Research & Planning - Double Page Spread Draft

Double Page Spread Draft

Strapline: Top 10 review

Headline: Top 10 according to us

Stand-first paragraph: We have reviewed each song in the charts and narrowed it down to the songs we think are the best of the best!

10: Be Right There – Diplo & Sleepy Tom

Diplo has recently teamed up with Sleepy Tom to create ‘Be Right There’ which has sampled the 90s R&B classic ‘Don’t Walk Away’ by the trio Jade. It follows the current trend of remaking 90s R&B anthems into House anthems. It fits in nicely with the commercial wave of house currently dominating the radio. Great summer tune!

9: In2 – WSTRN

Nailing a hit is never easy, especially when you cross over from R&B to pop where the melodies and song writing differ quite significantly, fortunately WESTRN haven’t had that problem. This song has a very fresh sound and creates a chilled out vibe. Great for chilling by the pool in summer.

8: Can’t Feel My Face – The Weeknd

This groovy dance hit has stormed nightclubs all around the world. It is a synthy, poppy dance-esque track with some of the rhythm and soul of an R&B jam. The Weeknd and Max Martin is a dream collaboration. Will get people up on their feet, great song to add to the party playlist!

7: Lay It All On Me – Rudimental (ft Ed Sheeran)

Ed Sheeran and Rudimental join forces on this new funky track.  There’s been a major drum and bass resurgence in the UK as of late, and it’s carried artists like Rudimental along with it. Pushing Sheeran out of his comfort zone , it’s one of the year’s most curiously effective pop moments. A brill tune to get you ready for a night out with the girls!

6: On My Mind – Ellie Goulding

The first single from her third album ‘Delirium’ is the real deal. Hyperactive, insistent R&B with a bit of Rihanna in the “eh”s. Straying away from the dark smokey aura that surrounded her second album, this new track offers a more conventional pop sound.  Infectiously catchy!

5: Hotline Bling – Drake

The song itself is an easy listening banger. Drake is up to the same old tricks with the lyrics, calling out the ways of a love from the past. The R&B-savvy song has more radio and top 40 potential than any of his recent releases, which ensures the single’s successful future. The video shows Drake still looking cool busting some dad dancing moves. Create some chilled out vibes this summer!

4: Never Forget You – MNEK & Zara Lawson

Zara Lawson & MNEK join forces on future hit ‘Never Forget You’. She is a Swedish pop princess who already has 2 international hits at the age of 17 years old. He is a 20 year old British producer, singer and songwriter who has worked with Madonna and Little Mix etc. This track sounds like the future of pop music! Great electric sound!

3: What Do You Mean? – Justin Bieber

After a month of teasers he’s finally released his comeback track and unveiled a whole new Justin Bierber! Opening with dramatic piano keys this track is a real nightclub hit! This is the second straight single for Bieber lets see if he can keep his record? Even people who don’t want to admit to liking the Biebs aren’t going to be able to resist it’s summery feel and catchy hook!

2: Hello – Adele

Adele is back! Reintroducing herself with another deep and soulful winner! “Hello” is a class act, an old fashioned ballad that never overdoes it, but delivers the raw, honest feeling that has made Adele a superstar. A great one for the emotional nights in!

1: Sorry – Justin Bieber

Turns out Bieber can keep his record with his brand new hit “sorry”, a catchy pop song with a light dance vibe. We Love how Justin is mixing these meaningful messages and real-life relationship stories with sick indie/electro-dance productions. This song is great for any mood, whether you want to focus on the lyrics and cry, or concentrate on the beat and dance!

This task was to draft your initial idea for your double page spread by choosing from many options including an interview, top 10, review etc.

The type of article I have chosen to do is a mixture between a review and a top 10 because my results from my questionnaire showed 11 people would rather read a review and 8 people would rather read a top 10 so I decided to combine the two aspects of a pop magazine. I believe this appeals to my target audience because they are busy, young people who want to read a short, sharp and to the point opinion on the latest chart hits.

Research & Planning - Initial Ideas

I have completed all research tasks which have helped me to develop these initial ideas for my magazine. By researching into what appeals to my target audience, I will use certain colour schemes and content (explained in my powerpoint) to meet these specific readers. Also by completing my research into already existing pop magazines I have discovered what is expected to be seen in a typical teen pop mag (explained in powerpoint). Finally, by completing my research into existing pop magazine covers I have been able to develop my ideas into what the model will be wearing and posing like etc (also explained in my powerpoint).

Research and Planning - Evaluation

The tasks that I have completed so far have helped me with my understanding of layout, design and conventions of magazines by allowing me to explore what is essential for a front cover, contents page and double page spread for example, masthead, skyline, footer etc. Also it has helped me to explore how I can meet my target audience of young female girls by including a colour scheme of bright colours such as pink's and purple's.

The tasks I have completed so far have helped me to recall my understanding of the music genre pop as I already had a good understanding of it, however it has taught me a lot more about the iconography used in pop, for example, dramatic makeup, on trend clothes and famous role model artists.

The tasks I have completed so far have really helped me to understand the contents and type of stories to include in my magazine by exploring existing pop magazine stories. I have learnt that pop magazine's usually cover gossip stories about famous celebrities and pop artists and their lifestyle's for example relationship gossip. Also pop magazines include interviews with famous artists asking questions that the readers would want to know.

The research I have done has helped me to think of a few ideas I have for my magazine. For example I would like the colour scheme to be pink and purple as it appeals to my target audience of young girls, it would also make my magazine look bright and busy. I would also like an image of a famous pop artist on the cover, for example Jessie J, who is a good role model for young girls. I would also like to include an interview with a famous pop artist on my double page spread asking questions that most readers would want to know. I would also like to include gossip stories as I feel they are a very important aspect of pop magazines.

Research and Planning - Institutions Research

A conglomerate - media group or media institution is a company that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet.

A corporation - is a term which refers to a system of mass media production, distribution, ownership, and funding which is dominated bycorporations and their CEOs

Research and Planning - Questionnaire Analysis

Click here to view my questionnaire



I firstly made my questionnaire on google forms, then distributed it by sending the link to my friends and family. I then collected my results on google drive by clicking view responses then summary of responses. This collated my results by putting them into charts etc.

Research and Planning - Pop Genre Collage

'Iconography is an important aspect of genre. We expect to see certain objects on screen when we see a particular genre, for example, in a Western, dusty lonely roads, saloon bars, cowboy hats and horses, jails, sheriffs badges, guns, etc..

Iconography used in the music genre of Pop is brightly coloured, revealing clothing, dramatic makeup and glamorous artists.

In my magazine, the iconography I would like to use is a brightly coloured theme throughout the magazine of pink and purple, glamorous artists such as Taylor swift, Katy Perry and Jessie J on the front cover, contents page and double page spread wearing dramatic makeup and bright on trend clothing. I would also like to include a sans serif typography, for example 'Myanmar MN Bold'. 

The preferred reading I want to create for my magazine is that it's fun and enjoyable for young girls to read as it touches on subjects such as fashion and music to create a fun atmosphere.

Research and Planning - Analysis of Music Magazines

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Music magazine analysis from SydneyIsittAger

This is my first piece of research into music magazines and above is my analysis of pop music magazines.