Front Cover Analysis

General layout/conventions In a general music magazine, conventionally the masthead is the biggest font on the page and is

usually at the very top, unless as skyline is presented above it. Pugs are used to present the edition and

the barcode, and more than likely the price of the magazine. Puffs are used to contain small pieces of

texts and are used to attract the reader to the text within them whether it be tops or posters. There is

usually a main sell lines written across the centre of the magazine, with a line of text underneath to

explain the headline. This also comes with many other sell lines around the main image to also attract

people to buy the magazine. The main image usually takes up the whole frame, and smaller images

known as feature article photos are also placed around the front cover to make it less word based and dull.

The Top of the Pops front cover maintains its brand identity by following similar layouts on every

front cover published. Top of the Pops is placed in the top left hand corner on every edition. A column

is placed vertically on the right or left hand side, altering on different editions. The pug is always placed in the bottom right hand corner, or sometimes the centre varying on the feature article photos.

Masthead

The masthead is Top of the Pops. It is written in a squared shape text box with stars across the top and

bottom, insinuating that the magazine provides the latest gossip about “stars” at the “top” of the pop

music industry and will therefore appeal to the target audience as that is what they aim to get from the

magazine. The stars also represent a fun, youthful and feminine feel.

The font type is Display as it is bold and bulky, standing out from the rest of the text on the front

cover. The “S” in “Pops” stands out the most in the masthead and helps the audience understand the

context of the magazine and more importantly that it is a magazine intended for a female audience.

The text itself is white and is placed on a hot pink squared background. This colour is often referred to

represent nurturing and love. This could imply the magazine is nurturing to its audience giving them

the latest news in the pop genre as they know the audience ‘love’ the information the magazine

provides them. As well as the idea that the audience and nurturing, loving and very fond of their

magazine as they see it like a friend!

There seems to be a small red monster in the “O” of “Top”. This little red monsters insinuates and

presents that the magazine is intended for a youthful audience - it is very unlikely that a red monster

would be published on the front of Cosmopolitan. It also creates a fun feel to the magazine, which

will help to attract its target audience.

Main Image

Rita Ora is the main image of the front cover. She is being represented as ‘cool’ and ‘pop diva’ as

stated on the main headline. The way she is styled allows the young girls reading the magazine to

admire her beauty as well as her fashion and aspire to be just like her.

Focusing on Rita herself, she is smiling in the image rather than pouting in an impolite and

inappropriate manner like artists on a rock magazine such as KERRANG! The idea she is smiling also

represents pop music itself, it is an upbeat genre, and aims to get people dancing and singing, and

smiling.

She is well presented in what she is wearing. She is wearing a black and gold t-shirt, reflecting her

edgy personality and variation between pop and R’n ’B music which is potentially why she is being

described as ‘cool’ because her outfit is not stereotypically a feminine outfit in comparison to

something Cheryl Cole would wear. However, it is appropriate and is not demeaning and revealing,

which is an important factor if young girls are reading this magazine, and they look up to Rita Ora in

particular.

Her makeup is done natural, on her face you can barely notice any trace of makeup it is only really

noticeable on her eyes and on her lips, which her bright red lipstick. Rita’s lipstick matches the

colours on the front page of the magazine, as the colour red crops up a lot. The colour red represents,

energy, passion and action. This highlights Rita as an artist as she is quite powerful as an artist and

does indeed have a powerful voice, she is also very passionate about her career and is full of energy

when performing!

Rita’s body positioning looks like she is sitting down with her hands around her neck - despite the fact

that it doesn't look like she is actually sitting down but seems to be the look that Top of the Pops was

looking for.

Readership could be influenced by the idea that if someone had never purchased ‘We Love Pop’

before and one of their favourite female artists is Rita Ora and they see her on the front, this would provoke and encourage them to buy it. Additionally, it will also draw in existing fans.

The background is white which is a popular choice on most pop magazine, and can be seen as a

convention. The main sell line is often written over the main image or close beside it. This gives a

clear indication of the idea that they belong together, so it is easier for the younger generation to

establish. Other feature article photographs are used in order to lure the target audience in even more

as they are made aware that more of their favourite artists have some part within the magazine. Not

only celebrities are used to invite the audience in but so are the latest fashion tips, appeal to another side of the audience. Fun puffs and colours are also used to reflect the age group of the audience.

Iconography of this particular cover of ‘We Love Pop’ could include the idea that all those present on

the cover are all smiling. This reflects the pop genre in the sense that they are all smiling and happy

creating a good and positive example for their fans as they are all role models and should therefore give of a good impression.

As pop is mainly attracted by young girls, the fact that the main image is of a ‘diva’ with in the

industry, it creates idolism as they would want to be just like her. Additionally by having male artists

such as Harry Styles, JLS, members of The Wanted and Lawson on the front it is more likely to have

an appeal than if a female artist was dominant on the front cover, despite young girls idolising female

artists, they tend to ‘fan girl’ more over male artists. Additionally, it is a convention that men tend dominate the front cover of magazines.

Lastly, the use of feature article photos allow the front cover to be more visually appealing to its audiences, reflecting their age group. If it was more word based, it could be a deterrent.

The photo’s of Harry, Taylor and Lawson, are all close ups of their face only. This is because the

boxes the images are placed in are only small themselves and take up a limited space of the front

cover. The close up allows the audience to see the celebrities facial expressions more clearly and also

allows the audiences to recognise the artists a lot more quickly (despite the writing being right next to

image - the audience are more likely to look at the picture first), then if it was a long shot or and

extreme long shot.

The photo of Harry anchors the caption “I pretended I’d kissed someone” because in the photo he has

a cheeky smile and this relates to the sell-line as pretending to kiss someone is a cheeky thing to do.

Also, it would encourage the reader to want to read this article, to find out who this “somebody” is. It

is also ironic, as he is an icon and many girls who have a ‘crush’ on him would love to have to

opportunity to kiss Harry, so it is unusual he is the one wanting to kiss someone and therefore

pretending to do so!

Taylor’s sell-line is regarding boy secrets and the sell-line is “are you still on her side?”. The photo of

her herself makes her look mischievous and up to no good, this reflects the word “secrets”. This photo

and sell line is intriguing to the reader because they would want to find out what the big secret is and to answer the question as to whether they are on her side or not.

The photo of Lawson is “boy exposed” which explains why his facial expression is so blank - as if he

had been ‘caught in the act’. This therefore relates back to the idea that he has been exposed. The sell

line to accompany it is “how to read lads’ minds”. This relates to Lawson being exposed and his facial

expression - but it also more of a general statement from the use of the word “lads” - its not a

particular or defiant person the article is referring to yet it is linked next to Lawson.

The photo of JLS as a band looks structured, although there is no main singer as such - Aston and JB

dominate the band with their strong vocals and it is therefore not surprising that they are placed in the

middle of the photo with Marvin and Oritse on either side of them. They are all wearing blue, which

connects them together as a boy band and reflects their unity. The colour blue is often known to

represent trust, loyalty and honesty which is convenient as they are three main components needed for

a band to be successful.

The rest of the feature article photo’s are placed in the bottom right hand corner, as they are going to

be the last thing the reader see. To emphasis that they are not the most important part of the front cover, it is highlight by the fact that the piece of text next to them merely says “also inside”.

This particular front cover has a combination of male and female artists - like many magazines do.

This means that the target audience can both swoon over her boy crush and look up to her girl ‘crush’

also. In this sense, she gets the best of both worlds, which will urge her to purchase a copy of the

magazine.

Sell-lines

The sell line in relation to the main sell line is “How cool is Rita Ora? The pop diva’s incredible rise

to the top... in her slippers!” the used of the word cool relates to the audience as it is terminology they

are familiar with, so it’s like they are conversing with a friend rather than reading a magazine.

Additionally, this is a well styled phrase as it is a phrase that the target audience will use on a daily

basis, for instance “how cold was it today?” and “how boring was that lesson?” this helps the target

audience to warm to the magazine and to see it as a friend thats on their wavelength. On top of this, it

is also a rhetorical question.

Other sell lines include “boy confessions”, “boy secrets” and “boys exposed” featuring Harry Styles,

Taylor Swift and Lawson. These sell lines will be enticing to the reader because there at an age where

they begin to value boys opinions and start having their first crush so they are going to want to reader about all their secrets and tips in order to apply them to their own life and boy scenarios at school.

There is an “also inside” list, this entices the reader as they would want to know what the magazine

has to say about more of their favourite artists and the only way to do this would be by purchasing the

magazine. I believe this could have potentially been split into at least one more sell line, it seems that

it was just written to add something extra to the page. Usually, the sell line with images structured like

that would be “free posters inside!” or something along those lines.

The mode of address used in the sell-lines makes the target audience more distinguished. Words such

as “cool” are used which reflect the audience perfectly, as they are young girls/early teens their

language in context to a magazine is informal and ‘slang words’ (buzz words) are used as a form of

communication. This is further highlighted by the fact some words are shortened, such as the word

celebrity. The word ‘celeb’ is used instead. The word diva is also used, which could be used as a slang

word. Even though it is often used as a negative word to describe someone (in adult context) for

young girls, being a diva is brilliant! And most young girls would want to act like a diva and believe

that diva’s such a Rita Ora are to be looked up to! In general, the wording is quite basic, the wording

is simple so that those from the age of 11-15 can read it with ease, without not understanding certain words, it is very appropriate for their age.

The sell-lines are placed vertically on the left hand side of the magazine in the left hand third. The

name of the artists is written in white with a pink background with a sneak peak of the article about

them written in red – as the sell line. With the artists name written in black. All the colours used are

conventionally used on a pop magazine and the style in which it is done also reflects one of a pop magazine.

Other sell lines are placed at the bottom of the page – these are, which look to be, smaller articles such

as “I’d lick someone toe!” indicating that the audience like surreal sell lines and would read

absolutely anything about their favourite celebrities. This also reflects age, and a touch of immaturity,

if that sell line was placed on a magazine such as Cosmopolitan, it is unlikely the target audience

would be diving in to read that article first.

Lastly, another sell line is written in a puff, a small shape with text inside. It is red in colour and

circular in shape. This makes it stand out more and red is a very bold colour, also its in its own little

space with very little surrounding it which helps to make it stand out even more. The content of the

puff is – “Your instant makeover. Fashion fixes in a flash”. This is an article the target audience

would perhaps be more interested in and it is placed in a puff to separate it from the other sell lines

which are about celebrities. However, this article would be useful for the girls reading it, as they

would only just be starting to use makeup and would therefore want tips on how to apply it just like their favourite artists apply theirs.

The layout of the sell-lines clearly indicates which are perhaps more important – those in the left hand third.

Layout

The layout is near enough the same on every edition of ‘Top of the Pops’, with few changes the positioning of the sell-lines. This helps to maintain the brand identity of the magazine.

The masthead is always placed on a slight slant in a squared text box in the top left hand corner. With

the main image just to the right of it, taking up the majority of the front cover, with sell lines placed

around it. The main sell line is always placed on the main image or right beside it to link the two together.

The choice of layout is clear, it does not look overly crowded, yet is jam packed which is perfect for

the younger audience and for celebrating a bubbly genre like pop. Also, it is easy to establish what is what and the content of the magazine.

The setup of this particular front cover is interesting in the use of colours and the general set up itself.

It is clear to the reader what is inside of the magazine. The feature photos are of a good size so they are easy to see but do not take up to much space, as is the text.

Fonts

The font used for the masthead, is its signature font that it is written in across every edition of the

magazine in order to maintain the brand identity of the magazine. On top of this, the BBC logo is also

written in its signature font to help the audience observe that it is actually a magazine provided for their entertainment by the BBC.

There are various fonts used across the front cover to make different text stand out in different ways.

There are four different fonts used, I think this is a good amount of fonts to use, if any more were, I

think it would degrade the front cover as it would differ to much. Also, it would make it look less professional.

Other than the masthead, the first font the audience comes across is “WHO STOLE TOM’S

SPEEDOS?” which is written in caps look and italics, it is a basic san serif font and is written in

white. The colour white is often referred to as a colour of innocence, contradicting the story itself, as

it is far from an innocent act. However, the colour white does go with the colour pink well, and helps

to make the front cover look more sophisticated and modern, rather than if the text was to be a

different colour such as blue. The same font was also used on the sell-lines on the left hand side. But

only the topic of the sel-lines, meaning: “BOY CONFESSIONS, BOY SECRETS and BOYS

EXPOSED.” The text again is written in white and a box is placed behind which is also pink. Creating

similarity on the front page. Another link between the two pieces of text is that they are both written

in capital letters. Once again, the same font is used again, in italics and caps lock, but this time it is

written in yellow the text says “JLS EXCLUSIVE”. The colour yellow relates to acquired knowledge

which ties in with the sell-line being “exclusive”. Lastly, this style of font is seen within the puff on the bottom right hand corner of the page with the text “YOUR INSTANT MAKEOVER”

The next type of font we are introduced to is the front used for the main part of the sell-line. First of

all, it starts with Harry written in capital letters, and the row beneath is where the rest of the sell-line

is written “I pretended I’d kissed someone”. The same layout is continued below with Taylor and

Lawson. The name of the artist is written in black, and the rest of the sell-line is written in pink,

mixing the colours up and creating a variety of colours on the front cover. The colour black is often

used as a classic font colour but also be referred to as having authority and power which theses artists

have due to their high positioning in the world. This text is also used for the main sell-line regarding

Rita Ora, the sell-line says “The pop diva’s incredible rise to the top...” which is written in black to

exemplify her dominance in the pop world. The last place we see this font is down in the bottom right

hand corner of the page, where there is several images of different artists within the “also inside” part

of the front cover, the font is used there in capital letters to list the names of the artists and is written

in yellow, the colour yellow can represent many different things, but it is the most bright and

recognisable colour and represents light, so this can represent that artists stardom and aims to make their names stand out.

The last few fonts look to be the same, however there might be two fonts used - however, they are the

biggest fonts in size and boldness enabling them to stand out the most on the page. Firstly, the font

used for “Rita Ora”, it is written in pink, representing her femininity. It is written in a san serif font,

however has a touch of handwritten font to is because of the way it flows which also represents the

idea it is a feminine style font. This can therefore be related back to the target audience of the

magazine which is 100% female, whereby Top of the Pops should be commended for their efforts to

satisfy and consider all part of their target audience. A similar font is used for the text “also inside”

however, it looks to be more of a bubble written font, in the colours pink and yellow, embracing the colours most related to the pop genre.

Colours

The colours used all reflect the genre of the magazine – they are all vibrant colours which match the

upbeat music produced in the pop industry. The same colours are used throughout the magazine as well as throughout different editions, maintaining the magazines brand identity.

The colour pink is the most commonly used colour throughout this edition of Top of the Pop . This

could perhaps be because the target audience is infact 100% female so it makes sense that the main

colour featuring would be pink as this is stereotypically the most recognisable female colour.

The colour red represents passion and energy. In this context, red could be used to represent the target

audiences passion for pop music, as well as their artists themselves passion towards what they do and

how they therefore put their energy into supporting the pop culture - and the artists energy in performing for those who share the same musical desires for music as they do.

The colour yellow as previously mentioned is the brightest colour, it represents acquired knowledge,

and Top of the Pops is a magazine regarding the lives of celebrities and is therefore showing its knowledge on the latest news and updates is brings its audience on a monthly basis.