Treatment Sheet

The Magazine: PsychoDelic

Target Readership: PD is targeted at young adults (20+) who are either already informed of retro music or are new to the genre. The reader may have a keen interest in all things retro such as clothing style and take preference for retro over modern music. They may enjoy modern music but like features of modern music that are noticeably influenced by older styles. They will be interested in attending concerts and performances but keen to hear reviews before spending money on tickets. They would fall into the C1/C2 socioeconomic group who can afford to spend money on extra things such as magazines and who can also afford to purchase the content advertised within the magazine such as CD’s, tickets and merchandise. They are more likely to be educated so the writing style would need to take this into account. They would have a passion for the music and because of this would be more likely to write in to voice their opinions of the acts they have seen or albums they have bought.

Form and Style: PD (which stands for Psychodelic) is an A4, full colour magazine released monthly which features information about new and old artists along with interviews and reviews of studio albums and live performances. Covers feature an artist dressed in period appropriate clothing depending on the era that the edition is focusing on or the artist’s personal style. The covers features either an older artist (a current picture or one from the past) or a new artist whose style has been influenced by an older, iconic artist. The clothing the new artist wears on the cover could possibly be similar to that of their music role models or they could recreate a pose of a previous famous artist. The magazine aims to inform a fresh audience of retro music and to provide a medium for those who are already fans. The magazine also comes with a free CD featuring tracks that are featured within the magazine so that the reader can understand what is being discussed.

Themes and Typical Features: The magazine will contain many typical features of music magazines with every issue containing interviews and exclusives with bands and musicians along with factual information about the artists. The magazine will make comparisons between older artists and up and coming musicians and showcase the new acts to add variety. This would also attract a younger audience as the music would remain in an older style but be updated for a younger generation. Every month, there will be a list of acts playing around the country and information such as the venue and dates the acts are performing. The music featured would always need to have been influenced by older music and encompass some of the features of older music. The writing style of the magazine will be mature as to fit with the target audience and the language that is used will be familiar to the audience. It will also feature exclusives which would attract an audience as they can not get the information anywhere else. CD’s due for release will be reviewed with a five star system to rate the music and there will also be a ‘if you liked this, then this is recommended’ feature where the reader can find similar artists to the one they enjoyed. A page would be included where readers could send in their opinion of live acts they have seen and rate them.

Potential Advertisers: Music companies could advertise their acts and records on separate pages or distributed through out the magazine on a whole page advertisement. Companies would include EMI, Warner, Universal, Sony and BMG among others. Companies that offer products in keeping with the retro/old fashioned feel could be included such as companies that sell vintage clothing or memorabilia.

Editorial Team: The editorial team for PD would consist of experienced writers who are mixed gender and a variety of age groups. This would add variety to viewpoints on the music featured; older members would have experienced the music when it was first released whilst younger members have discovered the music themselves. The younger writers would help to attract a younger audience as they have a fresh enthusiasm that they can pass on to their age group.