B&S Magazine Textual Analysis

Grace Salmon

Front CoverThe central image dominates the page, but the model is not making direct mode of address, which is not a common code and convention of a magazine. The model, ‘Maxwell’ is smoking and below the image is anchorage text that reads #smokinghot Maxwell.

The colour palette of the magazine is white, black and red. This is quite sophisticated and professional. The white typography of the masthead on the red background is similar to other music magazines, such as Q.

The target audience may be males aged 17-35, in the ABC1 demographic. The artist on the front is fairly young and so are many of the artists featured in the magazine. However, there will also be famous and legendary artists that could appeal to older men.

The typography of the cover lines are all same, which demonstrates the house style of the magazine.

There is a puff at the top of the magazine, which acts as an incentive to lure the reader into the magazine. It uses a tag with the word ‘WIN’, which will makes the reader want to buy the magazine.

The genres included in the magazine are at the bottom of the cover and gives the reader more information as to what will be in the magazine. The feature article is larger than the

other cover lines and placed in the centre of the page, indicating to the reader that it is the most important article in the magazine.

The narrative of the magazine is mainly to promote the artist that is on the front cover. However, it includes other cover lines such as different blues and jazz festivals that would appeal to the target audience.

Contents PageThe colour palette of red, white and black is continued throughout the magazine, demonstrating the house style.

The advertisements reflect what is featured in the article. E.g. there is an advert of a Maxwell world tour, which is who the feature article is about.

There is no central image that dominates the page or any other smaller images, showing the magazine does not follow typical codes and convention. This may be reflecting the genre of the magazine that is not particularly mainstream, ‘pop’ music.

The note from the editor uses language that would appeal to the target audience and updates the reader with current music information.

There is social media links to websites such as Twitter, which would appeal to the target audience.

There is a QR reader at the bottom of the page, which makes the page more interactive and appeal to the target audience.

The title stands out against the white background, as it is in a bold, red typography. It is also the same typography as the front cover, which demonstrates the house style and continues the brand identity of the magazine.

The target audience is fairly young males aged 17-35, interested in blues, soul, R'n'B etc. They are in the ABC1 demographic and their psychographic would be explorer and aspirer, as they are younger.

Double Page Spread

There is one central image that dominates the majority of the page and bleeds across both of the pages, which a common code and convention of magazine. The artist is not making direct mode of address with the audience, which is not a very common code and convention, as it does not automatically engage the reader.

There is a pull quote in the middle of the article, which allows the reader to see an important section of the article.

On the right page, the text is split up into thirds, which follows the typical codes and conventions and makes it easier for the reader to read.

The headline is placed at the top of the article and in a bold typography, which stands out against the plain, white background.

The beginning of the article is in a much bolder typography than the rest of the article, suggesting that the most important part of the interview.

The red of the headline is a different shade to the red on the front cover and contents. However, the colour palette of black and white is continued on this page, demonstrating the house style.

There is a large advertisement on the right page that covers up nearly half of the page. This advertisement would appeal to the target audience and readers of this interview as it anchors the artist’s style of music that is focused on in the article.