Magazine Analysis

By Jake Kemp

Front Cover Analysis

The first thing we see when we look at this cover from Rolling Stone is the huge image of Amy Winehouse. The image of her completely dominates the cover. The magazine name is barely seen behind her figure. However Rolling Stone develop the same design in each issue like any other music magazine. We therefore know the magazine is Rolling Stone as the structure has become a trademark of them.

The lists of artists are positioned in an organized way with the same colour and all the same size. This is a way of showing the maturity of the magazine, unlike Q and Kerrang. Rolling Stone have adapted their own style.

Overall the structure of Rolling Stone magazine is much simpler than Q magazine and Kerrang. It is made up of just two columns. The headlines are kept to the left side whilst the image takes up the right side. I like the way this has been organised as although it is a less sophisticated cover, it appears more mature than the others.

The target audience for Q magazine is teenagers, both male and female, we know this because there is a musician on the front, she is topless, everything is covered, and her pose will attract more male audience. The main readers will fall into the age category of teenagers as it largely focuses on today’s music.The main image on the front cover is of Lily Allen. Lily Allen has probably been chosen to feature in the magazine because she has been in the press a lot as being well known which is what teenagers are stereotyped as being. She looks like the stereotypical image of sexy, independent women with self respect, panthers beneath helps to create this stereotype of her. The text:”Lily Allen & her wicket, wicket ways..” and adds the mystery to her character.

The title is printed in large yellow font. This is to make it stand out and immediately tells the audience that the name of the magazine is ‘SCRATCH’. The large font helps it catch the attention of the audience and the outline of the black around the title makes the heading look more attractive.

This photo of Lil Wayne straight away tells the people that the magazine is an RnB/hip hop magazine as Lil Wayne is a RnB artist. The picture is almost popping out of the magazine which appeals to the audience and appeals to Lil Wayne fans. ‘LIL WAYNE’ is printed in large white font, the whiteness of the font stands out against the dark background and indicates that he is the main feature in the magazine.

A photograph of the DJ featured in the magazine is showed to appeal to fans and catch people’s attention. ‘DJ KHALED’ is also printed in coloured, large font to show he is an important feature in the magazine but the fact that it is printed small then ‘LIL WAYNE’ suggests he isn’t as important.

Firstly, some of the text is in the red which could emphasise the danger involved in a gangster lifestyle as red is in the colour of danger and is sharp and hit the readers eye straight away. Also there is the cover line ‘aint no such thing as a secret snitch’, stating that dealing with snitches is part of what a gangster has a dead with such as the artist as the main image, T.I.

The institution of this magazine is a commercial institute. We know this as it is a shop bought magazine and also printed in the bottom corner is the line ‘www.vibe.com’ which is leading reader to visit this website where they may be able to buy more products involved with the music magazine.

The ideology of this music magazine is baser around r’n’b and hip-hop. This is shown through the artist being used as the main image. T.I. who is a well known artist from the r’n’b industry and also other bands as coverlines i.e ’50 cent, Jay-z and Biggie Smalls etc.

The main image is a close-up shot to show emotion from the cover artist. Here, T.I is dressed smart which we believe is to do with the amount of money he earns through being a hip hop superstar. This inspires people who look up to him as they also want the money, they clothes and the girls when they are his age.

The magazine heading is in a fixed location. Its colour and font remains the same from issue to issue, helping to develop brand identity

The Last Shadow Puppets’ faces are visible ‘above the fold’. Turner and Kane are represented as brooding geniuses and the image positioning ensures that their faces are iconic.

This column inch cover lines entice readers to the magazine’s articles. The red text connotes passion and danger; ‘Tom Clarke VS Faris Rotter is designed to sound like a battle and the text colour reinforces this. The black text elaborates on the story further and is less attention-grabbing. It is witty and raises new issues.

The text is a ‘callout’ – it is sensational and shocking. It intrigues the reader and acts as a tease to reading the full article.

The image ‘bleeds’ to the edge of the page. In this instance, the connotation could be that their skill/talent cannot be controlled; it cannot be defined within a single page.

Contents Page Analysis

Vibe’s contents pages are designed with the moods of the pictures and the magazines. As you can see Kanye West’s face expressions and very down but then the red heart stands out as a soul but also implies passion within the magazine The mid shot used allows the reader to see both the facial expression and the body language presented in the shot. The big ‘V’ in the background is still advertising the brand or the name of the magazine. The contents text goes along the cool, edgy style the magazine has with it being broken up it covers the page more and allows it to be a bigger text and still fit on the page nicely. The old fashion titles for ‘Features’ and ‘Fashion’ go well with the colours used. The greys and blacks are making the page look very down but also dark, old and grey. With the red heart the dark colours make it stand out even more.

Q’s contents page is very bold and in your face. The uses of red and black are very high and is used because they are so bold and eye catching. The layout of the contents page is very simple but effective. The big image catches your eye straight away and then you read the caption and the page number and read on. So their layout works for their audience and attracts them. The contents page being down the side is effective because they use different places on the page which makes it more interesting to read. They have also made a section in the bottom left that has all the topics they have in the magazine every month. So they have categorized well to make it easier for customers and make them more relaxed.

Mojo’s contents page has a more retro feel to it then all the other contents pages. The more cartoon and scrapbook vibe works well because the title of the magazine is quirky as well. The bold title stands out and is aimed to attract the audience which it does. The white background also helps the title to stand out with the contrasts. The red labels isolates the page number and titles which indicates or makes each label stand out against the pictures. The listed contents looks very normal yet appealing. It looks like a list of some type. The artistic and abstract feel on the left hand side also stereotypes there target audience.

NME’s contents page is very similar to Q’s except their target audience has a big age difference. The bold black background behind the title makes the title stand out. The red text with the white trim also makes the text stand out a lot. NME also have tabs of colour to labialize or categorize each thing and allow the reader to chose a topic. The animated arrow on the bottom left of the page lets the the reader interact and adventure further into the magazine. The bold black and white text is bland and normal but its stands out and catches the eye. The picture is center framed and a big picture so it stands out and catches the eye and catching the eye is what NME wants to do.

‘Tilt’ have three specific colours. They use the orange very well and allow it to make things stand out and make it more noticeable. The grey helps the black to stand out and the white on the black stands out aswell.

The collage of pictures is a very arty approach to this magazine it gives it and this attracts the audience and there target audience. The subscription part at the bottom of the magazine advertises the magazine to their audience and makes the issues cheaper is a subscriber.

The pictures are attracting to different genders and their target audience. The pictures of the concerts and festivals also categories that this is a definite

Double Page Spread Analysis

MCR are a very punk rock band. The red black and white colour scheme brings out the dark side of MCR. The gothic images of MCR support the dark theme towards the magazine. The title of the double page spread consists of large text and red and white. They have taken images from their tour and situated them along the bottom with one large image that occupies one side of the spread. ‘World Exclusive’ states the double page spread as the only interview with MCR and it’s the only one out there so it is seen as a unique selling point.

The photos of MCR in action are another unique selling point and they give more feel to the article. The pictures also attract the visual audience of the magazine.

This double page spread is focused on The Vaccines. The photo features dull colours with with a light but slightly dirty backdrop, this could be reflecting their gritty sound. The band all keep in eye contact with the camera and two members hold their guitars to reiterate the fact that they are “the biggest guitar band of 2011” according to NME. What is also interesting about this photo is that they have placed the photo so that it runs across the fold. The whole page follows the colour scheme of black, light blue and a slightly stained white. This is simple and I think it reflects the simple nature of the bands music. Something I really like in this double page spread is the blue lines that run through the page, they are placed diagonally possibly to reflect the rough and raw image the band portray.

This double page spread is focused on Mumford & Sons and their audience. The photo of the band and there crowd is very effective. The use of a camera is a natural lenses makes it look like a festival disposable camera. The bright and fresh variance in colours connotes to the bands presence and production saying they are different and new. The large with bold title with the words of ‘Gentlemen Of The Road’ looks like a start of a tale. What I like about the picture is that they all look happy and a community. It leaves a message that what they do makes them happy and they do it for the enjoyment.

The photograph of the Black Eyed Peas is in the centre of the page so it catches the reader’s attention. The photograph is shot so that it is eye-catching, with the colours faded for Will-I-Am in the centre but not for the other members of the group. The double page spread had a colour scheme of gold, grey and black. The colours are evident on the clothes which the Black Eyed Peas are wearing and from the text around the page i.e. the main title is shown in both grey and gold; main article is shown in black. The text is created so that it is eye catching. The text starts with a pair of arrows pointing from the photograph to the text. Part of the text is highlighted in black, so it stands out to the reader.

The second double page spread features the band 'Traffic'. The majority of the double page spread being taken up by a low-angle, long shot of the band giving them an image of empowerment connoting importance and strength. The shot is placed down on the ground making grass visible close to the lens. This, and the fact the band are also appearing through trees compliment each other and give a sense of mystery, showing that there are private elements to the band. The colour scheme of the double page spread also compliments the nature element running throughout the double page spread. The colours are very neutral such as cream, brown and, running predominantly through the image, green. These are all the colours you would find in a countryside landscape and therefore compliment the idea of the double page spread well.