Magazine Research

Abbie Hollis

• Publishing: NME has been published weekly since March 1952 and is in association with the company IPC advertising.

Editor- Krissi Murison

Publishing Director- Paul Cheal

Publisher- Faith Hill

• Target audience: Aged between 15-25 (the average age of their readers are around 23), who are generally interested in indie/rock music. Though in th 70’s NME changed their style to punk/rock as that was popular in that era. This shows their dedication on keeping to a large target audience.

• Circulation: NME reaches over one million music fans every week. Total circulation- 38,486 (ABC July - December 2009)

Masthead: Large font, contrasting colour to it’s background. Using only three letters makes the magazine stand out on newsstands.

Inserts: Creates another reason for the reader to pick up that particular

magazine.

Other stories: Tells the reader what else is included in the magazine. The two colours, red and white, are included here as the font.

Main Image: One large image is used which is more effective in catching the readers attention. It’s a spontaneous shot at a concert which immediately indicates the magazine includes the subject. The persons focus is indirect.

Date, price, tagline etc is shown under the masthead, or generally by the barcode.

Main article: This would be one of the main reasons why the magazine would be bought. The Large font size, which is the same as the copy used for the headlines of the other stories. An alliteration is used as well as an exclamation mark to help make the headline jump out to the reader.

The image on the left covers 110% of the left page, which immediately draws your eye onto it.

The headline is large and has a contrasting colour to it’s background. It’s interestingly at the bottom of the left page rather than on top of the right, where the article actually begins.

This copy acts like a sub-heading which tells you a brief description of the article so the reader can easily have an insight on what they are about to read.

A quote within the article is printed in much larger bolder font. It’s another way to show the reader what type of information is in the article and could interest them more.

The copy is small which allows a larger article to fit onto the page.

The article is laid out as though a newspaper article, this makes its clear and easy for the audience to read.

A caption is used to illustrate the image and tell the reader who or what is in the picture.

“Noise”: a feature within the magazine that is perhaps carried out week after week.

A direct focus is used which makes the reader feel more involved and catches their eye.

The image is posed, yet seems more relaxed.

A small colour theme of pink and purple sets a trend and completes the look of the article

• Publishing: The publishing company is Bauer Consumer Media with the editor being Nichola Browne

• Target audience: “Individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty.” (Audience profile- Bauer media). The target audience is 16-25 year olds and specific towards rock music fans. However in recent years, the age of the audience has dropped and it is more 14-17 year olds who tend to buy and read it due to its featured bands being more ‘poppy’.

• Circulation: The total circulation is 43,253. 41,856 of those being in the UK and the rest in other countries.

Main image: Taken at a photo shoot, with the band members placed so that they “scream out” to the reader. The use of multiple people makes the cover look more cluttered. The bands focus is very direct which draws in the reader.

Main article: The large font size and contrasting colour makes it stand out. The titled words gives it a more ‘edgy’ feel to it. The copy under the headline is a different colour and font and uses an exclamation mark which again adds to jumping out to the reader.

Inserts: Again, adds another reason why the reader should buy this magazine. The “free poster special” makes it seem like a limited edition. Unlike NME, this magazine has used multiple images to attract the readers eye, this also makes the page look more busy.

Masthead: Use of contrasting colours makes it stand out. The “shattered” look adds a certain ‘rocky’ feel to it. The exclamation point exaggerates the masthead. The use of onomatopoeia links in with the music base of the magazine.

Other stories: A strip on the top and the bottom of the magazine to show other features of the magazine.

Overall look of the cover is much more cluttered. The layout isn't at a traditional right angle which makes it look more laid back.

Barcode and other information about the magazine is mentioned at the bottom of the magazine.

Article is made up mostly of images. One large one is used as the background

Separate article that gives the reader a “low-down” of what’s to come. This makes the story more interesting and gives a different side to the article.

Gives reference to a website where the reader can get more news/stories that are similar to this one.

A caption is used to illustrate the picture and tell the reader what the image involves.

Words and vocabulary such as “world exclusive” makes the reader immediately interested in the article. It looks as though this article is unique to those in other articles.

• Publishing: first published in October 1986, again with the publishing company Bauer Media Group. Paul Rees is the editor.

• Target audience: An older generation of music lovers with the age range being 25+ rather than young adults and teens. The genre of Q is mostly focused around classic rock.

• Circulation: 130,179 as of June 2007