CASE STUDY

• Top of the Pops magazine is a monthly publication published by BBC magazines. It features chart information, star gossip, fashion and beauty advice, quizzes, song lyrics and posters. It is a supplementary magazine for the TV show Top of the Pops

• Top of the Pop’s magazine has been running since February 1995, and filled the void in the BBC magazine portfolio where Number One magazine used to be. It began much in the mould of Q magazine, then changed its editorial policy to directly compete with popular teen celebrity magazines such as and Big, with free sticker giveaways replacing Brett Anderson covers.

• An early feature on the Spice Girls coined the famous "Spice" nicknames for each member (Baby, Ginger, Posh Scary and Sporty) that stayed with them throughout their career as a group and beyond.

• The BBC announced that the magazine would continue in publication despite the end of the television series, and is still running.

• The title has had several editors over the years, including Peter Lorraine, Corinna Schaffer and Rosalie Snaith, and contributing editors including Adam Tanswell. Its current editor is Peter Hart.

BACK GROUND DETAILS

TOP OF THE POP‘S TODAY• The cover price of Top of the Pop’s is £2.99

and the magazine is issued monthly. It’s circulation is 78,352 and readership is 331,000. 15% of boys read it and 87% of girls read it although its target audience is females. The magazine consists of about 67 pages all filled with enticing girly gossip about music, boys and fashion!

This is an edition of Top of the Pops from 2001. 11 years ago and 6 years after the magazine was first published. As you can see conventions are very much the same then as they are now. A music artist (Britney Spears) is used as the main image which fills the frame. The other artists featured are all also pop artists (Craig David and Hearsay). The colour scheme is also the same then as it is today: pink. Pink is a feminine colour which will appeal to the target audience and make them want to pick up and buy the magazine. The mast head is also placed in the same place as it is in today’s editions; the top left hand corner. It is placed there because that is the first place the Western eye will look.

CONTENT• Content is entirely devoted to pop music with

music/band news and articles, celebrity gossip and fashion tips are also a major part of the magazine. Quizzes and competition pages are present too.

• Bands and artists that commonly feature are: One Direction, Little Mix, The Saturdays, Tulisa, Cheryl Cole, JLS and Justin Beiber.

• The magazine offers free posters, reflecting the largely youth readership.

STYLE• Top of the Pops features a lot of iconography

associated with pop/chart music and the scene that surrounds it, e.g. fashion, boys, make-up, etc.

• The magazine is visual, image-heavy.• The magazine features a lot of uppercase text in a

fun and quirky font.• Feminine colours are featured most strongly, such as

pink white, blue and lilac, creating feminine feel which suggests a young, fun, feminine female readership.

Feminine colours are featured most strongly, such as pink white, blue and lilac

The magazine features a lot of uppercase text in a fun and quirky font.

The magazine is visual, image-heavy.

Top of the Pops features a lot of iconography associated with pop/chart music and the scene that surrounds it, e.g. fashion, boys, make-up, etc.

STYLE

MODE OF ADDRESS

• Casual, featuring informal words and phrases that the TA might use.

• The tone of expression used by a young fan of pop music is established.

• Friendly and down-to-earth, suggesting a good, friend-to-friend relationship between reader an magazine.

Casual, featuring informal words and phrases that the TA might use. (e.g. ‘lush’)

MODE OF ADDRESS

Has headline and sub headings that the target audience can relate to.

MODE OF ADDRESS

EXAMPLES OF MODE OF ADDRESS:• ‘AMAZEBALLS’• ‘LUSH’• ‘WHO’S THE FITTEST?’• ‘CRINGE!’• ‘BRILLIANT, BARGAIN, BUYS’• ‘SWAGGY’• ‘LOL’• ‘WOW!’• ‘OMG!’

OWNERSHIP• The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) owns Top

of the Pop’s magazine. The BBC corporation also owns another music magazine called .... Top of the Pop’s magazine is sister of TV show Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, which was a music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1st January 1964 and 30th July 2006. The BBC is a massive company that is known world wide so the fact that the magazine is owned by them is a massive benefit.