Music Magazine Analysis

7
Music Magazine Analysis

Transcript of Music Magazine Analysis

Page 1: Music Magazine Analysis

Music Magazine Analysis

Page 2: Music Magazine Analysis

Genre:The genre of the NME Originals magazine “Uncut” would be rock and alternative. This links with how the main focus of this issue is The Clash, who are a well known punk rock band. Therefore the artist featured on the front cover is of a similar genre to the genre of the magazine. This audience is more of a niche market. Although The Clash no longer existed at the time of the magazine being published they are a well known enough band to still be featured on the front cover.

Language: The main focus of the magazine is on ‘The Clash’ as the majority of the magazine is about them. The emphasis is more on the titles on the front cover than on the picture itself, this shows how the content is more important than the pictures in the magazine. Only five colours have been used for the writing on the cover. Red is only used for the name of the magazine, in order to separate it from the rest of the cover and add emphasis to it. Yellow is then used for “The Clash” and the cover lines. This then links the articles in the magazine to the band as the articles are all about The Clash. Having the main cover line in orange, then separates it from the rest of the cover lines which creates more emphasis on it. Having some writing in white makes it seem less important in the hierarchy of the magazine as it is less noticeable. The hierarchy of the magazine shows how the title of the band is more important than the cover lines. This shows how the band are a selling point of the magazine.

Page 3: Music Magazine Analysis

Audience:The target audience of the magazine would be younger people between the ages of 15 and 25, with a secondary audience of adults in their 30s and 40s. The demographic would be both males and females but more aimed towards men as stereotypically they prefer rock music. There would also be a secondary audience of fans of The Clash. The variety of colours on the front cover would appeal to the younger audience as they relate to the genre. The font is also fairly simplistic which would be more appealing to their target audience. According to Stuart Hall’s theory the meaning would be preferred as the audience would be those who like the magazine and agree with it.

Representation:The band is represented to be rebellious and punk. This is due to their clothes with relate to the punk subculture. Their body language and facial expressions suggest they are more alternative. The main title is “White Riot”, and the word “riot” has rebellious connotations, which relate to their genre and one of their songs called ‘White Riot’.

Narrative:The stories of this issue mainly focus on the band The Clash. They are being told as an insight into the band, with information on their most well known songs and gigs.

Page 4: Music Magazine Analysis

Due to the rule of thirds the audiences’ eyes are first drawn to “The Clash’. This shows how the band are a selling point of this issue and are the focus of the issue. The font used is very similar to the brand font of The Clash. This then enforces the brand identity and makes it more relatable to the band.The Clash were an English Punk Rock band from 1976 to 1986. They had a very large influence on many artist and the music industry as itself. This relates to how the magazine created an issue completely dedicated to them. There are edited on badges relating to The Clash, this links with the punk movement as a part of the stereotypical clothing is badges. Due to the dark background of the photo the focus is put onto the band members. This highlights how they are a key part of the magazine. Underneath “White Riot” it refers to a “punk rock explosion” that “shook up the world” this shows how key The Clash were, which is why the magazine was made. There is a main colour in the picture are black, white and red. These colours are greatly related to the punk subculture, therefore showing how the band are punk rock.

Page 5: Music Magazine Analysis

In fairly small writing near to the top of the page it says how this magazine is ‘volume 1 issue 14’. This relates to how the company NME are a fairly large company as they produce many magazines. It also says how it cost “UK £5.50”. This shows how the magazine is international as it states that it is “UK” currency. It also shows how it is a fairly high quality magazine as it costs £5.50.

The barcode is on the bottom left of the front cover. This complies with the convention of having the barcode in the bottom corner of the magazine, although it is stereotypically the right side.

In the bottom right hand corner there is a photo of an older NME cover with The Clash on from 1977 when they were a fairly new and unknown band. By using this picture it shows NME use to feature unknown artists in their magazines and how they have been an ‘indie’ magazine since their creation.

The first cover line refers to “the true story” this makes it seem more exclusive and is more engaging for an audience as it is providing an insight into the band. It also refers to a “revolution” which relates to the punk rock subculture. The next cover line explains how the magazine talks about The Clash’s best “records, gigs and fights”. The final cover line refers to the obituary inside the magazine for the lead singer Joe Strummer. This shows how the magazine covers a large variety of topics.

Page 6: Music Magazine Analysis

Due to the use of yellow on both the front cover and the contents page a house style is created. Similarly with the use of the same font for the writing on the front cover and contents page enforces this house style.

The main focus of the contents page is a picture of The Clash at a gig. This relates to how the magazine is about the band and there is a section on their best gigs. As the picture is in black and white it relates to how the band are ‘vintage’.

The main sections in yellow refer to chapters in the magazine which separate the stories. Each chapter relates to a different chapter in the bands lifetime. They also use song and album titles for the name of some of the chapters to appeal and relate to the fans of the band.

The summaries under the chapters give the audience a more in-depth idea of what is in each chapter.

The picture shows a high angle long shot of a gig of the band. Their facial expressions relate to how they are punk rock as they seem fairly aggressive. Similarly having the hands of the audience relate to how popular The Clash were and how there were many people in the punk subculture in the 1970s and 1980s.

Page 7: Music Magazine Analysis

There are three pictures used to break up the article. These pictures show old photos from/before gigs and an old magazine from cover. This relates to how The Clash were a band in the 70s and 80s therefore there a no new photos. These pictures relate to the articles and emphasis the pointing being made.

This article is also broken up with yellow pull quotes. Similarly to the yellow drop caps, using yellow keeps to the house style. The same font has also been used to the titles on the contents page, keeping the house style. The font is also fairly grunge which relates to the genre.

New sections of this article begin with yellow drop caps. This draws attention to them and highlights how they are new sections. Using yellow keeps to the house style.

On this side of the page there is a picture of lead singer Joe Stummer and it takes up half a page. This also splits up the text and makes the page seem more interesting than only having text. Using the leader singer only relates to how a large part of this article is about him and how he was to an extent the face of The Clash.