Mojo Magazine Analysis

Front PageMagazine covers usually use a direct mode of address, this means that the main image is connecting with their audience by looking directly into the camera to create eye contact, therefore they are drawing in their audience. However the main image on this magazine is using both direct and indirect mode of address. This is due to Paul and John looking into the camera to connect with their audience, whereas George and Ringo looking in another direction. This goes against the usual usual codes and conventions of a music magazine.

The masthead on this front cover also follows the codes and conventions of a music magazine. It is in a large, unique font that is behind the main image. This along with the sans serif font connotes that the magazine is a down to earth magazine that focuses solely on the music. The slogan “The Music Magazine” further supports the point that this magazine’s main purpose is to promote music.

The anchorage text shows that the main focus of this issue of the magazine is the Beatles. The typography of this text is also Sans Serif, from this we can see a house style being set up.

The numerous selling lines/straplines of different bright colours help the magazine stand out and attract its target audience. From the contents of the straplines and the main image I can tell that the target audience is a niche C2DE audience. This is due to it being all about the Beatles as well as other bands that were popular with the working class 30-50 years ago.

This magazine has several tags using words such as ‘special’ and ‘The Truth!’ to catch and intrigue their readers. These are also plugs. The puffs on this articles help anchor the mode of address of the magazine which is another code and convention of music magazines. One way this front cover goes against the codes and conventions of a music magazine is it does not adhere to the left third rule. The main feature article is in the right third.

This magazines top strip tells the reader other information as to what is in the magazine that readers might also find interesting. This helps to capture potential readers interest.

The pugs on this magazine act as its ‘ears’. The free CD pug also acts as a tag, this attracts its potential readers as the magazine has something that the others do not. It makes Mojo exclusive. The pug on the right side is a picture if David Bowie which will attract his fan base as they will want to know what is happening with him.

Contents

The house style from the from cover has carried over. The bright bold colours make the magazine fun and engaging to read. Pictures have been added on the side and matched up with the text so the magazine is easy to navigate. This is a code and convention of a music magazine. Several colloquialisms have been used so that the readers feel included and cool that they understand what others wouldn’t.The slugs along the bottom also adhere to the codes and conventions of a music magazine. These show what subject is being commented on by the picture of who is talking, for example Paul Du Noyer is Mojo’s resident Beatles expert. The typography is very similar to that of the front cover, this implies that the magazine is very professional and takes its music seriously. Its also shows that it is very well established. Again this further supports and strengthens the in-house, for this magazine that is reds, blues, oranges and reds. This implies that the magazines is bold, relevant, fun and interesting.

On the previous contents page there are a few pull quotes, these are used to engage the reader and pique their interests. If they like what they read in the pull quotes they are more likely to buy the magazine and read the article. It further shows that this magazine knows that they are doing and take their jobs seriously.

Double Page Spread

The in-house colours ahev been carried over. We can now establish the house style. Thus the the colours red and black with a bold fun font. They have also used a bleed, this means that the image goes across two pages and is a code and convention of music magazines. The copy of the article is very uniform and keeps to the point. Moreover it is professional and tells the reader what they want to know/ what they would be interested in.

They have included another pull quote to make the article more interesting for the reader as well as including a timeline of what happened around this time. This is good as it will jog the memory of older readers allowing them to remember what they were doing at that time and feel included, it also helps younger readers as it teaches them what happened without being patronizing. The article also has drop- cap which is another code and convention of music magazines allowing the article to look professional and just plain interesting.