RESEARCH INTO THE ACADEMY OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC

I have been doing some research for our music magazine and decided to look at the ACM website to get some ideas on how to make our magazine appeal to our target audience which would also consist of music students. The website has also let me look at the type of pictures they have of the bands performing and has given me some ideas of how to take our pictures. 

Looking through the ACM live images gallery has helped me understand the type of pictures that will appeal to the readers. It has also given us an idea of what type of gigs the music students enjoy which we can conclude in our magazine. 

FIRST HURDLE INTERVIEW

Q1. How/Why did you get started in the Music scene and what have you been doing to get you to the point you are at currently?

Well, I have always been a big music fan and I have always thought how awesome it would be to be in a band. I think it was probably after last summer where I went to a ton of gigs when I just thought “fuck it, if I want to be in a band, let’s do it!”. So I got some mates together and started writing some songs. We have been through a few lineup changes since then but I think they were all for the better. After that I just spent entire days emailing venues until one or two would give us a gig.

Q2. Who are you influences and why?

I think as a whole the band is influenced by Nirvana, they are probably one of the bands we can all agree on. Apart from that we are all influenced by rather different styles of music. Will and Joe are influenced by bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and more indie stuff where as Ryan tends to listen to heavier music and I listen to punk. I think that’s a good thing though because for example, with our old line up to be honest we just sounded like a Green Day tribute band which is not original. Personally though I’m influenced by bands like Sum 41, Foo Fighters and Green Day, not only because I think their music is great but I love what they are all about.

Q3.So what are you working on right now, is there anything we can look forward to in the near future?

Well, we are going back into the studio during the summer to record some of our new songs. Our old demo is ok, but we put it together rather quickly and like I said we sounded like a Green Day tribute band back then. The vocals for example sound 100 times better now so I’m really excited about getting the new tracks recorded. We are also set to be pretty gig heavy over July and September so I encourage anyone who lives in Surrey to come and check us out!

Q4. This is a two-part question:

a) One thing we’d like to know is how do you connect with your fan base? What platforms do you use and are these working for you?

The main thing has to be Facebook but Sound Cloud has also been rather essential. The other day we got a load of listens from Greece and Denmark which was rather un-expected. ReverbNation has also helped. We have a MySpace page but it is rather unloved. I think all the other sites that are available are a lot better than MySpace now anyway. We also try to talk to the fans after the gigs. I hate bands that even though they are still unsigned act all cocky and refuse to really talk to their fans.

And secondly

b) What are you doing that you believe makes you stand out from the crowd?

I think we have a sense of fun that not all bands have. We really like to show how we don’t take ourselves that seriously. We don’t think of ourselves as some sort of bad ass band. We just really enjoy what we do and I hope that stands out when we play.

Q5. Where are you currently getting exposure? How do you aim to increase/maximize this?

Most our gigs provided for us down at Guildford Community Centre by Theory Project Revolution have been great for exposure and we are very thankful for them. I think our local fan base is getting pretty good and so when we feel that has peaked I have been planning on launching a Facebook ad campaign. Hopefully that will get us some fans from all over the country. Apart from that though it’s really just about continuing to play gigs and continuing to play well.

Q6. Thank you for taking the time out to do this interview with us! Is there anything else you would like to say to the readers?

Please become a fan of us on facebook at www.facebook.com/firsthurdle ! You can listen to our old demo there but like I said earlier it is merely a shadow of what we are now. We will be recording the new tracks soon. If you live in Surrey please come down to one of our gigs to and come check us out! We would love to see you there!

THIS is the first part of our interview with First Hurdle that we have done and will do some follow on questions when we go and take pictures with the band. 

IMAGES FOR OUR CONTENTS PAGE

Here are some pictures taken at the Festival Wireless which we could use on our contents page. I have used PhotoShop to make the pictures brighter and more lively. 

FIRST HURDLE PHOTOSHOOT AND INTERVIEW

Friday the 27th of January- Going to meet First Hurdle at 7:30pm to take pictures for the cover and contents page. We will also hold an interview that can be used on the first page spread, we will ask the following questions:

How did the band form? or Give me a brief history of the band?
This question will help the readers of Fusion to become familiar with the bands history.


How do you normally go about the song writing process. Is there a particular subject matter that the band sings about?
Gives the reader a deeper understanding of the personal sentiments and ideas of the band.


When and where was your last concert? Tell us about your fans


Who are your favourite musicians and why?
Give insight to readers of which artists inspire punk rock bands.


When is the next performance? Tell us about it
Gives the reader of an idea of what to look forward to from First Hurdle

RESEARCH INTO MAGAZINE DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

From RWD magazine

Code and Conventions of a double page spread:

• one large image - makes eye contact 
• large quotes - on pictures / in headline / to break up text
• drop capital and bold text - shows reader where to start reading
• byline - gives credit to journalist / photographer
• large headline - rhetorical question - catchy- direct address
• constrained palette yellow/ white / black colour scheme - magazine's colours 
• easy to read font
• stand first - introduces the article, positioned under the headline
• strap line - very top, including subject matter
• personality of journalist comes through - informal 

The headline of this double page spread is a quote from the text from Lily Allen's interview which draws the reader in. The image of Lily Allen is very large and striking and direct address and makes the audience very interested making them want to read the article. 

The article is split into 4 columns which is started by a drop capital which lets the reader know where to start reading. The article is aimed at teenagers as it is from the magazine NME. The stand first tells the reader what the article is about and the by-line tells us the journalist and photographer. 

RESEARCH MAGAZINE CONTENTS PAGE

Theses magazine contents pages will help us with our layout for our contents page for our magazine FUSION. 

The code and conventions for a magazine contents page are:

• same colour scheme as the front cover
• image(s) of band / singers / music venues
• columns - usually 3 or 4
• categories - features, regulars
• main picture of the front cover
• page number / issue date / web address / magazine title
• words that intrigue reader
• competition

This contents page for the magazine DRUMMER is simple and easy to read/follow. The colour scheme from the front cover remains consistent on the contents page as suggested by the codes and conventions. The magazine has split it's contents into sections such as: features and regulars etc, so the reader can find what the are looking for easily. The white background works well because it allows the reader to not be distracted and to keep their attention on the text. Also the main image relates to the feature article of the magazine. 

FORMS AND CONVENTIONS FOR MUSIC MAGAZINE

• vibrant
• colourful
• busy
• strong, big picture
• tends to be masculine
• masthead normally interacts with front picture
• picture holds the eye of the reader - makes it feel like advertising
• short, bold title

The NO DEPRESSION magazine is something that our magazine might look like. It has little writing on the front cover but a strong main picture.