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.

1 32 4 5 9876 10 11

15

33

1312 19181716 2220 21 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 3534

14

32

383736 414039 474645444342

54535251504948 55 56 57 58

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