SOUND

of the
un d e r g r o u n d
This is my evaluation for my AS magazine project. It will
cover how my magazine challenges the forms and
conventions of real media products while also showing
where my magazine would fit into the market and how I
would distribute it. I will also be writing about the audience
for my magazine, describing why ‘sound of the
underground’ would be targeted at them and the methods I
would use to attract them to buying my magazine. I would
then write a review of my construction and how well I used
the different pieces of technology I needed to create my
project. Then I would finish by assessing my work and the
processes that it took and describe what I could have
changed to improve my media project…
 How My Magazine Challenges the form
and Conventions of real media products…
Currently there is no magazine in the mainstream which is
in the style of a fanzine, this is where I found a niche in the
market. But I have taken element s of both fanzines and
magazines to create my product. The magazine conventions
which I used when it came to creating my front cover was a
dominant central image which would stand out to the reader
and attract the audience to the magazine. This is something
commonly used by magazines in the mainstream. But unlike
magazines in the mainstream the ‘sound of the underground’
cover isn't cluttered with the contents of the magazine, I
decided to keep it simple which is similar to the fanzines that
I researched. The language in which ive used can be linked
to both fanzines and magazines in the way that I have tried
to use words which will connect with my audience like
‘inspiration’ and ‘flair’ like they would in a fanzine but have
also tried to appeal and attract the reader with words like
‘exclusive’ that you would find in a magazine…
How my magazine would be distributed in
the market…
As my magazine targets a different market to the
mainstream magazine audiences i wouldn’t offer it to an
institution to distribute. I would look into ways of
distributing it straight to my audience, the dedicated music
fans, to do this I would look into selling in independent
music stores as it would take my magazine to the buyers.
My magazine would not have the mass production that a
magazine like ‘NME’ or ‘Q’ would have so by selling in a
music store it would mean that the competition of trying to
sell next to big brands like that would not exist. There
would also be the option of selling it over the internet on
music websites sites or on the magazines website so that
again it could be direct to my target audience, the
committed music fan. i could also sell it by subscription as
by being a product with the latest news it would be
something that my reader would want to get as soon as
they could and as they receive there subscription as soon
as the issue comes out then this would solve this need…
My target audience and how my
product represents this social group…
My target audience are 18-28 year olds that
would consider themselves as dedicated music
fans who like to keep in the know about
everything and anything about music. My
magazine is raw and passionate, this is shown by
my cover image, this reflects the attitude of my
reader towards music while also showing
similarities to the style of a fanzine in the way
that it connects with its audience. I have used
similar language to that used by my music fans
for example ‘inspiration’ so that it means that my
reader can associate with the magazine…
How to attract my audience to my
magazine…
I would attract my audience by offering to give
them the inside look on the music industry and
give them the exclusives when it comes to the
latest music news. As my reader is the dedicated
music fan who wants to be kept up to date with
everything that is happening in the music world
then the fact that I would be fulfilling this need
would lure them to the magazine. Also by using
words like ‘exclusive’ I have used common
magazine language to entice my reader to the
magazine…
What I’ve learnt about technology from the
process of constructing my magazine…
This is the part of the project in which I have
improved the most. When I first started using
Photoshop my skill level was low and this was shown
in my pre-lim task but as Ive gone through the year
ive improved a lot. Looking back on my first project
the pre-lim and comparing it with my final front cover
sound of the underground I feel my improvements
when using Photoshop are obvious, I think it seems
more realistic. I have also learnt how to use a blog
although I had problems at first when trying to upload
my pictures using the scanner, I solved this problem
by instead changing my Photoshop magazine files to
jpegs meaning that I could then upload them straight
from the computer onto the blog. This is something
which will help me any future projects in which I may
have…
My progress from my Pre Lim to My
finished project…
I feel the main thing that ive learnt is how to
use Photoshop effectively, to create a piece which
looks realistic and appeals to my target audience.
This was something which I struggled with in my
pre-lim task but then worked on throughout the
year and finished with ‘sound of the underground’
where I feel I have achieved this well. Although
with greater planning for my final project I feel I
could have improved on my piece, this is
something which I could look to improve on for
the any future projects…
What I could have changed to improve
my project…
There are a few things which I would have done
better if I had the chance to repeat the project,
firstly I would plan the stages of my construction
phase better and show my planning better with my
research. I could have also kept a diary of all the
different stages in which I did things, this would
have made it easier to write my evaluation and
also to help me to asses my project. Overall I am
pleased with what I have created especially in the
construction phase as I feel I managed to make
what I was aiming for, to bring elements of both
fanzines and magazines together to make a
different style of magazine…