Post on 20-Jan-2015
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ANALYSING MUSIC
MAGAZINESBy Kara Gailey
MAIN FEATURES OF A MUSIC MAGAZINE FRONT COVER
Mast head
Main image
Main cover line
Barcode, price, issue number
Cover lines
Skyline
Tag line
Buzz word
The skyline above the masthead demonstrates
that it is important information and what
bands the magazine has in the issue encouraging the
reader to see what the articles with the bands are
about.
The font on the magazine is simple and clear making it easy to read. It also uses
red, green, yellow and white which contrasts
with the simple black and white background and clothing colour of the
band making the text easy to read and also makes it
stand out.
The main image is centered in the middle and has a 3D
aspect to it as it is placed over the mast head and all the members are also looking
directly at the potential buying attracting them to buy
the magazine.
The mast head is large, bold and also appears to be smashed
reflecting the style of the magazine and also relating to their target audience. It also
connotes rebellion and youth. The exclamation mark as well reflects that the magazine is a
rock music magazine.
The main cover line is large and bold and placed out across the
page on the band making it clear to the reader that it is the band’s
name and that is the main article. The white and yellow
contrasts with the dark clothing of the band making it eye
catching to the reader. The description about the main cover line is very bold using powerful
words “hotshots” without saying much about the article it’s self making the reader wanting to
find out more.
The buzzword “free” stands out on the
magazine cover due to the bright vibrant red colour
contrasting with the darker colours. This makes it more noticeable for the reader
and they will think they are getting something extra for
buying the magazine, encouraging them to
purchase it.
ANALYZING COVER PAGES
The main cover line is the most eye catching aspect of the
magazine cover. The font is the largest and is centered in the
middle taking up the majority of space immediately catching the reader’s attention. The bright pink word “Paramore” shows the reader that it is the main image’s band name and also
contrasts with the black clothing of the band making it stand out.
The description of the main cover line uses two strong
words: “guns, God” both words are powerful and contrasting which draws attention. It also
asks the reader a question “will you?” this makes it personal as the word you relates directly to the reader, encouraging them to answer the question and overall purchasing the magazine. This is
a good mode of address as it creates a relationship with the potential buying and creates
“prosumers”.
The mast head is very eye catching due to the large bold font and the bright
vibrant red colour. It is also positioned to the left unlike
other magazines which conventionally place the mast head in the centre.
This allows more room for the main image and
skyline.
The puff is a part of the skyline making it
noticeable; it also looks like it has been stuck on as it
overlaps some font slightly. It also uses buzz words
“BIGGER” encouraging the potential buyer to find out more and attracts them to
the article.
The cover lines follow typical conventions of other
magazines; using bold fonts corresponding with the
colour theme of the magazine cover. It also has an extra cover line titled with buzz
word “+plus+” which shows the audience five bands
featuring in the issue showing the potential buyer that there is even more content with the
issue.
The skyline is the most noticeable part on magazines so NME have
used large bold black font contrasting with the grey
background making it stand out to the potential buyer.
ANALYZING COVER PAGES
ANALYZING COVER PAGESThe mast head is very eye catching and noticeable to the potential buyer as it is
large and uses a vibrant red square background
contrasting with the white “Q” which all together
contrast with the darker colours in the main image
and background.
The skyline is the area of the magazine the audience see first
so Q have used this to their advantage and used a very
powerful sentence saying that Q music magazine is the UK’s biggest music magazine. The
encourages potential buyers as it makes the magazine stand
out from the rest and suggests that it is the best. The main image is very
striking as it is a close up of “Michael Jackson” this is more powerful as it is more in the readers face compared to typical conventions of medium shots. The sun glasses also conatates celebrities and hiding their identity relating to the main cover line “Michael Jackson unmasked, inside his mad, bad world”. This suggests to the reader that the article explains secrets about Michael Jackson's life which no-one knows about, encouraging the potential buyer to find out more.
The cover lines are fairly simple but effective as they are eye catching , the contrasting red line also corresponds with the colour theme of the cover but also helps readers identify the
different articles. The buzz word “plus” also stands out on the magazine cover and shows readers that there is even more
content in the issue.
The puff with the buzz word “ROCK!” encourages readers to find out more and it looks as if it has been stuck on the
cover suggesting that is a special feature to the issue.
ANALYZING COVER PAGESThe mast head follows typical conventions of
magazine front covers, by placing it in the centre and having large font. The font however is clearly aimed at their target audience and looks like blood dripping
which portrays the type of magazine metal hammer is. The colour theme also
portrays the type of audience they are trying to attract by using red, black
and white all colours which are related to metal music.
The cover lines follow the colour theme and also
typical magazine conventions. However the cover lines are very short
with little description which encourages the
reader to find out what else is in the magazine. There is also a “+” sign
symbolizing extra content which is in the issue, all
this being bands, this allows potential buyers to establish what artists are
in the issue.
The puff really stands out on the cover page as it is the only yellow feature which contrasts with the black and red colour theme. The
word “FREE” also encourages potential buyers as it informs
them that they will be receiving an extra thing when purchasing
the magazine.
The main image is very powerful as it is a close up of the bands faces . The mise en scene also works to make it
powerful as their clothing is all black which emerges them with
the background so it is just their faces on show, giving it a sinister look reflecting on the genre of music the band are. This is also shown with words
“kill” and also the use the bands facial expressions – all
showing threatening looks and emotions.
The puff looks as if it has been stamped onto the magazine suggesting that it is a special
feature to the magazine encouraging the reader to find
out more
Publisher, barcode, issue number and price.
ANALYZING CONTENTS PAGESImage of front cover Metal Hammer’s
contents page includes a letter from the editor.
This establishes a relationship between
the reader and the magazine. It also makes
it more personal especially with the use of the pictures of the editor himself and a
signature
The space on the contents page is used
well as it includes all the necessary features of a contents page including a letter from the editor, puffs, buzz words and
images from the articles. The colour
theme also reflects the genre of music
magazine Metal Hammer is. Red
representing blood and black is associated with
metal music.
Metal hammer follows typical conventions of music
magazines by placing the table of contents in the top left corner. This makes it easy
visible for the reader when flicking through the magazine. Unlike other magazines Metal Hammer does not divide the
contents into categories, however it is a niche market
magazine so there is less need to as the majority of the
articles will be metal music. However the use of font makes
it easy recognisable to establish the different articles with the large bold title and
small font description underneath.
The puff appears to be blood dripping which
reflects the genre of the music the magazine
consists of – metal music.
The four images make it clear to the reader that they are the
four main cover lines of the article. The create visual
imagination for the reader and encourages them to find out
what the article itself is about. They also include buzz words such as “plus” which indicate
to the reader that there is extra content in the magazine
There is a letter from the editor of Kerrang! Magazine this shows that
people working within the magazine are connecting with their audience. The editor explains about a story of
his relating to the magazine, this creates a relationship between the magazine and the reader. He also
ends the letter with “You rock.” Not only does this make the mode of
address personal it also shows that he is relating to his target market by
using similar language and slang. Overall the editor’s note creates a
large selling point for the magazine.
Under the contents mast head there is a quote from one of the articles in the
magazine. The quote has a lot of humour to it and also ends with ellipsis, this encourages the reader to turn to the page and find out
more about the article.
The contents mast page stands out on the page as it has been placed on a black square
with vibrant yellow font contrasting it. It is also the same colour as the contents of articles subheadings and page numbers
making a link between them which makes it easy for the reader to establish the main aspects of the page. It also has the issue number and cover date which shows the
reader whether it is the latest one and how new the information within the magazine is.
All the images have their own titles, short description about the articles and page numbers which gives the potential buyer information about
various articles and encourages them to read more. The pictures also create a visual imagination about the
articles making the reader wonder what the article is about. The
pictures also demonstrate to the reader the range of bands and artists
in the issue.
The table of contents has its own title called “this week” this demonstrates to the reader that it is a new issue and all information is new. It is also divided into nine different
categories for example “gigs” this makes it easy for the reader to find different articles,
which one they want to read first and generally makes it more accessible for the
reader. As well as showing off what the magazine has to offer in the issue.
The mode of address is personal as it uses “you” frequently breaking any barrier between the magazine and reader and also creates prosumers.
The subscription puff stands out on the contents page as it is the only red colour on
the page, contrasting it with the colour theme. This attracts readers to subscribe to
the magazine.
ANALYSING CONTENTS PAGES
Immediately what you notice about this magazine is there is no mast head for the contents page. This makes it harder the reader
to establish what the page is and to find it when looking through.
The articles are divided into two sections – “features” and
“regulars” this helps make the magazine more accessible for the
reader, however typical conventions of a magazine have more than two sections but rock sound target a niche market so
there is less need for more divisions of articles. There are
also easy to read as they use two contrasting colours for the title
and page number making it easy to establish the difference
between the articles.
The images on the contents page all create visual imagination for the reader to wonder what the
articles are about which encourage the reader to find out
more about the articles. The magazine also places the images
in interesting areas with no backgrounds making them stand
out.
There is a large message from the editor of the magazine which
makes the mode of address personal and shows that the magazine are trying to create good relationships with their
audience. The editor also uses language relating to the audience which makes the magazine more
personal and stops any barrier between the magazine and
audience as well creating a huge selling point for the magazine.
The editor’s note also includes an image of the editor himself which makes it even more
personal for the audience as they have a visual image of him.
The contents page has a large section showing different contact
information of the magazine employees and information
about the different photographers used in the
magazine. This takes up a large amount of space which could be used for more images of articles
or other features and this section could be placed further on in the magazine. However it makes the magazine unique as it does not
follow typical conventions of magazine contents pages.
ANALYZING CONTENTS PAGES
As well as dividing the articles into five categories NME
music magazine also have a band index which list the
bands featuring in the magazine in alphabetical
order. This makes it easy for the reader to flick to the page of a band they want to read
about and also allow the reader to see what band or
artists are in the magazine in the issue.
There is only one image of an article making it stand out
and shows that it is the main article. It is shows the start of the article which encourages the potential buyer to read
the article to see what happens further.
The magazine’s colour theme of: black, yellow, white, red
follow typical conventions of a male audience. This makes
it clear that they are following their male target market. The
colours are also typically associated with rock and
indie music which symbolize the genre of the magazine.
The puff arrow shape indicates to the reader that is a highlight of the magazine, as well as the strong words “no1 gig guide”
show that it is the best gig guide encouraging the
potential buyer to find out more.
The subscription box stands out on the page due to the
contrasting colours of yellow, black and white. The yellow makes the text stand out on the page as the page uses a
theme of red, black and white so the yellow font contrasts on the page. The buzz word
“SAVE” encourages readers to buy and sign up for the
promotion.
The title is bold, simple and uses contrasting colours making it stand out. This
makes it easy for the reader to establish the page. The use of “THIS WEEK” informs the
reader that the information is new and suggests the
magazine has highlights of the week.
ANALYZING CONTENTS PAGES
The date in the top right hand corner shows the audience that is
the most recent magazine and how new the information is in the
magazine.
The main image indicates to the reader that it is one of the
main articles in the music magazine and takes up a large
amount of space on the contents page making it very
noticeable which makes it easy for the reader to find the page and read the small detail about it. However due to the image taking up such a large space it
has failed to leave room for potential aspects such as a
note from the editor or puffs which could encourage the potential buyer more. The
mise en scene aspects such as their clothing portray typical
aspects of indie music reflecting the genre of the
magazine.
The review section of the contents page describes it as “the world’s biggest and best
music guide” this is a powerful statement and also uses buzz
words which attract the audience to the magazine and gives it its unique selling point.
The “every month” section of the magazine’s contents page shows the audience the articles which feature
in the magazine every month making the
magazine more accessible for the potential buyer.
The gold area of the contents page stands out on the contents page as it
contrasts with the red, white and black colour theme. The buzz word
“special” also stands out and shows the audience that there is even more
content and that there are extra articles in the
magazine. The gold colour also demonstrates this as
gold is associated with wealth which shows that it is special to the magazine.
The contents of articles are divided into three articles (features, every month & review) this makes it easy for the reader to find an
article and it also indicates that Q music magazine are
trying to target a larger audience.
ANALYZING CONTENTS PAGES
The main image of the article is
very eye catching as it takes up the majority of the
space across two pages. The high
angle of the band makes it
stand out as well as they’re facial
expressions. Their emotions lead the reader
ideas and moods about the article
it’s self.
Another main aspect to the article is the
title; it’s large and bold with a contrasting blue
colour on the bands clothing. The title makes it clear to the
reader that it is the bands name
The pull quote attracts reader’s attention as it is
in the largest font in the body
of text. It also has humour to it
so when the reader reads it; it
will encourage them to read the whole article. It also stands out
as the text is in a white font
contrasting with the black
background. The drop capital is conventionally used in magazines to indicate to the reader where the article begins. The image also laid out over both pages because the band consists of 5 members.
The standfirst is very eye catching
because the black font
contrasts with the white
background of the text. It gives
a brief insight to the article which draws
the readers to the article. It is
also finished with ellipsis
which encourages the reader to carry on reading the
article.
ANALYZING DOUBLE PAGE SPREADS
ANALYZING DOUBLE PAGE SPREADS
The main image of Florence is placed in front of the words USA which suggest that she is taking over the united states as she is standing up straight and powerful in front of the words. The image also fills up the whole first page and her clothing and hair make her stand out against the background and make her eye catching. The use of the American flag is also significant as vibe have decided not to show the blue area’s to keep
a basic colour scheme to the article.
There is use of intersexuality as vibe have used reference the
artists songs as the article title.
The standfirst is used to give a brief insight to
the article and to encourage the
audience to read the article. Vibe have bolded and
used blue font on the artists
name to make it clear to the
reader that that is her name. It also asks the
reader a question which
not only encourages the
audience to read on but also
makes it more personal to the
reader.
The drop capital is used to indicate to the audience
where the article begins. Vibe also follow magazine conventions and
start the article on the second page.
Vibe have not used any pull
quotes to draw the audience to
the article.
ANALYZING DOUBLE PAGE SPREADSThe standfirst
is used to give a short introduction to the article.
Kerrang! Have made there’s very
brief and have also
ended it with ellipsis which encourages
the reader to carry on
reading the article and to
find out more.
Kerrang have used
a pull quote as
the article title this make is
stand out and also
encourages the reader to read the
article. It has also
used contrasting colours on the grey
background making it stand out further.
The buzz word
“exclusive” is used to draw the
audience in further and
gives the article a selling point
within the magazine
itself.
The use of a black and
white image does not
draw attention
away from the article
and contrasts with the
vibrant red font making
the text stand out more. The main image is spread across both pages because there are five members in the band, it also shows the
reader that both pages are related. The composition of the band members suggest that the man in the middle at the front is the lead singer and also that he is the most important member as the rest are all stood behind
him.
ANALYSING DOUBLE PAGE SPREADS“News” shows that Kerrang!
have organized the magazine
into categories and also that they have a
good magazine structure.
The arrow pointing with
“world exclusive”
not only tells the reader
that it is a key selling point
to the magazine it
points to the article.
The colour scheme of black, red and white
suggests the genre of the
band as these colours are
typically associated
with rock/metal
music.
By using a pull quote as the
title it attracts the audience’s attention and encourages
them to read the article.
The standfirst informs the
reader a brief outline of the
article, it is ended with
ellipsis which draws the
audience to read further.
The white banner gives the audience
further information
about “MCR”
The use of a wide range of images from live pictures to pictures in the studio show that kerrang are keen to keep their prosumers happy as they would be interested in the production side as
well as the live side.
ANALYZING DOUBLE PAGE SPREADSThe main image is very eye
catching as because of the way it is edited. The way the girl is placed at the front in the middle and is the
only member of the band in
colour suggests to
the audience that she is the lead
singer and also that she is the most important. However it could also
suggest that she is the member
being interviewed
for the magazine.
What I noticed
straight away is that rock sound have
not used any pull quotes
for this article.
However there is a stand first
which gives the reader a
brief explanation about the article and encourages
them to read further. The way the text is placed is
also interesting
and eye catching and curves with the mans
body shape.
The title is very eye catching as it contrasts with the black and white background and also co-ordinates with the lead singers hair. The font also appears to have a smashed
look suggesting the genre of the band to be rock/metal.
AUDIENCE RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE
1. How old are you?a) 13-18b) 19-24c) 25-30d) 31+
2. What is your favourite genre of music?a) Popb) Metalc) Indied) Rocke) Countryf) DubstepOther – Please specify
3. List 5 of your favourite band/artists:
4. How do you prefer to listen to music?a) Radiob) Mp3 playerc) Phoned) iTunese) Live eventOther – Please specify
5. When purchasing a music magazine which aspect encourages you to buy it most?a) Front coverb) Interviewsc) Bands/artists featuring d) Latest newse) Free posters
6. Which of these magazines are you most likely to purchase?a) Kerrang!b) NMEc) Qd) Rolling stone
7. How much would you consider to be a suitable price for a music magazine?a) £1b) £1.50 - £2.00c) £2.50 - £3d) £3+
8.What tribe are you? (findyourtribe.co.uk)
AUDIENCE RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIREI will carry my questionnaire out amongst my class mates and also other friends all aged
between 16-19 year olds as this is my planned target market for my final magazine. However I will also carry out further research into different age groups and backgrounds by using surveymonkey.com and posting the survey on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. This will give me a broader range of results and make them less biased.
Here is what my survey looks like on surveymonkey.com, I am pleased as it is simple to fill in and not time consuming suggesting more people are likely to fill it in.
Here is the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C8Y8RLZ
QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTSI received 14 responses from surveymonkey.com and 9 from my class mates and friends. I am pleased as this is roughly equal so my results won’t be one sided/biased. It is also a good number of results as I will
have a wide range of answers.
1. How old are you?
13-1819-2425-3031+
The results showed that the majority of people questioned were ages 13-18.
This shows that this age group use social
networking sites most making a good
target market.
2. What is your favour-ite genre of music?
PopMetalIndieRockCountryDubstepOther
The majority of people preferred metal, rock and other. The other results included
“grunge, hardcore and post-hardcore” I am pleased with this as these are the genres I want my magazine to
include.
3. List 5 of your favourite bands/artists Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Evanescence, Rammstein, He is We, Avenged Sevenfold, Heart In Hand, The Ghost Inside,
The Amity Affliction, For The Fallen Dreams, Nirvana, Children of Bodom, Nightwish, Foo Fighters, Lacuna Coil, Bury Tomorrow, While She Sleeps, This Or The Apocalypse, A Day To Remember, Paramore, You Me At Six, Amy
Winehouse, Crystal Castles, Asking Alexandria, Ed Sheeran, Example, Rihanna, Two Door Cinema Club, The Wombats, Metallica, Weezer, Alice in Chains, Iron Maiden, Pearl Jam, Lostprophets, The Blackout, Falling In
Reverse.
I bolded the bands/artists which occurred more than once. Immediately I noticed the majority of the bands shown were metal/rock/pop-punk genre which Kerrang! and Rock sound (the two magazine’s I’ve been focusing
on) feature in their magazines. I am pleased at this shows there is a good target market of that genre.
4. How do you prefer to listen to music? (multiple choice)RadioMp3 PlayerPhoneiTunesLive eventOther
QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
The results show that they most prefer to go to live events which show they are prosumers and also mp3 players which suggest they are interested in technology and use it regularly.
When purchasing a music magazine which aspect encourages you to buy it most? (multiple choice)
Front cover
Interviews
Bands/Artists feauturing in the issue
Latest news
Free posters
The results show that bands/artists featuring in the issue is the main aspect an audience look for when purchasing a music magazine as it received 46% overall. Also latest news and front cover are main
features they look at.
6. Which of these maga-zines are you most likely to
purchase?
KerrangNMEQRolling Stone
I was presently surprised by how
many chose Kerrang! Magazine,
as this is a the magazine I want to
focus my inspiration from. 68% said they were most likely to purchase it which
shows a strong target market for
that genre.
QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS7. How much would you consider to be a suitable price for a music magazine?
£1£1.50 - £2£2.50 - £3£3+
The majority said £1.50 -£2 is a
suitable price for a music magazine,
which I also consider to be
suitable. None said £1 which shows
loyalty to the music magazine industry as they feel they
should spend more.
8. What tribe are you? Mosher: 8Indie: 3Scene kid: 1Goth: 1Grunger: 2
MosherIndie kidGrungerGothScene Kid
50% received “mosher” which is the same as I received. This means that I have I could have a better relationship between my potential. It is also described as listening to metal and rock music which is the type of genre I want to target with my magazine.
FIND YOUR TRIBE ANALYSISAfter filling in the online questionnaire, I received “mosher” as my tribe. A mosher is named after a mosh pit and is known for their great love in music and is mainstream alternative.
I am pleased with this outcome, especially as the majority of people from my questionnaire also received this. They also said they read “Kerrang!” magazine most which is the type of
magazine I would like to base mine around. Mosher's are associated with this magazine so it mean’s I have a good understanding about the genre of music. It also means I could establish
a good relationship between the target audience and myself.
Type of bands associated with “mosher: Metallica, Guns N Roses, AC/DC, Architects, Alice In Chains, Rammstein, Slipknot and many more.
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T-mobile advert
Contents
Feedback, emails and
updatesVodaphone
advert Gallows article
Gallows article
News, celebral
bore, competition
All time low tour
dates
New music – Mallory
knox article
Competition and Incubus
album advert
News, tweets of the week, comic strip
Tour and album
adverts
Live review - Evarose
Live review - Weezer
Live review – Asking
alexandria
Live review –
Foo fighters
Live review –
Foo fighters
You me at six tour dates
East pack antidote
tour dates
Opeth tour dates
Gig guide Clothing brand
adverts
Various band tour
dates
PosterEnter
shikari article
Enter shikari article
Enter shikari article
Enter shikari article
Enter shikari article
PosterMachine head tour
dates
Iron maiden
tour datesPoster 30 facts
by Jared Leto
PosterPosterPosterPoster
Japanese voyeurs article
Linkin park article
Troy sanders article
BVB album advert
Japanese voyeurs article
Various band tour
dates
Various band tour
dates
Alkaline trio article
Linkin park
article
Gig guide Gig guideGig guide
Festival ticket advert
Various tour dates
Incubus album review
Alkaline trio article
Various album
reviews
Various album
reviews
Subscription advert
Various band tour
dates
KERRANG! MAGAZINE FLAT PLAN