Case study of

magazine

‘Top of The Pops’ magazine is known to be the UK's biggest-selling, teenage magazine. BBC own the Top of the Pops franchise which both the BBC and magazine feature many of the same artists. Peter Hart is the Editor of BBC Top Of The Pops Magazine. TOTP is now only on television at Christmas time which is still a way of attracting more of their target audience. The magazine features a variety articles based on: the latest fashion and beauty tips/information, gossip, real life stories etc. They have created the magazine to be able to build up and develop young girls confidence and help their self-esteem increase. They bring the target audience entertainment and a sense escapism which is helping to meet young, teenage girls needs. The pop magazine is issued every month at £2.99 and regularly has a free poster or freebie attached to it. Their target audience is predominantly for young girls at the ages of 12-16 years old.

The magazine features plenty of iconography like bright colours, clothes, glitter, vibrant make-up and guitars. This to attract a larger audience and persuade them to pick up the magazine and take a read. The style of the magazine is visual and has many images, as this is not just a way of attracting an audience but is also capturing the reader’s attention with snappy sell lines, giving a pop imagery. ‘Top of the Pops’ magazine use a lot of upper case text in their magazine which promotes excitement, to exaggerate what they are saying. The magazine also uses bold and bubbly font as the genre is pop and in addition, it suits the personality of the target audience.

There are a number of codes and conventions in the magazine, ‘Top of the Pops’ that I would like to explore. One of them is the use of bright colours, as they are consistently used to remind readers that pop music is lively and upbeat. They use bright colours like pink and yellow to highlight the fact the magazine is pop, which gives different people the ability to acknowledge the genre. If the magazine used dark, depressing colours like black on their front cover, then this would make the target audience think the magazine is dull, violent and aggressive. With the use of bright colours, it creates a sense of happiness and joy. As pink is a bright, feminine colour, this is used majorly to attract the attention of the reader as they are young teenage girls.

Popular, young artists are also featured in each ‘Top of the Pops’ magazine. They do this to reflect the readers as they are young, girly, innocent girls. They also do this to attract more readers as teenagers tend to look up to young artists and they are likely to be their role models. For example, artists like Jessie J, Little Mix and JLS. It also makes the audience aware that they have the capability to become just as successful as them.

The artists inside the magazine wear unique and quirky clothes like ripped jeans, skirts, shorts and dresses. They also tend to be bright colours to reflect the magazine as a whole and the genre pop. They do this to give young girls the ability to know what the latest trends are. It is also to help them discover new clothes and find out the latest trends.

The content as a whole is dedicated to music and fashion. The magazine involves the latest artists, new music, concerts, interviews, tips and a lot more. There are a number of artists who are constantly featured, like One Direction, Justin Bieber, Little Mix etc.

The mode of address is very informal and laid back, to match the way the reader speaks. For example “YOU can be Cheryl”. They use a friendly and welcoming language to form a relationship between the reader and the magazine itself. The language used is suggesting that the audience understand and value pop, realising the magazine takes music seriously and into consideration. The reader’s direct eye contact will be the main image as it is dominant, which is showing the magazine is just for them, creating a special bond.

The Content of Top of the Pops

• Devoted to pop music with music/artists news and articles, gossip and fashion tips, and competitions and quizzes.

• Magazine offers free posters, reflecting the readership

• Bands and artists that are commonly featured: One Direction, Little Mix, Justin Bieber, Cheryl Cole and The Saturdays

• Casual, informal, shortened language that the target audience would use.

• Uses slang like “OMG”, “HOTTIES”, “WOW!”, “LUSH”.

• Tone of expression is used throughout• Language is friendly, down to earth and

approachable as if they are talking to a friend, creating a special bond.

The Mode of Address

Top of the Pops Reader Profile

The genre pop is very youth orientated, and includes cheesy lyrics and catchy rhythms. Top of the Pops maintain in keeping their readers up-to-date with the latest ‘popular music’. The readers of ‘Top of the Pops’ are young, teenage consumers who have a keen sense of interest and understanding towards pop music and the artists themselves. Each individual pop fan will have a number of interests within pop which consist of young, well known male and female artists/bands, films, celebrities, fashion and more. As the target audience is around the ages between 12-16, they do not have an income which therefore are able to access the magazine through their parents/guardians. As the content within the magazine is appropriate and suitable for the ages between 12-16, parents accept and feel comfortable to buy the magazine for

their daughter, as it does not contain explicit materials.

Top of the Pops website: