Classical music magazines contents page analysis 2

Classical Music

Magazines: contents

page analysis

Codes and Conventions of

contents pages

Lack of images – mostly text – shows scale of content for a sophisticated audience who would rather read articles rather than look at images

Magazine name, date and page number

Heading = conventionally at the top of the page, positioned in the top left hand corner showing how like a book the page reads from left to right and like a newspaper in columns

Colour scheme = black, white and gold, continuing with the house-style of the front cover – consistency, recognisable

Main headings in black, bold and a serif font to contrast with the rest of the contents page – so that you can quickly see contents of magazine contains reviews and features onlySub-headings in

gold and a serif font also, not so prominent on page – summary of articles you would find in magazineSnippet of

articles - intriguing

Code

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of G

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Very professional with few images – a

more factual magazine for a more

intellectual audience House-style has continued from the

front cover = consistency and also

looks very professional – easy to

recognise the brand of magazine and

suited to older target audience who

want the sophisticated look to fit

classical music rather than a laid back

magazine full of images more suited

to a pop music magazine for

teenagers Organised clearly and simply into 3

columns so it is easy to find the article

you are interested in due to the

positioning of page numbers next to

articles = simplicity and accessability

Month of publication, issue no. and volume number – at top of page, magazines more part of a collection – easy to see where particular magazine fits into set (collectable)Social media links –

keep up with a modern audience and technological convergence – magazine can now be viewed online and you can interact with publishers and read exclusive articles online as well as interacting with other fans of the magazine

House-style = contrasting colours black and white to make text stand out – basic and gender neutral colours – simplicity and professionalism of magazine. Serif font used throughout contents page as looks more sophisticated and suited to the older style of music compared to modern day pop

Conventionally masthead/logo is at the top of the page – brand recognition – largest piece of text on page – most striking to catch readers attentionPage numbers

are often used for ease of navigation through the magazineMain feature in

bold – most important article – draw the most fans and readers

Margin separates the two columns – organised

Code

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Single page spread – not over crowded –

simple black and white house style with no

images – shows organisation and simplicity

fitting in with classical music which is not

complicated with lyrics – simple and majestic

A convention that fits in with the front covers

of music magazines is that the

masthead/logo is positioned at the top of the

page in bold so that the audience can

recognise the brand of the magazine and

continues the house-style making the

magazine appear more sophisticated and

professional – this is a convention that I will

definitely use for the contents page of my

own magazine The use of social media links is a convention

that I have only just come across which I

think is quite niche as it helps to expand the

target audience to younger people who are

more familiar with social media sites and

also keeps the magazine up to date with

technology

Images - A convention for a classical music magazine contents page that I have yet to really see – makes the contents page more visually appealing and adds more colour and vibrancyMasthead conventionally in contrasting colours - stand out

Heading shows that magazine is meant for regular readers – follows the same pattern for some of the articles featured – magazine is reliable in terms of some of contents

Logo and page number small at bottom of page – not all about brand recognition

House-style = serif font and contrasting, gender neutral colours = red, white and black – stands out

Page numbers to offer easy navigation through the articles

Code

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of B

BC

Music

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The contents page is a single page spread as

with the other examples of classical music

magazines that I have looked at so I will

definitely follow this convention when creating

the contents page for my own magazine

The house-style again follows the convention of

contrasting, gender neutral colours in a serif font

to make sure that the text stands out and also

looks professional and sophisticated to suit the

target audience Another important convention is the use of page

numbers, date of publication and issue no. where

the page number is an important feature to aid

navigation throughout the magazine which has

many articles and the issue no. and date to show

that the magazine is published regularly and is

part of a series of BBC Music magazines

The contents page is also organised into columns

to show how professional and sophisticated the

magazine and style of music is – this is very

effective in making the contents page

aesthetically appealing and so I will also use this

convention when I design my own contents page