Codes and Conventions Of A Music Magazine Contents Page

There are many conventions of a contents page in a music magazine. Firstly, like the front cover, the colour scheme remains the same and is used on the contents page. The colours on the contents are usually no more than 3 colours. “Q”’ magazines colour scheme is red, black and white.

Images are another key convention on a contents page. The main image on the front cover is never used again on the contents and the artist/band wont be shown until the page which they are featured on. There is usually a large image on the contents page of another artist/band which is included in the magazine, followed by smaller images there is usually no more than 5 images on a contents page.

The layout of a contents page is usually structured in a music magazine. Because we read from the left hand corner of a page, the title “contents” is the first text the audience will read which is obviously telling them what the page will consist of. Contents pages are usually set out in columns which are usually range from 2 up to 4 at the most. As you can see, Q magazine contents page has the text on the left in the first column which the audience will see first. The second column consists of a large image of a band which will appear on the feature articles and at the bottom of the column there is a “Q” review in which there is a smaller image along with text connoting the features within that topic.

Another feature on a contents page is the issue number and date. This reminds the audience when the magazine is published e.g.. “October 2008” and what number magazine it is. The magazines website and social networking links are also included so the audience can have a wider opportunity to insight into the magazine.