts.
• one the first page of the article, the writer name seems to be just under the introduction.
• the pictures are a certain theme to go with he bands/artists persona.
• In interview shown, you can see that the pictures are taken during different time periods sugesting that the artist has been around for a long time.
• Also on the interview, the questions are in bold.
• There isn't a particular colour scheme, but I have seen some double pages where they have used a colour scheme. However, usually there is minimal colour.
• Some of the individual pictures have quotes of where they were taken or stating something about the band.

Analysis of MOJO Content Pages

2 page contents

1st Page

• Picture of artist -mid shot


• Pull Quote from the pictured artist - then page number leading to where the whole article is.


• Features- either down left hand hand or at the bottom of the page.


• page numbers and features in different colour to rest of the text.


• Names of people and main title in bold.


• MOJO title at the top of page


• names of where the magazine is made/published


• underneath- date: left hand side Issue number: right hand side


• brief description of features under the bold title

2nd page



Regulars

• All back at my place


• Theories, Rants, etc


• Real Gone


• Ask Fred


• Hello/goodbye- new and old


• What Goes On


• Hot news

The MOJO Filter

• Albums


• The MOJO Playists


• Reissures


• Books


• DVD


• Lives


• How to Buy

A list of 'This Month's Contributors Include...' at the bottom of the page- 3 people each week.

MOJO - www.mojo4music.com

2008 Issues

2009 Issues

These are some of my favourite covers from MOJO magazine and I tried to find covers which varied. I found some 2008 issues which i found really interesting as some of the backgrounds and cover pictures look really effective. I like the way in which the coverstars are not always the lastest artists but are sometimes artists from the past such as 'Queen' and 'Diana Ross' it makes the magazine seem authentic. Also, I think that the use of themes each week for example 'Motown' (on some of the magazines) is a really good idea and shows that the magazine has found its nique.

• The title 'MOJO' is always central at the top of the page and the title colour varies between white and black each issue depending on the main image and the back ground colour. The title always stands out even if the main image covers the title. This shows that the magazine has confidence that the audience will know the magazine.
• The main coverline seems to always be in the centre of the page.

My favourite magazine covers are 'Radiohead', 'The Smiths' and 'Kings of Leon' as they stand out more and are slightly different compared to the others. They use different background which look look more effective as the make the magaine look more interesting and eye catching with the bright colour, they make the main image the central point of the magazine, you immediately know the main feature of the issues.

It varies between issues what colour ans whether the coverlines lines are put on a slant, it may depend on the type of pose or band on the cover.

Each issue they give away a free magazine sometimes depending on the theme of that month's issue ie: the motown issue gave away a Motown CD. It suggests that Mojo are trying to advertise/appeal to the audience with a free CD.

The coverlines seem to normally be down the right hand side, however they do vary and sometimes are on the left hand side. Althought every week there does seem to be two coverlines across the top of the page with two pictures to go along with the stories.

Music Magazine - Research

I've decided to make a Music Magazine for my Foundation Portfolio.

Research

Q Magazine - http://www.qmagazine.com/

Here are some examples of Qs Front covers. I found these were the best of 2009 as the stood out the most. I feel that Q wants to look sophiscated but slightly edgy at the same time.

• The masthead is always in the left hand corner of the page in a red box. It is always in white. It is very striking and it is eye catching as the red jumps out at you. On most of the covers, the masthead is partially covered up to show that the magazine is confident that their audience will know the magazine, it gives a sense of community.
• The slogan for Q is at the top of the page 'THE UK'S BIGGEST MUSIC MAGAZINE', however it isn't always on the magazine suggesting that that month the magazine wasn't the biggest magazine. whenever it is on the front cover, it is in white in a black box.
• All the cover lines vary on where they are on the page. The artists name is always bold so we can see clearly who is on the cover and the main coverline. The other coverlines are never in a certain place either and they also vary where they are on the page. On the issue called 'Artists of the Century' there are no coverlines other than the main one as it seems to all be about the picture. The coverlines are mostly in white however there are additional colours such as black, pink, blue, yellow/orange and red.
• The names of the Artists are always BOLD and are sometimes highlighted or in a different colour to grab attention and to let their audience know who is in the magazine with ease.
• The main image also varies a great deal. There are Long shots, Medium shots and close-up shots. They are mostly posed, however the 'Kings of Leon' and 'Muse' covers seems to be more of action shots. These look really effective as the broken glass and glass make it seems more original, different and grag attention. I like the ways that the 'Muse' cover shows the guitar breaking the masthead. It shows the magazine has attitude and knows what looks effective. On the covers where they are posed still such as 'U2', 'Green Day' and 'Artic Monkeys' it seems like really powerful poses. While the 'Cheryl Cole' cover looks more seductive. The magazine keeps one mostly one colour on the background to make sure the coverstars alway stand out, colours are mostly greys and white. I like that 'U2' are in spotlights it looks reallt effective as it make it dramatic and it goes with the title 'U2 ARE BACK'. the same for the 'Green Day' cover, they is a green background for their name. One other thing i liked was that the cover with the 'Artic Monkeys', their picture is in black and white. It gives it an edgy feels and stands out as it isn't always in black and white.
• There seems to be only 1 or 2 fonts on the front cover and mostly all the coverlines are in capitals ans some are bold. I think that the colours, boldness and capitals is all that the coverlines need and the different fonts are not needed. However the fonts do vary from one issue to the next. The writing is horizontal across the page with the exception of 'The Killers' issue where the main coverline is slanted to go with the artists pose.