The conventions of pop music magazines

The Conventions of Pop Music Magazines

Front Covers.

Mastheads.

The masthead will always stand out and the consumers eye lines should be drawn to this.

For example – This red Q is found on all Q magazines, it always stands out from the background due to the writing being a different colour to the box colour.

The masthead should have a relation for music.For example –

‘Top of the Pops’ is a good example of this as it involves the word pop which is a well known genre of music. Top of the Pops is also a well known TV show.

The cover lines should have some link to the featured artists of the magazine. The band or artist must attract the chosen target audience.

Coverlines.

This cover line from top of the pops magazine, is in reference to Jessie J, who is the main image on the front cover. This will attract the audience as Jessie J is a huge POP artist.

Back Ground Image

The Background image should show a Band or an Artist who will please the target audience of the Magazine. The artist or band should be the same Genre of music as the magazine too.

Q magazine have featured Beyoncé as their main image for this edition of Q. She is a dominant female and attracts a huge audience.

Colour Scheme

What the magazine producer would need to consider when picking a colour scheme would be whether the magazine is Male or Female. Once they have chosen this should be made clear on the front cover.

MALEFEMALE

Contents Pages

Title of the magazine.

The title of the magazine is usually repeated, including the date to prove its the latest version.

Page Numbers

The contents page will include a variety of page numbers. This is so the

consumer finds it easy to find the stories and certain pages they are

looking for.

This is an example from Top of the Pops magazine.

Sub-Headings

A contents page should usually contain sub headings next to the page numbers. This is to give a clear idea of what is inside and makes it easy to navigate.

Colour Scheme

The colour scheme normally continues with the same colour scheme as the Front cover has.

But this might not always be the case.

Image.

The image will be of a band or an artist of the same

genre as the magazine. It would usually have a

caption and this would make the readers drawn

to the image and will make them want to read

the feature story.

Colloqial Language

This is found on most pop magazines, to suit the target audience. It would usually suit a

younger audience.

Bold Fonts

The main features of the contents page are usually bold, or in some cases a different colour to make it stand out. This is also used in sub headings and cover lines to indicate what the story is about.

Double Page Spread

Well known Artist or Band

A double page spread will usually feature a well known celebrity that may have been the main focus on the front cover.

A title that stands out

The title must stick out from the page to show the reader who and what they are reading

about.

A Well Written Story or Q&A page.

Each double page spread that features a celebrity should have a story or questions, and

the celebrity must be the same genre as the magazine.