Double Page Spread For 'The Source'

This is a double page spread from 'The Source' selected at random, and i will be discussing about this double page spread i more depth.

Again the font used is San Serif, this shows that the magazine is modern. And shows and proves to the readers and target audience that they are up-to-date. There is no title for this double page spread, to be honest there's hardly any writing, this is most probably becasue the magazine is trying not to bored the readers. Also on this double page spread the number of pictures and size and layout are pretty much identical again this reflects how mature the magazine is which was first identified by looking at the front cover.

The colours from the double page spread are sophisticated colours which emphasise the people in the pictures. For example instead of brown, its beige. It is just the little more sophisticated than normal colours you would usually see in a hip-hop magazine. In a way it makes the magazine unique, just buy using sophisticated colours.

In each picture the facial expressions are serious, this shows the dedication to the Hip-Hop music. There posture is straight, this shows the levels of confidence and how vain they are about themselves. They are wearing white clothes with gold chains, wearing the white t-shirts make the bling more recognizable, this is very common in Hip-Hop magazines because its all about showing off there lifestyle.

Now after analysing The source from the front cover to the the double page spread, i now know how to create my magazine and what to include, and also what my main sells are going to be.

The Source - Contents Page

The font used is San serif to show that its an informal magazine and very modern and up-to-date with gossip and news in the hip-hop music industry. It also uses short slang's, streetwise language. This is for the young black African/American men to relate to. 'Rhythmalism'
There isn't really a title for the contents page, but in the bottom left corner . 'The SOURCE' is in bold so this immediately draws the readers attention to the readers. Underneath 'The SOURCE' it says ' THE MASTER PLAN' this shows that the contents page is a master plan for the magazine. By saying its a master plan it convinces the reader that the magazine is set up perfectly and will include fine information that is wanted to be read, this will therefore impress the reader.
The background colour is a simple black, this represents that the magazine will be simple and not to complex and straight to the point. On the other hand the is red on the right side of the contents page which represents the love and passion for the magazine and music. By having half red and half black on the mans face creates a sense of enigma. You don’t know what to expect which will thrill and excite readers.
The image is quite similar to the front cover. There is no emotion shared with the reader. Both images on the contents page and front cover it includes the same man and his eyes are looking straight forward. Maybe it’s something to do with the cultures and politics. Showing a strong face shows he is a strong man and believes thoroughly in his beliefs.
Unlike normal magazines where the font and picture isn’t parallel or un-neat, The Source is different. It is very matured and sophisticated for the older readers. It also proves that the magazine is organised and serious about the politics involved. For example down the right hand side all the font is in the same size and the spacing is inch perfect. This creates a wider target audience. Whilst being sophisticated it also looks modern, linking these together is very cleverly done by 'The Source'.
The contents page is a 'Master Plan' as quoted in the magazine. It is layed out well and includes relevant information to the magazine. It looks contemporary and the colours suit the black mans personality, the contents page elements link very well together.
Sources Used; My own primary research, by comparing to other magazines in the same competition, and basic knowledge.

The Vibe Front Cover Analysis

The Magazine front cover I will be analysing is the 'VIBE' but I am analysing an anniversary addition, 'XVIBE'. I will be analysing and discussing this magazine in depth. I believe that the reason the magazine is called 'The Vibe' is because a vibe is a beat, and because of the music's genre has a lot of beats in the music it relates to the magazine title. The title is in sans serif font; this is so it’s informal and looks up to date with fashion and more modern. It’s bold so the 'vibe' message is being sent across to the readers. They have also put a x in front of the v so it indicates its 15th anniversary, this is cleverly laid out because the 'Vibe' are in a different colour to 'XV' this indicates to the readers that it may have extra information or something new because of its anniversary. The Vibe has made sure that the readers know this because its in the title in bold and the 15/XV is in a different colour. The font used is San Serif, this shows it’s more contemporary and modern. The 'X' has sharp edges; this is so the special edition is recognized. Also the important information is in bright colours, such as blue and pink, this is to draw the readers attention to the key information to the magazine, this could be because its either trying to send a message across or because if this information is in bright colours and the reader will see it first they will then go ahead and buy the magazine. There are no alliterations or abbreviations because it’s a magazine that isn’t sophisticated. It’s a magazine that is for the youth to relate to so being as streetwise as possible will benefit this magazine. 'The Source' and 'The Vibe' magazines target audience is pretty much identical. Maybe the 'The Source's' target audience is slightly more matured than the 'VIBE'. The reason behind this is because the 'Source' is all about politics to being streetwise and about there life, and going into detail, unlike 'VIBE' its all about music and lifestyle which is what young men what to read about. I know this because reading through both magazines there are many young black men trying to copy there idols such as JAY - Z.
The image Cleary puts the message across that it is the 15th anniversary, a celebration. By JAY-Z cutting the cake it shows that the 'VIBE' is celebrating the 15th anniversary. I believe they chose JAY-Z because he is a world class musician and is internationally very well known. Also because the music JAY-Z specializes in relates to the magazine, so together they link very well. JAY-Z is in an upright position with a lot of tension and comes across quite anxious. He doesn’t show any emotion and is trying to look 'rock solid'. This is why he is posing in this way because young boys who want to be hard like JAY-Z will buy the magazine because they will try to relate to him.
The main sells to the magazine are; the extra information and news that comes with the special edition. Also just being a special addition excites normal readers to the magazine because there is bound to be new and better things, such as "15 Exclusive Interviews" relates to the 15th edition. The VIBE have done this because there trying to tell the readers that this 15th anniversary is special. So the main sell is 'XV' or '15'.
There is a barcode in the bottom left corner with a price tag. But the price tag is so small it’s hard to read, this indicates money doesn't matter because the magazine would be worth any price. The magazine has 218 pages in total. The main flash's to the magazine is rivalry between artists such as "Jesse v Obama" and the in depth interviews (15) exclusive. Also JAY-Z '474 Songs reviewed.
Sources Used; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIBE

The Source Front Cover Analysis

The magazine above is an American hip-hop magazine that includes discussions about politics and cultures, I will be analysing it to full detail and then creating my own hip-hop magazine. The Source's name came from background research, it took only 3 days before coming up with the name to come up with the name, after the 1st day they came up with 'Out Turf' but it didn't work. The reason why 'The Source' is worked is because information you gather comes from a 'source'. So they went for it and people understood 'The Source does gather inside information. It was a risk though because only sophisticated or smart people would really understand. It was a very important decision because when looking at a magazine the first thing you look at is the title.
'The Source' is in San serif font. This is because it is more informal and up to date with fashion; this is suggesting that the magazine is fresh and new. It is also very bold and stocky, and so are the black men in the magazine. This will appeal to young girls who are interested in men like that. Another group of people who would be interested would be young boys growing into men. They all want to be 'hard' and 'solid'. These types of men are there idols. The colour used is gold, this is because it represents all the bling and being rich. It suggests being streetwise and being involved with hip-hop African and American music has rewards. The language is short and snappy, this is so they can use loads of different information instead of reading through paragraphs, and it’s also more fun. Another reason is that when people purchase magazines, it’s normally down to the front cover so the pictures, font and language used are essential. So using short sentences in different types of font is the best way to sell the magazine. The language is informal, for example abbreviations 'Gangtsa' instead of 'Gangster' this technique to show the magazine is fresh and new, and includes all the new information and you’re not missing out. The colour of the font is only black and white, this could resemble that there is right and wrong pieces to the magazine.
The target audience is for 16 - 25 year old. Maybe streetwise American/African males because of the cultures inside the magazine I've seen. I believe this is the target audience because there is a high percentage of a young black man in the magazine. Also language being used is the type of language you would hear from a young black American man, for example 'Reppin bk'. I think The Source's target audience would fall under 'C2' for Socio-economic classification. Probably because there getting money just to get by and have a laugh, and get up to no good like teenagers do.
On the front cover for 'The Source' there is a black man, probably about 30years of age, with dark shaded glasses just below his eyes. This suggests that he's a powerful man with a sense of enigma. That's why I think that the magazine picked him to appear on the front cover because he's rich and very well known; this will therefore draw more attention to people who look at front covers before buying a magazine. And then hopefully increase sales revenue. The man is posing, but with arrogance, young black men can relate to him because they all have the same attitude.
The main sells are the bling, E.g the title in gold; this indicates the richness of the black men and aspiring young men to be like them. Also the black mans arrogance on the front cover so that the younger men can relate to him, also that its specifically targeted for young black men, or either white young men who have black men's attitudes. Doing my market research there isn't a lot of competition for this type of audience, so the magazine its self is a main sell.
The front cover includes bar codes, the date and a price, but all this information is either down the side or in the corners so it doesn't distract buyers or readers form the important information. The Source has 145 pages in total.
The main stories are; ' News' and 'Playlist'. This indicates that the magazine keeps the readers up-to-date with news about the streets and interviews with idols. So the readers feel involved which is very important to a magazine reader. Also the music, there not being distracted by the news or other information they are still including the music which is why most people by the magazine. So having both together is works very well.
Audience of Artist/Band
Age Range: 16-28
Evidence: After emailing The Source I didn't get a clear response of who the target audience is for and why. But after doing my own primary researching The Source through Google and reading through the magazine I am pretty confident of the target audience and why. The reason why the age range is 16-28 is because the magazine is about politics and turning young boys into young men. You wouldn't expect a 10 year old to buy a book about politics because it is a very mature magazine about cultures and lifestyles about being streetwise. The reason why I don't think many 30 year old is because it’s very rare that you have black, American and African men who are still streetwise as a full grown adult. You may get the odd man, but it’s not worth specialising it at that age market.
Gender: Male
Evidence: The evidence is in the magazine. In the magazine it includes sexy women, men's after-shave and bling and black music. So it would be very unlikely for women to be interested in this magazine. Also the language used throughout the text used is very slangy' and short and snappy and you normally hear women speaking clearly and it bright colours would be used for women text. As this magazine uses black and white font and slang it indicates the gender target audience is clearly men.
Nationalities:
Evidence: The Source was originally made in United Kingdom, but over the years it has become a more popular magazine and now recognized as the second best rap/hip hop magazine for young men. It has also drawn mainly American/African young men because of the in-depth detail of politics and cultures, but mainly the laid back hip-hop music. The reason why African and American black men are the target audience is because they like to be involved and relate to lyrics which what happens in Rap and Hip-Hop.
Sources used:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Source_(magazine) & http://www.thesource.com/