Development of Music Magazines

The Billboard Music Magazine

Billboard Music Magazine, January 1936:

Through the introducing of the 'music magazine' it was a successful  an crucial contributor in developing and modernising the music industry. As well as enhancing the social elements which surround music. 

BILLBOARD was the initial music magazine which was entirely dedicated  music. The first publishing of the magazine was in 1984, but it wasn't until 1961 until 2005, 

BILLBOARD was devoted entirely to the music industry. The front cover was presented in a style of a newspaper, images and font both appearing in black and white. Despite being published years ago, 

BILLBOARD still uses similar techniques such as  styled fonts and interestingly manipulated images, in order to attract the reader and inevitably increase sales. Through the development of the magazine during the mid 20th century, it began to produce modern and more recongnisable elements to a modern reader such as music charts, which also had an impact on music consumers, introducing a competitive element into the music industry. Now days The magazine focuses on varying genres of music, and has notably developed over its time-span, recently using new technology to its advantage, such as dvds and downloading.

The Billboard Music Magazine

Billboard Music Magazine, July 2010:

Since BILLBOARD was launched in the 20th century, the music industry has grown massively, developing dozens of new sub-genres such as rock, R & B and heavy metal and has had an increasing influence on the way the audience presents itself. In the modern social community, music inspires emotions, being a large part of life, and is evocative to moods and actions. It often has a large influence on other divisions of the media and can dictate codes of behaviour, fashion, friends and cultural norms among sub-cultures.

Music Magazine Publishing Research

It is evident that through the year’s, magazines have been a direct way of musicians being able to connect to their fans, establishing a relationship between the two. In order to create interest the magazines include exclusive information. It is conveyed through increasing demand that magazines are now seen as a necessity for many. The successful marketing of each individual magazine enables the publishers to produce a large amount of profit.

The community that these magazines create is very important for the music industry, where many awards have been set up in the name of these music magazine brands, an example of this is the NME AWARDS. These magazines also include a certain amount of advertising, sometimes in the form of covert advertising, so that new bands can become better known, increasing sales of music, and allowing the music industry to expand.

Ideas for Photo Shoot Locations 

The above images give evidence of an ideal photo shoot, all locations are in the area surrounding East London and Notting Hill. Preferably, on shoot day, the weather will be bright and clear, and I will take the majority of the photos at early evening when the markets; PORTABELLO ROAD, BRICK LANE,COLUMBIA ROAD are near enough clear. But the chaos of the day is still in the atmosphere. However if the weather is unsuitable for my photo shoot plan, then i shall take the photos at a nearby house, in LADBROKE GROOVE.

Music Magazine Front Cover Concept

Music Magazine Front Cover Concept

Although my magazine focus' predominantly on music, I have chosen to look at magazines such as POP and LOVE,in order to use their style, for the front cover image/ look of my magazine. Therefore enabling my magazine to focus on the heading of music, but look dissimilar to the opposing music magazine which are already established and up for sale. Allowing my magazine TUNE to be unique and individual, and although have elements of convention, also challenge these typical ideas. Therefore I have decide give my magazine an edgy feel and make a majority of the images pop art, making the magazine appear arty, as music is a form of art. 

Rejected Images

Design Ideas

I have designed a sketch of  my main idea for the the image on my front cover, testing the idea of using TUNE as my magazine magazines name, and ensuring that the framing of my front cover photo will fit into the allocated space in the centre of the page.

Music Magazine Name Ideas 


Through research, I have recognized that most modern music magazines have names that, sometimes, very roughly correspond to what they contain.



Examples of names of existing and successful  Music Magazines:

• Pop 
• MOJO
• NME-The New music Express
• Q Magazine

It is apparent from analysing these already established names that a majority of them are short and simple, therefore enabling the reader to easily and quickly remember them.As a result my magazine will too have a large impact amongst a selection of other magazines.

I have developed a mind map of magazine titles that I could use, which I believe follow a similar style to other modern magazines: