The magazine logo ‘Q’ is positioned at the top left hand side of the page. The slogan is printed underneath it, and as the title is

positioned in the same place on both ‘Billboard’ and ‘Blender’, it suggests this is

a convention of music magazines.

‘Q’ Magazine Analysis, Front Cover There are suggestions of 140 songs to download and a list of 26 recommended

festivals. These are highlighted in a vibrant yellow and as a result, would

immediately catch the attention of the target audience and promote any artists

or festivals of the pop/rock genre.Several current popular artists are mentioned on the front cover

(highlighted in green), for example, Jay-Z and Kanye West. This would

attract the Target Audience as they may be fans of these artists, or are

interested in the same genre of music.

The splash image shows a medium shot of Lana Del Rey, and her name is written

in a girly pink font beside the image. The colour pink is stereotypically

associated with women, and so it would appeal to a female target audience. It may also appeal to women as the font

looks very similar to lipstick.

At the bottom of the page, we can see the rhetorical question ‘so what’s so bloody good?’ This pun relates to the

splash image and is similar to a headline on a newspaper. It will both amuse and capture the attention of the consumer.

The colour scheme consists of shades of red, pink and black. Red

and pink often have connotations of love or passion, and are

stereotypically feminine. This would suggest that again, the target

audience is women.

The bar code is positioned at the bottom right of the page, and as this is a typical convention of all

magazines, I will replicate this on my own magazine.

The splash image shows the singer Lana Del Rey wearing a white dress and a tiara with blood stains on her face. This is not an image consumers will see very often

and so immediately captures their interest. As the artist is wearing a white

dress, there are connotations of innocence and naivety. The dress also looks as if it could be nightwear and so perhaps the image is suggesting Del Rey is confused. This is further emphasised by her vacant facial expression and the position of her

hand, which could be interpreted as either scratching her head (a very

common characteristic of confusion) or adjusting her tiara. The sparkly tiara instantly produces connotations of a

Princess – kind, generous, beautiful. As these are all positive, the tiara may be used as a promotional strategy for her public image. Another interpretation is that she is wearing a Princess tiara to

present herself as a role model for young girls. The entire image gives the

impression of innocence and kindness. However, the blood is a huge contrast to this. The fact that she is bleeding could

suggest there is an edge to her music, or she has overcome something in her life. It will attract the attention of the consumer

as it is intriguing and unique.

The artist has very long, perfectly styled hair. This could relate to Mulvey’s theory, as long, flowing hair is considered to be attractive

to men, and so she may just be a focus for the ‘male gaze’.

‘Blender’ Magazine Analysis, Front CoverAt the top of the page, there is an advertisement for free downloads. This will immediately attract the attention of the Target Audience because everybody

loves to receive free gifts. This may influence their decision to buy the

magazine if they are interested in the ’10 hot new tracks’. The fact that is also

references the page number next to the advertisement only encourages the

consumer to read on.

The magazine logo ‘Blender’ is written in black, bold font at the top of the

page. Again, we can see this position is a typical convention of music

magazines. We can also see that the artist, Katy Perry, has been placed in

front of the word ‘Blender’. This is replicated on both ‘Q’ magazine and

‘Billboard’. Due to this placement, the focus of attention from the Target

Audience is transferred to the splash image. I will use this technique on my

own magazine.

All of the text used is written in the same font, with variations of two colours (pink and black). As the background is white, both of these colours contrast greatly,

capturing the attention of the consumer. Interestingly, the names of artists or bands are often pink. This will enable

them to be recognised by the T/A very easily.

The colour scheme – white, pink and black – would appeal to a female Target

Audience as they are stereotypically associated with women.

The splash image is a long shot of Katy Perry wearing a very

revealing outfit. This could relate to Mulvey’s theory ‘The Male

Gaze’ as the artist has a lot of skin on show and she may be

considered an object of desire for men. Perry also has very glossy

hair which could suggest she is a femme fatale. However, the pink bow in her hair and the plastic-

looking watch she is wearing suggest a childlike appearance. This produces two conflicting

images – sexy or sweet/innocent. This would appeal to a younger

generation as they may see her as a role model.

Artificial lighting has been used to emphasise all of Perry’s natural

features. This is not a realistic image of women and so again, may relate to

Mulvey’s theory ‘The Male Gaze’ as she is the embodiment of the ‘perfect

woman’ for men to desire.

Personally, I dislike the presentation of this front cover as it is very simplistic. When I create my own magazine, I will use a more complex layout with a darker colour scheme.

‘Billboard’ Magazine Analysis, Front CoverThe magazine logo ‘Billboard’ is positioned at top of the front

cover, and again we can see that the artist is positioned in front of

it so that the attention is directed towards Rihanna.

The same font is used on each section of text. This is mirrored in both ‘Q’ and ‘Blender’ magazine.

The fact that the font has a monochrome colour scheme

enables it to stand out from the background and as a result, is

easily readable and will catch the consumer’s eye.

Unlike ‘Q’ and ‘Blender’ magazine, this cover has a dark background.

Personally, I think the colour scheme works very well and I will incorporate the presentation of

this cover into my own magazine.

The colour scheme consists of red, white and dark blue. These are

contrasting colours and it gives the illusion of a night time atmosphere.

The bar code is positioned at the bottom of the page, just like

‘Blender’ and ‘Billboard’ magazine.

The artist’s name ‘RIHANNA’ is written in bold letters in the centre of the page. This will immediately capture the attention of the target

audience if they are familiar with the artist or are fans of her music.

At the top of the page we can see a membership being offered. This gives the consumer a chance to interact with the media and may interest a young T/A

as stereotypically, they are more familiar with social media. Also, the fact that it is in yellow makes it stand out and catches the attention of the consumer.

We can also see the website ‘billboardevents.com’ advertised. Again, this

provides the consumer with a way to interact with the

Billboard company.

The splash image is a medium close-up of the singer, Rihanna. She has vibrant red hair and red lipstick

to match. The colour red is often associated with passion, seduction and/or danger. This could suggest

that the artist is being presented as desirable or a temptation. This is further exaggerated by her facial expression, which appears to be

mysterious or sexy. Similarly, Rihanna is not wearing

conservative clothing. However, as it is white, it could suggest that she

can be sweet and innocent. This relates to ‘The Male Gaze’ as

Rihanna is presented as a desirable object. She looks very feminine,

and could be interpreted as a femme fatale. Like most women in

the media, she appears to be beautiful (emphasised by the

artificial lighting) and sexy, and at the same time, innocent and kind.

In the background, we can see that Rihanna is lying on red roses. Roses have strong connotations of love and

romance, and so this emphasises the passion of the image.