Magazine analysis

AS Media

By Ugne Maria Cijunskyte.

AnalyzingMusic

Magazines

Front covers

Some of the magazine title is covered showing that the magazine is well known as not all of its name has to be shown in order to be recognised.

We’re drawn to the word ‘exclusive’ because it is presented in a bright yellow box which makes us presume it is importanteven though the colour scheme is yellow, black and white, this particular word is in a yellow box rather than yellow font.

The magazine website is shown in order to provide users with an alternative to reading the magazine. The barcode is a convention of any magazine.

The featured artist is also in the black and white colour scheme, wearing a snapback hat which promotes Hip-Hop culture (Vibe magazines specialist genre). The word ‘unstoppable’ is in capitals as this encourages the young audience to become who they want to be.

as we expect it to be associated with these stars.

A list of the biggest names in Hip-Hop is placed at the top of the page, on top of the masthead which makes it one of the first things we see (we tend to look at the top and work our way down the page) consequently noticing important artists will lead us to read the magazine

Naming the featured artist that is on the front cover is a typical music magazine convention as this gives us just about enough information for us to want to read the featured article.

There’s no real colour scheme throughout the issues of Vibe magazine, every issue has a different colour scheme, this can be a negative thing as the magazine doesn’t create a memorable factor for itself.

The relaxed pose of the band reflects on the magazine which has a laid back approach, focusing on a range of subjects and genres.

Once again the title of the magazine isn’t on full show as it is one of the most known in the music industry.

A few key words highlighting the stories that will feature inside, this story is about ‘global warming’ and will attract a more mature audience rather than the young/teen audience that the music section of the magazine attracts giving the Rolling Stone magazine a versatile audience meaning more sales.

The featured bands name is the largest text on the front page (except the title) in order to make it stand out as intentionally magazines sell because of the interest in the featured artists.

Alliteration is also used in ‘God! Girls! Guitars!’ as a persuasive technique that will make people buy the issue.

The barcode is at the bottom of the page like any other music magazine.

Alike to the Vibe magazine, Rolling Stone also doesn’t have a permanent colour scheme, this issue uses the colours red, white and black.

These are the cover lines which briefly introduce other stories featured in the magazine.

Date and issue number, in extremely small font to show that it isn’t the most important aspect of the front cover.

The image is very cleverly produced, It is giving a monochromatic effect without the use of a black and white image (by dressing models in b&w clothes) To show the magazine is simplistic.

Unlike the other examples, Q (rock magazine) has the same colour scheme throughout their issues (red and white) this shows consistency which is what consumers believe to be important. Furthermore the fact that the logo is red makes it memorable for us as red connotes danger (linking to stereotype of rock genre) and therefore makes the magazine recognisable.

The words ‘most, exclusive, ever’ are persuasive as they make the story inside sound very interesting and a must read.

The name of the featured group is in block capitals to attract attention and show that the double page spread will revolve around them.

Another unique factor about Q magazine is its use of images, in the previous examples the front covers consisted of one, main image whereas Q features a main image and two additional pictures. I believe this has been done in order to publicise the magazine and give readers an insight of what to expect inside.

The word ‘guide’ gives the reader a vision of support from the magazine and therefore persuades them to purchase it. Claims like this one help the reader form a bond with the stories in the magazine.

This is the stereotypical view of rock culture therefore people would want to find out more about it.

Contents pages

The Q contents page resembles the front cover as they both have a colour scheme of red and white, they also use the same font.

This provides us with background information about the magazine also in a way shows popularity and reputation of the magazine as it claims to have published many issues.

The features column is placed on the left side of the page as this is the direction we first look at (because we read from left right) the editors have done this to ensure that we notice the main stories in the magazine first. Furthermore, a picture of the Beatles at the top of the column also creates a positive image of the magazine as the band were extremely popular.

Large images used to create a ‘full’ page also to show other articles in the magazine.

The font is clear and easy to read, the sub headings are in capitals in order to be recognised as an important source of information.

As identified, the layout and design of ‘Vibe’s’ contents page is the same in every issue:• V silhouette behind the

artist to remind us of the magazine name.

• Slim column of contents with headings to give information

• Only one main image• The break up of the

word ‘contents’

The reason the contents page uses this layout is to give a fresh and urban feel (in order to attract the young r&b target audience). The fact that the layout is the same throughout shows a valuable characteristic of a magazine – consistency.

This informs us of how many parts the contents page has. In this case there’s three, meaning the magazine can afford to print a dominating , over powering, large image in the middle as there’s additional space for writing in the next two pages.

There is a variety of font used for different parts of the text: the masthead is in bold, regular font, the sub headings are in a ‘handwriting’ font and the contents info is in smaller, old typed font, each of these are in different fonts to show variation within the magazine.

The colour scheme of this contents page is grey, washed out white and black (manly colours) The R&B star, Kanye West is dominating this picture, with a

females hand holding on to him,. This indicates a male cantered fan base for Vibe magazine.

The magazine has a section on fashion showing diversity of topics within it.

A picture of the front cover accompanied by the editors message makes the reader feel involved as it seems that the editor is communicating with the consumer.

The word contents remind the reader what the page’s purpose is. Underneath it a traditional convention of the Kerrang magazine, a quote by a rock artist. This can be seen as inspirational to the reader.

A short, brief list of what’s inside this magazine (pages in order with no sub headings). The heading of ‘this week’ makes the reader feel up to date in the music world as the magazine is published weekly and therefore had lots of new information in every issue.

The most important stories of the week have been summarised into pictures, this helps the reader visually understand what the magazine has to offer, In addition the top picture of the man looking down makes us focus on what he’s looking at (the other images below him) and therefore make the reader notice the other images on the page.

The layout is rather ‘scattered’ in a sense of a lot of images and writing in one page, this would attract rock music fans as the rock genre is known to be quite a complicated and strange one.

Double page spreads

The title of the double page spread is the name of Rihanna’s (the artist)New song this is a way of publicising the new single. Moreover Rihanna’s name accompanied by ‘Drake’ makes the article appeal to their target audience as the two are the biggest names in R&B.

A play on the word ‘here’ the editors are trying to emphasise the fact that Rihanna changes her hairstyles frequently therefore write ‘hair today gone tomorrow’ rather than ‘here’ this also creates humour.

There are a sum of six images used in this contents page, four of which relate to the text above it (the text refers to Rihanna’s hairstyle and the pictures are of Rihanna with different hair styles); the main image of the double page spread, a close up shot of the R&B star (relates to pop/R&B audience of Vibe magazine). The last image is at the bottom of the person whom the article was written by, this allows the reader to connect with the people that put the magazine together.

There is little writing however this is covered up by the busy background of pictures and short points. I believe that this is done in order to please the target audience (young adults) as they do not tend to read a lot and may be put off when witnessing a large amount of writing.

Starting an article with a large first letter has become a magazine convention this is done for aesthetic purposes.

The fact that a photo of Rihanna is spread between the two pages shows that she’s the main focus of the article.

Even though Lilly Allen is known for being a pop artist the Kerrang magazine have transformed her appearance in order to fit the target audience expectations. She is wearing dark makeup and a red shirt all which can be related to rock/indie style (Kerrang’s genre).

The font and use of black indicates a rock genre. The headline is a pull quote which is unusual in a double page spread on the other handy this is a clever technique as it foreshadows what the interview will reveal about the artist making the consumer want to read.

As most of the double page spreads I researched this one is in interview format, this is the easiest and most engaging type of article.

Unlike the other double page spreads this one only includes one picture, this may relate to the title which claims she’s not an attention seeker however there’s only one picture proving that the attention is on Lilly Allen.

The image totally contradicts the pull quote as it is showing a confident, dominant and striking Allen whereas she claims that she isn’t attention seeking, this is hard to believe as in the photo she is leaning forward which indicates she want to be acknowledged.

The plain, pale coloured background makes the image and writing stand out as they are the main features of the pages.

The typical convention of more than one image is used. Even though the pictures are the same on the subject of costume; hair; makeup they give a great effect of making the page look stylish and even creates a moving image as the interviewee (Solange Knowles) is displaying different poses in each image.

The name of the artist is highlighted blue to show importance as the article is about her. This headline states that Solange has topped her sister (Beyonce) in album sales which is shocking as Beyonce is one of the best selling R&B artists, this persuades us to read the interview in order to familiarise ourselves with this new artist.

The layout is not one of a typical magazine interview, it resembles more of a newspaper style article, just columns of writing with no pull quotes. This does make the page look neat and not over powering which follows up from Vibe magazines relaxed approach and design.

The main image is a long shot, the significance of this is that the article is about getting to know this new talent, a full view of her will allow us to do so. Furthermore she is wearing a red dress which stands out as the other pictures are monochromatic.