Comparing prices of magazines

By Emilia Byrne

For this task I will be looking at three groups different types of magazines and the different

genres also comparing the three magazine prices of them and how their price is similar to the type of magazine it is, the will be due to

conventions and typography.

Lower priced magazine The two magazines that I have researched are ‘TV

Choice’ and ‘Star’ which are priced between £00.45-£1.00 which is extremely affordable for the working class which are C1 and C2, you are able to tell that this magazine is extremely cheap due to the fact that the colour scheme is extremely bold and colourful , which would be very eye catching and noticeable, the colours which are usually used within cheaper magazines are ‘red’, ‘blue’ and ‘yellow’ which as you are able to tell have been used a lot within the two magazines. Affordable magazines have more clutter on them as well, for example they have every

convention on them, and all the conventions are usually very bright and bold, this would be because when all of the magazines are advertised within the supermarket (where cheaper magazines like ‘TV choice’ and ‘Star’ are usually sold) all the other cheaper magazines are all competing with each other to stand out the most and to capture the consumers attention. The targeted audiences for these two magazines would elder teenagers/young women (16 years old-24 years old) for the ‘Star’ magazines my reasons for this would be because the colours that have been used within the typography and the background colour of the banner are pink which are stereotypical feminine colours, also on the font cover of the ‘Star’ magazine there is a lot written about relationships which would appeal to a elder teenage/young women audience. The targeted audience for ‘TV choice’ magazine would be mothers/elder women (aged between 25-49) my reasons for this would be because it’s a stereotype that they are housewives that stay at home and do the housework and they are also very domestic, so they would be watching the television all day so they would need a ‘TV Choice’ magazine where they are able to see all the television shows that will be played through out the week.

Middle Priced Magazines The two magazines that I have researched are ‘NME’ which is a

alternative music magazine and ‘More’ which is a fashion/gossip magazine, these magazines are priced between £1.50-£2.20 which the an average price for a magazine and a affordable price for a working class and a economic class. The colour scheme of both of these magazines and very bright and energetic an example of these bright colours would be the bright red and pink mastheads, also when looking at NME’s main image the contrast of the English flag and the American flag is very energetic and eye catching, this would appeal to the young targeted audience The layout of these magazines aren't as busy and seem a lot more simple compared to the lower

priced magazines, also within the colour scheme all the colour that have been used within the conventions all seem to match, were as on the lower priced magazines their was hardly a colour scheme there was just bold colours, to try and catch the consumers attention. The targeted audience for the NME magazine is very niche as there is only a certain amount of people who listen to alternative music which the magazine is based on, in my opinion that’s why I believe that the magazine is middle priced and not high priced, also there is a very big difference between ‘Q’ magazine and ‘NME’, ‘Q’ has more of a larger targeted audience because it has more information about all different genres of music which would appeal to all different types of audiences, were as ‘NME’ only focuses on one genre of music which is alternative, so I believe that the targeted audience would be very elder teenagers/young adults, my reasons for this would be because when looking at the layout the magazine looks bright, fun and appealing which teenagers would instantly find appealing! Also when looking at the main image everyone on there is very young, also due to the fact that there is an equal amount females and males within the main image tells us that the targeted audience is for both genders. The targeted audience for ‘More’ magazine would be a teenage feminine audience my reasons for this would be because the colour pink has been used a lot within the conventions, e.g. the masthead, some of the typography also within the main image

High Priced Magazines The two magazines that I have researched are ‘VOGUE’ and ‘ELLE’ which are both high fashion magazines. ‘Elle’ and ‘Vogue’ are priced between £3.50-£3.70 which is the average price for a high classed and priced fashion magazine. You are able to tell that this magazine is very high priced due to the colour scheme, this would be because within the magazine the colour scheme is very specific, as you are able to tell that all the conventions are all colour coded together to match, high priced magazines do this to look more classy and modern, which relates with the sophisticated typography which has been used in both magazines, the sophisticated typography shows that this magazine is very stylish and classy which would appeal to a wide audience as they would see themselves as that.

You are also able to tell that this magazine is high priced due to the fact that the magazine has a extremely simple layout, if you compare the lower priced magazines (‘TV Choice’ and ‘Star’) they are full of conventions also the colour scheme is extremely bright and very energetic this is to catch the consumers attention but when looking at the higher priced magazines their layout is a lot more plain and simple, this is because the magazines are so tell known they do not need to included lots of brightly coloured conventions e.g. pugs, also a full front cover could be seen a tacky The targeted audience for ‘ELLE’ magazine and ‘VOGUE’ magazine would most likely be young women aged from ‘16-30’ my reasons for this would be because the two high classed fashion magazines are based upon fashion and beauty, and the stereotype of a typical teenage woman would be to only care about fashion and beauty . Another reason why the younger female audience would want to purchase these high classes magazines would be because someone who inspires them may be in the magazine for example an interview or they may even be on the front cover an example of this would be when looking at ‘VOGUE’s’ magazine cover, Beyoncé is the main image, Beyoncé is globally famous and is a role model for many young women, so this would make the targeted audience want to purchase this magazine even more.