TASK 6: RESEARCH AND PLANNINGELLIE MONEY

THE HISTORY OF POP MUSIC

Pop music is a genre which is abbreviated for the term of ‘popular’ music. Popular music first began in the USA during the 1930s as lively music called ‘swing’. Later on, into the 1950s, rock and roll, which was a louder and more exciting type of pop music, emerged with songs about youthful rebellion and teenage love. There are now many pop artists which are in the charts at the moment. For example: Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Rhianna, Katy Perry and Little Mix.

POP ARTISTSMy chosen example of a pop artist is Little Mix. They are a very popular pop band in the UK and have recently made a great success in USA. They are very appealing to the younger age group as they produce upbeat, bubbly songs which are fun for the younger age group. Furthermore, Little Mix produce music videos that relate to this representation as they appear girly, ditsy and fun through their choice of clothing and makeup. Due to them being located in a school and wearing items such as backpacks and having their hair in pig-tails. This is effective because it displays to the target audience that their songs are relevant to them and it allows young girls to feel compatible with Little Mix as they are showing similar characteristics.

Another familiar pop artist is Justin Bieber who is extremely famous and currently has 8 of his singles in the UK top 40. This shows the extent of how popular pop music is from the single fact that one artists has encounter so much of the overall chart list. In his music videos there are teenage girls and boys surrounding him and socialising in the streets. This is attractive for younger girls as at the ages of 9-13 it is what you are either doing or wanting to do when you are slightly older. Therefore this can be representative of their age range or be aspiring for some.

A final pop artist is Taylor Swift. She is also a major star from the eyes of young girls. Many look up to her therefore she is a great example for a pop artist. Taylor Swift creates many songs that regard the theme of young love, which is very relatable for my target audience. Furthermore, her music videos mainly consists of her dancing around, which appears fun and girly. Therefore connotes with connotations or interests with my target audience. For example her music video of ’22’ includes her playing around of a trampoline with her friends. This is very representative of my target audience because they will stereotypically be involved in similar activates.

POP MUSIC IN THE CHARTSPop music is very popular in the UK charts as it is a genre that is loved by many. As you can see out of the top 3; pop music consolidates two of them by the artist Justin Bieber. Therefore showing the success of pop music as it has managed it overtake the majority of the UK chart list.

EXAMPLES OF ARTISTS FOR MY FRONT COVER

Taylor Swift would be a suggestion for the model on my front image because she is a well known successful artist who is loved by my target audience. I also feel that Taylor Swift displays herself almost in a child-like way. This is due to the majority of her songs being about young love. This is therefore relatable to my target audience. Furthermore, in her music video of ’22’, which can be found on my blog Taylor Swift is also shown foolishly dancing around with her friends. It is more than likely that this is the kind of activities that my target audience would get up in their spare time. As a result of this Taylor Swift would be an effective model for my front cover because she is seen as an idol from the eyes of 9-13 year olds. Taylor Swift also plays around on a trampoline with her friends in her music video. This is another child-like activity which further suggest that she should appear on the front cover of a child’s pop magazine because she is seen as a inspiring fun character from my target audiences point of view. Finally, Taylor Swift has been featured on the front cover of competitive magazines to mine. For example, ‘Top of the pops’ and ‘We love pop’. This shows that her image is effective due to the fact other magazines have been successful –perhaps from the use of her appearance or persuasion.

EXAMPLES OF ARTISTS FOR MY FRONT COVER

Justin Bieber is another suggestion for who I might have to appear on the front cover of my magazine. I have selected him because he is an extremely successful artist who is world-wide loved by younger girls. His music also expresses young love or child-like things of which are relatable to my target audience. Which is why stereotypically my age group are massive fans. Additionally, in Justin Bieber’s music video of ‘One time’ he appears to be playing video games at the start. This suggests that he is of a young age as he is still interesting in gaming. Later in to the video Justin is shown outside on bikes with a small group of both boys and girl. My target audience of 9-13 year olds would be familiar of this scene as this is probably how they spend their spare time. Therefore they feel relatable and equal to Justin Bieber. Therefore by having him on the front cover of my magazine would be effective because my target audience would be instantly pealed and integrated to find out more regarding articles on him. Finally, Justin Bieber has previously been featured on pop magazines such as ‘We love pop’ and ‘Top of the pops’. Further suggesting that he is a representative model who successfully draws in the audience.

A final suggestion of who I may select to appear on the front cover of my magazine is the girl group called ‘Little Mix’. This is because they are very inspirational to my target audience as young girls have lots of hopes and dreams and Little Mix were once normal girls who became famous through the power of a TV show called ‘X-Factor’. Therefore my target audience would stereotypically see this group as role model of whom they would look up to. Little Mix are also very child-like with regards to how they present themselves in their music videos. For example in ‘Black Magic’ they are located in a school and play roles of geeky school children. This is obviously aiming to attract the younger generation as they are presenting themselves sin an environment which is associated with younger children. Finally Little Mix have also been featured on other successful pop magazine (‘We love Pop’ and ‘Top of the Pop’).

EXAMPLES OF ARTISTS FOR MY FRONT COVER

MISE EN SCENE OF POP MAGAZINES

The usually mise en scene which is used in pop magazines consists of bright colours that are extremely eye-capturing. This is because this genre tends to aim to attract the younger generation. Therefore bright colours appeal to them. Furthermore, the use of costume used generally tends to be a casual look. As you can see in both examples the models are dressed in basic t-shirts. This is representative for the younger age group as they are stereotypically not familiar with glamourous dresses or designer clothes etc. Moreover, for a pop magazine targeting girls the model may have a prop which resembles with their gender. For example in the ‘We love pop’ magazine Taylor Swift is captured with a hairbrush. This emphasises that the magazine is for the use of girls as a hairbrush has feminine connotations.

CLOTHES/ACCESSORIES MY MODEL WOULD WEAR

On the cover of pop magazines I feel that the models dress sense is regularly covered by bold cover lines and other conventions. This is busy a serotype for pop magazines is to have a lot going on. Therefore I would dress my model is casual clothes as there would be a lot going on around the image. I feel if I was too dress them in something glamourous and sparkly for example then it would be too busy and it would be uncomfortable for the reader.

MAKE-UP MY MODEL WOULD WEAR

I want my model to have a natural look when regarding their make-up. This is specifically because I am targeting a young age group who stereotypically are not majorly interested in make-up. Therefore I feel it would be morally wrong if I were to promote heavy make-up to 9-13 year olds. However, I do think the use of pink lipstick and nails with the pink colour scheme looks effective from the example of ‘We love Pop’ magazine. I feel that it makes the magazine look more feminine and therefore more clearer for who the target audience is.

QUESTION AND ANSWER ARTICLE EXAMPLEThis is a question and answer article as the structure shows that the speech jumps from each individual- there is no mention of surroundings or extra description.

I like this style of article because I feel it is more personal to the reader as they can interpret their own feelings about the characters involved. However I feel added description can influence readers to feel how the publishers do as they can tweak the speech to how they want it to sound.

Furthermore, I feel the question and answer style article suggests to the reader that they are receiving exclusive information as the format feels like they are reviewing the actual interview. This is because no extras have been added. Therefore I overall feel that this style is more honest and validity.

FREE FLOWING ARTICLE EXAMPLEIn contrast this is a free flowing article. This involves much description and tells the story more. The individuals is added in through the use of quotations. Furthermore, in this style of article the use of surroundings are usually made reference to create more of a story for the reader.

I like this style of article because I think it creates more of a bigger story to the reader as its more creative and interesting rather than a simple question then a answer. This is more descriptive and imaginative.

However, I feel free flowing articles can sometimes be presented as biased views as they can use certain descriptions to encourage readers to agree or sway to what they believe. There as a reader you may not always get the fall story.