Magazine Analysis – NME

Front Cover:

Colour scheme – The colour scheme of this front cover is black, red, white and gold. Black, red and white are typical colours for a music magazine, expecially of the rock genre which this one is. I think gold has been chosen because it is a special awards issue and the connotations of gold are wealth, winning, and high quality so this gives the impression that the awards are high quality and much desired, meaning that this magazine is well respected and a quality magazine because it has it’s own awards.

Photography – There are lots of pictures present on this cover and the central image is made up of smaller posed images of artists with their awards all looking at the camera with one of the artists a lot closer to the camera holding his award up which is very attention grabbing and anyone that looks at this front cover will take their time to see what artist are present and will hopefully want to open the magazine and read it. A lot of the artists present on the cover are very popular right now, people such as The Killers and Florence from Florence and the Machine and so this will be very appealing to anyone looking at this cover. There are also 4 smaller images of the posters that are inside this magazine, 3 of these are posed studio shots and one is a live gig shot, there are all again of popular artists that are appropriate to this genre so will be appealing to the target audience.

Writing Style – There is hardly any writing on this page, and most of it is just the names of the artists in the pictures. However there are a few brief phrases at the top which explain other articles that are in this magazine, the language here is brief, they are just phrases to attract attention rather than proper sentences. There is a puff just underneath the masthead and this has a quote in it saying ‘Did his fucking cat direct his new video?’ and this is obviously a funny quote but also controversial so will definitely make people want to pick up the magazine and read what else has been said. Also the use of a swear word makes the magazine seem more down to earth and the target audience of young adults will find it appealing because that is the kind of language they are likely to use. Also underneath the main coverline it says ‘godlike genius Johnny Marr invites you inside the messiest part of the year’ and a lot of this is very appealing to the audience. Firstly it uses direct address where it says ‘you’ and that makes the person looking at the magazine feel like it is being said to them personally and therefore will want to get the magazine, also it says he is a godlike genius which makes him sound very good and so shows that if the magazine has quality artists in it then it will be a quality magazine.

Overall look – This front cover is one of the most appealing I have looked at, it has a lot of pictures but doesn’t look cluttered because the background is just plain white and none of the main fonts are too fancy so it is all clear and neat. The gold writing of the masthead and main cover line and pictures of famous artists makes me think that the content of this magazine is going to be quality and something that I definitely want to read. However I think using the same colour for the masthead and cover line makes the masthead not as distinctive as it should be and look like just another cover line instead of the name of the magazine. I also don’t think the puff stands out enough because it blends in with the bright red jumper that one of the pictures artists is wearing.

Text/picture Ratio – This page is definitely more picture heavy and the writing isn’t really sentences or anything, it’s just names and phrases. I think it’s important for a front cover to have more picture than writing because pften people are just scanning their eyes over th covers of magazines and do not want to read a lot of writing, they will be more attracted to pictures. Because it is a music magazine it is also important to have lots of picture of artists that the audience will be familiar with rather than just masses of text because that would be more appropriate for a computer or gaming magazine, or maybe a magazine aimed at older adults.

Fonts – A lot of the writing on this cover is in capitals letters which is something I have found to be very common on music magazines and it makes what is being said look very important, it is very attention grabbing and therefore effective for use on magazine covers. Most of the writing on this page is in a plain and simple font because there is so much going on with the different pictures that if the font was fancy or swirly then it might all get a bit much. However there are a few examples of a more fancy font used for the posters and this is ok because it is red font on a white background so is easy to read.

Publisher – NME is published by IPC Media. This is the only music magazine that they publish, however they are a very large company and publish many other kinds of magazine. NME is a media brand and is accessible across many media platforms, for example it has it’s own TV and radio channels. It is said to reach over 1.1 millions fans every week.

Contents Page:

Colour scheme – This contents page is mainly black and white with small amounts of red and so is fitting with the theme of the front cover. Because it is mainly black it looks quite plain and boring however the red page numbers stand out a lot and the page is very easy to navigate around so it works well as a contents page. It would be inappropriate to have lots of bright colours or colours that are gneder specific such as pink because it then wouldn’t appeal to everyone in the target audience.

Photography – The main photography on this page is of Noel Gallagher who is a massive person in the music industry, so straight away that grabs the reader’s attention. There are a mixture of posed and live shots and only a few have been taken in a studio. The use of posed studio images makes the artists look desireable and the audience want to look like them whereas the use of live images from gigs or festivals are very appealing to the fans of this genre of music because that is how they like to enjoy the music and how they spend a lot of their time.

Writing style – There are a lot of quotes on this page and they are all from artists and all saying controversial or humorous things which will be appealing to the audience because they are the kind that like to have a laugh and do lots of wild things.  The language is colloquial and friendly which will make the fans feel as though the magazine will be an easy read and will not be too serious, the use of phrases such as ‘orgasmic bunny’ and ‘apocalyptic thunderbolts’ gives the magazine a jokey tone and is entertaining.

Overall look – I don’t personally think this contents page is very appealing because it is quite bland and the main picture that you see when you first look at it is of Noel and isn’t massively attractive. However it works well and is easy to work your way around, it is all very square and neat which is good because it is clear but also means that nothing really jumps out at you.

Text/picture ratio – I think the amount of text and pictures is quite even and neither of them take attention away from the other. However the title is very large and takes a lot of the attention, but then so is the picture in the middle of Noel. I think on a contents page it’s important to have plenty of writing to explain what’s on the pages but also to have some pictures of the artists so the fans want to read on, which is what has been done here. The rest of the pictures are a suitable size and there is a suitable amount of writing to make sure the page is not completely boring.

Fonts – Once again a lot of the writing is in capitals and this makes it easy to read and makes it all look like it needs to be read. Most of the writing is in a plain clear sans serif font and some is bold, some is normal and some is italics so you can decipher between the different sections. The main quote that has been said by Noel Gallagher is in a more fancy font which appears to be in italics and so gives it emphasis and makes it seem important, it also helps you to imagine the tone that he said it in.

Double Page Spread:

Colour scheme – This double page spread is linked to the main article on the front cover and so the colour scheme is the same which is good because the reader is the aware that they are linked and so will want to read this story as it is the most important.

Photography – The main image of this spread is very eye catching, it shows Johnny Marr holding up his award and staring at the camera, which makes the reader feel like he is looking at them and so will read the story. There are also some smaller images of fans but they are just live shots from when they made their quotes and none of them take up too much attention.

Writing style – The tone is chatty and colloquial, so the fans feel comfortable reading it, if it was too serious then they may feel that it will not be fun to read and so will stop reading. Howver the use of phrases such as ‘never been his style’ are colloquial and friendly and make people feel that the lives of these celebrities is accessible and they can read about them. The use of the metaphor ‘from god to god’ also has the same effect. The article itself is very small and the rest of the writing is mainly quotes from other people so will be colloquial as it is in spoken mode.

Overall look – I think this double page spread looks appealing because there aren’t any massive chunks of texts but there also isn’t lots of picture to make it look too busy. The use of a large picture and a large title and then not a lot of other stuff works well and looks quite classy and quality, it makes the other stuff speak for itself, proving that it is a good article so it doesn’t need lots of other stuff going on.

Text/picture ratio – There is definitely more text on this page however the main picture takes up a lot of room and grabs a lot of attention therefore making the text less significant. I think it works well because the text is all broken down into small chunks and so is easy to digest and doesn’t look too scary to read. Too much text can be offputting, but the fans obviously want to read something, not just look at pictures. The pull quote of the main body text is also places right in the centre of both columns which makes it stand out a lot and makes it appear significant and important to the story, so I think that works well.

Fonts – The fonts are a mixture of plain serif and sans serif and are all clear and easy to read. Fancy fonts would be inappropriate for this magazine because the target audience are young adults that listen to rock music so would not find any swirly lettering attractive. The title where it says ‘Johnny Marr’ is in capitals and the letters are quite spaced out from each other, this draws more attention to it and makes it seem grand, therefore showing that the artist who this article is written about is important and will make the reader want to read it.

Magazine Analysis – Metal Hammer

Front Cover:

Colour scheme – The colour scheme of this front cover is black, white and a bright luminous green. The background, the picture and the writing is all mainly dark and this reflects the genre of music of the magazine because it is a heavy metal magazine and this music is often associated with dark colours and dark feelings. The luminous green is a chemical looking colour and is associated with toxic things and this will have been used for that reason because it will be attractive the the audience of this magazine, it also stands out a lot from the other dark colours. Just underneath the masthead there is a section of text which could be seen as a puff because it is surrounded by a splat of the luminous green colour, this is very effective because it stands out so much from the dark colours of the central image so as soon as you look at the magazine you see this and the word ‘free’ in capital letters which will attract anyone’s attention.

Photography – There is only one image on this magazine cover and it is very striking, it is the main focus of the whole page. It is a posed studio shot but has obviously been heavily edited to add in the background and the flies flying out of his mouth and his arms. This image has been edited to appear like this because it looks scary and angry and so will be appealing to the target audience because a lot of the music is angry and so they will be aware that this magazine fits into the genre they are interested in. The man in this image is also very well known within the heavy metal genre.

Writing style – There are no large paragraphs of writing on this cover, there are mainly subheadings which are the names of bands and a few little tag lines underneath them. Of the writing that there is, there are no proper sentences as such, just phrases and this is appealing to the audience because they are young adults and teenagers and so will not be willing to read long sentences on the cover of a magazine.

Text\picture ratio – There is only one picture on this page, however it is a very large picture which means that it is more the focus than any of the writing. Some of the writing is also very large, especially the masthead and this is eye-catching but not as prominent as the central image. I believe this is because the picture of this famous artist will be more appealing to the audience than lots of words or lots of small pictures. The fact that there is only one picture draws a lot more attention to it.

Fonts – Pretty much all of the writing on this cover is in capitals and this gives the impression that it is being shouted in the same way that most of the lyrics to a song in this genre would be sang. Some of the words are in a sans serif font and some are in a serif font however they all look fairly medieval and this is definitely appealing to the audience because the traditional, creepy and gothic style is very closely associated with the heavy metal genre. The name of the band ‘Machine Head’ is used as the main cover line and is in a fancy font that looks as though it has been scratched into the page and this is to make the magazine look less neat and clean because that would not at all be appealing to the target audience.

Publisher – The Magazine was originally published by Dennis Publishing but is now by Future Publishing. They are market leaders in Technology, Cycling and Games multi media products and are expanding their digital publishing in the hope that they can reach new audiences worldwide. Future is also the biggest publisher of music-making and guitar magazines and publish magazines including Rhythm and Classic Rock which are both aimed at the same sort of target audience that Metal Hammer is.

Contents Page:

Colour scheme – The colour scheme of the contents page is slightly different to the front cover and is predominantly black, white and red with small amounts of dark yellow here and there. Black, white and red is a very common colour scheme for alternative, rock and metal magazines and these three colours are always associated with music magazines.

Photography – There are only 4 small images on the contents section of this page and one is of the front cover, two are of double page spreads within the magazine and the last one is of a girl in a bra who would be found attractive by the target audience of this magazine because it is mainly teenage and young adult males.

Writing style – There are a few little tags underneath all the headings for each page and most of these are rhetorical questions or puns or contain alliteration which make them all attractive and are features of persuasive writing so the audience will be persuaded to read the features. There are lots of words that appear in the semantic field of heavy metal such as ‘brutal’, ‘angular’, ‘futuristic’ and ‘thrash’ which are obviously appealing to heavy metal fans because they use these words in everyday life and so will feel comfortable with the magazine.

Overall look – The contents page itself is very small and not eye-catching at all, it only takes up half a page and actually isn’t as prominent as the article that is on the other half of the page because the article has a black background whereas the contents section has a white background. The only thing that I think is effective about the contents is the fact that the names of the bands and artists are bold and prominent and therefore eye catching.

Text/picture ratio – The contents section of the page is very text heavy and the pictures are not at all eye catching. The headings are the most prominent part and this is because they are famous artists names and so will be attractive to anyone reading this magazine that is interested in the genre of music.

Fonts – The font used for all of the headings is a serif font and is gothic looking. It has also been made to look distressed and worn out as though it has been beaten. This is linked to the music genre of heavy metal because a lot of the logos for bands in this genre look old and ruined and so this becomes associated with that genre and then appealing to the target audience. Also, the headings themselves are a lot bigger than the other writing on the page and so they catch the readers eye immediately and will make them want to read the magazine because they are names of famous bands and artists within heavy metal.

Double page spread:

Colour scheme – The colour scheme of these two pages is the same as the contents page and the rest of the magazine. It is dark with the three main colours of black, red and white with some yellow in it. This is all typical of a music magazine and works well because the colours all stand out against each other.

Photography – There is one large image used as the background over these two pages and it is a poses shot on location showing all the band members looking serious on the roof of a skyscraper, the image is very dark and so fits in with the colour scheme and the dark image that heavy metal portrays. There are a few smaller images down the right hand side of other similar bands but the images are all similar to the background image. I think this kind of image is appealing to heavy metal fans because they like angry, serious music and so a bright and happy image would not be appropriate.

Writing style – The body text is split into small paragraphs however it is still one large bit of writing which does not necessarily look appealing to read. However the tone is colloquial and friendly and the use of subject specific lexis such as ‘djent’ and ‘electronica’and so will make the reader feel comfortable reading it whereas a serious tone would make them not want to read it at all. However I find it interesting that no pull quotes have been used in the body text because without them it just looks like one big section of text and could be viewed as boring and unappealing.

Overall look – Overall this double page spread is very appealing, the dark image in contrast to the large white heading and the different sections highlighted in red make the page neat and clear and east to navigate around. The colours and images all fit well into the heavy metal genre and I think this page has been done well. The drop capital used at the beginning of the body text is very large and very bold so will attract the readers attention and will draw them into reading the body text.

Text/picture ratio – I think the percentage of the two pages dedicated to each pictures and text is about equal however there are only a few pictures compared to the amount of text, one of the pictures is just very large. It’s more appealing to the target audience to have equal amounts of text and images because they are young so don’t want a page full of text to read but old enough to be able and want to read something substantial.

Survey Results Analysis

http://prezi.com/qcr7z5qgfo6k/survey-results-analysis/?auth_key=011d144e3cb6e3847446ccc3751c78d0e33080b5&kw=view-qcr7z5qgfo6k&rc=ref-20552943

Audience Research

I have created a survey using SurveyMonkey.com in order to find out what my target market expect to see and what they would like too see in a music magazine. I have also asked their opinions on the colour scheme and name of the magazine. I hope that this survey will give me a clear idea of what sort of artists will appear in my magazine and what sort of contents the magazine would have. I expect to find that red, black and white are the most popular colours for the colour scheme because they are typical colours for a music magazine but I am not yet sure which artists will be more popular. I think interviews and reviews will be the most popular articles and that the audience won’t want to pay more than £3 for the magazine.

I will get my friends between the ages of 16 and 20 who have similar music taste to me to complete this survey, they are mostly interested in alternative, hardcore and rock music.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/V2K6PG6

These are some screen shots of my survey questions…

Photography Techniques Research

If I was writing an article for a rock music magazine about a band who were once very popular but had split up a few years ago and were now reforming and set to tour the country I would use a mixture of studio and live photographs to support the article. The band’s returned is much awaited and their tour is set to be a sellout because they were selling out arenas before they split up. The article covers the reason why they split, why they are reforming and just how amazing the tour will be.

For the front cover I would use a studio shot of all the band members looking at the camera because this catches the audiences attention as they think they are looking at them personally.

Conception

The images will be appealing to the target audience for many reasons. The live photos of the band playing at gigs before they split up will attract the audience because they look fun and show how amazing the band were before. Also, rock magazines often use live pictures of gigs and such because this is what the audience associate with the music and this is how much of the audience like to spend their time. The studio photo’s will show the band in a more mature light, looking clean and fresh and ready to go as though any past problems are now sorted. Studio photos also make the article seem more high quality.

Shot Distance

The images used of gigs would have no depth of field because this would make them look more real, the reader would not be impressed with a live photo that has been edited. However the central image on the front page which is a studio shot of the band would have a shallower depth of field and the front man of the band would be the most in focus because he is the most famous and this would attract more attention to him. Depth of field os not used often in rock magazines, because the audience aren’t bothered about edited and perfect pictures, they like the real messy pictures.

Colour and Resolution

The images will not be too bright and will stick mainly to the primary colours. Some images will be in black and white as well because this is a typical convention of rock magazines, they don’t often have bright, vibrant colours in the images they use.

Framing and Composition

Most of the live shots of the gigs will be long shots that show all of or most of the band on stage and will show them jumping around and having a good time. There will also be an extreme long shot that shows the band and a massive crowd at one of their gigs. This will show the audience what an amazing time they can have watching this band and will show that they are a popular band and so they should read the article. The central image for the front cover and they few other studio shots used around the article will be medium shots and will focus just on the people in the band, showing them looking serious because they are serious about their return but also a few showing them messing around to show that they are still fun and still friends.

Mise en scene

The gig images will be dark because the gigs are always at night or in dark rooms however there will be bright lights shining on the band members which highlight and emphasise them. The members will all look like they’re having an amazing time and the extreme long shot will show all the fans jumping around and looking ecstatic. In the studio shots it will show the band all stood close together, for the central image they will just all look neat and fresh, looking into the camera lens so will look very posed but for the other studio images they will be fooling around with each other, laughing and hugging, just looking happy and having fun, these will be studio shots but won’t be posed. These will be appealing to the audience because they want to go to these gigs and have fun and also they like to see that the artists they like are down to earth and like to fool around and have fun just like they do.

Magazine Logo Analysis

These two logo’s are for very popular music magazines. They are both similar in some ways yet different in other ways.

Both the logos are just black and white which is simple and bold, however the Mojo logo has a small amount of red. The Mojo logo has a black font and this makes it look classy and understated and the use of a simple and clean font gives the impression that the magazine is not tacky and will contain quality articles and features. Also the use of small red words in a calligraphy style font gives the impression of good quality.

The Kerrang! logo is reversed out and the contrast between the white writing and black background is very striking and eye catching. The letters are all in capitals and the use of an exclamation mark at the end gives the impression that the title is being shouted at the reader and this is relevant to the genre of music that the magazine contains which is rock/metal. Also the white lines that go through the letters of this logo create a smashed glass effect, this is effective because the music genres that are included in this magazine are associated a lot with drums and cymbals and it creates the idea of the logo being smashed in the way drums are but also that the music is played so loud it smashed glass. Also the word ‘Kerrang’ is almost like onomatopoeia because it sounds like a cymbal being hit or a guitar string being pulled and is therefore relevant to the genres of the magazine because they are very focused on the instruments.

Magazine Analysis – Q magazine

Front cover

Colour scheme – The three main colours used for this front cover are black, white and red which are typical colours for a magazine in the music genre and especially for rock or alternative music magazines which is what Q is. Gold is also used for some of the main writing and this is because the connotations of the colour gold are wealth and luxury and so it is appealing to the target audience. Although there are only four colours used for the writing and the logo, there are a lot of album covers that are brightly coloured all over the front cover and this makes the cover look bright and interesting and will appeal to the target audience.

Photography – There are a lot of pictures on this front cover and this is appealing because it shows that there is a lot of content in the magazine. The central image is actually four separate pictures of famous music artists that are put next to each other to create one image. All the images are mid shots showing the torso and head of the artists and are studio shots where the artists are posing, not natural. I think this shows that the magazine is high quality, whereas other magazine in this genre tend to use live images of gigs and such, Q has decided to use posed shots and this makes it appear classy in comparison. Also the target audience are more young to middle aged adults and therefore posed pictures would appeal to them more than gig pictures.

There are also two secondary pictures of popular artists which are natural images and will grab the attention of the audience because they will want to know the story behind these pictures.

Finally there are over twenty famous album covers bordering the main part of the front cover and this makes it look very bright and busy and the use of all these famous albums will attract the audience because they are more likely to be familiar with these albums and they will buy a magazine if theyl know the artists that will be featured in it.

Writing style – There are quite a few examples of slang and colloquial language used in the front cover. They have even made a word up, ‘amazingness’. The use of slang words such as ‘f***ing cosmic’ and the colloquial language such as ‘airborne fiasco’ are appealing to the target audience because they show a level of informality and fun, making the audience aware that the magazine is not too serious and won’t be too hard to read. This also shows that the target audience are young adults because children and elderly people would not read a magazine with a swear word on the front page.

Overall look – The name of the magazine is very prominent and this is because it is a very well known and respected music magazine and therefore will immediately catch people attention. There are lots of pictures and lots of text which makes the magazine look busy and full but is also calmed down by the use of a simple font and only black, white and red text. The front page looks neat and high quality but also fun to read and is very attractive to people who are into music.

Text/picture ratio – I think there are an equal amount of pictures as there is text on the front cover. The top half is more text heavy whereas the bottom half is more picture heavy but overall neither of them are overly prominent. I think a lot of pictures would not be appealing to the target audience because they like to read about the artists not just see pictures of them and a lot of text would look boring to anyone so having an equal ratio is a good and appealing choice to the target audience.

Fonts – Most of the text on the front cover and all of the coverlines are in capitals and in a simple sans serif font which makes the cover look neat and is very easy to read. However the font for the main coverline ‘Perfect Playlists for every occasion’ is a serif font and is effective because it gives the impression of luxury and perfection which is obvioulsy appealing, especially in the music world where it indicates good quality music.

Publisher – Q is published in the UK by Bauer London Lifestyle Ltd which is a division of Bauer Consumer Media Ltd. They also have music channels, radio stations and publish many other magazines in different genres but also music magazines such as Kerrang! and MOJO which are of a similar genre to Q.

Contents page

Colour scheme – These two pages are very bright although the colour scheme remains simple. The three main colours are black, white and red which is keeping with the colour scheme of the front cover. The background of the contents pages is just white and this is because it helps to keep the page looking clean and fresh even though there is a lot going on on it, if they had used a colour it may look scruffy and complicated. A mixture of red, black and white has been used to the writing and this helps to separate each section of writing and makes the pages easier to read and navigate around.

Photography – There are lots of pictures on the contents pages and this makes them look exciting and busy and also makes it clear that the magazine is full of exciting stories. Most of the pictures are live and are natural shots from gigs and gatherings which are very common of rock and indie music magazines which this magazine is and  this is because the target audience like to attend gigs and festivals and so these pictures will be appealing to them. There are a few posed studio shots but they are posed in a way which makes the artists look like they are messing around and having fun so they are not too serious. In all the pictures the focus is on the artists because that’s what the features are all about and that’s what the audience buy the magazine to read about.

Writing style – There are no large sections or paragraphs of writing on the contents pages, just small sections to briefly explain what some of the features are about. The language is colloquial but there are no offensive slang words used, this is because the target audience are more into quality and therefore do not want trashy language in the magazine, however they still want it to be colloquial so they feel they can connect with it and it is easy to read. A lot of puns and play on words have been used and this is attractive to the audience because they like to have fun and nobody wants to read a magazine that is serious and boring.

Overall look – The overall appearance of the contents page is busy and full, it indicates that this magazine has a lot of contents. However, I personally think it might not be organised enough for the audience to easily locate what they are looking for. The first page is good and appealing because it has large images of artists and then large text with each image saying the page number and what the feature is about. However, the second page is more of a list and none of the text really stands out so the page numbers and feature titles will not attract the readers attention. I think the contents pages are appropriate for the style of magazine that this is because they feature pictures of well known and loved artists and are not too brightly coloured or in your face.

Text/picture ratio – I would say that these two pages are very picture heavy and the text definitely does not appear as important as the pictures. The text is all quite small and unappealing whereas the pictures are large and bold and fairly colourful. I think this is because the main selling points of this magazine are that it features gossip and information on popular music artists and therefore having lots of pictures of them makes the audience aware that they are going to be reading a lot about them.

Fonts – There is a mixture of serif and sans serif fonts used over these two pages however the headings and titles are all sans serif and the little paragraphs underneath the titles are serif. Also a lot of the headings are in capitals letters and this gives the impression of importance and urgency to read the articles, it also makes them stand out and the audience imagine them being shouted. Sans serif is a more modern and fresh looking font and that is why it has been used for the titles, to give the impression of modernity and up to date information. The fonts are all plain and this shows a level of maturity and quality because if they had used lots of fancy and swirly fonts then it may look tacky and would not at all be appealing to the audience or appropriate for this genre of magazine.

 

Double page spread

Colour scheme – The colour scheme of this double page spread is very basic, it is mianly black and white will little splashed of red. This is the colour scheme for the whole magazine and is simple so works very well. The article looks classy and sophisticated.

Photography – There are two live but posed photographs from the past which are showing the subject back when he was at his peak. These are effective because they will attract readers and make them reminisce and engage with the article if they can remember him at that time. There is also one large studio shot that is obviously posed and this takes pride of place. It shows Danny Baker pulling a funny face and this shows that he is a funny guy and will attract the readers attention as he is looking directly at the camera and therefore they will feel as though he is looking personally at them and so will be likely to read the article.

Writing style – This article is very long and is set out in four columns on each page. It looks quite daunting to read however it is broken down into question and answer and so it is in small chunks and therefore easier to digest. The language itself is quite sophisticated which makes the audience believe everything that is being said. Much of the article is actually a transcript of an interview, however the language is still sophisticated. There are a few colloquilaisms within this article but that just makes it more entertaining and down to earth. There are also some swear words but this is not seen unusual or offensive by the target audience of this magazine, and it will in fact be appealing to them.

Overall look – This article appears very factual and sophisticated and has no bright colours which almost proves that it has enough quality content that it doesn’t need bold and bright colours. It may look boring to some people but I think it’s aimed at older teenagers and people who are very interested in music and all the people involved in music so it would in fact be very appealing to them.

Text/picture ratio – This double page spread is very text heavy and the emphasis is on what is in the text rather than the pictures. However the main picture of Danny Baker himself is very large and eye catching, so it takes pride of place and does distract away from the text a little bit. The fact that there aren’t many pictures makes the pictures that are there stand out.

Fonts – The fonts used over this article are very plain but this is because the writing is small and there is a lot of it so if they were fancy fonts then it would be very hard to read and the reader wouldn’t bother with it. The questions are in bold and there are a sans serif font whereas the answers are a serif font and this is just because the general rule is that headings are sans serif and body text is serif. It has been proven that sans serif text is easier to read in big paragraphs and this si why it has been used for the main body text of this double page spread. There is not real heading to this article, there is a quote which is in capitals and in serif font and then Danny Baker’s name which is also in capitals but in a sans serif font. The capitals have been used to be eye catching and look loud, as though they are being shouted and this is effective and will draw the reader in.

Magazine Genres

There are around 3000 different magazines available in the UK, and of these magazines there are many different genres and subgenres that they fit into. Here are a few of the different genres and subgenres that are available in the UK:

• Music – different music genres, instruments
• Cooking – baking, health foods
• Lifestyle
• Fashion – hairstyles, clothing
• Celebrity
• Camping
• Sports – fishing, cycling, motorsport, football
• Photography
• Arts and Crafts – knitting, card making
• Gaming
• Film and TV – film reviews, TV guides
• Health and Fitness
• Gadgets
• Holidays
• Trade Journals

Magazine Case Study

Title – Q (music magazine)

Price – £3.99

Frequency – monthly

Freebies – none

Target audience – 16-35, very interested in music

Front Cover:

Front cover design – pictures of well known artists, lots of famous album covers

Typography – mainly plain, in capitals, red white and gold. Main coverline uses a more fancy font.

The cover appeals to it’s target audience because it has pictures of a few very big artists and a lot of classic album covers that they will be familiar with. The coverline ‘Perfect Playlists’ is very appealing because the connotations of perfect are luxury and of the very best so people will want to know more about that.

Inside the magazine:

There is a wide range of genres covered in this magazine, including pop, rock, RnB and Indie, however it features artists from all these genres that are very popular and who everybody knows. There are many interviews, reviews and adverts, with a letters page and a welcome page.

Most of the pictures within the magazine are of celebrities and the purpose of this is to make the reader want to know about the lives of these people, because they look so glam and their lifestyle looks so good.

The adverts within the magazine are for things such as technology like Microsoft, Albums, Jack Daniels and Merchandise for well known artists.

The articles are in depth and most of them are based on interviews with artists, the vocabulary used for them is formal but also uses some slang and colloquial language to make it more entertaining and easier for the audience to read. There are also many examples of subject specific lexis within the semantic field of the music industry and this is because the magazine is about music and so the readers will understand what is being said.

There is a lot of news features and up and coming features within this magazine.

Title – Glamour (women’s magazine)

Price – £2

Frequency – weekly

Target audience – teenage – young adult women

Front cover:

The fonts that are used for the front cover are quite plain and clear, but not in capitals like the music magazine. The colour scheme is pink, orange and black and the writing is in all of these colours. The cover appeals to its target audience because it is bright and girly and features a central image of Katy Perry who women are all familiar with and the target audience look up to her and aspire to be like her. Their main sell line is ‘602 hot new looks’ and this is appealing to women because they always want to look good and are looking for tips and tricks to improve their image.

Inside the magazine:

The content of this magazine is based around gossip and fashion. There are articles on celebrities and fashion, there is advice on different things that women are interested in, there are entertainment pages and a mail page. Most of the pictures are of celebrities or models wearing stylish clothes and looking glamorous and appealing, these pictures suggest that wearing the right clothes and being like a celebrity will make you happy. Most of the adverts within this magazine are for fashion brands. The articles that are within this magazine aren’t too in depth and are full of gossip with a chatty tone to them.

Music Magazines

1. Q

Articles – shows/tours that are up and coming, interviews with people, debates about recording and live gigs, how much bands are getting paid.

Features – welcome page, subscription and credits, adverts for tours and merchandise, recommendations and reviews, mail page, competitions, interviews, funny pictures of celebrities.

Colour scheme – red, black and white (some gold)

Audience – teenagers to young adults, interested in indie and alternative music.

2. Rhythm

Articles – interviews with drummers for well known bands, session drummers fo well known artists and drum teachers.

Features – ‘Hello!’ page, news, music to play/learn, adverts, album reviews, drum and cymbal reviews.

Colour scheme – white, light blue and yellow.

Audience – drummers interested in heavy music.

3. Metal Hamer

Articles – bands that have albums or tours out soon, features and interviews with bands returning back into the music scene.

Features – adverts for instruments, merchandise, tours and albums, reviews for tours and albums, news and comments, interviews about the tattoo’s of popular band members.

Colour scheme – red, black and white.

Audience – teenagers to young adults interested in heavy metal music.