MUSIC MAGAZINE RESEARCH

The masthead font is much larger than any of the other text on the cover and is placed in the centre of the page clearly showing the link to the central image. The text is large and bold in order to draw attention the main point of interest which decides whether the reader will look further.

The entire page revolves around this central image, which can be seen in the use of contrast; black is used for the banners to separate it from the bright sky in the image, and the masthead and anchorage text are white to stand out from the black clothing.

Attention is immediately drawn to the central image of the cover; the layering of the cover is used to bring the image forward, which makes it stand out against the rest of the page. Eye contact is held to make the magazine feel more personal to the reader.

The large offer of a free CD in the magazine is also used to encourage the target audience to purchase it; the advertisement covers nearly a quarter of the page, drawing a lot of attention it is used as a large factor for selling the magazine.

At the top of the cover this banner is used to advertise and reinforce the offer to make sure the reader notices it and wishes to look further.

‘ Q’ Front Cover

‘KERRANG’ Front Cover Like most music magazine covers cleverly layer the central image between the masthead and the rest of the contents on the page. It is used to immediately attract the attention of the reader as it catches their. The subjects of the image are also holding eye contact with the reader to make it feel more personal.

Looking at the colour scheme of the cover, only four base colours (Black, White, Red and Blue) are used to hold the theme of Great Britain which links to the cover story and image and also stand out well against each other making it easy to see and read, used very effectively in the headline.

The Masthead is large in font and layered above the sky in the image, which contrasts with each other making the masthead easy to see.

A large advertisement for a poster special with a secondary image in the bottom left corner acts as another incentive for the reader to purchase the magazine. The image is also outlined in white which highlights the offer and separates it from the rest of the page so it’s easy to see.

The cover line on the bottom of the page is used to show other interesting features inside the magazine, this is used again to encourage the reader to look further though curiosity or interest.

The straplines on the cover are used again to encourage the reader to look inside the magazine with interesting features.

‘Q’ Contents Page

The magazine’s logo is kept in the left corner of the page for continuity.

Sub headings are used to separate the articles in order to make the magazine simple to navigate.

A large central image takes up most of the page, instantly drawing the attention of the reader to it, this is used as a lure to find out why this image is important. The subject of the image is holding eye contact to make it feel more personal to the reader.

The masthead for the contents page is placed on a white background with a black font, this contrast in colour ensures that it draws attention by standing out from the background.

Overall the layout of the page is very simplistic, less is more in this case as it is easy for the reader to distinguish every feature of the page.

‘KERRANG’ Contents page

Compared to Q magazine the layout of kerrang’s contents page is a lot more cluttered and contains a lot more content, this may make it a little difficult for the reader to navigate and may look a little un-appealing.

The contents page still has a main large image for the most ‘important article’, but it is not central. Just like Q magazine the main image is used as a lure for the reader to find out why this image is used.

Sub headings are used again, for the same reason to make it easy for the reader to navigate the magazine.

The page has a simple and effective use of colours; only three base colours are used (black, white and yellow) each of them are easy to distinguish against each other due to the contrast. This makes the page easy to read and everything easy to see.

An editorial is included on this contents page, this could make the magazine feel more personal to the reader as they are given an insight into the lives/work of the editor.

The use of so many small images leaves the page a little cluttered and generally looks un-appealing, so this would be something I will try to avoid in my project.

The double page spread uses a simple colour scheme of black, white and red; this makes sure that everything is easy to see and as these colours stand out from each other.

‘KERRANG’ Double Page Spread

The main image for the featured article takes up the entire first page, this instantly draws most of the attention of the reader as it stands out from the rest of the article. The fact that the group in the image appear to be having fun links to the title of teen spirit as most teens like to have fun.

The font of the masthead is very large and the colour stands out well from the background colour; this makes sure that it is easy to read and draws attention to it.

The highlighted quote from the article is layered over the rest of the page making it stand out above the other text, this will be read first and used as a lure for the reader to read the featured article. The quote also links to the them of ‘Teen Spirit’.

The main bulk of the article is in black font which clearly stands out against the white background of the page, this will make the text easy to read and follow.

This string of small images is used to break up the page and add another point of interest, the red background is used to stand out against the article to make sure it is noticed.

‘Q’ Double Page Spread

The magazine’s logo is kept in the bottom corner of the pages to maintain consistency.

The image for the article is spread across the width of the first page, this makes it stand out from the rest of the page. The main lead singer is holding eye contact and at the front of the group to highlight his importance as well as adding a personal feeling to the reader.

The font used for the article is in a black font which clearly stands out against the white background due to the contrast, this makes it easy to read.

The article seems to be written in the form of a diary, with sub-headings in a larger bold font for each section. This again allows for simple navigation of the article and makes sure that it is easy to read.

Separate images linked to a certain section of the article are used to attract attention to that section, but also to break up the page making it more aesthetically pleasing.