Magazine analysis

Magazine analysis

Kristin Lone

Q Magazine

• Published by Bauer Media

• Circulation: 89,450

• Readership: 550,000

• ‘Q is a bastian for music of substance – guiding its readers through just the good stuff in all forms of music each month via its unparalleled access and Q Review, the world’s biggest and best music guide.’

MOJO Magazine

• Published by Bauer Media



• Running once a month, this is an exclusive and intimate series of live performances from a selection of music’s top talent. The Stereophonics kicked this off with their first acoustic show for 7 years, being joined onstage for the encore by the rock legend that is Ronnie wood of The Rolling Stones.

NME Magazine

• Published by ICP Media



• Not surprisingly NME readers are completely obsessed by music. Reader research has demonstrated that they rely on the editorial and the ads to keep them up to date with new music. This knowledge then makes them the authority in music in their peer group.

Masthead - White serif font in on a red background. The font used makes the

Headline – Black sans serif font on grey background.

Plug – in a different

colour than the colour scheme to

light to draw attention Main image – Long shot taken in a

studio. Band wearing grey and blue in contrast to red used for the text.

Vocalist and front figure of the band in the front, with the most

recognizable face. Shot taken in a high angle, shows that the band has

power.

Layout – The colour scheme is red, white and grey. Not many colours are used, but the red makes the cover stand out.

Sub headings – to inform about the content of the magazine, mentions the

artist in white font which stands out, and a simple

description of each

Sub image - gives the readers a sneak peak of the content

The text in capital letters. Simple language used limit

the amount of text.

The text is divided into two columns on each side of the page, makes the main image stand out more

Sub heading – informs about reviews of artists inside the magazine. The word essential is used to make the reader think he have to read it

A quote from the front figure in the band pictured in the main image, gives a sneak

peak of the content

Text divided into three columns. The three pictures in the middle column are placed inside these

columns to make the page look organized

Main image - Long shot of band wearing black on a beach with the sun lighting from

behind. The band members are smiling

and looks relaxed. The colours in the picture

are warm and dark with contrast to the

sky in the background.

Three sub images – all

of them pictures

from concerts to

show the band “in action”.

Headline – half in white and half in black to contrast the twodifferent backgrounds, in sans serif font in capitol letters. Theheadline is an alliteration.

The colour scheme is black, white and blue

The number three is used

several times. There are three

sisters, the headline consists

of three words, there are three columns of text

and there are three images in

the mid column.

From the layout of the page, the reader

wouldn’t necessarily recognize in which

magazine the double page is, therefore the

magazine logo is placed in the bottom left corner of the page

Layout – Using the colours red, white and black. White and black non serif fonts in capital letters.

Simple, structured and clean. The different sections are in different

colours to separate them from each other.

Main image – taken in a studio, close up of the artist. The artist

looks serious and mysterious. The lighting comes from on side of her face and creates a shadow on the

other side of her face. The colours are warm, her skin looks pink

which makes her seem young and healthy.

Sub image – Medium shot of two band members sitting in a

sofa. They are wearing dark clothes, one with a white t-

shirt, and they seem relaxed. The colours are dark and manly.

The image is of men, possibly to show that there are not only

articles about women in the magazine

Sub headings – breaking up the content into sections.

Page divided into three columns

The whole page is filled with either text or pictures.

One of the themes is “women in music” which is why the main picture on the page is of Adele. The headline is written in italic which makes it stand out from the rest of the content. The background of “women in music” is in grey, making it stand out from the rest of the content.

The colour scheme of the contents page is the same as the colour scheme on the front page; red,

white, grey and black. The red is recognizable and when watching

these colours together, the reader will associate them with the

magazine

Masthead – White sans serif font with a grey shadow in

capitol letters

Main image – medium close up of artist in black and white. The artist has long hair and is wearing black.

Only the face is showing in the dark picture with focus on the

artist’s eyes.

Sub images – both of them are medium close up. The artist are

dressed in black with a light grey background. The colours follows the colour scheme of

the rest of the page

Colour scheme – Grey, white, blue and orange. Simple, dark colours, makes the magazine look manly.

Plug – draws attention

Many artists on mentioned on the front cover are quite old artists, the black and white makes the front cover look retro to reflect these old artists

The language used is simple with as few words as possible. Under each artist listed there

is a simple description of them.

Buzz word

Colour scheme – blue and dark grey with a white background. The little use of colours on this double page matches the front page of the magazine.

The black and white image takes up the whole left page. The shot is a close up. The artist is wearing a scarf around his neck and has a serious

The quote takes up half the right page. The rest of the page is filled with text. The name of the artist is highlighted in a different colour than the rest of the text. Also, important words are in bold letters.

The layout is simple. There are three different sections of the double page.The text is divided into two columns, but with a box of information breaking the two columns.

The two different sides of the double page contrasts each other. The picture is dark, while the right side of the page is light.

The contrast between the angry look and the light layout of the right page is possibly made to illustrate how the tough-looking artist is opening up in the article

The layout is quite modern, compared to the front page and the contents page, as the article is about a modern artist.

Main image – artist in medium shot in black and white. Image

with lighting from one side which creates shadow on one side of the artist’s face. The artist is wearing

black, contrasting the white background of the page. The artist is sitting while leaning on a guitar.

Colour scheme – Black and dark red on a white

background.

Layout – Simple, sophisticated and retro. Thin lines are dividing up the text into different sections. There only are two elements on the

page, the text and the one picture. The reader must rely on the text to see what the content is, but the “cover

story” is a big enough artist to attract the reader

Sub headings divide the content into sections.

Quote on the bottom of the

page to give the readers a sneak

peak of the content

Text is shaped around

the image, makes the image the

main focus on the

page

The retro layout matches the retro layout on the front page. The

contents shows that the magazine focuses on older music.

Headline - In pink capital letters in the same colour as the artist’s

lipstick.

Masthead – In red, white and black. The colours of the masthead is used for the rest of the text

Main image - a medium shot of the band with the front

figure in the front, taken in a studio. All the band members

are wearing black. The focus is on the front figure because her

head is placed in front of the masthead, while the other

members are placed behind the masthead. Her read hair is

the only bit of colour in the picture

The colour scheme – In the bottom of the page, the main picture makes covers the page in black and the text is in white, while on the top of the page, the background is light grey and the text is

in black.

The language used is quite minimal. The artists featured in the magazine is listed up, but without any description. The text under the headline makes the reader curious about the band.

Unlike many other front covers, the focus on the main image is in a horizontal view, although the image is vertical because the text is placed and the bottom and the top of the page. Only one vertical column is used on the left page of the page.

The page is divided into

columns breaking up

the text around the

pictures.

The main picture takes up half the page and spreads over four columns. The picture is

taken in a concert from behind, showing a concert from the band’s perspective.

The first letter of each paragraph is in a serif font. The big letter makes it easier to find the different paragraphs which makes it easier to start or continue reading

Colour scheme – black and green. The green used as a background behind parts of the quote is the same colour as the light in the main image

The images shows the band in different situations, which illustrates the content of the article.

Headline – in capitol letters, text placed on the centre of the page

The most important parts of the content of the magazine are shown through pictures, it gives the reader a better sneak peak than textIn the corner of each picture the page number in big bold font, which makes it easy to see.

The layout of the page a bit busy because the picture with the page numbers are not in the right order, but it is easy for the reader to see what the content is because the most important parts are represented with a picture.

The language used is surprising. The quotes are taken straight out of the articles and out of context which makes the reader curious of the rest of the article.

The colour scheme is black and white. There are no colours on the page other than the images and the ad in the bottom right corner.

The less important parts of the content is listed under “plus”.

Education

Magazine analysis