Genre: Webzine

http://www.ilikemusic.com/

'I Like Music' is a Southampton based music magazine/webzine. It was set up in 2001 by a group of young people that are interested in music.

It is an extremely professionally set up site and has a lot of features that I would use in a published magazine. The benefits of making a 'webzine' is that you have an endless catalogue of information, the internet can hold the ultimate 'back catalogue' whereas a magazine is limited to a certain number of pages.

'I Like Music', unlike some magazines limited to say 70 pages, it has the opportunity to cover a variety of different genres of music: Pop, Hiphop, Rock, Dance, Indie and Urban. The website still maintains a theme depending on the genre, the section I am specifically interested in is the 'indie' link. The magazine has articles that are created for that specific audience, 'Indie Playlist of the Week' (including links that can direct the reader towards said playlist), 'The Week in Indie' or 'Latest Indie News'.

For a magazine that was set up by a group of young people, it has managed to become an established site for magazine information. Although the interviews are not with A-listed stars they show an establishment with some well-known bands and artists such as the 'White Lies' and 'Eliza Doolittle'.

This webzine shows a variety of different aspects and concepts that could be incorporated into my own music magazine.

Completed Article

Double Page Spread Article for ‘Wolf’ Magazine


Music Interview
Wolf: Breakthrough

Fresh out of the recording studio with his 2011 breakthrough band ‘The Polaroids’, Simon Wicklow talks to ‘Wolf’ about mixtapes, xbox-ing and village life.

When Simon arrived at the ‘Wolf’ offices it was clear from the offset that I was meeting with a very down-to-earth and shy young boy that has been sky-rocketed into the media spotlight. He wanders into our shoot, acid-wash skinnies, boat shoes and a big old granddad cardigan hiding his awkwardness. When asked if he needs anything, he replies ‘a cuppa would be nice, two sugars please’. Sniffling away after recovering from a cold, he retires into one of our squishy armchairs as if settling down for a chat with his mates.

Rose: Hi, it’s lovely to meet you. I’ve been listening to your demo album and it really portrays a group of young lads having fun and living an exciting and spontaneous lifestyle but what makes Simon Wicklow tick?

Simon: Hello, nice to meet you too. Yeah, we’re all in our late teens and early twenties so we’re trying to not get bogged down by all the serious stuff in life, making sure our music is fun and inspiring. ‘The Polaroids’ are becoming popular but I’m still only a lad used to village life, living in a small close-knit community and having a pint up the local pub.

R: You say you’re used to a small community lifestyle, so how do you feel about this new found fame?

S: It is scary! I have never been very good at being the centre of attention; I’m a bit of a social recluse. I’d rather be xbox-ing than out ‘partying’ so this all feels very weird and surreal to me.

R: Your music is alternative, think The Kooks meet Mumford and Son meet Florence and the Machine but who would you have playing on a mixed tape?

S: I like a little bit of everything. I listen to bands such as A Day to Remember or 30 Seconds to Mars. I love dubstep but am happy listening to The Smiths or Bombay Bicycle Club. All of us have completely different tastes in music which I presume is why our songs have such a mix match of styles.

R: You’re playing Camden’s Underworld next month, renowned for performances in the past from the likes of Radiohead and The Smashing Pumpkins. How do you feel about playing such a prestigious venue?

S: Petrified, I am trying not to think about it, just taking each day in my stride but if the fashionable crowd of Camden like you that’s got to mean something!

Quick Fire Questions:

Tea or coffee?
Always tea

What is your telly pleasure?
Has to be two and a half men or any American sitcom. I’m a big fan of scrubs.

Star Sign?
Aquarius

Cider or Beer?
Bleurgh beer is gross, cider all the way preferably a Kopperburg

What would find in your car?
Mess, receipts, shoes, a skateboard, mints, ipod, tapes…

Your scent?
I’m a Lynx Africa kind of man

The Polaroid’s start their new tour at Camden’s Underworld on February 10th and many dates are planned for across the country. Make sure to check them out on tour or at http://www.thepolaroids.com/

(For my double page spread:

The left hand-side page will have an image of the main subject 'Simon Wicklow'.

The right hand-side page will have the title and introduction at the very top and the rest of the interview in columns with a few smaller images dotted within)

Chosen Interview Questions

It is very difficult to plan fully the questions you are going to ask in an interview. You shouldn't really overplan a colloquial and casual interview, some interviews are even conducted over 'twitter' but i have thought about the kind of questions that can trigger off other questions:

- Hello, you've just come off stage, how do you think the audience reacted to your new music?

- Hello, first of all congratulations on your...

- Your reknowned for being...

- Do you have any pre-show rituals?

- Your new album is out next week, what was your inspiration?

Interview Techniques

Obviously interviewing someone for television is entirely different to writing an interview for a magazine but there are some features and skills that are transferable:

Lady Gaga Interviewed on T4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPvwpkU2W9w

Ellie Goulding Interview:



What i have discovered from looking at spoken television interviews is that the majority of modern day interviews are extremely casual and colloquial. Although the questions are scripted it is clear that the people doing the interviews on both ocassions sometimes make the questions up on the spot. I will have to ensure that my magazine interview appears to be conversational and comfortable rather than an interrogation.

How to conduct an interview: Magazine Questions

Types of Interviews:

Informal, conversational interview - no predetermined questions are asked, in order to remain as open and adaptable as possible to the interviewee's nature and priorities; during the interview, the interviewer "goes with the flow".
General interview guide approach - the guide approach is intended to ensure that the same general areas of information are collected from each interviewee; this provides more focus than the conversational approach, but still allows a degree of freedom and adaptability in getting information from the interviewee.
Standardised, open-ended interview - here, the same open-ended questions are asked to all interviewees (an open-ended question is where respondents are free to choose how to answer the question, i.e., they don't select "yes" or "no" or provide a numeric rating, etc.); this approach facilitates faster interviews that can be more easily analyzed and compared.
Closed, fixed-response interview - where all interviewees are asked the same questions and asked to choose answers from among the same set of alternatives. This format is useful for those not practiced in interviewing.


Conducting an Interview:

Make sure everything is recorded or written down
Ask one question at a time.
Attempt to remain as neutral as possible. That is, don't show strong emotional reactions to their responses. Patton suggests to act as if "you've heard it all before."
Encourage responses with occasional nods of the head, "uh huh"s, etc.
Be careful about the appearance when note taking. That is, if you jump to take a note, it may appear as if you're surprised or very pleased about an answer, which may influence answers to future questions.
Provide transition between major topics, e.g., "we've been talking about (some topic) and now I'd like to move on to (another topic)."
Don't lose control of the interview. This can occur when respondents stray to another topic, take so long to answer a question that times begins to run out, or even begin asking questions to the interviewer.

Genre: Fanzine

Fanzine is a blend of fan and magazine (-zine), it is produced by fans and is about a particular cultural phenomenon such as an indie music magazine.

My magazine, although a professional publication, has some aspects of a fanzine style journalised work.

Wolf is 'specialised' to a certain genre but it appeals to a large audience because the genre is popular. My magazine is similar to a fanzine publication due to its almost artistic creation and appearance. I like the idea of a fanzine magazine because clearly the creators haev put a lot of thought into their publication. I want to create some sort of similarities of fanzine publications with my own magazine because it is a really individual and unique style and shows the effort, dedication and care that can go into producing a popular magazine.

Alternative Double Page Spread Ideas

1.Polaroid Interview - Front Man:

My main idea is to conduct an interview between a band or an artist. It is a typical feature within a music

magazine. The public are interested in hearing about their favourite band or artist. Hearing responses to 'nitty-gritty' journalised questions interests the reader and encourages an audience to buy

a magazine that

features something they are interested in.

2.Fashion Meets Music:

Fashion and music coincide with each other. When you see a person on the street dressed

in a certain way you automatically assume that they listen to a certain type of music.

For Example: When looking at the image to the left, you'd presume she listened to a certain genre of music, artists such as 'The Arctic Monkeys' or 'The Smiths'. Fashion and music go hand in hand, magazines such as 'Dazed and Confused' have picked up on this and they publish interviews with bands discussing their music as well as their outfits.

3.Festivals:The Ultimate Review:

Festivals are a huge part in the musical calender and thousands of people each year pay a large sum of money to sleep in a tent in a crowded field. Festival goers are interested to see what is considered to be the best festival, these reviews are like holiday brochures to the regular festival goers. Festivals are a good feature to put into a magazine; they can include information on the artists, festival fashion, pros and cons of certain festivals etc.

4.Real life of Celebrities:

The general public have a fascination with celebrities, as a species we are impulsively nosey and an article that adheres to the public's interest in other people's lives would be popular.

5.CULT living:

An article epitomising 'cult living' - people interested in vintage music and how it applies to there everyday lives. Vintage clothing, antique houses and the idea of living in a different time period.

6.Real Talent VS. Talent Shows:

There is a lot of controversy that bands and singers that are created on talent shows such as 'The X Factor' have been falsely manufactured and have used a 'lazy' route into become famous. An article that interviews different people's views on 'Real Talent' vs 'Talent Shows' could be a controversial.

▲ Complete articles with ‘delta’ triangle symbol as a full stop, finisher.