Researching and analysing magazines

Researching and analysing Media

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Kerrang! Front coverMastheadThe masthead Kerrang! Stands out quite well, because it is in capitals and bold writing. It gets the attention of the audience by being the biggest writing on the page. The thing that makes Kerrang! Noticeable is the fact that is has white lines through it, making it give more of an edgier feel. Which represents the target audience as being male a bit better.

BuzzwordThe buzzword here isn’t necessarily a word, it is a plus sign, which automatically creates a more traditional view of Kerrang! As they have it on every cover.

Anchorage textThe anchorage text is showing who the main band is this week, in this case ‘A day to remember’

Direct addressThe image creates a direct address because the band is staring forward, which makes it seem like they want you to read the magazine.

SkylineThe skyline here is advertising competitions that are going on, which is a tradition for Kerrang! As it is included on every issue, there is also one at the bottom of the cover, saying what bands are featured in the magazine.

Sell linesThe sell lines on the cover are what is appealing to the audience. One of the sell lines here is a quote, which makes you want to read the whole article, therefore making you want to buy the magazine.

NME Front coverMastheadThe mast head NME immediately catches the attention of readers, it is bold, and bigger than all of the other writing on the page, because it is quite simple, it demonstrates the type of genre of the magazine, as being calm, which most indie bands are.

Sell linesAll of the sell lines have the same colour scheme, making them stand out. Each one has a subtitle, which draws in the audiences attention. The sell lines are there to show the reader what’s featured in the issue.

BuzzwordThe buzzword here is the same as in Kerrang! Which makes it seem like all music magazines in this genre have the same style of writing.

SkylineThe skyline here is explaining what bands are going the be featured in the issue of NME. Giving people more of a sense of the genre

Anchorage textThe anchorage text is showing who the main band is this week, in this case ‘ White lies’.

Direct address The direct address image here is drawing the attention of the reader, because the band is looking forward, which is very similar to Kerrang! As they both have used the same affect, making it seem like the band wants you to read it.

Rock sound front coverMasthead The mast head doesn’t stand out very well, it is very plain and basic and does not really give off a great vibe about the magazine. Being just plain red represents the colour of rock, but does not look good with all of the other colours on the page.

Sell lines The sell lines here are all names of bands featured in the magazine, so it doesn’t really give the audience a feel of what’s going to be in the magazine, this is very plain and basic, which isn’t very affective.

Buzzword The buzzword here is ‘starring’ which makes the magazine seem like it is very successful, as starring is usually used when introducing big stars.

Direct address The direct address here is different members from different bands, which I think isn’t very affective. It looks a bit cramped, but this gives a feel of a lot of information in the magazine, making it seem more buyable.

Kerrang! Contents pageLayoutWith half of the page being pictures, it gives the reader a better insight of what's in the issue. Because it is all very cramped together, it makes the magazine seem a bit more edgy.

House styleKerrang! Uses the same sort of house style each week, sticking to the colours yellow, black and red. It also uses the same font throughout. Making the reader think that these are the colours representing rock music.

EditorialLike any other magazine, an editorial is featured in each issue on the contents page. The editor makes the magazine seem a bit more personal and friendly.

SubscriptionKerrang! Lures people in by saying you can subscribe to the magazine, it shows a variety of previous issues, and explains that it is cheaper than in the shops, this is featured in each issue.

NME contents page

LayoutThe layout here is very much like a newspaper, the way it has been laid out and the way that even the paper looks like a newspaper style. The pictures aren’t very appealing as they look like they’ve been placed on the page randomly.

House styleThe house style is also very like an old fashioned newspaper, the fonts used and the colours used are very dull, which would maybe put people off reading the magazine.

SubscriptionLike in most magazines, the contents page explains how you can subscribe to the magazine, this is very noticeable as it in in a bright colour and is appealing on the page.

Rock sound contents page

House styleRock sounds house style is very basic. With half of the page being pictures and half being writing. The pictures are the same style just different sizes, and the colours used are red black and white, which gives the magazine more of a ‘rock and roll’ feel, as these are the colours associated with rock. It uses the same font to say what’s in the issue, which is very affective as it makes the magazine seem a bit more calm. Rock sound have established themselves as a name that is recognisable, shown through the font of the title and the colours used.

LayoutWith half of the page being pictures, it gives the reader a better insight of what's in the issue. Because it is all very cramped together, it makes the magazine seem a bit more edgy. Having four stars in the bottom left hand corner it makes it seem like the magazine is star quality, and worth a read.

Kerrang! Double page spread

LayoutThe layout of Kerrang!’s double page spreads are very much the same in every issue, cramming more pictures in than words, and usually having one big picture on the left or right page, not much writing is involved. There is always a white box on the right hand side which asks the band questions about who influences them the most in the music industry.

House styleThe house style sticks to the same colours and fonts as the front page, using reds and blacks. With the same font to introduce the band, the house styling is affective because again, it shows the colours associated with rock.

NME double page spread

Layout The layout in NME is very basic, it only has one, but a very large picture on the right hand page which takes up the entire page, and a quote which takes up half of the other page, this quote has been arranged to look like words cut out of a newspaper, which again gives it a very old fashioned feel, and that it belongs in a newspaper, not a music magazine.

House style The house style is very basic, sticking to the colours black and white, and a little bit of red. They have clearly thought the colours through because Lily Allen’s shirt is the same colours as the content, making the picture stand out more, and making the magazine seem a bit more edgy as they are sticking to the colours of that style of music.

Rock sound double page spread

LayoutThe layout of Rock sounds double page spreads are very different in every issue, cramming more pictures in than words, and usually having one big picture on the left or right page, not much writing is involved. In this case, the picture takes up the whole page, and the writing has been placed on top.

House styleThe house style here is very different to the front page, as it uses yellow instead of red. The yellow writing matches Haley Williams’ hair which has been made to stand out above the rest of the band, this is very affective as it shows who the main person in the band is.