WHAT ARE MAGAZINES?

Magazines are a form of publication which is in a printed form or electronically published (online magazines). Magazines are published on a regular schedule depending on their content they are providing their consumers with. They are financed by advertising, by a purchase price or prepaid subscriptions or all three. The word "magazine" refers to a collection or storage location, in the case of a written printed publication it is a collection of written articles. 

Different genre music magazines:

• POP
• Urban
• Rock
• R&B

Content and target audience:

Pop

Pop magazines have the convention of using bright colours. The colours mostly used within their house style is pinks and purples, this suggests that their target audience are mainly young teenage girls. The demographics of their target audience would be mostly in the category E as they are young students possibly unemployed. They are mainstreamers and aspirers who are seeking ways to better themselves through buying goods and following the lifestyles of celebrities. The main image on POP magazines is someone that is well known to everyone, in this case Cheryl Cole. This magazine caters to its audience through conventions used within it like posters, summer hauls and the latest gossip in the Pop world.

Urban

Urban music magazines do not follow any specific colour schemes, they constantly differentiate depending on the celebrity on the front cover. The colour schemes vary from dark to bright. The target audience for Urban music magazines is an older audience due to the language used within the magazine. It is informal due to the type of lyrics that is used within their music, however remains professional and is understood by the target audience which is familiar with the genre. The psychographic of this genre is aspirers who seek status, their target audience is orientated in their physical image. The demographics of this genre fall into the category D as they are semi skilled casual workers. This Urban magazine satisfies its target audience by giving them information on NFL and different tattoos as it is a conventional interest to them.

Rock

Rock magazines are often dark and mysterious. Their colour scheme is mostly black,grey, white and sometimes red. Their front covers often included more than one artist therefore a band and have a lot going on, including bold headlines. The target audience for a rock magazine is mostly mature aged males from the demographic category of E and D meaning that they are semi skilled casual workers. The psychographic of a Rock target audience are strugglers who seek escapism through their dark music.  Kerrang pleases their target audience by giving them free "downloaded posters" and everything that the consumers need to know about punk mega stars.

R&B

R&B magazines are both bright and dark depending on the colour scheme of that specific issue followed by the celebrity on the front cover. R&B magazines are usually aimed at a young audience due to the content that is offered through their music as well as the language that is used within their music as well as the magazine. The language used is also used and understood by the target audience. The psychographic of this genre is mainstreamers and aspirers who seek status and are looking for ways to imitate their image to the celebrities image. The category in which the audience fits into is mostly E and D as they are young and most likely unemployed or students. This specific issue of Vibe focuses on Chris Brown therefore fulfils the latest news on him to his fans and the world of R&B.