Magazine Analysis

MAGAZINE 2: ROCKSOUND

Introduction

Rock Sound is a British magazine which is mainly associated with rock music. It consists a series of interviews from well known band, as aweell as up and coming artists. It generally focuses on the pop, punk, pop-punk, emo, hard-core, post-hardcore, heavy metal and

extreme metal genres of rock music, rarely covering indie rock music at all. It is produced monthly by Freeway Press Inc., with a

circulation of 15,005.

My issue was issue no. 131 for January 2010, featuring You Me At Six as their main interview.

Front CoverLots of blacks and reds are used as the main

colour scheme of the cover, suggesting the violence and destruction that can relate to

the stereotypical image of a rock artist. This is also brought into the main image as well,

with all their clothes staying within the house design colour scheme.

The main image overlaps the masthead as if it’s jumping out at you. A hand from the

picture is also edited to look like its grabbing the cover line and ripping it apart,

with a font to make it look smashed because of this, that shows destruction and

informality present in this issue which relates to the rock genre. There is a use of three main fonts, each of a sans serif style which doesn’t come across as busy for the cover as there is a consistent use of them throughout the magazine. The cover lines are made up of alternate font colouring to make them stand out better and easier to read from a distance. Also the “brits on a

rampage” cover line Is made to look hand drawn, which makes it look like it has been

written on afterwards, as if defacing the magazine to show the rebellion of the people the article relates to, which is

subsequently the main image.

The main image is of members from the different bands listed on the right side of the cover. They almost create inferior for the reader as they appear to be jumping out at you in a rioting manor, with direct gaze included to show anger and destruction intended to engage the audience’s attention. Their pose shows craziness and excitement that will come from reading the article in the magazine,, that may justify their reasoning’s for pulling this position. Their outfits and style consists of a lot of black and red that not only fits well in the house design of the magazine, but convey the dark and worn attire that rock music relates itself to.

The Rocksound masthead is made up of a sans serif font in white and all in uppercase letters to show the importance and loudness of the magazine it’s related to. it appears to be scuffed on the edges, that removes the innocence that white may give, therefore making it bold for it to be noticeable on the shelf. It is hidden behind the main image that doesn’t seem to be a concern as it’s a recognisable house design that will be the same on every issue, therefore its target audience will know it is this magazine. The cover line appears to be smashed up by the people in the main image that says “We predict a riot”. This not only suggests that the people in the magazine are rampaging against rock music, but involves us in the generalisation of “we”, that connects the audience to the article and suggests we are doing the same by buying this magazine. The overall size of each feature is very clear and noticeable, with strong main image that will grab their attentions over everything.

Overall the front cover is very affective for grabbing the audience’s attention and to show this is a rock magazine. The strong main image gives a good indication to the crazy behaviour of the rock bands in the magazines, with a selection of cover lines supporting this madness. It relates to the interests of the reader through the choice of clothes and style in the main image, as well as the colour scheme of both the image and text, that relate to styles and ideas they might have as a rock fan. However the only way it may not address its some readers is

through the lack of liking any of the bands mentioned or arguing that all of the people on the cover are in their 20s, so not targeting at older rock fans.

Contents Page The colour scheme seems to bring

through the colours that were on the main cover and use for the contents page too,

showing the colour specification for the house design. The blacks, whites and reds perceive to be violent and rebellious that

links with the rock genre.

In terms of design, there are 4 man columns of text showing the different

articles, with the main image stretching across all of them for the top half of the magazine page. They show all to be in

boxes which makes it quite organised and formal, yet the area which the Editor has written on is made to look as if it’s a note

been ripped out of a note pad, showing some informality into the page and relating

to the rough look of rock stars. Like the front cover, there is a main mix of 4 fonts

that are used throughout the page and entire magazine, showing these are

consistent in house design and will be featured regularly. The use of 4 different

fonts and no more makes it a bit more crazy and irregular, yet not to much of a

mismatch and still looks professional. They could be seen to convey the information

from different musicians, and show the extent of how many different band with

different styles all fit under the same category of rock music.

On the contents page there are 3 images relating to the different articles and editorials of the magazine. The black and white image displaying the band Trash Talk is not posed, and shows them working in their natural environment. They are wearing their normal clothes for practicality and so none of it is for show, it’s just showing them playing good rock music. This gives us an insight to how bands work and practice together, which may be an inspiration for a reader. The other two images are posed, one relating to another article on Damian Abraham which brings humour to the pages he looks slightly deranged, which may relate to the crazy rioting of the front page but with a weak component of leaves as his weapon of destruction. You only know when you read the summary of the article to what the interview actually contains. The other image is of the editor of the magazine. He is wearing a t-shirt with a band logo on the front that already addressees the audiences interest, to show he is a fan of rock magazines and doesn’t just do a boring job. He’s also holding a megaphone described in the last sentence of the editorial that also creates humour because it compares with its loud and aggressive use on the front cover, in comparison to the editors confused attitude on how to work it on this page.

With each article there is a summary of what it’s about beneath it, that tends to include language features to draw the audience in. there’s evidence in alliteration for one article, saying “best new bands you have to know about” that really puts emphasis on the ‘b’ sounds. It’s quite a harsh sound that persuades you to read the article, that link to the aggressiveness of the front cover. They also use informal language in the editorial such as “Rocksound slaves” or “Happy snappers” that creates humour and makes the jobs sound more appealing and interesting.

Overall the contents page gives us a good idea what’s in the magazine, with many features that make it recognisable as a rock magazines contents page. They tackle the reader’s interests with the editor’s choice of shirt, articles they include and the eco symbol representing their concern for the environment so publishing it on recycled paper. Any rock related article seems to be covered, yet there seems a lack in any female artists mentioned or pictured, possibly showing a lack in female interest and only targeting its audience at men.

Double page spread

The image of the Alkaline band is them leaning against a wall, with the mise en scene of the image just a normal tiled wall suggesting this isn’t studio created so its less posed, making it more casual as if they were caught off guard. This way the audience can relate to these people as it shows them how they naturally are. The image is in black and white which can be linked with the band name “Alkaline”, the darker end of the ph scale that also relates to the repeated dark colours as the house design of the magazine. Colour doesn’t need to be used within this image as it won’t emphasis anything extraordinary as it’s just a normal image. They are wearing a lot of black and denim that relates with the rock and roll theme, as well as the tattoo sleeve on show that increases edginess to the band. He’s also holding a can of beer which reinforces the idea they are a stereotypical rock group, which are willing to let loose and have fun, or go crazy like the front cover shows. No special things are done to their hair or outfits so its just showing who they are. Overall this image represents the casual and relaxed nature of the band, who are ready to go back into the music industry but always have time to chill.

The double page spread features an interview with the band Alkaline, talking about their return to the music industry with the

release of their new single “This Addiction”.

The article is mainly black and white from the main image, so with no boarders around the page it’s a very plain page, with the exception of the yellow puff in the top left corner. The use of the bright optimistic colour in this advertisement suggests the exciting and good content available from this.

Like the contents page and front cover, there is a use of 4 different fonts that makes the article more appealing. The pull quotes of the text were written in a font that looked hand written style

that makes it more personal to the person who said it

and make it look like they’ve written it

themselves. The text is kept to the left of the pages

which makes most of the figures in the main image visible which conveys the

fact they are possibly more important than the words

themselves.

Overall I like the way this article is displayed, because of it honest insight to the band, which appeals to the audience to show their lives our like ours. It gives a good insight to what the article is about on first glance

and how there is extra content available that relates to this.