Create a proposal and pitch for a media product LO1: U3 (P1, P2, M1) and LO2: U21 (P2)

LO1 (U3) Be able to create a proposal with sample materials for an original media product to a client brief
LO2 (U21) Be able to create a proposal and pitch for an original media product based on a given brief

proposal (P1: U3, P2: U21)

Concept:
The magazine that I will be creating will be an Indie Rock magazine called “The Riff”. This musical term is a very well-known musical term that would be familiar to musicians and non-musicians alike. A Riff is that short original phrase in a song that gets repeated throughout the song and is usually memorable and instantly recognisable for each different song. I chose this name for this music magazine because it is a musical term that connotes to the purpose of my magazine which is to showcase mainly small, new and upcoming indie rock bands in the north London region, to introduce the original new Riffs of the indie rock genre.

This font that I have chosen is called “Vonique 64”. It is a sleek and stylish  looking modern font that is very bold and will catch the eye if the target audience which I have identified as 20 – 30 year old British males. 

The purpose of this magazine is to showcase the upcoming original indie rock artists within the North London music scene. This hearkens back to the title of the magazine as it wants to showcase the new riffs so to speak. The magazine will also strive to inspire others  who read the magazine who may be aspiring musicians themselves to get more properly involved in the vibrant indie rock scene and community that surrounds them. 

Target audience:
The target audience that I have identified for my magazine is that 20 – 30 year old British males. I came to this conclusion by conducting research mainly through online resources such as social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. On Facebook I researched the current indie rock bands based and playing in North London, and looked extensively through the followings of multiple bands.

These screen shots show examples of people from the following of the local North London indie rock band “Big Thief”. Which was one example band that I researched. Overall the average follower of north London indie rock bands were 20 – 30 year old British males, a lot of whom enjoy to play instruments such as the guitar themselves.

Genre:
The Genre of indie rock is my chosen genre due to the fact that through researching online I have managed to identify that it is the fastest growing genre in terms of popularity within the north London region. This was done through researching many venues in north London to study what bands and artists they have lined up for the future in comparison to what they had lined up in the past. I identified that more and more indie rock bands are being lined up to play in comparison to that of Hip Hop which has been the most popular music genre in north London for a while. And whilst that genre still currently is the most popular genre it is not rising in popularity as rapidly as that of indie rock.

These images show examples of research I conducted where I have identified the many new and upcoming indie rock bands and events playing in north London.

Content:
The content of this magazine would consist of articles surrounding new artists entering the scene, venues within north London both new and old, interviews/Q&A’s with both well established and new indie rock artists, advertising for specific instruments and music based brands, reviews of albums and instruments. Overall this content will be promoting the upcoming originality within the indie rock music scene in north London from artists to venues. Through conducting research by reading through a selection of different music magazines I could identify what types of articles were the most popular to include based on what appeared the most.

Competition:

There is currently no direct competition for the exact type of magazine I will be making, this is because there are no indie rock magazines that specialise only in the region of north London. However there are other British music magazines such as Q magazine and uncut. 
These music magazine consist very heavily of the rock genre including indie rock. These magazines are not region bound and they are a both a monthly issued magazine and both around £20 for a yearly subscription.

Time out magazine is the main local competitor being an exclusively London based magazine that covers all forms of entertainment with all regions of London. There is a large segment of that magazine that covers the London Music scene and what is going on across the board across a range of different genres. this would cover indie rock, and Time out is already a very well established magazine with a very large following.
 this would be a potential threat to my magazine as it may prove to be more difficult to appeal to my target audience when going head to head with an already popular magazine. However, my magazine would be completely focused on the indie rock genre in great detail, therefore appealing to that niche market more so than Time out.
 This would mean that if I market effectively toward that niche market my magazine would gain traction and be able to compete effectively against the likes of Time out magazine. also, my magazine would be solely focused on the North London region, whilst Time out is about all of London. this means that my magazine would appeal to to my specific target audience of North Londoners more so than that of Time out as it would cover that specific region in much greater detail.

Q magazine is not a local competitor, but it is a British based music magazine that consists mostly of the rock genre in Britain. this is a potential threat to my magazine as it is already a well established music magazine that many fans of the genre may already be subscribed to, meaning that less people would likely want to subscribe to my magazine. 
However, my magazine targets the very niche market of indie rock in the concentrated area of North London. this means that my magazine would be in much greater detail of these specific segments of British rock. this would result in North Londoners wanting to subscribe to magazine such as that is directly tailored to their situation. 

Resources:

Resources that I will use to make my magazine would be that of a camera such as a DSLR to gather high quality images for my front cover and double page spread. I will also be using photoshop to design and format my front cover and double page spread. I will using lighting for my photography to achieve the best photos possible. I will also use a green screen in order to make it easier to cut out my subjects when I need to in post-production.

Personnel:
Personnel that would be required to make a magazine would be a photographer, in order to capture all the appropriate and best photos for the magazine. A graphic designer, in order to format and design the front cover and double page spread using images and typography in post-production. A model, in order to provide good subjects for the magazine. And an editor, in order to make sure all articles are appropriate and written well. 

Distribution:
The distribution method that I have chosen for my magazine will be that of a monthly subscription for £18, or if someone chooses not to get a monthly subscription it would £2.99 per issue. This provides incentive to purchase a subscription due to the fact that you save a lot of money per issue. Also, at £18 it is slightly cheaper than the British competition of Q and Uncut who sell their subscriptions for more than £20. A subscription would mean that the magazine would get delivered to your home every month. Single issues would be able to be purchased in off licences within the north London region which would be much more cost effective than getting it distributed through big brands such as super markets.

Marketing:
This magazine would be marketed through social media platforms such as Facebook. by utilising these platforms I would be able get the magazine known to members of my target audience specifically within the North London region. I could do this by creating a targeted advert that would show up in the feeds of all people that match the look alike audience that I create within Facebooks business advertising services. This would be 20-30 year old British males who are currently living within the North London region. the advert would say that there is a new indie rock music magazine for North Londoners coming out soon. another way of advertising my magazine would be through creating leaflets and posters the would be put up in local universities letting people know that there is a new indie rock music magazine coming out soon. this would appeal to the younger demographic of this target audience and will make them more likely to want to buy a subscription to the magazine in the future. other social media platforms that I would utilise is that of instagram and facebook. I would create an instagram account for my magazine for people to follow which would post updates of what is going on with the magazine everyday to maintain peoples interest and therefore make many people more likely to buy a subscription to the magazine.   

Legal and ethical:
Legal issues:

Not getting appropriate permission to showcase the people in my images

Using images that aren’t mine without permission

Not getting permission to use a location that is owned 

Ethical issues:

Make sure my magazine doesn’t include vulgar language that could potentially offend people

Make sure that all content is true and doesn’t paint anyone in a negative light that could be deemed slanderous

Sample materials (P2: U3):

This is a mood board that I created to put together a collective of indie rock themed aesthetics that I can now take inspiration from in terms of colour schemes and what’s featured and other iconography. 

A sketch layout of a potential front cover design that shows a silhouetted band playing in a silhouetted field with a sunset behind them. 

A sketch layout of a potential double page spread design that showcases a silhouetted band walking across a field in the distance in the sunset.

Article idea1:
this article would be a Q'N'A with a new and upcoming band within north London. this article would ask the band where they got their inspirations from, why they decided to start their group, what they think of the current North London indie rock scene and what they plan to do in the future.

Article idea2:
this article would be an album review of a selection of new albums from indie rock groups within North London. 

Article idea3:
this article wold talk about who is currently playing at what venues and when. 

Article idea4:
this article would be review various newly released guitars from different brands. it would compare them to one another to give the reader a ranking of what newly released guitar is the best.