Q3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I think that the right institution for my Indie Music magazine would be Time Inc UK who own IPC Media.

I researched this institution and found that they only own one music orientated magazine - NME  - which does not focus on one specific genre. I think that my magazine would be perfect for this company as my media product only focused on the indie and indie rock genre.

Also, the success of the NME magazine shows that this company have the ability to make a magazine be consumed digitally too - which the QR Code and sites on my magazine represent. 

Furthermore, I looked at the NME magazine front cover and saw that their simple - yet affective - colour scheme and house style is very apparent
, this is very similar to my magazine which may mean that the institution would like it as it looks professional and very realistic.

NME magazine was the first magazine to ever feature in a singles chart which also shows ambition from the publishing company, which is another reason I wish for my magazine to belong to this company.
Lastly, I think that IPC Media would be the best institution for my magazine because I used features that have been used previously in magazines published over the IPC Media umbrella. Also, this institution does have a gap in the market for an indie rock magazine although they already have indie magazines.

Q2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Q1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products.

The conventions I followed and why:
Front Cover:
I have followed the stereotypical representation of the masthead taking up 1/6th of the page which is seen in nearly all indie music magazines. I have done this so that the masthead "UNSIGNED" will visibly stand out when placed on a shelf.

I have also added puffs which is also a stereotypical convention of these genre magazines. The puff I have added follows my house style colours so that synergy is created throughout my magazine.

Furthermore, the image of 'SFNH' that is placed on my front cover follows conventions as all models are looking into the camera which represents a relationship between the band members, the magazine company and   the readers/audience. 

On my front cover, I added a QR Code which links in with the Instagram, Twitter and website which I have included on my contents page. This follows conventions as it is seen in nearly all magazines when I completed my research. In addition, I added these so that it appeals to the younger target audience. 

Contents Page:
I created a Double page contents page instead of just one page as this is was what I found appeared most in my planning and research. I also added columns to make the structure and layout formal and professional. The images I added appeal both to boys and girls which also appeared relevant in my research and planning stage of making my media product. 

Also on my contents page, I added a separate box which overlapped the border around my page which added emphasis to that cover story. I put this on a slant alongside the images inside it as this was a convention which I found. 

The page numbers on my contents page were placed in circles which varied in size dependent on the cover story. This was another convention I found - especially in the Q Magazines. 



DPS:
On my DPS, I used very small text which seemed to be on every DPS that I looked at. I also found that when researching other magazines, a colourful and vibrant image was used so I therefore used the image that I took at a park in Barton. This also incorporated the colour red which created synergy throughout my magazine pages as this followed the house style that I created.

I also created a vertical banner on my DPS as I saw many magazines which used these. This added a separate focus to the DPS for the reader. In addition, this allowed the "Free Download" to be noticeable and contrast a lot more against the banner - it would not have contrasted well on the background of the original image.

Pull quotes were also used on my DPS as this was noticeable in every magazine I have ever looked at. It is a feature which appears in every magazine so I thought it would be a big mistake to not follow this convention. I therefore added two pull quotes in boxes which also followed the colour of my housestyle (Red, blue, black and white). This also creates synergy throughout my magazine and allowed the pages to link together.

The conventions I challenged and why:
Front Cover:
Contents Page:
DPS:

The conventions I developed and why:
Front Cover:
On my front cover I included a strap-line just underneath my masthead saying "The Best Indie Rock Bands". This developed conventions because not many magazines I researched contained these. However, I thought that this would be appropriate for my magazine because whilst I was making it, I thought that my pages connoted the "rock" genre slightly, so I developed this into making my magazine an "indie rock" music magazine. Which still fits under the "indie" genre umbrella. 

Contents Page:

DPS: