Research on gospel magazines

RESEARCH ON GOSPEL MAGAZINES

Here is an example of a gospel magazine that I found. I realised that gospel magazines is all about the main image. I also realised that the main image on a gospel magazine is very different to one seen on a hip-hop magazine. The image of the ‘Vibe’ magazine is very sexual and explicit compared to the calm image of Fred Hammond a gospel artist sitting peacefully dress in the costume someone going to church would wear. Both masthead are covered by the front image indicating the how popular the magazine is. But the difference is the gospel magazine masthead is very clear simple and straight forward. It clearly illustrates the genre of the magazine as that is already incorporated in the masthead and flows perfectly with the magazine as its not too bold or too plain but simple and calm indicating it is a gospel magazine as gospel music is also calm and relaxing. This contrast to the other masthead as hip-hop and r&b is very up beat and bold which explains why‘ Vibe’ magazine is called ‘Vibe’. This magazine contains a skyline something very common with a normal magazine but what indicates it’s a gospel magazines as the language used in the skyline and the content of the skyline as its about famous gospel artist and upcoming tours. The cover lines are written in formal grammar and English due to the target audience being a more mature Christian age group. You could tell this due to the front size used and the fact its not in colloquial language and a clear, easy to read text. The choice of colour are classified as warm colours, one could say this is due to the magazine being a gospel magazine as if it was a rock magazine you would tend to use cold colours such as blue and black. In addition to that the colours are very consistence and simple fitting in with the theme and genre of the magazine.

Here is another example of a gospel magazine that I researched. One thing that I realised is that the masthead is very simple but bold. It sets the theme of the magazine. From the masthead I can clearly see that this magazine is aimed at the gospel genre as they have incorporated the word “gospel”. The colour scheme of the magazine is consistence, the same colour that was used for the masthead is also used for the main cover line making it eye catchy and bold. The colour scheme complements the picture due to the warm colours used which does not over power the image. The colour and masthead helps indicates this is a gospel magazine due to the simplicity and the warmness which represents the music.

What indicates to the audience that this magazine is a gospel magazine are also the cover lines. You would not see in a hip-hop or rock magazine cover lines about artists such as CeCe Winans or Jones Reynold as they are gospel artists, same way you would not see cover lines based on the music of Beyoncé. The cover lines are one of the key selling point as it informs the reader of what articles are going to be in the magazine. In this case, the cover lines are based on famous gospel artist which therefore indicates that this magazine is a gospel magazine. The language used also is full not colloquial language but instead the correct grammar and very formal English indicating that this magazine is not for a younger generation.

Gospel magazine follows the code and conventions of a magazine for instant, this magazine has a bar code, price, sky line and selling line. The price are just the basic information needed to inform people of the price and the barcode is for the shops in order for them to sell it to the public. This magazine also has a sky line which has Christian topic that will be discussed in the magazine, still remaining consistence with the genre of the magazine. the selling line is indicated underneath the masthead and is a Christian message. Theses indicates that the target audience is not only people who love gospel music but by the price being $4.50 they must be working/ middle class and due to the topics in the skyline also indicates that this magazine is not aimed at the younger generation.

The main image is of a famous gospel artist (CeCe Winans) Illustrating the genre of the magazine. CeCe appears to be laying down on the arm of chair smiling at the camera. This image fits it with the theme of the magazine as she appears to be calm, warm and happy. Gospel music itself is calm, warm and joyful this image could therefor be seen as a representation of the music itself. The image is very clear and does not overpower any of the other elements of the magazine by instead complements it. One could also say that the fact they choose a more mature gospel artist instead of a young gospel artist could also back up the point that this magazine is not aimed at the younger generation but instead the more mature generation.

The overall layout of this magazine is very simple and well structured. This magazine does not break the codes and conventions of magazines. One could say this is due to the Christian religion behind this genre of music and it being against their religion to break rules and go against things. It is also fair to say that the audience that this magazine is aimed at is a mature working class or middle class male or female but mainly females as statist have proven that females are more religious then men.

From the research that I done on music magazine I found out that they all follower the same codes and conventions as a normal magazine. The only difference that I found it the gospel magazines is not just about the music but also about the religion and the faith in which the music originally came from. They not only incorporate the gospel music but the also incorporate things about the church and what is going on in today’s society unlike many other music magazines. One thing that I also found ion common in most of the gospel magazines is how the main image sets the tone of the magazine. The magazine is all about the image as that is what sells the magazine. Gospel magazines all tend to be very simple in terms of choice of colours and layouts and all seems to incorporate the religion as well as the music in the magazine.