Research on a music magazineFor part of my AS coursework I have to analyse a magazine, so the magazine

I chose to write about was NME. I don’t read music magazinesbut from the selection, this was the one that appealed most to me.

Layout, Design, Audience

To help do the analysis, I brought myself an edition of thelatest NME magazine. On the right is the cover of what this weeks one looks like.

The layout and design of it is fairly simple. The main feature is clearly Florence and the Machine, and then the title of themagazine is the next main focus. Around the picture there are insmaller writing subheadings of the main articles which will attract theattention of the reader the most, to try and persuade them to want tomore likely buy it.

The audience for this magazine is quite a wide range of people, as themusic varies a lot throughout the different editions. Although the agerange would be aimed towards maybe teenagers and also adults. Thelanguage is too technical and grown up for a younger audience tounderstand. An for an older audience, being stereotypical, theyprobbaly wouldn’t know who many of the artists/bands are.

House-style

The house-style for NME is very retro. Looking at a variety of

different editions you can see that the house-style is consistent through

out all the magazine covers. There is a main picture which features on

each page. This is either an artist or a band of some sort. This is

usually the only image on each page. The name of this artist/s is then

written in a bright colour different from all the rest of the writing on the

page. This is the biggest piece of text on the page, making clear what

the main focus of that edition is. The title ‘NME’ is then always placed in

the top left hand corner of the page. And then around the edge of the

picture is small pieces of text giving a taster of what some of the other

main articles inside the magazine are about.

The name of the magazine I have done my research on is NME. I chose this

because I do not ever read music magazines, I am more interested in fashion

What is the name of magazine?NME

Why did you choose it?I don’t usually read music magazine, I am more interested in fashion and gossip magazines. But it has

Florence and The Machine on the front of the edition I brought and I quite like her music, so out of the choice I had, I thought this was the best one for me to by and do my analysis on.

Is it a magazine / site you regularly read?I have never read a music magazine nor do I ever go on their website.

What is the look or style of the magazine?The style seems to vary between the editions. The style is quite plain and very original. With a picture

of the artist the edition is mainly focusing on, with their name in a brightly bold coloured writing, and then has the other headlines that feature in the magazine.

What kind of music does it usually feature?The music mainly featured in this magazine is Indie but from looking through many of the editions is

features different types of bands and single solo artists. Ranging from R&B, Hip Hop and also some of the less modern artists.

What other members of staff are involved in making the magazine / site?

How much does it cost to purchase / access?£2.40 each week or a yearly prescription for £51

What does their website include?On NME’s website it’s full of information. It has the articles which

feature in that weeks magazine. But also allows you to see other recent news of other artists and what’s been going on that week. It also has a Blog, has a radio station and television channel. There are links to different GIGs, concerts and festivals for you to go to

and videos and photos and latest events.

What do you like best about this magazine / site?I like most that it features lots of different artists from all different genres and it isnt all the same every week. There are artists which I

know but also knew ones which I do not know much about.

What would you change about it?One thing I would change about it is probably the price. £2.40 for a

magazine is in my opinion quite expensive, especially compared to the fashion magazines which I usually buy because they are only around £1.50. I think buy making the magazine cheaper it would

attract a much bigger audience.

How often is the magazine published?NME is published weekly, every Wednesday.