Music Front Cover Analysis By Callum McCormick

The Cover

Analysis

• cover for the popular ‘’Music’’ magazine, by the BBC, gives insight into the type ofpersonthat would buy such a magazine. It is for enthusiast of classical music with many reviews and features. It is designed with a more mature audience in mind, probably late 20 onwards, since the language is noted dumbed down. It also doesn’t bombard the senses, like other magazines for a more young demographic.

• The central Image is of Sarah Chang a classical musician that would be recognised by enthusiast. She is using a direct mode of address to create a sense of warmth, as well as being open and inviting to the audience, in a word she is likable. Sarah Chang is the star attraction, she will be well known and thus promotes the purchase of the magazine. Another way you get to understand Miss Chang is with the anchorage text which states ‘’ The insane challenges of playing Shostakovich’’ This shows her skill as a musician and also make her relatable. The overall message the artist is giving is of skill and sophistication. She is in a formal dress and her makeup is minimal but striking, she looks like she has just come from sophisticated gathering. She holds a violin with tender care it is obvious that she values her instrument. Sarah Chang is representing Asian musicians, she is representing Asian sophistication and skill.

There are also a handful of buzz words scattered around the magazine, these are used to capture the reader’s eye. Words such as ‘’Free’’ and ‘’Exclusive’’ are appealing to the consumer since it gives more perceived value to the magazine.

• The Title block embodies the image of the magazine. Like the rest of the cover its minimalist, the font is thin and sophisticated, with the uin Music in italic. This along with the rich red font ads to this idea of sophistication and classics. The word Music is chosen as the title of the magazine. This is used to put the idea that classical music is at the core of the music genre as a whole. The magazine is implying that this is real music.

• The puffs on the front cover gives an idea what to suspect of the content inside the magazine. Puff used are ‘’London calling’’ and ‘’Singing Revolution’’ are under the buzz word ‘’Plus’’ these articles are used as the icing on the cake, they are not as important to the readers as the anchor text but are used as extra content. The slogan is the piece of text which tells the audience what type of magazine this is, using phrases like ‘’world’s bestselling’’ classical music magazine, to communicate to the reader exactly what and why they should buy the magazine.

• The central cover colour is red, a sophisticated colour that attracts the eye. The red text are the text that the writer wants to draw attention, it is also a warm and inviting colour. Classical music is a sophisticated genre but instead of using this as an exclusionary fact the magazine is warm and inviting.

• All the techniques mentioned above are used in conjunction with one another to appeal to the target audience. These strategies all accumulate into a appealing front cover for the niche genre.