Music Magazine Analysis

Cover Pages

Contents Pages

Double Page Spreads

Magazine Cover Analysis

masthead

Lead article

Pull Quote – a direct quote from the artists in the lead article. Cover lines

Main image

Sky line

The left third – where the magazines are stacked to show the left third in news agents.

The Z Format – where your eye naturally falls as you read from left to right, then the image draws you eye down the page and then across the bottom.

The Rolling Stone’s masthead uses the same font style in every issues creating its house style, which is the style of font, colour or layout which is unique and consistent with that particular magazine, helping readers to identify the brand.

This design layout is a poster-style showing the singer face in the centre and slightly to the left as the left third is the part of the magazine first seen by readers, the image of a major music icon like Madonna should attract a large audience.

This front cover relies almost entirely on the main image to sell the issues with just the masthead, a lead article and a sky line. The image is in black and white, using the greyscale to soften and blend the background. The front cover uses a classic way of showing a single image of the singer, with the face big enough to stand out at the news stands, with the singer making eye-contact with the audience to draw them in.

With the masthead in yellow allowing the branding of the magazine to help with the sale. The main image is very picturesque and classic, appealing to a more sophisticated target audience. Giving the magazine much more of a intellectual, academic and serious context then other music magazines like NME. This view is intensified by the cover article on Obama and the American political feature in this issue, adding a level of maturity.

In contrast to Blender, Rolling Stone does not advertise any freebees or giveaways in this issue, relying totally on the quality of the content of the issue and the recognition of a known name brand.

Lead articleMain image

Blender’s masthead and cover articles are using the same colours and font throughout the issue, creating a house style. Both the lead and cover articles and all listed in the left third of the magazine as this is the side seen first by customers.

This magazine is showing and solo artist in a poster-style format with a clean, white background, keeping the focus on the main image and the lead article. The artists name showing on the left third of the magazine, easily visible when stacked in news-agents which is consistent with this magazines’ house style as all Blender magazines are formatted in this way as a brand.

This image shows this artist to connect to the genre of music the audience likes in an attempt to sell more issues, also the skyline is used to advertise the freebees inside the issues. The cover articles also feature other artists, their names appear in bold in hopes of attracting a wider range of customers.

Cover lines

The left third

NME is the best example, out of the three magazine’s front covers of a Z format as it uses all of the elements needed to attract the readers eye. The masthead and pull quote are both in the house style, the whole cover is consistently using the house style colours of black white and red.

NME is relying on a large main cover line or the lead article with a pull quote from the band who are the main image on the cover. The main image show the lead singer in the centre of the magazine with the rest of the band to the side, the image is almost full length set against a brick background, creating a less glamorous, more street-smart image.

This front cover has much more of a low-key, low maintenance feel to it. The layout of the cover is much less formal then the layout of Rolling Stone, which has a very minimalist look to it. This magazine cover uses both a skyline and cover lines running along the bottom, to attract the readers. This magazine seems less sophisticated then the Rolling Stone cover, appealing perhaps to wider, less specific audience, dealing with music in a less serious, more fun, light-hearted way. The use of a banner on top of the lead article adds to the magazines playful image, working to attract the more visual, practical readers then the academic.

Pull quote

Masthead

Contents Page Analysis

The Rolling Stones contents page is split up on to two pages, one page in mainly image based with the main features displayed along the bottom in a menu style format. The contents page is in keeping with the house style and colour scheme introduced on the cover page, with the individual articles sectioned off into boxes. Pictures are used to emphasise the themes of the magazines contents also attracting more visually motivated readers on the second contents page, with lines splitting up the articles into subjects like features, news, reviews etc.

Pictures are supplemented with captions and page numbers to help capture visual readers, but still helping them navigate through the magazine.

Featured articles

This magazines contents is on two pages the first shows the main features in the issue so there titles are important and therefore are on the first page along with another main image of the featured artist. The second contents page has a more boxed format. Sectioning off the contents into portions. This contents page is split into main headings, giving the reader easy access to what interests them most, with images helping the reader identify what unique articles are in this months issue.

continuing with the magazines house style the contents page has been titled to make it easier for the readers to find out where the different subject areas are in this issues.

The contents page has also used some pictures to help illustrate the articles featured in the issues, again making it easier for the readers to identify the section that interested them most and the corresponding page number which will hold this article.

Main image

Featured articles

Special features and current affairs

The main role of the contents page is to

help the reader navigate through the magazine so the contents titles are important and therefore have a clear link to the corresponding page number, which has been printed in a different colour to the rest of the text, drawing the readers eye to the article.

Unlike the other two magazines contents pages, NME have opted for a largely pictorial based contents page to in keep with their house style. Most of the cover articles have a corresponding picture to them, featuring the artist or band that the article is about. They have also used block colour as a way of grabbing the audiences eye, with a box style format, separating the text and making it clear to identify which page number goes with which article.

Pictures are used to illustrate and identify the different articles in this issue of NME.

Also uses brushes and computer graphics to add detail and dept to the images.

Advertising new downloads – appealing to a younger audience.

Double Page Spread – DPS Analysis

This DPS is laid out in two halves, one half is picture-led and the other is text-led, organized into one block paragraph, flush left and right. The main image on the left has been chosen to link with the front cover page main image, again an image has been chosen which has the singer making eye-contact with the reader. This image shows the artist from her early years, again linking with the title of this article, showing the pop artist in the first year after releasing her album in 1984 as a new up and coming singer. They have used colour to highlight the title of this article, taking a pigmentation close to the shade of lipstick she is wearing in this picture and the text font is in keeping with the Rolling Stone house style for this issues as it is the same and the font on both the front cover page and the contents page of this magazine.

The journalist uses descriptive language in his account of Madonna’s lifestyle, showcasing her wealth, power and importance. The article has direct quotations for Madonna’s personal staff and later on from Madonna herself. This article’s VALS – values, aspirations and lifestyles is about inspiring the readers by showing how she started out and what she has achieved since then.

Headline

Direct quotations

Main image – poster style

For the Blender DPS – double page spread I choose a very different example to show the contrast between this magazine and the other two magazines, Rolling Stone and NME that I am analysing. The DPS is purely pictorial based, displaying an image of Kelly Clarkson as the artist feature in this issue. The image shows the Kelly singing in to a microphone as if on a stage in front of a live audience, showing her passion for what she does. This portrayal of her is edgy, high-energy and exciting, showing her as a hardcore singer/rock star which is supported by the choice of clothing as she is wearing an almost all in black outfit, tight, black trousers and a plastic looking black jacket. This DPS values fast pace, high-energy acts, promoting the feet first, all in philosophy, showing an up-beat, up-tempo lifestyle, for the readers to aspire and relate to.

Use of graphics to headline the feature and also add a sense of movement and energy with the faded out lines

Poster style image

This DPS article is laid out in three columns, and is mainly text-led with only two images, the main one on the left hand side. The main image is taken from an upward angle, so it looks like the band/group are looking down at the reader. The image shows the group ripping up newspapers, which links with the article itself as it is an interview, which is asking the viewers questions and putting aside all the incorrect reports.

The three members are all standing side-by-side and are dressed in suites, giving them a business like look about them, almost as if there are showing they mean business or that they are here to take care of business. The headline is a collection of the groups opinions about the questions the audience asked them. The use of bold lettering in some parts of the headline make it easier to read as it is quite long, and the use of the house style colour to identify one of the group members helps the reader understand who is being interviewed.

This article attempts to show the music business as more professional then just entertainment. Giving the group a chance to voice they opinions and answer the questions their fans want to know.

pull quoteHeadline Both colours

and bold text have been used to highlight the important information in the headline.