I have started my research into to current music magazines to get ideas for my own music magazine. I will using the different skills and techniques that I have learnt during lesson to help analyze the music magazines.
First Magazine - XXL
This is the first magazine I chose to analyse,
XXL magazine is a hip- hop magazine aimed at a target audience with the age of 17- 25 years old. Their target audience would be people that are interested in the hip hop lifestyle or maybe interested in the life that these hip hop artist live.
The background colour of the front cover of this magazine has been made very light to make Jay Z face stand out. Three main colours has been used, a simple black, white and red theme. The colours chosen for the magazine are simple but easy for the reader to understand and they seem more masculine compared to other colours that could have been chosen.
These three colours are becoming a trademark theme for this brand.
By doing this it allows the audience to easily identify what brand it is or what the name of the magazine is. The masthead is covered by the image of Jay Z which shows that the audience does not need to see the full name to know it is a XXL magazine.
This is a close up of Jay Z face, this allows us to see his facial expressions which seems quite serious. This supports the stereotypes that revolves around hip hop as being serious and angry. This will appeal to the public because they are into this genre of music. It only makes sense to portray Jay z in that way rather than another way which doesn't fit in with the general stereotypes. Jay Z name has been highlighted red and the font size of his name has been increased. which shows that he is the main topic in this magazine.
By having Jay Z on the front cover of the magazine it will attract a larger audience because he is more successful and superior compared to the other artists in the music industry which might make this magazine appeal more to the public.
The title of the magazine is quite simple as it is only three letters which stands out more than the other text that is shown, mostly because it is in bold and the font size has been increased.
Second Magazine- Q
Q is the second magazine I chose to analyse.
The house style is quite masculine as the colours that are used are red and white.
These colours are used through out the front cover of this magazine. Both colours compliment each other which allows it to be used so often. The 'Q' stands out against the red background.
This has been done so that it is one of the first things you see when you look at the magazine. The image of Adele is slightly covering the masthead in comparison to other magazines such as XXL were the image is covering most of the masthead.
The slogan of the magazine is ' Discovering Great Music', this persuades the audience to buy the magazine and discover it for themselves.
'The 300th issue' This shows how successful and established this magazine is and this could encourage the reader to buy the magazine as it could be a special issue.
The cover lines that has been included informs the reader what other artists will feature in this magazine, LIAM and KEITH stands out the most because the font has been increased and the colour of the text has changed.
This shows the importance of the artists.
All of the artists that has been included on the front cover of the magazine is to attract more readers making them want to know more.
The bar-code has been placed at the bottom of the magazine which is very common in most magazines.
The image that has been used on the front cover of the magazine is a medium shot of Adele. The singer is looking directly at the camera with her thumb against her lips.
This pose would make the reader feel more connected with her.
This image is targeted at men mostly because Adele will be seen as a sex symbol on the front cover of this magazine.
'Adele' is in white bold capital letters. This shows the reader that Adele is the main topic focus of this magazine. 'Blows us away' states that her voice is incredible.
Third Magazine - VIBE
VIBE is the third magazine that I chose to analyse.
The house style of this magazine is grey, black, red and white.
The bottom of the lettering for the masthead has a fading effect that blends in with the white background which creates a unusual but professional look.
I think merging the title and background together was a great idea mostly because I haven't seen any other magazine that uses that technique so effectively.
The background is plain white. By keeping the background white it puts more focus on the image and the cover story because the contrast between the colours makes everything appear bigger and bolder. This will make everything that has been included on the front cover of the magazine stand out which will grab the audiences attention.
The main images that is used is a picture of Ciara. In this image of Ciara she is nude and is only wearing heals. it is as if she is trying to seduce the audiences with the pose she is in.
In the pose that Ciara is in she is bending down however this contrasts with main cover line 'Stand Up! Ciara' followed by a quote from Ciara stating that she is not going to hold back too much.
This shows that in the article she reveals and exploits more than what is shown to the audience on the front cover .
A pull quote has been taken from the main article "I'M NOT GONNA HOLD BACK TOO MUCH" is contradiction to the main image on the front cover of the magazine because she is nude.
However this does allow the audience to ask the question what else can be revealed if she is already nude.
This technique is a good way to attract a wider audience and to keep them asking questions about what could be shown in the next issue that is released.
In this magazine a header is used to show additional information about what else is featured in this magazine.
The use of this header is to attract the audience which gives them more features as to which they would want to read.
Information that is included in the header is ' R&B goes soft. John Legend, Ne- Yo and Lloyd try to get it up.
This will make the audience interested in R&B has gone soft and what is being done to change this.
The cover lines has been placed next to the main image.
Even though this is not the main focus on the front cover of the magazine, it is clear, bold and easy to read.
Just like the other magazines that I analysed the bar-code has been put on the bottom of the front cover which is common in most magazines.
Fourth Magazine- NME
NME is the fourth magazine that I chose to analyse.
In this magazine the masthead has been placed underneath the main image whilst using a bold font and capital letters which makes it stand out and easily recognized. The abbreviation for what NME stands for 'New Music Express' and it has been placed beneath the masthead.
By doing this it gives the reader quick access to what the magazine is about and whether this is a suitable magazine for them.
Also by having a abbreviation it allows the reader to easily remember a catchy phrase for this brand.
This has been placed in the top left corner of the magazine because that is first place you look when reading magazines.
The masthead stands out from the background because the text is in bold and the font colour is red with a white outline.
The house colour is red, white, black and a shade of gold which is used consistently throughout the front cover of the magazine.
A simple font style is used which gives an little insight of who their target audience is, this also shows that their target audience prefers old traditional font styles rather than new modern fonts.
The main image is a picture of Julian which shows his facial expression is very calm which could be because of his feelings about his situation that is told in the main headline.
From the stereotypes that surround rock music his clothing resemble his rebellious attitude and the way he is positioned in the image shows that he doesn't really care.
His clothing, facial features and attitude suits this genre of music mostly because of the stereotypes that are associated with this genre of music.
Again a header has been used which shows additional information such as the 'Arctic Moneys live in NY' whilst this being in the header of the magazine it will also be advertised on newsstands and in shops which also advertises the magazine.
A contest has been featured in this magazine which persuades the reader to buy this magazine, in order to win the prize the reader has to buy the magazine first.
A pull quote has also been used " I couldn't give a s*** what Kurt thought" By using a pull quote it intrigues the reader and makes the reader asks questions about the feud between these two artists.
This magazine does not promote any upcoming talent.
The bar-code has been placed in the bottom right corner of this magazine which is common
Fifth magazine- Rolling Stones
The fifth magazine that I chose to analyse is Rolling Stones.
The first things the reader would see when looking at this magazine cover from Rolling Stone is the the background image of Amy Winehouse.
The masthead is hidden by the figure of Amy Winehouse. However from looking at other magazines produced by Rolling Stone.
I have realized that Rolling Stone uses the same design in each issue. This structure has become a trademark for them and can easily be identified from this.
Rolling Stone house style is light blue, red and white.
The two main headlines ' Summer Tours' and ' The Diva & Her Demons are shown as more important, they have both been given the same font and font colour however 'Summer Tours' font size has been increased.
The font style is used is the same however it is not as simple as the styles that are used in VIBE or Q.
This shows us that the target audience for this magazine would be people aged between 20 and 30 years old.
Amy Wine house is the main story of this issue. This is shown by the main image of her in the middle of the magazine and her name having the same colour and font style as the title.
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