The Front Cover

Background Information

American magazine owned by Prometheus Global Media First published way back in 1894, making it one of the

oldest trading magazines in the world Started specialising in the music industry from 1960s

onwards. Weekly issues, circulation of 13,000+ and is decline. There is a Billboard Music Award ceremony. Versions in Turkish and Brazil as well as English

(suggesting large audience in those countries) There is a Billboard Hot 100, which is hugely popular Informal mode of address, though maintains a mature

representation.

Target Audience

Target audience is young females from the age of 15 to young adults at the age of 26.

Concentrates on Pop music (e.g Justin Bieber) but also has features in other genres such as RnB and Rock.

Considered as a mature Pop magazine, rather than the stereotypical image-filled front cover, with very little text to be seen. Therefore, it could be suggested that the magazines current purpose is to contrast that stereotype.

Masthead

The masthead sticks out from the rest of the content on the magazine cover, advertising the magazine like a Billboard would do. It also conforms to the rule of thirds (as it is in the top third)

However, the cover line for the Justin Bieber is very close to being the same size as the masthead, which is unusual for a music magazine (or any magazine).

The masthead if fairly simplistic, with iconic coloured in circles in some of the letters – with the usual letters being covered up by Justin Bieber due to the masthead underlay. This could be argued to be an immature, child-like feature which would then contradict the earlier statement that it is a mature magazine. In my opinion, this would be the only feature to contest the mature overall look, and therefore should be overlooked as it is a feature that is instantly recognizable on the shelfs in shops and effectively acts as a logo.

Once again, there is no strap line included (the same as NME and VIBE which I previously analysed) suggesting that it may be in-fact an unpopular technique for music magazine producers.

Lead cover line & Pull Quote Simply: “Justin Bieber”. Short. Sharp. Effective It can be said that the world's biggest music star doesn't

need much more of an introduction, with his name alone selling copies – no matter what he has to say in the article. This may be why the font size used is very close to being the same as “Billboard”; like he is more important than the magazine brand.

Also, as everyone knows he is, a pull quote can overlay his name, adding further interest to the lead cover line

The pull quote is “Everything I do, is to be the greatest” which is a fairly average quote, but as I said, his name alone is usually enough for Billboard's female target audience to buy the magazine.

Layout & Colour palette

The house style of Billboard is to have a brightly coloured front cover (e.g red, blue, green, yellow) but isn't used ridiculously like some Pop magazines, which helps maintain it's mature status which I discussed previously.

The layout of cover lines is prominently along the left hand side of the front cover, in a well-placed manner, unlike some Pop magazines I have studied, that tend to throw cover lines and images all over the place.

The cover lines are split by appropriately sized spacers to avoid confusion, again maintain a classy, professional look that is of course expected from such a prestigious magazine.

Serif Font & No additional images

This accompanies the informal mode of address of the actual text, as Serif Font looks more casual, and informal.

No additional images once again reinforces the mature, professional look that Billboard strive for. It may also have been influenced by the fact that the dominant cover image is Justin Bieber, which has taken over almost all of the layout. (e.g masthead underlay)

Dominant cover image, Direct gaze & Pose

As previously mentioned, the dominant cover image is of superstar Justin Bieber, which in itself is massive for Billboard in terms of selling copies.

He is placed central to the magazine in terms of rule of thirds, filling the centre of the page from top to bottom. This domination signifies his importance.

The direct gaze, like all dominant images, captivated the audience's attention, and as it is Justin Bieber it will probably melt the hearts of the majority of the readers.

To coincide with the direct gaze, Bieber's pose is the completed opposite of Jake Bugg's (NME) and Eminem's (VIBE), as he leans over, closer to the camera. Though this is not what I look for in a magazine, it is completely understandable that a lot of people do, which is why Billboard have purposely taken advantage of it.

Secondary Cover lines

Includes more popular artists such as Ellie Goulding and Lady Gaga, reaching an even larger audience – including their large fan bases.