Media EvaluationQuestion one

“In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products”

What are the conventions of a music magazine?

• There are many conventions for the front cover of a music magazine – these include a short snappy masthead, which sticks out, dates and numbers underneath with a slogan of the magazine. There is always one predominant image in the centre of the front cover, with many sub article headings on the left and right of the cover, the main article and a brief description are centred in the middle. There is always a house style. A barcode is also situated on the bottom right of the page.

• There are also many conventions that are used a lot of the time on the contents page of the music magazine. The title of the magazines is nearly always at the top of the page, with what issue number it is and the date. There are also a new image on the contents page with a description underneath that with what page it is on. Mainly, on the right hand side of the page there is the article names and page numbers with a brief description and pull quotes. The font used is sans-serif so it is easy to read and the colours are mainly black. On the left hand side of the contents page there is usually a index where you can see your favourite artist and go straight to the page. Finally, at the bottom there is a box which promotes the subscription and a website to go to, or a competition.

• The two page spread of the contents page also has many conventions,