Research into conventions of music magazines

Front Page analysis

NME magazine front cover analysis

The ‘NME’ brand logo is a trademark. The logo is included on every issue of the magazine. The Logo is positioned in the left had corner on every issue. However the colour of the logo often changes to go with the colours of the text of the magazine. By using the same logo on every issue with the same positioning suggests that the magazine is based around similar principals every week but with different content. In the case of ‘NME ’the change of the colour of the logo suggests that the content is different as the logo and the colours of the text on the front cover change according to what is featured in the magazine. This reassures the reader that the content will always be different each week.

      The main image is a band called ‘The Maccabees’ they are the main feature of the magazine this week. The image is enlarged so it is at eye level with the reader. This gives a personal touch to the magazine as it looks as if the band is looking directly at the reader. The image obscures the title this suggests that ‘NME’ is a familiar magazine to a large market so there is no need for the whole title to be shown as readers will know the name of the magazine even if it is obscured by an image.

      The main headline ‘The Maccabees’ is in large bright pink text with a black out line and is also in capital letters. The text is the boldest and most clear title on the page. The words anchor the image and suggest that the image on the front is an image of ‘The Maccabees’. It also suggests further that they are the main feature of the magazine this week. As well as the main head line there is additional text to go with the main head line that suggests what the article is about and attracts the reader to read the magazine and to find out more about the band. Also the main head line divides the front page up into two sections.

       As well as a main image the front page features layered images in the top hand corner of the magazine. The images are a feature in the magazine of ‘80’s icons’ the images are accompanied by text to tell the readers who the ‘icons’ are. The images are actually free posters that come with the magazine this will attract the audience to the magazine as well as just having the magazine to read they are getting a free extra too that they can keep and it also suggests that the magazine has a variety of features. The layered images are placed in the top right hand corner of the front page and do not obstruct the main headline image. This is important as if they were to obstruct the main image it may distract the audience away from the main feature.

    The magazine has a sky line. The sky line is in bold bright pink and white text and in capital letters. The sky line is in relation to the free posters that come with the magazine and the insert images. The sky line attracts the audience with the words ‘Free posters’ in bright pink text and makes the audience more likely to buy the magazine as it comes with free things as well. The magazine does not have a base line however on the bottom section of the page there is 4 pieces of short text that suggest what is in the magazine. This once again suggests variety and attracts the audience to buy the magazine. The text is once again bright pink and white and in capital letters and draws attention to the smaller features of the magazine.

    All of the text on the front page is in capital letters. This draws attention to all of the text even though the main headline is the main thing that draws attention the smaller parts of text also help draw attention to the magazine. The use of bold bright colours such as bright pink, white and black helps draw attention to the magazine as most other magazines of this sort will normally use darker colours so this magazine will stand out more than the others on the shelf and brings more individuality to the magazine, This suggests that the magazine strives to be different and may attract an audience that try to be different too. The only text that isn’t in bold colours and capitals is the date and the price of the magazine. This text is located under the ‘NME’ logo and is easy to see however it is smaller than the rest of the text as it isn’t as important as the other text is in bold to attract an audience yet the date and price do not have much of a relevance to attracting an audience.

    The magazine has two puffs on the front page. The first puff is a pink circle with bright text written in the circle. The main buzz word ‘win’ is in large text compared to the other words in the puff. This suggests that the reader has the chance of winning gig tickets for free. The word ‘win’ has an exclamation mark on the end of it. This makes the competition seem more exiting to the audience and will attract people who like the artist to buy the magazine so they have a chance of winning the tickets. The second puff is once again a pink circle with bright text written in bold and the text is in capital letters. The buzz word in this puff is ‘blur’ and is in large white text and stands out from the rest of the text in the puff. ‘Blur’ is a name of a popular band and is put in bold to stand out and attract an audience who like the band ‘Blur’ or like similar music. In the same puff the word ‘exclusive’ is used this buzz word is used to attract the audience as no other magazine will. have this interview with the band. This suggests that the magazine is wanting to attract more customers and specifically ones with that kind of music taste to the magazine.

    The bar code is located in the very bottom right hand corner of the magazine. The barcode is an essential part to the magazine because they are used in the sales of the magazine. The barcode has been positioned at the bottom of the page as it does not get in the way of any main images or text, and has been placed specifically at the very bottom right hand corner of the page as it is the last thing the magazine wants the reader too see.

Q magazine analysis

The ‘Q’ brand logo is a trademark and is used on every issue and is placed in the exact same place (top left hand corner) of the magazine and the colours of the logo are always the same. This is so ‘Q’ magazine can be recognised easily and suggests that the magazine is based on similar but different content every month. However in this issue the image of the main cover star ‘lady gaga’ obstructs the logo, this suggests that the magazine name is well known so people do not need to see all of the logo to know what the magazine is.

The main head line of ‘Lady Gaga is the boldest and most clear title on the page even though it Is obstructed by the main image. This once again suggests that ‘Lady Gaga’ is one of the main articles in the magazine and attracts people who like her and her music to buy the magazine.

Another list of features in the magazine is in the bottom left hand corner and once again suggests the artists features in the magazine alongside the main article of lady gaga.

The colour scheme of the magazine front cover is white, black and red.This appeals mostly to the male audience as the colours are quite masculine however the magazine also reaches out to the female audience through the use of a female icon as the main image.

There is a puff on the right hand side near the bottom of the front page. This stands out from the rest of the text as in is in a text box. The circle around the text is white and stands out from the grey background and the red and black writing contrasts with the white the make the text stand out. The text contains a bands name is bold black text and 5 red stars indicates the band must be good as they have been given a 5 star rating. This attracts the audience to perhaps buying the magazine to find more out about the band. Also the use of the 5 star rating may suggest that the rest of the articles about music are of high quality and therefore makes the audience believe that the artists and bands of the magazine are popular and up to date .

The barcode is an essential part to the magazine as it is used in the sales of the magazine. The barcode also tells the reader the price of the magazine. The barcode has been placed at the bottom right hand corner of the magazine and does not obstruct any images or text this is important as it is the last thing the reader wants to see.

The main image is of ‘lady gaga’ The image is very powerful  and anchors the text. The image is so powerful that it obstructs most of the text on the front page, this suggests that ‘lady gaga’ is a very important feature of the magazine, so important that the image of her is obstruction most of the text. Also the fact that the image of ‘Lady gaga; covers her name suggests that she is a well know star and doesn’t need to be introduced and that readers will instantly know who she is.

The list of artists names down the right hand side of the magazine stand out as they are in bold black writing. The list of artists suggest who may be featured in the magazine and what other familiar artists will be featured. This attracts an audience who enjoy that type of music to buy the magazine.

Kerrang! magazine front cover analysis

The ‘kerrang!’ title is black text with white background. The contrasting colours make the text stand out. The text is also very easy to read the people will instantly know the name of the magazine. The word ‘kerrang!’ is onomatopoeic and sounds broken and harsh almost like the sound and electric guitar makes when played. This suggests that the artists and bands featured in the magazine play rock music that uses electric guitars in most songs. This suggests that the audience who would be attracted to this magazine like rock and metal music. The shape of the text reinforces the onomatopoeic sound of the guitar. Also the use of the exclamation mark at the end of the word ‘Kerrang’ once again suggests the sharp and harsh sound of the word.

The main text on the front page anchors the images and instantly tells the reader that the band on the front of the magazine are ‘Biffy Clyro’ whether they are familiar with the band or not. The white bold text with the blackout line helps the words stand out and attract readers to the magazine. Also the play on words just below the main text are white but with a black background so the words stand out but do not pull too much attention away from the main text. The play on words is a slogan and refers to one of the bands albums also the ellipses suggests that there is more information about the band inside the magazine makes the audience want to buy the magazine to find out more.

The use of the word ‘Free’ in bold attracts the audience as the audience will then feel that they are being offered more for their money and will be more likely to buy the magazine because of this. And the images that go along side this gives suggestions of the free posters that the reader will recite if they buy the magazine.

The base line of the magazine has a long list of band names that are in white bold text with a red background, this makes the text stand out and the base line also matches with the skyline. The long list of band names once again suggests the variety and the amount of content in the magazine which will attract the audience as they will think they are getting value for money as they are getting a lot of information about the bands they like for free.

The barcode is placed in the bottom right hand corner of the page and does not obstruct any of the text or images on the magazine. The bar code is used when being sold and tells the reader the price of the magazine.

The use of insert images suggests the variety in the magazines and suggests to the reader that the magazine has more to it than the main article.

The main image obscures the title not only does this suggest that the image is more important for attracting the reader but it also suggests that the magazine is established and the reader does not need to see the full title to know what the magazine is. The image is very powerful with the use of lighting to create shadows on the band members faces to create a mysterious and aggressive look to the band. Also the image is on eye level with the audience and directly addresses the audience.

Contents page analysis


this is a click through linj to the contents page analysis

contents page analysis on Prezi

Kerrang! contents page ananlysis on Prezi

Double page spread analysis

Q magazine double page spread analysis on Prezi

Kerrang! double page spread analysis on Prezi

This is a click through link to a double page analysis.