Analysis of magazine front coversCover 1.NME Sept 2009 Dizzee Rascal Edition

• NME (New Music Express), is a British based monthly magazine which was first published on March 1952.

• The publication started off as a music newspaper .However, it gradually moved toward a magazine format in the 1980s.

• It was one of the first British paper to include elements such as a singles chart and in the 1970s it became the best-selling British music newspaper.

• It was the first British paper to include a singles chartStatistical Information

Circulation88,420

Readership473,000

ABC1 Profile68%

Median Age29

Male 75%Female 25%

TARGET AUDIENCE OF THIS MAGAZINE

Target audience Profile I believe the magazine NME is directed at young people in their teenage years up to the age of 25. I have come to this conclusion due to the style of the magazine. The bold texts and vibrant colours stand out to attract those in their younger years due to the fact that young people would need colours, images and lots of writing to attract them, this would not be a technique used in magazines aimed at older people because they are more interested in the stories the issue contains rather than it’s physical appearance.

A magazine revolving around classical genre is an example of a magazine targeted at older people. This is portrayed through the sophisticated style and writing opposed to the fun and quirky theme of this cover. The informality in the writing makes it even more obvious that it is aimed at younger individuals, this because they are the type of people that would go to events such as gigs and music festivals which would mean that they would want to read up on the latest gossip associated with their favourite bands and artists.

The magazine costs £2.20 which is an affordable price for all social class groups.

The main image of Dizzee Rascal dominates the cover. he is looking straight at the camera and is

wearing simple attire that match the brand’s colour scheme( being red, white and black). The

gold chain however, relates back to the hip-hop theme of the cover ( as rappers are usually

known for wearing lots of gold chains and jewellery) he may be differentiating himself from the

stereotype as he is wearing one, simple chain. The white vest also known as a ‘wife beater’ may be

a connotation of masculinity. The hip hop artist is on the cover because the targeted audience

are able to relate to the musician, due to reasons such as his age and the genre of his music.

In the following magazine cover NME follows basic music magazine features

however uses elements to differentiate itself from other magazines.

the masthead is located on the top left corner of the magazine. This means

that it is the first thing the reader sees. The letters are written in capital

letters, this is deliberate due to factors such as , it allows readers to easily

recognise the brand. Or it would appeal to the male audience ( which are

the main target audience) as the bold capital letters may symbolise power

( being big) as men usually like being powerful. The bold, san serif letters are

written in red, white and black , the have used theses neutral colours

because it would appeal not only to the male gender but to the female gender

as well. The colour coordination creates brand recognition, by using these

three main colours (red, white and black) the magazine looks professional

sophisticated)

He is smiling because it associates with the main article “ I’m spreading joy around the world,

man!”. He is used as a persuasion because fans of the artist will be encouraged to buy the

issue to learn more about the musician. By using the rule of thirds, it allows the artist to

have eye contact with the reader.

Another method of creating a brand identity is the typography used. There are various fonts

and sizes deliberately used for each feature. The font usually relates to the level of

importance of the featured story. E.g. The main featured story anchors the main image. This

allows the readers to know who the artist is. It is written in the biggest and boldest font to

emphasise the domination the article has on this issue. Editors usually feature celebrities that

are in the spotlight. Those who are a fan of Dizzee Rascal would be attracted to the big bold

letters. The artist’s name and pull quote are written in a different colour to the other

features. This allows them to stand out and shows their importance.

The use of a pull quote gives the reader a subtle insight about the contents of the article

however, editors do not usually give too much information so that the target readership would

buy it to find out more.

flashes are usually fun and exciting and would appeal to the reader (especially this target

audience as they are fairly young). The use of colloquial language ‘ wowee’ and ‘zowee’

make it sound more interesting and relates back to the young target audience.

The header located above the masthead is probably the next most important featured story which

in this case is ‘’16 page autumn tour special !” it is written in a serif font which differentiates it from

the rest of the fonts and appears more sophisticated. The featured stories are all related back to

music which indicates the magazine’s only objective is to highlight the music industry. ( this contrast

with other magazines that include elements such as politics, fashion and movie/television

programme reviews) The footer, allows the readers to know who else is featured in the

magazine( Jay-Z , Paramore …) By featuring a combination of artists that categorise into different

genres, it gives the magazine the opportunity to attract a wider range of audience.

The sell/cover lines are essential to literally sell the magazine to the audience. It

immediately gives the readers an insight of the magazine and what articles it will contain

the urban background is full of graffiti. This represents the stereotype of the hip hop

culture, as this particular ethnic culture is associated with the gangster/ghetto lifestyle.

However, the colours create a vibrant and trendy atmosphere as the shades compliment the

cover ‘s colour scheme and the artist’s image(style) as well. Each of the colours have

different connotations.

White symbolises purity and innocence, where as the colour black represents death and power.

These two colours may represent the stereotypical features of men and women ( hence making

them neutral colours)

The cover contains basic elements that any magazine would have including a barcode, issue date

and price ( which are all located at the bottom right corner) these are essential for any magazine

that wants to be sold. The price allows readers to know whether or not the publication is within

their price range, the date let’s them know how new the issue is. Over all the magazine would

attract it’s specific target audience successfully by using the appropriate conventions. However,

because it is aimed at a younger audience it may benefit from adding more images and featured

articles.

METHODS USED TO ATTRACT THIS TARGET AUDIENCE ARE:

Bold writing immediately catches the eyes

The use of a young hip artist.

Bright and vibrant colours

Variety of featured artists in the magazine

The eye contact produced through the rule of thirds

The use of colloquial language

Front cover analysis of Q magazine starring Lily Allen

• Q magazine is a popular UK based music magazine. It was first published in October 1986, and was found by David Hepworth and Mark Ellen.

• It differentiated itself from other music press by having higher quality standards of art and printing at this time.

• It was originally known as Cue magazine ( referring back to the term cueing a record etc.) However, it may have been mistaken for a snooker magazine.

• On their 200th issue the name was shortened to a single letter title, due to the fact that it would be more prominent on newsstands.

Statistical information on the target audience

In the following magazine cover Q follows basic music magazine features however uses elements to

differentiate itself from other magazines.

The masthead is hugely displayed on the top left corner of the cover, the large font used allows

the reader to immediately identify the magazine from far away. Since people read from left to right

the masthead would be the first thing they see. The colour red is striking and instantly catches the

eye. The selling line right underneath the masthead is: ‘ A different take on music’ is used as a

USP (Unique selling point) differentiating the publication and brand altogether from any other

music magazine, as they claim to have a diverse view on the music industry.

The one main main image here, dominates the cover. The whole image is sensual due to various

reasons. There is a long shot of the famous singer ( Lilly Allen) topless. The starlet is topless to

appeal to the male gender. The shot is of her back however, her face is tilted to face the camera,

this may be deliberate to represent the sophistication of the magazine , by not revealing too much

of the artist (as they say less is more). Her finger is positioned in her mouth and she is giving the

camera a seductive look which is supported by the bold grey eye shadow and the way her hair is

hung off her shoulders. She is dressed in black and silver clothing which compliments the colour

of her hair (raven) and the colours of the issue as a whole. She is surrounded by two panthers,.

this conveys and relates back to the erotic theme of the cover and may represent the singer’s

alter ego.

Black panthers generally symbolise feminism, ferocity, power and heroism, this may symbolise

the fact singer as it takes bravery to be photographed topless. The symbolism of power is used by

having a female on the cover. Since men are usually associated with the word power or strength

the magazine may want to differentiate their brand from the gender stereotype.

The layout of the magazine is presented professionally and in a sophisticated manor , this

indicates that it is aimed at an older age group and is shown through elements such as the lack of

images that a younger audience would be more attracted too and even the fact that the starlet is

shirtless. The quality of the images are of high standards (as they want to maintain their award

winning photography). The plain grey background compliment the colour scheme and diverts all

focus onto the artist herself. It allows the words to stand out and would not distract audience from

reading the writing on the cover.

The theme of the issue also compliments the brands main colour scheme white, black and red.

This is one form of creating brand identity. The colour red generally associates with lust and

beauty this identifies with the theme of the cover. The colour black connotes ideas such as

mystery, sophistication and darkness. Here, the colour black represents the edginess of Lilly Allen,

she however contrast with the colour white used in the fonts. This is because white connotes

purity, innocence and virginity, here the singer stimulates the idea of darkness however, the look

she is giving to the camera looks slightly innocent.

The fact that the main cover story is written in black and white connotes that the singer is in limbo

between good and evil. The panther on the right is slightly covering the ‘L’ in her surname, this means

editors are confident that fans of the infamous artists would know her last name is ‘ALLEN’ even though

it somewhat looks the word ‘ALIEN’

The words ‘sexy beast’ in the cover lines are deliberately placed as they are associated with the

panthers. The word repetition of the word ‘wicked’ emphasises the ferocity of the singer. It is

highlighted in red because the colour red also connotes the idea of anger, rage and cruelty.

The layout of the magazine is presented professional manor , this indicates that it is aimed at an older

age group and is shown through elements such as the lack of images ( which younger audience would

be more attracted too )and even the fact that the starlet is shirtless. The quality of the images are of

high standards (as they want to maintain their award winning photography). The plain grey

background compliment the colour scheme and diverts all focus onto the artist herself. It allows the

words to stand out and would not distract audience from reading the writing on the cover.

The design of the page is simple yet sophisticated. There are various featured stories including ‘ How

to buy Queen’ and ‘ the 25 greatest rock movies’ ( presented in a form of a flash) this feature allows the

publication to reach out to a wider range of audience ( by attracting movie enthusiasts however,

relating it back to the music industry)

The typography used is another form of brand identity. The magazine uses various fonts

and sizes. The size is usually measured to the importance of the featured story. E.g. since

the main featured story is about Lily Allen her name is placed right in the mid centre of the

cover and is written in bold, capital letters that stand out. And then there are random font

sizes and fonts displayed on the top left corner of the magazine describing the featured

stories.

The language used is proper and smooth which clearly indicates that they are aiming at

an older audience. The articles used are unbiased and can attract both sexes. As the genre

of the magazine is associated with rock these rock bands would be familiar to the target

audience. The fact that U2 and OASIS written in big, black and bold letters , immediately

gives the readers an insight of the magazine and the genre the issue will be focusing on.

There is no header located however, as usual the footer gives the readers and insight on

other articles featured in the magazine.

The cover contains basic elements that any magazine would have including a barcode,

issue date and price ( which are all located at the bottom right corner) these are essential

for any magazine that wants to be sold. The price allows readers to know whether or not

the publication is within their price range, the date let’s them know how new the issue is.

Overall the magazine successfully justifies what target audience they are aiming their

publication at, by using the appropriate elements such as language, layout, and colours.

Front cover analysis of Q magazine starring Bono issue January 2006

In the following magazine cover Q follows basic music magazine features however uses

elements to differentiate itself from other magazines.

The masthead /title is located on the top left corner of the magazine however, is majorly

covered by a close up of the Bono. This suggests that editors at Q are very confident about

their brand recognition since almost half the title is missing.

the main and only image is a close up of the artist, Bono. He is wearing his signature

sunglasses which Bono fans would immediately distinguish . He is staring directly at the

camera with a serious somehow moody look on his face. The dominant image may

represent power as the singer does look slightly intimidating. Audience can only see a little

more than half of the singer’s face and the light is glistening off his shades, this makes it

slightly harder to identify the artist.

The only featured story ( aside from the footer) ‘ The man of the year Bono’ shows the

importance of the interview as it is the only one displayed. This makes the publication less

attractive as it is dull and boring and readers would expect more news from a monthly.

the pull quote is subtly displayed on the top right of the magazine ‘I’d be a good pope.’

the simple sentence uses colloquial language as I’d is an informal way of saying I would.

The short sentence is quite strange and may be offending to religious readers, this may persuade the readers to buy the magazine and to carry on

reading the article.

The selling line ‘s main priority is to literally sell the magazine to the audience. ‘ The essential music guide’ informs the readers that this

magazine is a must-have to be connected to and learn about latest news within the music industry.

The footer is subtly located at the bottom of the magazine in extremely small writing. This gives the readers an insight of what else the magazine

will be containing. ‘ all the month’s albums, gigs movies & DVD’s reviewed and rated’ this suggests that they are trying to widen their audience by

reaching not only music fanatics but movie enthusiasts as well. The stars near review adds a visual effect to the footer.

In general this cover lacks various conventions such as featured stories and puffs. This would immensely affect the issue do to the fact that it would

not catch the consumers eye and there may be less sales compared to other months. The layout is monotonous and lacks specific conventions to

differentiate the magazine from any other. However, on a general note it does follow the basic conventions of any magazine thus, less unique than

competing music publications.

Front cover analysis of Classic FM magazine starring Vanessa Mae

The Classic FM Magazine was a UK based music monthly. It was the printed organ of the British classical commercial music station Classic Fm. The magazine contained features such as reviews of classical recordings and live performances and often included tracks from recent releases on its cover disk.

Unfortunately, In January 2012 the magazine announced that it will be terminated the last issue was published in March 2012

Classic FM’s core audience is 30+.It attracts the largest upmarket audience in commercial radio: 69% of its audience are ABC1.

Classic FM’s fresh approach to music encourages new audiences to experience and enjoy the brand. They have begun to widen their target audience to classical enthusiasts between the ages 18-60.

Classic FM’s passion is making classical music a part of everyone's lives, regardless of age or background.

Target Audience Classic FM Information and

In the following magazine ‘Classic FM ‘ follows the basic convents of a general magazine

but specifically Classical music.

The masthead is displayed in the centre top of the magazine in a serif font. The font however is quite

slim and does not dominate the page as much as it does on other magazine covers, this may represent

the stereotypical female audience. The word classic itself implies that the magazine is aimed at older

individuals. The fact that the masthead faintly hides the artists forehead suggests that the editors at

classic FM are not as confident about their brand’s awareness as other magazines are ( Q) So some of

the Mise-en-scene is easily spotted. The colour scheme is neutral, this would appeal to both male and

female readers. This is one form of creating brand identity. The colours are formed of black, white and

red which seem to be a popular choice for various magazines. The colour Red generally associates

with ideas such as lust and beauty .The colour black connotes ideas such as mystery, sophistication

and darkness. Here, the colour black is not as striking as the other colours as it is only used for the

cover lines. The musician however, seems to associate with the colour white. This is because white

connotes purity, innocence and virginity, here the singer stimulates the idea of purity as she looks

quite angelic.

The medium shot of the artist dominates the whole page. Vanessa Mae is dressed in a flowy red

dress., this associates with the colour scheme of the magazine.

The fact that she is revealing barely any part of her body suggests that the magazine is aimed at a

more sophisticated audience ( as a young audience would prefer to see a baring celebrity on the

cover) The prompt in her hand ( violin) immediately tells the readers who do not know the artist

what her musical talent is ( this coveys the importance of Mise-en-scene) She is staring directly at

the camera with her red lips slightly opened. The plain greyish background suggests that

editors want all the focus to be on the artist herself.

The main cover line anchors the main image, this allows the readers to know who the

artist is for those who do not know her. Editors usually feature celebrities that are in the

spotlight. Those who are a fan of Vanessa Mae will be more likely to purchase the

magazine . It is written in a large red font which shows the importance of the significant

article as well as allows it to stand out from the rest of the featured stories

The header/sell line reveals that Classic FM is the UK’s best – selling classical music magazine.

The immediately allows readers to know that this is UK based . This would intrigue the audience

especially since ‘best - selling’ is written in a striking red. This attribute literally sells the magazine

to its audience.

The use of the flash located at the top right, is used as a persuasion technique. The word free would

directly interest a reader as it makes the price seem reasonable for the product they are receiving,.

However, the freebie is not technically “free” due to the fact that they are already paying for the

magazine itself.

The design of the page is simple yet sophisticated. There are various featured stories including

’Classic FM’s review Over 120 CD’s & DVD’s reviewed and rated’ ( presented in a form of a

flash) this feature allows the publication to reach out to a wider range of audience ( by attracting

movie enthusiasts however, relating it back to the music industry). This also allows the editors to add

their own personal touch to the issue by making sure the products are reviewed by Classic FM

themselves. The issue also features other various artists including Mario Lanza and Rach Ross Mozart.

This allows readers to have a variety of celebrities to read about . ‘ Full story nail-biting climax to Hall

of Fame’ the article creates a suspenseful vibe the words urge readers to carry on reading the article.

The Barcode is essential for every magazine that wants to be sold ! It allows the readers to know

whether or not the magazine is in their price range. It is a small box usually located at the bottom

right of the page ( stirring away from the main image) the fact that the magazine costs £3.99 suggests

that it is aimed at a more sophisticated and older audience due to the higher price compared to

other magazines.

Overall the magazine successfully conveys the appropriate conventions making it clear what target

audience they are aiming their publication at.