As with most music magazines, the masthead is at the top of the Front Cover. Big Cheese have chosen not to subvert this convention as the genre of music and the band on the cover already connote a rebellious attitude. Similar to Kerrang!, Big Cheese have the main image overlapping with the masthead. This represents the band as more important than the magazine. The reader would see this and understand the status and popularity of the band on the punk scene. Additionally, the masthead is split in two, half of it being flipped on the side. This appeals to the Target Audience as it’s not simplistic and plain, the masthead adds diversity to the layout and creates an eye catching Front Cover. I think that the Masthead is in the biggest font because it’s the Brand’s identity. Readers can easily distinguish it from other magazines because of how the masthead is laid out. The reversed “E” in “Cheese” also connotes a rebellious attitude as it stands out in the masthead.

The tagline “Punk Rock special!” is positioned at the top of the magazine, above the masthead. This is because it is one of the first things that the reader will see after the Masthead and the main image. By placing it here, the reader will be able to tell what genre the magazine is. It’s positioning also connotes the popularity of the genre as it’s at the top.

Unlike other magazines of this genre, Big Cheese haven’t shown the free posters on their Front Cover. This is unusual as other big magazines like Kerrang! And Slam show the posters as a way to lure in readers. Although the Front Cover doesn’t show posters, it does use another convention to advertise them. A pug is used to alert the reader to the free posters. Positioned in the top left corner, it also adds diversity to the layout and grabs the reader’s attention. The pug is also part of the vibrant colour scheme.

The sans serif typeface creates a bold and vibrant Front Cover, drawing the reader’s attention to it. The bold, sans serif font represents the punk rock genre as aggressive and loud. This allows the reader to know the genre of the magazine. I think that the bold font would appeal to a teenage audience because stereotypically, small serif fonts appeal to an adult audience whereas bold and vibrant typefaces don’t. Therefore I think that the magazine’s primary target audience are teenagers, not adults. Moreover, the faded font used for the anchorage text and masthead connotes a physical fight or struggle. This links with the main image denoting the lead singer, Frank Carter, with his fists clenched. This represents him as rough and aggressive. This also gives an insight into the rebellious punk genre. The faded font connotes the violence and aggression often associated with punk music. The fact that the Masthead and anchorage text are in capitals conveys how they are of greater importance than the cover lines.

I think that the magazine’s primary target audience would be 15-23 year old males. This is because the magazine focuses on heavier genres of music, similar to Kerrang!. Teenagers younger than 15 probably wouldn’t like these genres of music so therefore, the magazine isn’t targeted towards them. Although the colourful Front Cover may appeal to them, I think that the genres of music and the aggressiveness wouldn’t. I think that the primary audience includes some adults because they are more likely to enjoy these genres of music compared to young teenagers. This edition focuses on the genre of Punk Rock. (1)

Punk Rock’s popularity peaked near the end of the 2000s with teens and adults all listening to it. The fans of this music are now late teens/ adults so it makes sense that the magazine would be aimed towards them. Additionally, there are some fans who are new to the alternative scene so that’s why I think the target audience would include 15 year olds. (2)

I think that the Primary audience wouldn’t include girls because stereotypically, they don’t listen to this kind of music. However I think that the secondary audience would include girls. (3)

In terms of demographics, the primary audience would be in the social classes D and E. This is because the age of the readers means they may not be in employment or are in low income employment. I think that the primary audience are not in higher classes because stereotypically, they don’t like these genres of music. (4)

Target audience continued- I think that the magazine would target Explorers. This is because Big Cheese aren’t a mass market product. They are targeting fans of alternative music who are a certain age. Explorers aren’t looking for social acceptance or friendships through reading the big brands. They strive for discovery. Moreover, they are more likely to try new things, like listening to alternative music . The fact that Big Cheese isn’t globally recognised won’t bother them. (1)

The secondary audience would be teenage girls and people in bands. This is because stereotypically the genres of music in this magazine don’t appeal to girls. Therefore the magazine doesn’t target them a great deal. This can be seen through a male dominated Front Page. However there are some girls that do like this music and so make up part of the Secondary audience. Reader’s may also be band members looking for inspiration or just to find out more about their favourite bands and artists.(2)

The secondary audience would also be in the same low social classes as the Primary audience. This is because only the gender has changed. The occupations (band members) wouldn’t have changed their social classes. This audience would also be explorers . Using Blumler and Katz Users and Gratification Theory, both audiences would potentially consume the magazine for personal friendships. They would talk about and discuss the magazine with their friends. (3)

The main image is a low angle wide shot denoting the band Gallows looking angry, in particular the main singer, with his fists clenched. This represents the band as aggressive and powerful as the reader feels intimidated by their presence. The composition of the shot connotes the band as powerful as the members of the band in the background are looking down, connoting superiority. With the lead singer in the foreground with raised fists, the reader feels threatened. This shows how the main image connotes the band’s power. The powerful and violent representation of the band also suggests how aggressive their music is. This allows the reader to understand the genre of music. Despite the aggressive representation, the use of direct address makes the reader want to find out more about this band. Through the band staring in the centre, the reader feels they are staring at him/her. This encourages them to find out more as they feel it is made for them in particular.

The main image also takes up the whole of the front cover and covers part of the Masthead. This can be seen with Kerrang! and also connotes the band’s importance. The casual clothing wouldn’t appeal to readers of a higher social status as they would prefer sophisticated clothing. Moreover, stereotypically it’s unlikely that people in the upper class would like these genres of music and therefore wouldn’t be appealed by the main image. Additionally, the dark background represents them as mysterious whilst also connoting violence and aggression. I think that the style of clothes and the age of the band suggests that their target audience are teenagers who like alternative music . This is because these teenagers have the same or similar fashion sense to the band.

The anchorage text clearly conveys to the reader who the band on the Front Cover are. Positioned in the left third, the anchorage text would be one of the first things read. This position represents the band as powerful and important. Interestingly, unlike other music magazines, Big Cheese have decided to break up the anchorage text into two separate pieces. The separation of the anchorage text creates a spread out Front Cover and a box shape layout. This box shape represents the band as important as this “box shape” is all around them. Moreover, the separated anchorage text could represent the “waves” of punk music, the space between them could represent the difference in time between the waves. The fact that Gallows are on the cover with this anchorage text connotes importance as they are at the forefront of this new punk wave.

The yellow anchorage text has connotations of prestige and happiness. However, the band’s expressions and hand gestures contradict the connotation of happiness. Therefore I think that the yellow has the connotation of prestige, representing the band as important on the punk scene. The reader would recognise the band’s popularity/status because of the fact that they have a feature about their genre.

The faded anchorage text also has connotations of violence and aggression. Partnered with Frank’s clenched fists, Big Cheese clearly conveys the aggressive connotations of Punk music. The faded font could also represent how the punk genre experienced a decline in popularity, it has become metaphorically worn out. The black outline of the anchorage text also represents how it is not as popular as before. On the other hand, the white outline on the other anchorage text represents how it is becoming more popular, making a resurgence. Punk is making a comeback, out of the shadows. The main image also represents the genre as making a comeback as the band have a dark background behind them. This representation of them stepping out of the darkness conveys to the reader how Punk music is coming back with a bang. The large typeface also connotes importance as the anchorage text stands out on the Front Cover. The reader will be drawn to it and will want to find out more.

The Front Cover has a busy layout with separated anchorage text, trail articles, taglines, features and cover lines all spread out across the cover. An extremely busy and vibrant layout grabs the readers attention whilst also conveying the genre through the conventions. This messy layout has features and trail articles over the top of other conventions such as the masthead and the main image. This connotes the importance of the features and also a rebellious punk attitude. The fact that the band take up the whole of the width of the cover connotes their importance as they take up all of the cover, not just the centre. Accompanied with the anchorage text, one can see how the band represent the punk resurgence coming out of the shadows. The fact that all the conventions are circling them represents them as the most important as all other content is smaller and around them. This messy layout can be seen in other alternative music magazines as it is a great way to convey the rebellious punk lifestyle.

The cover lines, positioned on the right hand side of the Front Cover, are the names of bands that are included in the content of the magazine. These cover lines represent Big Cheese as reputable as, in particular, they have an article about the band Rise Against. Rise Against are very well known in the alternative music world and therefore boosts the reputation of the magazine. By having the cover lines tightly packed together, the punk genre’s resurgence is represented permanent. The reader will be able to use the cover lines to see which bands are covered in the magazine. This may or may not persuade them to buy the magazine.

The bottom strip, like the anchorage text, gives the reader a good insight into the bands that are featured in the magazine. The colours, black, white and orange, used for the bottom strip are also used all over the cover. This creates a vibrant colour scheme which makes the magazine stand out. As a result, the magazine is more likely to be bought and read by the audience. The graphics used for the “+” add diversity to the shapes seen on the cover.

As expected, due to it being a convention, the barcode and price are in the bottom of the right hand corner. I think that Big Cheese chose not to subvert this genre because by subverting a convention, the magazine would have rebellious connotations. Although this would reflect the punk genre, one of the genres which the magazine focuses on, I think that the other conventions on the Front Cover such as the Masthead, main image and anchorage text already connote a punk attitude. I don’t think that there is a need to subvert the convention as it would be over expressing these punk connotations.

By showing features on the Front Cover, the reader is inclined to find out more as they have given a little bit of information and are now hooked. The reader can also tell how Big Cheese covers several genres as they include the heavy metal band Megadeth on the Front Cover along with the Punk band Gallows and also the melodic hard-core band Rise Against. The fact that Megadeth are very well known and even idolised on the heavy metal scene represents the magazine as reputable as they have content about them.

Colour scheme and house style-The vibrant colour scheme is effective in grabbing the reader’s attention. The orange, yellow, red, white and black colour scheme with the messy and bold house style creates an eye catching front cover which stands out on the shelf. The messy house style is similar of Kerrang!’s, with the main image extending into the masthead as well as the features and pugs covering the image and other conventions on the cover. This messy organisation connotes a rebellious attitude, the same attitude as the punk genre that the anchorage text promotes. Big cheese also has the “E” in cheese flipped the other way round. This is for every copy.

The colour yellow has the connotation of prestige. Through the use of the colour yellow, the band are represented as prestigious. This conveys to the reader their status on the punk scene and their popularity. It also represents Big Cheese as reputable as they have a feature on a reputable band.

The colour orange has been used to represent the punk rock genre. The connotations of orange aren’t as aggressive as red. This could be to convey how punk rock is a lighter genre that they cover. Moreover, orange also has connotations of success. The fact that some of the cover lines and the anchorage text are in orange connotes the success or future success of these bands. The colour scheme represents the new wave of punk as successful. Interestingly, the masthead is also in Orange. This could also represent them as successful. I think that orange has also been used to add vibrancy and to make the magazine stand out.

The use of the colours white and black connote positivity and also anger. White has been used to connote the success of the new wave of punk whilst black has been used to convey the aggressive punk attitude. Alternatively, it could be suggested that black has been used to represent the band as coming out of the shadows, pursuing musical success and also the resurgence of punk. As a pair, these colours contrast and make the magazine stand out, grabbing the reader’s attention.