First Draft Of Front Cover

This is my first, unfinished draft of my music front cover. I don’t really like it very much when looking at again. However I was just playing with ideas before deciding on the final product.

Music Magazine DoublePageSpread Analysis'

The main image of the double page spread covers the whole of one side instantly informing the audience of what it is going to be about. As it has been placed on the right hand side of the cover, people will see instantaneously see this image before deciding whether or not they want to continue reading on with this article story. The cover story appears to almost be attacked by the letter ‘C’ which is likely to be used for Cheryl Cole. This gives the effect of danger or something going wrong, which may trigger the reader to read the story wanted to know more into it. At the very bottom left hand side corner, appears a pull quote which has been pulled out of the story in the intended manner to inform the audience a brief entail of what it is about in the hope that it will pull their interest towards reading the whole content.  Opposite this pull quote, we are shown another image of the model which relates to the bigger image on the other page. The smaller image looks as though it is intended for the purpose to give another informative detail to the content to give the readers a bigger chunk of information to persuade them to read the article.

A colour scheme of red and black has clearly been used, and is very affective as it almost triggers that there is danger within the life of Cheryl Cole, or stereotypically presuming that something has gone wrong for her once again. Cheryl is shown just in the colour black in both images which could connote that this is going to be rock based with the studs shown on her clothing in the main big image and the style of her posture.

The title of the page is clearly obvious as the text is written in a dark, bold font whilst being placed on a highlighted yellow background. This gives the reader the impression that this text is needed because it is important. The magazine would attract both male and female genders as it has cleverly used different artists to be introduced within this magazine also to attract the audience to read. Rihanna is a well known R&B icon along with Drake who is also another very well known icon for R&B. This influences a wider audience to purchase the magazine meaning it is spread along more of an audience instead of targeting a specific audience. The cover story is all about Rihanna, so when informing the audience about what the story is about, they have purposely ensured that her name is of higher importance than Drake’s by editing her name to be bigger than his. The images of previous photographs of Rihanna with different hairstyles can be seen targeting toward a female gender as they are able to copy the hairstyles of her if she is an icon to them. It could also be seen targeting toward a male gender also due to the blue font and also the images of Rihanna which men might like to look at if they are interested in her. The main image stands out as it is directly in the middle of the page and Rihanna is looking directly towards the audience this is a conventional approach. Another main attraction goes down to the terminal area. The first thing you see is a little yellow box that has a sub title saying ‘along similar lines’ it is short and catchy which will make people want to read it. The colour scheme is in yellow, black and white. This is effective as they all stand out when they are put together as they are contrasting colours. The background of this article is in white which makes everything else on the page stand out and putting the side column with a black background makes it stand out. These features make the magazine more appealing to the audience and therefore may choose this over others on the market. This page consists of more pictures than text as for this age group are not as likely to be as interested in reading the articles. The article is promoting Rihanna's new single which is also shown in the page title which makes it sound catchy. The text is also persuasive which will persuade the audience to buy/listen to Rihanna's new single.

Music Magazine Content Page Analysis'

This magazine includes a page title of 'Contents' this informs the reader of what is on this page. It also has a 'features' section which includes everything in the magazine. It has an 'Oasis special' this will be aimed at fans of Oasis another persuasive device to get people to buy it. The colour scheme is continuous as the colours of red and black has carried on. This magazine contains a large, bold font. As I researched various magazine's I realised that 'Q' contents pages and covers all use the same layout on each page to keep it consistent. The letter 'Q' is used on every page which could be seen as their "stamp". The 'Q' means 'quality'. Their use of the colour red, white and black shows consists well together and stands out. This could also make the magazine type and genre more recognisable. They use a review box which can be read quickly. They put the headlines in capital letters to make it more noticeable. The main image is placed to the right of the page which will be noticed straight away as the reader turns onto this page. Having a contents page makes an overview of the magazine and informs the reader what is in it and where. The image is a long shot which shows the whole body, this works well for the magazine as it makes it the main focus. The target market of this magazine is fans of rock as shown by using rock artists to represent and appeal to the target audience. The artists in this magazine are shown to have attitude and to look professional.

'NME' was published in 1952 they have an audience of 16-26 year olds, the genre is indie/rock. This magazine was the first british paper to include a singles chart and was the best selling British music magazine in 1970. This is a contents page of 'NME' which is clearly marked on the magazine in the red font (logo) this is followed by 'this week' showing what is in the magazine. Every section has a heading of the category e.g. 'news'. The headings make it easier for the reader to read the page they want to. The main image is unusually a music venue instead of an artist however, many famous have performed here. Readers will be interested in this to find out more on the recent news. This magazine has an advert for a magazine company which has relevance to this as you can buy NME on a subscription. The colour scheme carries on throughout the magazine as shown on this page (the consistent colours of red and black). The main image is in the centre of this page showing that this is the main focus and attraction. The target market of this magazine is fans of rock as it has rock artists included in the magazine and rock language which will appeal to the target audience.

The main image at the top is the band 'Escape the Fate' and the image could represent that the article is going to be based on this band. The image has a yellow banner which shows what band it is and the number ‘8’ appears beside it which is informing the audience that they will find this information on page 8.There are other images that appear within this contents page which suggests that there is a lot going on in this magazine. There is an image in a square box in the middle right hand side of the page with a band appearing inside. This also has another yellow banner which appears underneath the square box. By creating a yellow banner, this makes the writing eye catching for the audience. This is a good idea because it draws attention to the most relevant things immediately. In the banner it says 'Posters'. This informs the audience that within this magazine, they will be able to find some free posters. This is a good idea because it is engaging the audience in their magazine. It could also suggest that the image shown in the box is going to be one of the free posters you can receive. All of the subheadings are shown in a yellow bold font on top of a black background. This works well because it makes the subheadings stand out against the background which helps the audience to pinpoint the most important things on the page. There is a specific theme throughout the front cover which shows that all of the major headlines are in a yellow font with a black banner behind it and the rest of the writing is in a black font.

The theme of this contents page is to provide the audience with what is going to happen in this issue of Kerrang! Magazine. It also shows what articles are in this magazine and what bands/singers are featured. The contents page is also there to provide you with any special offers and will inform you on where to find them.

This magazine will probably be found in all supermarkets and mini license shops as it will appeal to most people. The publishers will definitely want as many people purchasing their magazine as possible. I think, this magazine will attract the attention of people aged between 15-30 purely because it is quite a general informative magazine. The bands that are featured within this magazine have written songs with quite explicit language and this is why it wouldn’t be aimed towards a younger audience.

Most people in this age group will be able to afford to pay £2 for this magazine given all the information that is inside it.

Music Magazine Front Cover Analysis'

The masthead on the front of this music magazine cover is big, bold and in red.

It is in the top left hand corner and can be seen clearly. It does not take up the full width of the top because it is short and snappy. Also NME is a very well-known music magazine and does not need to fill up space informing people who they are, as they already know.
The music magazine is aimed towards young people and the colour red could signify rebellion.
The photograph is the whole front cover, and gives off an ‘I’m not bothered what you think look’ this is appealing to young people as they want to appear the same way and get the same look. This will attract young people to purchase the magazine as they will want to get involved and gain role models for themselves.
Beside the photograph is ‘MIA’ also big, bold and red. This is to attract the audience by telling them that within their magazine is going to be information about someone important. They will see it is someone important when looking at the magazine as she appears in the photograph.
At the top right hand corner of the magazine cover it says ‘INTRODUCING THE NEW NME,
8&10 SPECIAL EDITION COVERS’. It isn’t as clear to see the top line but informing the audience that there is going to be special edition covers will encourage people to purchase the magazine. In the bottom right hand corner of the magazine are some sub-headings of important names after the heading ‘THE STATE OF MUSIC TODAY by’ this emphasises the importance of this magazine and that it is a well-known magazine. It must be a popular choice of magazine to have a lot of important people featuring in it.

This magazine cover also features a barcode to scan and a price to inform the audience how much they’re going to have to pay for this magazine. These are done at the bottom of the page as they are less important and have no effect on the readers opinion.

The institution of NME music magazine is IPC Media and is a popular magazine; it has been published weekly since 1952. It was the biggest selling music magazine (then newspaper)
The masthead on the front cover of this magazine is in the top left hand corner and is bold. This is done to help the audiene recognise which magazine it is.
Underneath the masthead shows a black circle that reads ‘JACK WHITE’S SHOCK NEW ALBUM’ this is very eye catching and immediately attracts the audience to the magazine. It appears as though it is covering something else which gives it the effect that it is too important to miss.
Just above to the right hand side of the masthead is the studio news: selling line. This would straight away attract their target audience because the selling line has the names of popular bands, with the same type of genre. This magazine would attract a lot of people as it has included popular bands that people would listen to.
There are many cover lines, going down the left third of the front cover. Most of the cover lines relate to the type of genre that is studied within the magazine. ‘ROLLING STONES’ and PANIC AT THE DISCO ALBUM’. This is to help the reader in understanding and not getting confused. It instantly informs the reader about what is going on, who is featured in it and the type of genre. This is good because it is direct and gets straight on with selling the magazine to their audience.

The main image on the front cover is of ‘The Last Shadow Puppets’. This immediately tells the audience that they are going to be one of the bands featured within this magazine. They both give off a serious expression. This suggests that their story is going to be important for the reader, it could also link with the line below ‘I was worried the monkeys…’ This will entice the reader to buy the magazine as they will want to know what it going to happen.
At the bottom right hand corner, there is a barcode, issue number and price. These are the less important features of then magazine and are therefore placed at the bottom. The website is also placed underneath; this is so the reader can access more information about the magazine if they really enjoy reading it.

VIBE is a popular music magazine and one they constantly use the large, bold and thick title VIBEt to specificically show it's them. Also this form of title is one that is used with other music magazines such as ‘NME’ this clearly demonstrates that a large title must be a lot more appealing to the audience . Also VIBE will most likey have more famous artists on the front cover, generally being hip-hop, rap and RnB. This immediately shows to the reader what type of magazine it is just from it’s front cover, making it very clear from the front that the magazine is based on music, specifically in the Hip-Hop, Rap & RnB area. On the front of this music cover, they have made the main picture bigger than everything else this demonstrates that they want to make it clear to the reader what the magazine will specify in for its best and main story. The purpose in doing this is that VIBE believe in they promote their most interesting story on the front cover and give the reader just a taste of what is inside,  making them want to purchase the magazine.

Vibe has the idea to entertain rather than inform people, this could be a possible good idea reviewing the new realeases as it coul be more informative than if it was trying to be informative. VIBE includes articles such as stories from Eminem, who is a large Hip-Hop artist. He's put articles such as this in not to inform the reader but entertain them with his conversation, the magazine is publicised in a fashionable way with slang and a hip hop feel to it. It creates its genre of music by having artists famous in the genre all over the magazine.

I feel this magazine would be aimed at the 16-27 age group. I think this is because, Eminem is an artist of recent times which shows us that the magazine is going to be based around that genre in general. Everybody knows what genre of music these artists perform. I think this magazine could be targeted more towards the male market, this could be because of the certain look of Eminem. It is too intimidating and is more suited for the male side. The magazine has inside information for fans interested in the hip-hop / rap genre. As Eminem is on the cover, it instantly tells us the genre of the magazine, the style and the information inside.

Distribution

I would like my magazine to be published weekly, I think as the price is quite low it will be affordable for people to buy each week to find out the latest gossip. By publishing it weekly, the audience will be able to keep up with the latest gossip also as they are not having to wait a whole month.

Target Audience

I would like to aim my music magazine to both male and female genders with an age between 16-24. I think by choosing pop as my genre, it will target more towards a younger generation than an older generation.

Music Genre

I have decided that the genre for my music magazine is going to be pop. I have come to this conclusion because I think pop music appeals to everyone but also is more appealing to the younger generation such as teenagers rather than the elder generation.