Analysis of magazine front covers: Cover 3-VIBE April 2006

Lil’ Wayne Edition

FRONT COVER ANALYSISTHE MASTHEAD-

The masthead at the top of the page and is big, bold and is black which contrasts with the white background, and it makes it stand out. The same font and is used on most Vibe covers which creates its identity and makes it recognisable by the target audience.

THE HEADER-

The header shows the reader what to expect to find in the magazine and in this magazine it is about Hollywood. The font colour is black, the word ‘Hollywood’ is pink, bold, and has drop shadow effect, and the key things are in red. There is also use of images of T.I and Justin Timberlake. These features of the header make it stand out and attract the target audience to buy it.

THE SELL LINES/COVER LINES-

The sell lines indicate what and who is featured in the magazine. There is only a couple of cover lines and they are a lot smaller than the main cover line and image which suggests that it is a very popular magazine and does not require lots of cover lines and flashers to attract its audience.

THE MAIN IMAGE-

The main image is a mid shot of the famous rapper Lil’ Wayne (which is clearly shown by the bold cover line to the left of the image) who is standing with his hands in his pockets and is looking straight at the camera with a moody and intimidating expression on his face. These features of the image suggest attitude and rebellion which relates to the magazines genre- Hip hop/ R&B/ Rap. We can also tell the genre of the magazine by looking at the way he is dressed e.g. lots of jewellery, colourful clothes, and jeans worn low. The background is white which is simple and this makes Lil’ Wayne the main attraction of the cover and it make him more dominant.

THE MAIN COVER LINE-

The main cover line is situated in the left third of the page which make the image the main focus, and it shows the reader who the main feature of the magazine is, and briefly shows what the main article is about which attracts the target audience to want to read the magazine. The font used is large, bold, it has a drop shadow effect, and the words ‘Lil Wayne’ have a vibrant pink font colour and are larger which makes it stand out and identifies who the person on the cover is. The same font has been used for the other cover lines which keeps the cover consistent.

BARCODE-DATE/ISSUE/PRICE-

These are important when selling magazines and tend to be quite small in the corner so it is out of the way of the copy.

RULE OF THIRDS-

This has been used and it is where the cover is split up into thirds vertically and horizontally (imaginary) to ensure that the layout of cover is clear and tidy.

Target Audience of this MagazineMETHODS USED TO ATTRACT THE TARGET AUDIENCE ARE:

The use of the header which shows the target audience what to expect and what extra features are included, which are not related to music. There is an image of T.I (famous rapper) and Justin Timberlake (famous singer) which would also attract the target audience.

The use of a large bold contrasting masthead makes the cover stand out and when people walk past it in shops it ensures that the target audience can recognise the Vibe identity.

The use of cover lines to show some of the articles and other artists featured in the magazine, which makes the target audience want to buy it. Also the use of the plus symbol creates the sense that the magazine is special and offers lots of extra things .

The use of Lil’ Wayne for the main image and main cover line as he is a popular and well known rapper who the target audience is likely to listen to. Plus the image of Lil’ Wayne dominates the page and the main cover line is bold and this makes it stand out. His age is also in the target audience range which means that they can relate to him as well.

FACTS AND FIGURES

-Price: $3.99 (2 years 12 issues- $14.95, and 1 year 6 issues- $9.95)-Frequency: Bi-Monthly-Circulation: approximately 800,000-Launch Date: 1993-Male/Female: 73%/27%-Target Market: 18-34 year olds -Genre: Hip hop, R&B and Rap-Founder: Quincy Jones-It has a broader range of interests than competitors-In 2009 Vibe announced they were stopping publication and were purchased by InterMedia Partners who now publish it quarterly with double cover and have larger online presence

These are the type of imagery, layout, and text that the target audience look for in a Vibe magazine (large images of popular Hip hop/R&B/Rap artists/bands, broader range of

interests e.g. gossip, extras/exclusives, etc.)