Monday, 7 February 2011

Evaluation of front pages of music magazines.



This front cover of the magazine NME follows major conventions of a music magazine with the use of a strong masterhead, effective mise-on-scene and also a well taken photograph. The actual magazine is well proportionately laid- out and easy to read for any consumer. I feel the magazine is generally aimed at older teenagers and young adults who are clearly interested in certain genres of music such as alternative, rock and indie. The layout is very clear and spacey but manages to show an ample amount of information about the issue of the magazine. It follows the general conventions in the layout as it has a Masterhead and the title of that specific issue. Both of these titles are big and mostly take up the majority of space on the front cover. The masterhead stays the same in every issue as it is seen as the logo of the magazine and is instantly recognisable to most people and so its alignment on the actual magazine stays exactly the same in every issue, so in this case it is the top left hand corner. This specific magazine uses a red, black and white colour scheme to represent their magazine. All of these colours are bright and stand out so this reflects the genre of the magazine and also is a way of attracting potential consumers.  There is a small item that is an advertisement for the actual magazine and not for that specific issue this is also written in the magazines colours so then it is recognisable to all consumers as an item attached to the magazine.  It is also in a circle shape this is the only specific shape used on the cover; all the other pieces of texts are just placed on their own with no border, but this example of text is in a circle so it is instantly drawn by the consumer’s eye and so is an effect way of advertising effectively. The image takes up the majority of the cover it is also the image so it keeps the magazine layout simple so it doesn’t overcrowd the main features and it also makes the image stand out a lot more. It is placed behind so other titles and images can be placed on top to also give the idea of more space. The shot taken to produce the image is a medium close up this works well as it only shows the shoulders and heads of the band and so the consumer can easily see the expressions on their face and this is a way of the consumer feeling as if the models are directly looking at them and so makes the magazine feel more personal.  The fact that the band are all male may also be an advantage to the magazine as females are more likely to buy this than males and it is a common fact that women spend much more money on magazines than males. This specific issue seems to follows a nautical theme with the use of red blue and white colour scheme I feel this was used as the bands interview was taken in the summer and the photos are of the band on the beach as the editor  of the magazine maybe felt this theme should be used throughout.




This particular front cover of Q magazine uses a cartoon like image across the page; this is because the main feature being “the Gorillaz” is shown to the public in the form of cartoon characters and so their form is through cartoon so this had to be used in the magazine.The whole image takes up the main eye line of the front cover; it is very bright and eye catching with strong use of primary colours. There is a text box at the side being the cover line of that specific issue of Q. Its quirky slogan connects to the picture precisely. Actual photographs of people are used but are covered in a blue tinted colour to represent the sea and so it still follows the cartoon theme of the front cover. Across the top of the magazine cover is in black and white so this becomes easily attracted by the reader eye and it reads a quote saying "The Uk's biggest music magazine" this is a clear example of advertisement and with it being at the top and in a completely contrasting colour compared to the other colours used it entirely draws the reader’s eyes to it. I think this magazine could be aimed for a younger audience being teenagers but also any adults above the age of 21, it looks intellectual but also fun and stylish. But I also think it is aimed for a male audience because at the bottom of the page there is advertisement saying what is in the magazine and the topics used are sex, drugs and a football these are typical topics that would stereotypically attract any male and would be seen in any male magazine. The Masthead of the actual magazine remains the same for every issue it stays matching with the colours and the actual geographical alignment of the title remains in the left top hand side corner. The fonts used are simple and bold different sizes are used on different areas the colours of the fonts used are mainly red and white to follow the colour scheme that is associated with the magazine because they are the colours used in the title picture.



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