Analysis of magazine front coversCover 1.NME Sept 2009

Dizzee Rascal Edition

BARCODE-date/issue/price

This is so the magazine is sellable and so the reader knows when it was issued, whether it’s new or old

FRONT COVER ANALYSISTHE MASTHEAD

This is bold and stands out so that the target market can recognise it. This takes up quite a large portion of the magazine to it can be seen. Also the NME sounds like ‘enemy’ which is associated with rebellion which hip hop music is linked to.

THE HEADER

The header has stuck to the consistent house style and allows extra information if required. It also rounds off where the title and image begin

THE SELL LINES/COVER LINES

Attracting the reader to the magazine as they give an insight into what will be included in the magazine

THE MAIN IMAGE

The main image of a famous star, Dizzie Rascal as it says on the page, this is a recognisable face and links to the genre people will be expecting to read about. It is an unusual shot which makes the reader take a longer look, the front cover is image dominated as he takes the whole entire frame.

THE MAIN COVER LINE

The main cover line is the celebrity artist’s name

THE FOOTER

Giving a summary of what the contents of the magazine contains

USE OF A PULL QUOTE

This is something Dizzee has said which intrigues you into what else he has said

BACKGROUND

The background looks like graffiti which is a typical street stereotype, this also is very colourful yet the main image still stands out.

USE OF A FLASH

This is offering the target audience something extra, this may attract them further into buying the magazine.

RULE OF THIRDS/THE LEFT THIRD

The left third is usually kept free from cell lines however this hasn’t happened here as dizzie is leaning towards the left and taking most of the space up. His face will be in our direct eye line abiding by rule of thirds however he isn’t centralised.

TARGET AUDIENCE OF THIS IS NME

-The main image will initially attract the target audience as they will want to read about Dizzee Rascal who appears on the front.

-By naming the other artists this will also attract the target audience to find out about them.

-The colours of red, white and black will also attract them as it looks cool and stylish.

The target audience for this magazine will be somebody who enjoys all kind of music from Dizzie Rascal’s rap to indie and punk this edition focused on Dizzie Rascal’s genre of music therefore he will be attracting those people, they are likely to enjoy different types of music as NME cater for lots of types. Their gender could be male or female however stereotypically I would say male for this magazine in particular, NME cater for both genders as different covers have been female too. They would be in their teenage years and come from a middle class family as they have money to buy this music magazine to begin with which costs £2.49 every week which would be hard to manage without some sort of stable income. You can tell the magazine is aimed at this age group as without being young and tacky the magazine still looks exciting with the way the photo is taken and the big fonts that attract your eye and are easy to read at a glance.

Also by mentioning the ‘Autumn Tour Special’ this is showing that perhaps the reader may be working and have an income so that they can afford to go to these sort of festivals.

STRETCH AND CHALLENGEACTIVITY-

The target audience for NME would be older teens into early twenties as the music is more mature and established than young pop bands. The front covers are stylish and professional, quite minimalistic yet with key details included. The front still attracts the readers as the colours are bright and inviting like the big bold fonts. The main image will also entice the target audience as the artist will be somebody they desire to read about.

The New Musical Express, known as NME, is a music magazine in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, in the 14 November 1952 edition. In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. During the period 1972 to 1976 it was particularly associated with gonzo journalism, then became closely associated with punk rock through the writing of Tony Parsons and Julie Burchill.

NME is known as an indie/rock magazine. Including typical music magazine content such as music news, reviews, charts, tickets, newsletters, info on festivals, tours, clubs, concerts, rock, indie, rap and hip-hop as well as exclusive photos of the artists from photo shoots.

NME features current bands and artists as shown on the right.

It was initially published in a non-glossy tabloid format on standard newsprint. On 14 November 1952, taking its cue from the U.S. magazine Billboard, it created the first UK Singles Chart.

Editor: Mike WilliamsCategories: Music MagazineFrequency: WeeklyFirst Issue: 7 March 1952Company: IPC Media Country: United KingdomMagazine reaches: 1.1 millions music fans every weekIssued: every Wednesday

NME readers:MALE 69%FEMALE 31%AVERAGE AGE 24WORKING FULL TIME 52%WORKING PART TIME 7%STILL STUDYING 29%

Cover 2, Billboard magazine, Bruno Mars edition

THE MASTHEAD

The masthead is hid behind Bruno Mar’s head this shows just how important the magazine want him to look as he covers most of the name, this is unusual as the mast head is usually very visible so readers can tell which magazine it is. What we can see is bold, white to stand out from the black background and very clear.

BACKGROUND

The background is completely black which puts emphasis on the text and image over the top as they are allowed to stand out clearly. It gives a mood of the magazine and adds to how stylish it looks. This looks like a mature magazine.

RULE OF THIRDS/THE LEFT THIRD

Here rule of thirds has been used as Bruno Mars is positioned in the shot towards the right of the page so that there is room down the left third for sell lines and other bits of information in this case it also leaves room from Bruno to have his head tilted and to still fit.

BARCODE-date/issue/price

This is so the magazine is sellable and so the reader knows when it was issued, whether it’s new or old.

THE MAIN COVER LINE

The main cover line is ‘50 years’ which takes a lot of space on the cover which is what the reader is drawn towards.

THE MAIN IMAGE

The main image is a mid shot of the famous star, Bruno Mars as it says on the page, this is a recognisable face and links to the genre people will be expecting to read about. The shot is black and white which Is very effective and looks artistic as well as it drawing the reader in without Bruno’s eye line being the same as ours making eye contact. The front cover is image dominated as he takes most of the frame. The main image is anchored by his name so the reader knows exactly who he is.

THE SELL LINES/COVER LINES

Attracting the reader to the magazine as they give an insight into what will be included in the magazine, saying ‘Bruno Mars Big Business’ you want to find out what is happening. Also down the left side there are listed classic artist names who the reader will know.

TARGET AUDIENCE OF BILLBOARD

The target audience for Billboard would be female teenagers up to young adults. This is represented by the front cover as it uses limited colours but still colours that pop out and are eye catching without being bright and tacky, it is minimal and not over the top like a young magazine may be to keep children interested, Billboard does not need to do this. The genre of this magazine is mainstream music from the charts so this means they will have many customers from their target audience that enjoy reading this magazine. The target audience needs to be able to afford the magazine which at subscription price is $99.50 for 50 issues which works out at $1.99.

-The main image will initially attract the target audience as they will want to read about Bruno Mars who appears on the front.

-By naming the other artists down the left which this will also attract the target audience to find out about them.

-The whole layout will attract the target audience as it looks classy and artistic with minimal colours.

STRETCH AND CHALLENGEACTIVITY-

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to he music industry, and is one of the oldest trademagazines in the world.GENRE: Mainstream music from the charts.INFORMATION INSIDE MAGAZINE

The Billboard Top 100’

Photos/posters Album advertisements

Advertisements

Interviews

Concerts

Articles on artists/bands

Music reviews

‘The Billboard Top 200’

Page with lists of songs relating to eachdifferent genre of music

Billboard was founded on November 1, 1894, by William h. Donaldson and James Hennegan. It was originally titledBillboard Advertising and it was a trade paper for the bill posting industry

Billboard is now read in more than 100 countries around the world. Billboard.com attracts more than 2.5 million unique visitors each month. The Billboard Music Awards is one of television's most popular annual entertainment events

Editor Danyel SmithFrequency WeeklyCirculation 16,327First Issue 1894Company Prometheus Global MediaCountry United StatesWebsite www.billboard.com

Cover 3, SPIN special editionCourtney Love cover

THE MASTHEAD

The masthead is very big, bold and stands out with the white on top of the red background. The last letter is hid behind Courtney Love’s head this is because SPIN are confident that by only part of the masthead the reader’s will recognise the magazine. The way this is done it puts more emphasis on the image of the star showing how important they deem her to be.

BACKGROUND

The background is completely white which puts extra emphasis on the text and image over the top as they are allowed to stand out clearly. With the connotation of purity and innocence you get a sense of the magazine being this way as the image looks soft and innocent too. This adds to how stylish the magazine looks and looks immaculate.

USE OF A PULL QUOTE

‘I’m tired of being the town witch’ this draws the reader in and makes them to find out more from what this quote says, it is usually something interesting for the reader to pick up on.

RULE OF THIRDS/THE LEFT THIRD

Here the photo is slightly towards the left where the photo is usually towards the right to fit in the left third but in this case most cover/sell lines have been located on the right.

THE FOOTER

Is used to round of the magazine and have a border around the edge to add to the style.

THE HEADER

The header gives extra information and the issue number, by doing this it keeps the whole look well-ordered h and as stuck to the consistent house style. It also rounds off where the title and image begin

THE SELL LINES/COVER LINES

Attracting the reader as just at a glance they give an insight into what will be included by.

THE MAIN IMAGE

The main image of a famous star, Courtney Love as it mentions, this is a recognisable face that the target audience will want to read about. It is an unusual shot which makes the reader take a longer look, as she has her arms in shot and head titled. It is a mid shot from a high slightly high angle to make her face seem closer to the lens dragging the reader in. This cover is image dominated as she takes majority of the page.

THE MAIN COVER LINE

The main cover line is the celebrity artist’s name

TARGET AUDIENCE OF SPIN

The target audience for SPIN would be people who listen to music from rock, alternative, country, rap, hip hop, reggae, indie, rock, metal, blues, rnb etc., depending which week and who is on the cover depends what kind of genre it is going for, so caters for many people.

The median age for SPIN magazine is 29, nearly 40% of

readers are between 22-29 and 36% aged between 25-34.

Statistics also show that the magazine is read by more males than females at the ratio 61% to 39%. Although this specific cover looks more suited to girls whereas others are the opposite.

The magazine is highly priced meaning the target audience will have to afford the magazine meaning they looks probably be middle class as the magazine is only monthly as well.

STRETCH AND CHALLENGEACTIVITY-

-The magazine is published monthly-In the UK it costs 4.50 as it has to be shipped/flown from the US-In America the magazine costs $3.99

In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the on going emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard. It pointedly provided a national alternative to Rolling Stone's more establishment-oriented style. Spin prominently placed newer artists such as R.E.M., Prince, Beastie Boys, and Talking Heads, on its covers and did lengthy features on established figures such as Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Miles Davis, Aerosmith, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, and John Lee Hooker—Bart Bull's article on Hooker won the magazine its first major award

Categories MusicFrequency MonthlyTotal circulation (2011) 459,586Year founded 1985First issue May 1985Company BuzzmediaCountry USABased in New York CityWebsite www.spin.com