Identify the features/ characteristics they all have...•The main image on each of the magazines is of a recognisable figure (artist) of that genre.•They all follow the rule of thirds.•All the mastheads are positioned at the top and in the centre of the cover. •They all have specific house styles or colour schemes to match the connotations of the genre style. •The name of the person shown on the cover is the second biggest text.

Why are these features present on all of the magazines? Why are they important?•So that the target audience can recognise the magazine and therefore know the genre of music that the magazine is based around and the type of content it offers. •The rule of thirds, house style etc are all featured so that the magazine is presented well in order for it to be understandable and clear, as well as attractive to readers and buyers. •Also the house style, photo of artist for example often suggest to the audience of the music genre due to the well known connotations and therefore the reader knows that the music genre is in order to buy it.

5 differences between the magazines...•The style of font reflect the genre and target market- such as the serif masthead and the rough handwriting like font which reflect the sophisticated nature of classical music and the expressionistic style of the Kerrang magazine, the band ‘black veil brides’ and the style of music they perform. •The main images on Vibe and Billboard are closer up to highlight the fact that these artist are the most well known and famous and therefore more people may be interested in the content of the magazine regarding them.•The house style and colour schemes are very different to emphasise the target market- such as in Music and Kerrang: red and white have connotations with sophistication and classical music, and black and greys have connotations with a rock genre .•The fonts of Vibe, Billboard and Kerrang are different to Music as they are aimed at younger people. Thus they are all son-serif and vibe is blue and bold, Kerrang has an unusual texture and The ‘d’ in billboard is coloured to suggest a unique and youthful style. •Kerrang shows a band as bands are more commonly found in the rock genre, and an instrument is shown on ‘music’ to give more information about the woman shown yet the famous artists are the single most important aspect of billboard and Vibe as they are so well known.

Magazine, genre, 4 specific aspects that support it...The genre of ‘Music’ is classical music. •The violin instrument that is being held is a classical instrument usually associated with classical music. •Sarah Chang is a Well known classical artist known in the genre for playing the violin. •The serif font of the masthead reflect the sophisticated style that has connotations with classical music. •The red and white house style also reflect the sophisticated and elegant style of the music and the traditional fan of classical music. •The costume of Sarah Chang is also for a sophisticated woman and possibly an older audience. •The layout, design and copy of the cover are all very simplistic and thus sophisticated also.

Target market...I think the target audience for ‘music’ magazine is middle aged to older people (for example 40+). The target audience would also be middle- upper class people of groups A-C1. I think this due to the simplistic and sophisticated design that has connotations with these people. Also the cover of the magazine and the connotations with the music genre may suggest that this magazine is least likely to contain gossip, fashion tips and therefore is more aimed at adults and older people as stereotypically it is youths that are more interested in these topics. However, the genre of music does not usually have a stereotypical gender market, yet due to the connotations of the colour scheme and the female in the main image and the sophisticated theme, I think this magazine is aimed at mainly females.