Analysis of magazine front coversCover 1.NME Sept 2009

Dizzee Rascal Edition

THE MASTHEAD Tells us the title of the magazine – this is in big bold capital letters to make it stand out to people and so that we can read it from far away.

THE HEADER Tells the target audience what bands/artists will be featured in the magazine – these will be reflective of the genre of the magazine.

THE SELL LINES/COVER LINES Tell us what is inside the magazine - what bands/artists are featured, competitions, freebies etc

THE MAIN IMAGE …. Lets us know who features in the magazine and what sort of genre it is, the type of music is usually reflected in the design of the image.

THE MAIN COVER LINE Tells us who the magazine is mainly about and what he has to say – an empowering quote is featured with it.

Barcode-date/issue/price

Lets people know when the magazine is out, how much it is and what issue number it is. The barcode also lets the shop keep track of sales.

THE FOOTER gives us more of an idea as to what’s inside the magazine, it features the most popular bands and artists which

are written about inside.

USE OF A PULL QUOTE Gives us a quote from someone who is a large influence in the magazine’s genre of music, the quote

BACKGROUND The background is reflective of the genre of music and shows what sort of audience it is aimed at.

USE OF A FLASHER-(offering something extra to T.A) Makes the customer feel like they are getting something extra for free, like a bonus.

RULE OF THIRDS/THE LEFT THIRD The magazine is mainly based around the idea of it being split into 9 squares – the picture is arranged with the text to be more appealing to the target audience.

TARGET AUDIENCE OF THIS MAGAZINE

METHODS USED TO ATTRACT THIS TARGET AUDIENCE ARE:

The colours, fonts and text used on the cover are reflective of the target audience’s wants/needs. The image and background are quite bright colours and the graffiti in the back shows the rebellious, urban interests of the audience.

Target audience Profile (possibly add image)

Musical interests/favourite artists

etc Indie/rock/hiphop/rap mainly. Dizzee rascal is obviously one of the favourite artists and so are the bands in the header & footer.

Gender Mainly male, but not completely directed at one gender as the colour scheme is quite neutral and doesn’t lean towards male or female.

Age – Probably quite young, around teenage years to young adults.

Social class (how much money do they have available?

Working/middle class - average

How much does magazine cost?

£2.30

Cover 2. Vibe June 2005 Eminem Edition

The header features the biggest names of the genre at the time of publishing. This shows the magazine is up to date with the latest artists and makes people want to read it.

Includes gossip about Eminem – a large influence to the genre of the magazine at the time, it is about drugs and he says he almost died so it will be interesting to the target audience.

Includes the data and the magazine’s website. This lets readers know when the magazine was published and where to go if they want to know more about the magazine.

The masthead is very large and follows the colour scheme of the magazine. It is called ‘Vibe’ as this is a very upbeat name and relates to the fast tempo of rap music.

This is a poll open to anyone who buys the magazine. This will make people want to buy the magazine if they feel strongly about the genre and have a favourite rapper.

A flasher is used to make it stand out more and seem like lots is going on in the magazine. It is called ‘The Real Rap Issue’, this makes it seem authentic and more appealing to the target audience of the magazine.

Cover 3. Billboard Febraury 2011 Bob Marley Edition

The masthead consists of 5 different colours and doesn’t follow a specific colour scheme apart from the white text.

Has a barcode so the store can keep track of sales, a date for the reader to see and the issue number so people know what issue it is.

Articles are included about policies of an American state so I would assume that this is an American magazine. This will appeal to anyone who lives in/near that state.

A picture of Bob Marley is shown on the front cover. This is relevant to the genre of the magazine and is a medium close up so we can see his facial expressions.

Details are included about bands touring which are relevant to the magazine’s target audience. This will make some people more interested in the magazine and want to buy it.

Text about the magazine’s protagonist is included on the front cover. This draws consumers’ attention as it is in large font and reflects the interests of the target audience.

STRETCH AND CHALLENGEACTIVITY-

USE THE HYPERLINK FOR DIRECT ACCESS TO NME

http://www.nme.com/magazine

• DETAILED ANALYSIS OF ITS TARGET AUDIENCE

WHO PUBLISHES THE MAGAZINE-HOW MANY SALES DOES IT MAKE

GENERAL BACKGROUND HOW, WHEN IT STARTED, HOW IT HAS CHANGED AND WHY

WHAT GENRE/TYPE OF MAGAZINE IS IT? DETAILS OF ITS TYPICAL CONTENT AND THE ARTISTS/BANDS IT CURRENTLY FEATURES

MORE DETAILED RESEARCH INTO NME MAGAZINE

http://www.nme.com/magazine