NME music magazine analysis

Front cover analysis

The music magazine mainly focusses on rock and indie music, which targets men aged 17-30.

However, this issue of NME is focusing on Dizzee rascal, who Is a rap singer.

The mast head on this front cover is red, white and black, which sets the colours for the house

style of the magazine. The colour red supports the stereotype that rap singers are thugs,

because it connotes danger and anger. The mast head is on the left hand side, which is what

people would see and recognize if it were on the shelves. This challenges conventions, because

usually the mast head on a magazine fills up the top of a magazine, whereas this mast head is

placed to the left.

Another way this magazine challenges conventions, is through its use of cover lines.There is

only 2 cover lines, whereas usually magazines have at least 4 cover lines to attract the reader to

what's inside.

The main cover line is a quote from inside the magazine, said by the rap star Dizzee Rascal. The

use of the quote 'I'm spreading joy around the world man', written in capital letters, makes the

magazine seem more personal, as if the artist is letting you into his personal life.

The use of the word 'man' at the end of the sentence also supports the stereotype of rap

singers being thugs as it is used in a very informal way.

The cover has a header which is just above the mast head. It is advertising a '16 page autumn

tour special' which is included in the issue. If the reader is interested, this will make them want

to buy it even more. The text of the header is black against a white background; making it stand

out more to the reader.

The footer on the magazine is a list of pop/rap stars which are featured in the magazine. It has a

white background and black text, which is the same as the header, which shows the consistency,

and they are colours in the house style.

The main image on the front cover of this issue of NME is technically a long shot, but as the

model is crouched down an leaning towards the camera, we look at it as a medium long shot.

The model is the rap singer Dizzee Rascal, which is made very clear by the headline, white 3D-

looking text, which Is covering part of the image saying 'DIZZEE RASCAL'. The white text links in

with the white t-shirt which the singer is wearing. Also, the singer is wearing a gold chain, and

the background is graffiti which represents the thug life.

The barcode on this font cover follows conventions as it is situated in a dead area at the bottom

right of the page, where it would be un-noticeable if it were on the shelves in the shops. This

lets the reader see the more interesting information until they pick I up, and see the barcode

with the date and price on it, by which time they'd already be convinced to buy it regardless of

the price.

The pug on this front cover is a red circle with white and black, bold text, grabbing the readers

attention to 'pavement reunion' which is talked about inside.

Contents page analysis

Contents title- the mast head from the cover page is repeated on the contents page, only it is

smaller. This shows consistency. Also, the colour scheme on this page isn't the same as on the

front cover, which also shows the consistency, and shows that they both belong to the same

magazine.

The date line is just underneath the title. It is in white text with a black background so it is

clearly visible to the reader.

This contents page follows the rule of thirds, as the information is in 3 columns. The list of

bands are on the left showing the page numbers which they appear on. The page numbers are

in black text so that they're easy to read next to the red text. This is convenient because

contents pages are there to make finding pages easier.

On the right there are stories which are in the magazine and it states what page they're on.

In the middle there is a large medium shot with an editors friendly introduction underneath.

Both of these aspects are bordered by a guitar case which ties in with it being an 'autumn tour

special'.

In the bottom right hand corner, there is an advert for a subscription to their magazine. This is

not just red, white and black, it is bright yellow too which grabs the audiences attention.

Double page spread analysis

The large A4 image of the rap singer Dizzee Rascal on the left, shows the graffiti in the

background, which connotes fearlessness and rule breaking, which is what the readers are

supposed to think he is like. His red jacket links in with the colours of the house style, and on

the right side there is black text and a white background, which means the colour scheme has

now been consistent with the cover, contents, and double page spread. The title 'from tags to

riches' links with the text but also the image. I know this because 'tags' is what people call when

they write their name in graffiti, like a signature. This title suggests that Dizzee Rascal grew up

living a thug life, but changed it all around and now he is successful. The title is written in a bold,

black graffiti style font, which obviously links with the picture, and Dizzee's past.