Representation of males and females in Indie Rock

 The genre Indie Rock mainly consists of male artists who are mainly in bands such as Arctic Monkeys, The Vaccines, The Neighbourhood, Two Door Cinema Club, Kasabian and Foals. There are also male artists who aren't in bands such as Jake Bugg and Miles Kane. Although there are mainly males there are also female artists such as Gemma Hayes, Lana Del Rey, Laura Marling and Emily Haines. But there are also female artists in bands such as Nanna Brydis Hilmarsdottir (Of Monsters & Men), Zooey Deschanel (She & Him), Elizabeth Mitchell, Karla Schickele, Jean Cook, Ruth Keating (Ida), Elena Tonra (Daughter) and Hannah Reid (London Grammar).
Majority of the Indie Rock audience is male, but there are also female fans of Indie Rock music. Their audiences are also over the age of 16 as mostly Indie Rock bands have their audience in mosh pits during their shows, most of the people participating in the mosh pits are male.
Males and females in Indie Rock are mainly presenting their music, not trying to show their sexuality like Pop Music would. Artist from this genre don't really appear in the charts but they still do have quite a wide range audience for example Arctic Monkeys are gradually becoming the biggest band in Britain. The females in Indie Rock do not show their sexuality as much as females in Pop Music but they do show some such as Lana Del Rey. Usually both males and females in this genre are photographed with cigarettes. This shows that if the audience were younger they'd also want to smoke as they are very impressionable, but as their audience is older they will understand that they don't have to do everything their favourite artist does. Both genders style is very important, they both wear very fashionable clothing. Females style is mainly Hippie Chic, Eclectic, Vintage, Bohemian and Hipster. Males usually wear skinny jeans (black), tops/shirts, vans or converse or beanies too. Males style can be quite Hipster and Vintage.

                     Male representation      

Female representation 

                                      

                                                   






 

Double page spread first draft

Cara Young

Stand first: 

She has taken over the internet world and is now slowly taking over the real world, but what makes this heavenly-voiced angel so damn good? 

Cara Young, only 19 years old has dominated the internet by getting over 3 million views on her first music video on YouTube in just 3 days! 

Question and answers: 

Q: So, Cara how does it feel like getting 3 million views on your first music video on YouTube? Especially in just 3 days?

C: I still don't believe it, I honestly thought I'd only get about 50 views from my friends and family [laughs], but getting 3 million in just three days it just doesn't feel real at all. It feels like this is a joke, I honestly can't stop thinking about it.

Q: It did become very popular very quickly! Did you get people contacting you after?

C: Yeah a lot of people kept messaging me on social websites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube ect. saying they wanted my email and my phone number to get a record deal for me. Only 5 days after the video! It's just crazy, I am very blessed to get noticed so quickly. Some people take years to get noticed! 

Q: You are very blessed indeed! Who were your inspirations to get into music and start your own career? 

C: Well my main inspiration is Lana Del Rey. I wanted my music to be similar to hers, but not entirely like hers. My other inspirations are Arctic Monkeys, Jake Bugg and The Vaccines. I wanted my own music to be a mash up of all of these kinds of music, they're all Indie Rock bands but they all have different sounds to them and I think they all cool really. I'm just trying to be as original as I can.

Q: People have compared you to Lana Del Rey a lot, perhaps a new Lana Del Rey? 

C: [laughs] I have been compared to her, but I don't quite think I'm the new Lana Del Rey. She's too great, better than I will ever be. 

Q: Who would you like to collaborate in the future, we're guessing you'd happily collaborate with Lana Del Rey?

C: Of course I would! I would also like to collaborate with Jake Bugg, I'd love to become his friend or him to enjoy my music, it'd be a great achievement. Collaborating with Arctic Monkeys and The Vaccines would also be brilliant to be honest. 

Q: Have you been planned to play any festivals  or upcoming gigs?

C: Well, a lot of record stores have been calling me asking me to sing a few songs, I have an upcoming gig at The Peel in Kingston, Banquet Records are helping me sell tickets for it, pretty excited for it, it'd be my first gig after becoming so popular! And festivals, I have been asked to attend Glastonbury, which is absolutely crazy as I have always wanted to play Glastonbury ever since I was 14. It's all so surreal, but I'm very happy. 

Q: Looks like you have a very good year ahead of you! So now let's find out a little bit about your personal life. Are you seeing anyone currently? 

C: No I'm single. I think being independent right now is a good thing, I can focus more on starting my career and become known and do well. Right now I'm happy being single, I don't need anyone else to make me happy, I just don't feel the need for it. 

Q: Would you ever like to get into a relationship?

C: Well of course I would, but after I get settled in, and find someone who is really worth it, you know?  Maybe once I get to know Jake Bugg better [laughs] I'm joking! Well I'm not saying I wouldn't but obviously we don't know each other well enough. 

Q: I'm sure once he gets to know you he'd happy see you! So how was your first ever interview? 

C: It was very good! Nerve wrecking but better than I thought. This magazine has inspired me a lot to get into music as well, always got a copy every month!

Q: Ah stop it! Well I hope you do well in your career and we shall interview you in the sooner future, after Glastonbury of course!

C: I'm very excited for this! I really hope I do get to have another interview with you guys. Thank you so much for having me! 

Genre mind-map

Mood Board

For my mood board I have included front covers from NME and Q magazine, I have also included double page spreads and instruments that artists from the Indie Rock genre use. I've taken all of these different covers/double page spreads to get ideas from, they all have a similar colour scheme that not too lowkey but not too highkey as well. I think that these colours represent the Indie Rock genre. The double page spreads help me decide how I want to layout my own double page spreads and the covers also help me decide what colours I will want to use and how I would want to lay out my front cover. I also like the idea of most of the artists looking into the camera as it makes the reader engaged with them, but I mainly like the issue with Jake Bugg as he is turned his head facing the other way, readers may still be intrigued as to what made him look in a completely different direction.

Music magazines placed in a shop

 

I went to Asda to see how they layout their music magazines. Asda has placed different music magazines such as Q, NME, Rock Sound, Record Collection ect. underneath leisure. This could show how music is portrayed as a form of relaxation rather than a hobby as it used to be. Also in terms of the placement, they are the first focal point for the customer which therefore shows they are more popular than the others in the category. In terms of style I believe that they stand out more than the other magazines.

Group work analysis of double page spread

In a lesson we got into little groups and analysed three different double page spreads from three different magazines. This group work has helped me analyse in depth other double page spreads but it has also helped me develop my idea for how I would like to layout my own double page spread.

Double page spread analysis

Q magazine put Lana Del Rey on the left hand side of the double page spread. She takes up most of the page to clarify that she is the main subject of this article. She has her eyes closed, suggesting she is not making an effort to engage with the readers. Although, this wouldn't prevent the readers wanting to go in-depth of her interview. Even though the picture of Lana is blown up, her name is in a little font at the top right of the double page spread, this could shows how they make her beauty a main focus of the magazine, a bit like the pop genre they try to glamorise the artist more than just talk about the music. The journalist has made the beginning letter of the article massive which draws out attention from the main article but it also makes it effective as it makes the reader want to know what the "S" stand for. The "S" gets hidden by the article making the article look more important than the S, which could draw in readers attention. The main article's structure is very consistent, making it clear and easy to read the article. The colour scheme of the article is quite dull, but it makes it look very sophisticated. The photograph of Lana has been edited with some very lowkey colours, which relates to the article being quite dull.

In NME magazine they blow up the picture of The Vaccines on one page that it goes onto the next page, making them the main focus of the double page spread. All of the members are looking into the camera which shows they are trying to engage the readers into wanting to read the article. The journalist has made the band name big and bold so that if readers don't know who they are they will be intrigued to find out and listen to their music. The article has space for a quote from the lead singer of the band, this will catch readers attention as to why he has said that. The main interview layout is consistent and neat, which makes the reader want to read the article more as it is easy and not unorganised. They make the first letters of two of the first paragraphs big and blue to draw in readers attention to the main bit. The colour scheme in this article is quite calm, it uses light colours like blue, white and cream. These colours could relate to the kind of genre this band is from.

In the Kerrang! double page spread they've put a big picture of All Time Low on the left hand side of the page and they've also added pictures around the the article to intrigue their fans and other readers to want to find out more about them. They look directly into the camera in the big picture and also in the picture of the lead singer to get the readers engaged in the article and make them want to read the article. They make the band quote "Mostly just blow each other..." size bigger to make readers want to find out more, they've used that quote as it's quite a bizarre quote and basically an innuendo which may make readers find the band funny and want to read on about them. They used another band quote by the lead singer, which again would make readers find the band funny and want to find out more, these quotes make the band seem like their target audience is clearly adolescents and adults. The layout of the main article is clear and layed out consistently. The journalist has highlighted the question that they've asked the band, making it clear that the article is an interview. The pictures have captions which informs the reader what is happening in the photograph, this gives the reader access to know what they are like when they aren't on stage or in the public eye. The colours here are a mixture of high and lowkey as they're black and yellow. The colours relate to the genre of the band.

For my own double page spread I would like to use the idea of the artist looking into the camera, as it would intrigue the readers into wanting to find out more about the band. I would like the article to be an interview with the artists, which shows how you could find out more from this artist who may be new in the industry. I would like to use the colour scheme that would match the genre of my artist in my double page spread as it would look very effective. I'd like to keep my article consistent and layed out straight to get to the point and make it neat and clear.