MOBO awards winners 2010

So, last night (20th October) the MOBO awards took place at Liverpool's Echo Arena.
The ceremony is the biggest Urban Music Awards ceremony and always covered highly by the media.
This year Tinie Tempah and JLS were the biggest winners taking home 2 awards each.

The full list of winners is:

Best Newcomer - Tinie Tempah
Best UK R&B / Soul Act - Plan B
Best UK Hip Hop / Grime Act - Professor Green
Best International Act - Eminem
Best Reggae Act - Gyptian
Best Album - JLS, 'JLS'
Best Video - Tinie Tempah ft. Labrinth; Frisky
Best UK Act - JLS
Best Song - N-Dubz ft Mr. Hudson; Playing With Fire
Best African Act - K'Naan
Best Jazz Act - Empirical
Best Gospel Act - Guvna B
Lifetime Achievement - Billy Ocean
BeMOBO - Merseyside Dance Initiative

so overall, a rather successful evening.

Metal Hammer Double Page Spread Analysis (metal hammer issue no.210)

Metal Hammer is a music magazine that focuses on one particular genre of music, which as the name suggests, is metal. This means that it has quite a niche market, with the main audience being male although I wouldn't say there is a particular age group that it is aimed at. Metal Hammer is slightly bigger than A4 so they have quite a lot of space to each page. This means that, as with this double page spread, they can afford to use a whole page just for a photo. I feel this is also quite effective because the photo catches the reader’s eye, and if it is a band / artist they like then they will want to read the interview.

The actual layout itself is relatively simple; Title of article and the band name is at the top of the left page, the ‘strap line’ underneath these, the article is split into two columns under this, and the whole right page is taken up by an image of the Vocalist of the band, with a quote across the middle of it. I feel this is an effective layout as the article doesn’t look too daunting to the reader because the amount of text compared to the space available is relatively small.

The image dominates the double page spread and, together with the title, takes up about seventy-five percent of the available space. This does seem slightly wasteful of the space but, the text is rather small and therefore quite a lot can fit into the remaining area.


The colour scheme of the article is also very simple, using black, red and a variation of burnt orange colours, to go with the title ‘TRIAL BY FIRE’. Black, in this ‘setting’ connotes darkness, and possibly hiding, which is backed up by the fact that Oli has his hand put up to the light which means a shadow is cast across his face, this gesture could also mean that he doesn’t really want to be interviewed, but as he is looking straight at the camera, this effect is lost. Also he could be shielding himself from the ‘fire’ that is alluded to in the title, the fire causing the light that he is blocking out with his hand. They have also focused alot on the fact that Oli is in a dark room and there is alot of shadow used in the image and all the rest of the page is also very dark suggesting that he is the only thing lighted up by the light and he doesn't want to be seen.

NME cover analysis

NME is a music magazine which covers mainly indie and alternative rock bands, but it also covers some solo artists and the new wave of 'folk' music

FINISH THIS LATER

Rock Sound Front Cover Analysis

This is the front cover of Rocksound magazine. Rocksound is a monthly magazine aimed at 16-24 year olds although there are readers from younger and older age groups. I wouldn't say that it has a 'niche' market as such, seeing as it covers quite a wide range of music, even though the name of the magazine suggests it only focuses on rock music. Rocksound is slightly larger than A4 in size, so it has quite alot of space to play with, but as this is the front cover, they can't really afford to waste much of it, which is something you can see they are aware of from this cover in particular.

To start, the main image takes up the majority of the space which means that they actually don't have much space left to waste, and after adding in the info strip at the top of the page and the Magazine title, the front cover is rather full. They have all males in the cover photo, which is quite common for this magazine.

The title of the main article; 'WE REDICT A RIOT', is in large white writing so it stands out over the image, as most of the clothing worn in the photo is dark. The writing appears to be 'smashed' like a mirror when it has been broken, which fits with the 'RIOT' part of the title. It also fits with the image, the fact that the men are all holding things commonly associated with riots and violence; a baseball, a broken bottle, a megaphone, a brick and a chain. They are also all pulling rather 'aggressive' faces which also fits with the 'RIOT' part of the title. Alot of the front cover actually compliments the main article title; from objects and facial expressions in the photo to other words used, such as 'rampage', and the use of the exclamation mark and the 'smashed' writing. All of this reflects the 'bad boy' image that these bands all pride themselves in having, which appeals to teenage girls because they find it attractive and teenage boys because they aspire to be like the people in these bands one day. As they all play a very similar style of music, the image of the bands is very similar, and this appeals to the wider audience of the magazine because they may only see one face that they recognise on the cover but if they see other people with a similar image associated with them on the cover then they will buy the magazine because they want to find out more about the band and their music, so this is also good for the band as it may increase their fanbase. They have probably all been grouped together on the front cover because they are playing a gig or festival together, and Rocksound have done an article on it.

On the front cover, there are three main fonts used; the main title font (which is also used for most of the other writing on the cover), a handwriting style font, and the 'smashed' font.

Double page spread analysis - rocksound; murderdolls.

[Rocksound magazine is a music magazine aimed at people (on average) between the ages of 16 and 30, although people from outside this range do read it too. It's audience is male and female, and i dare say that more females actually read it than males.]

This is a double page spread from Rocksound Magazine. Here the layout is quite simple, the title of the article is at the top of the left page, as well as the bands name. There is a photo of the band across the 2 pages but mostly on the left page and the interview overlays the photo on the right page. There is a quote enlarged, cutting across the interview with a white 'box' around it to make it stand out.

The title is stylised in the same way that Rocksound tend to stylise their titles, to the magazine rather than to suit the band. This usually works with less 'heavy' bands, like in this instance. The 'distorted', 'distressed' writing suits the bands style and fits with the magazines generic layout.

The red block behind the main article makes the writing stand out. The colour red is a warm colour which connotes love but also evil. It can be seen as representing cupid but also it is the colour of the devil, which is more likely to be the reason it has been used here, looking at the band's image. It also connotes danger and power.

The background of this article is black and both of the people in the photo are wearing black clothes, aswell as both having black hair and wearing black make-up. Black connotes Death, sadness and Depression. This all goes together with the bands image which seems to be rather morbid looking.

Neither of them are smiling, there isn't really much expression in their faces atall, which suggests that maybe something has happened that they aren't too happy about.

The title of the article is 'Two's company' which could suggest that the reason that they aren't too happy is because maybe they have lost a band member, or maybe they have formed this band from another band...

Double Page Spread template 2

This is my second double page spread template.

Here I have the main title at the top of the left page of the double page spread. The strapline is underneath, which is typical in nearly all magazines, and then the main article text takes up the rest of the page. The whole of the right page is taken up by a large image of the whole band and there is a quote taken from the interview across the image.

Double Page Spread Template 1

This is my first template for my double page spread

FINISH THIS LATER

This is my logo for my magazine. I have used the font 'Viner Hand ITC' and edited it heavily in photoshop.

I have made it red and black because those are colours commonly associated with the sort of people that I am aiming my magazine at. Also, red is the first colour the eye sees, and it connotes love and danger, so it catches the eye of the audience.

Paramore get sued...

According to several sources, Paramore are being sued by band "Tenspoke Indies" as they claim that parts of their song 'Starlighter' was used in Paramore's song 'The Only Exception'.

The band claim that the song includes parts of their song; "including but not limited to, similarities in the introductions, arrangements, the chord progression, the key, the melody, the lyrical theme, they rhythm and tempo of both songs."

...well, time for court...

Elle Magazine Cover Analysis

Elle is a fashion magazine that covers some high street clothes but mostly catwalk and couture fashion. It is aimed at females, aged 16-45 who are into fashion. It also covers music, literature, film and fashion 'icons' amongst other things.

This is the latest issue (November 2010) and on the front cover it features Alexa Chung, who is quite a well known fashion icon, due to her quirky, British dress sense.

The colours on the front of the magazine are 'monochrome' which makes it look very simple and is easy on the eyes. It doesn't make the magazine stand out in itself but when on a shelf with lots of other magazine that are all brightly coloured, it will stand out because of it's plain colour scheme.

Alexa's outfit goes with the colour scheme on the front cover as she is wearing Black and a grey/blue (navy) top with a white colour, which will have been specifically chosen to go with the particular issues colour scheme.

The fact that they have only used three colours makes the cover look very professional and makes it easier to look at, plus the fact that the three colours used are so close to each other (white+black=grey) makes it seem nice and simple. Choosing these three colours is really quite a safe option.

Grey, is a very 'elegant', neutral colour, that is very balanced and can be associated with being quite moody. It is also seen, like black, as a colour of mourning and as a colour of formality.

It is made up of black and white.

Black, is a very 'conservative' colour and has conflicting connotations. It can be used to portray a moody, serious, conventional image but it can also be seen as very 'sexy' and sophisticated.

It also goes well with ALMOST every colour.

White, is a very 'pure' and clean colour, and it connotes cleanliness, purity and innocence. Like Black it goes well with most colours.

These three colours used together put across quite a moody and sophisticated image, which is what the general feel of this magazine is. It does this very well I feel.

Lostprophets in... Dersingham?!

Welsh Rockers 'Lostprophets' have recently been in Dersingham, writing songs for their new album. Not as secretive as other artists, members of the band were spotted wandering around the small Norfolk village and stopped to talk to their fans. They were also spotted in shops in the nearby town of King's Lynn.

They were polite enough to stop and talk to fans, taking photos and having general conversations.

When asked why they had chosen Dersingham, Ian Watkins replied that 'we pointed to a random place on a map and this is the place we pointed to.'

Somehow, this doesn't surprise me...



anyway, the band left last week and the fans are now eagerly anticipating the new album... I wonder if there will be a little Norfolk influence in there somewhere...



(I've got a brand new combine harvester...)

Music Magazine name [so I don't forget]

I have decided to call my magazine "Rock Legion" as it is going to be a rock magazine

'Rock' simply because it is going to be a magazine covering all kinds of rock music, from 'indie' through to... not quite metal, more heavy rock.

And 'Legion' because the word suggests a coming together of people. It suggests that the readers are united in their taste and opinion and that this magazine will 'satisfy' their taste. Legion is also quite an 'elitist' sounding word, so it suggests that this magazine is the best and that it's readers are therefore also the best.

So the name altogether suggests that this magazine is a coming together of the best music and fans that there is.

Gaga Guilty Pleasure?

Listener Data from Last.fm has shown that, despite her huge popularity and success in the industry, she is both one of the most listened to AND most deleted artists around. Fans are deleting her songs from their public playlists to keep their 'listening stealth' causing 7 of her songs to be in the top ten most deleted tracks.




Last.fm top ten deleted songs:

1. Lady Gaga - Alejandro
2. Lady Gaga - PokerFace
3. Lady Gaga - Bad Romance
4. Lady Gaga - Paparazzi
5. Ke$ha - TiK ToK
6. Lady Gaga - LoveGame
7. Lady Gaga - Just Dance
8. Justin Bieber - One Time
9. Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug
10. Lady Gaga - Monster

Figures on the site (Last.fm) show that people are listening to her music in their droves as her songs regularly appear in the top listed tracks, but they dont want to show her on their public profiles...

Has Lady Gaga become the ultimate Guilty Pleasure?

So here's a snippet of EMI's "attributes"

I have looked at EMI's 'back catalogue' of artists and here are a few of them:

Pre 1960's: Liza Minelli, Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard

1960's:

Beach Boys, The Beatles, Pink Floyd

1970's - present:

30 Seconds to Mars, Lily Allen, Adam Ant, Beastie Boys, Black Sabbath, Blur, David Bowie, The Chemical Brothers, Chiddy Bang, Coldplay, Daft Punk, Dizzee Rascal, Foo Fighters (left in '99), Gorillaz, Hot Chip, Iron Maiden, Jane's Addiction, Manowar (left after 2 weeks), Paul McCartney, McFly, Morrissey, Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry, Pet Shop Boys, Queen, R.E.M, Radiohead, Roll Deep, Professor Green, Sex Pistols, Smashing Pumpkins, The Smiths, Tinie Tempah, Vanilla Ice, The Verve, White Stripes, Whitesnake and Robbie Williams.

(to name but a few)

From this alone I can see that not only do they cover a lot of artists but also a wide variety of genres and era's. From Iron Maiden ('heavy metal') through to Dizzee Rascal (rap) and from Katy Perry ('pop') through to The Chemical Brothers (big beat/progressive house/breakbeat hardcore/trip hop/electronic dance)