Analysing Music

Magazines

Analysing Front Covers

The Masthead “Kerrang” is the name of this music magazine. The masthead is sans serif and white. This is contrasted against the dark black background. The shatter pattern across the title connotes that the music magazine genre is rock.

This is the main cover line is bold and black which contrasts against the white background. This has been down this way in order to show you that “Paramore” is the main feature of this magazine. By making the name eye catching it will attract “Paramore” fans.

This is the main choice of colours that feature on the front page are yellow and black. There is a connection between the cover image and text due to the fact Hayley is wearing a yellow shirt with the word “security” in black on it. This allows there to be a house style across the page and the colour scheme is yellow and black which the magazine stick to across the front cover.

This Pug gives attention to a feature in the magazine. The black contrasts against the yellow around the pug and the yellow on the t-shirt.

In the footer of the magazine it is a final indication of what can be seen inside the magazine. This allows Kerrang to put further information that is important and will grab the readers attention since it is on the front cover.

The header of the magazine has been used to promote a. competition. The yellow background enables the black font to be bold and easy to read. Similarly, the same technique of choice in colours has been used to highlight “Hayley” name.

The barcode on the magazine positioned at the bottom right of the magazine. Doing this make the magazine look aesthetically pleasing. Another use of the barcode is for the date line and the Issue number.

Rule of thirds have been used for effect as the other two cover features are bold and eye-catching. Placing them on this side of the page allows them to be seen more clearly. This allows more fan bases to see this magazine and purchase it.

This is the main cover image is a medium shot of “Hayley” the lead singer of “Paramore”. She has and iconic face which her fans will recognise. Being the main image suggests she is likely to have a feature about her in the magazine which then attracts her fan base audience to purchase this magazine.

The main Cover line is in a larger font suggesting it’s the bigger feature in this magazine. Shadows have been used on the words “Janet Jackson” in order to make the name literally stand out at you . The blue font is chosen as it is the colour that stands out the most on the magazine compared to the salmon pink colour.

The cover lines follow the house style of pink and blue. In order to make the colours stand out there is a slight white edging around the letters which makes the cover lines pop and stand out.

The barcode on the magazine positioned at the bottom left of the magazine. Doing this make the magazine look aesthetically pleasing. Another use of the barcode is for the date line and the Issue number.

The main cover image is of “Janet Jackson” . This image is a medium shot and she is looking directly at the audience. Do this allows there to be a connection with the magazine and audience as is it looking directly at creating a more personal connection.

The masthead “Vibe” has been slightly covered by “Janet Jackson”. This suggests that “Vibe” is a well known music magazine. The pink follows the house style and bring continuity to the colours as the same pink from the mast head is used in the cover lines.

The Masthead “Kerrang” is the name of this music magazine. The shatter pattern across the title connotes that the music magazine genre is

The cover lines also use the colours black and white as it helps break up the text on the page but allows is to stand out against pink and blue font .

The number 15 has been put in a large font in order to make it stand out and emphasise the fact there is “15 crucial video game”. The black font also help the attention go straight to the number as the black is a strong contrast against the light pink.

The black font is used here as it is a strong contrast against the blue which allows the words “the untold story of” to be noticeable. Doing this emphasise the untold story making you interested and want to read it.

The masthead in in a bold white sans serif font. This is then contrasted with the red filled “b” and the yellow filled “d”. The fact that the masthead has been slightly covered by the main cover image of “Rihanna” the fact this has been done shows us that “Billboard” is a recognisable and well known music magazine.

The header at the top of the magazine in order to add that little bit of extra information as to what the magazine is about. The yellow font is distinguished from the white.

The cover lines are very clear as they are bold black font which has then been put on a contrasting white back ground. This allows that font to read and stand out better. They have been put into a column on the left side of the magazine in order to keep it stand out if the left side is showing when stacked.

The main cover line is “Rihanna” is written in gradient and in a bold white font The heading take up most of the front cover whereas the masthead doesn’t. This shows us that the singer herself is more popular than the magazine. The bigger the font, the more likely it is to be noticed.

The “Billboard” is another word used to describe the charts. Having “Rihanna” chosen to be the main image is highly appropriate as she herself has been top in the chart many times.

The use of the quote “My fans don’t really know who I am” has been cleverly used in order to gain interest and curiosity as to who “Rihanna” really is. Also, it allows us to get a small insight as to what her article is really about.

The bar code is a conventional image to have on the magazine as it is used to purchase the magazine.

Analysing Contents Page

The Masthead “Spin” from the magazine cover is also featured on the contents page. This is done so that you are reminded that “Spin” is the magazine you are reading

The date line has also been put on the contents pages which is very common to see.

The contents page includes a column titled “features” . This is used so that they only have to mention the main pieces in the magazine which can quickly be found. The features are in bold and a bigger font in order to stand out against the information bellow it, but also because it help to make it stand out and eye catching to the reader.

The main image feature on the magazine shows Duffy as looking quite glamorous. Her make up and hair are flawless. The glamour formal vibe is contradicted with the casual choice of clothing. This can then be suggested that the magazine itself isn't extremely formal.

The contents also include a quote taken from the artists article. This allows the audience to get a sneak peek as to what the article is about, but also highlight who the person is in the contents page photo.

This part of the contents page allows credit to be given to the people who contributed to the cover image such as the photographer and stylists. It also allows to you see where the clothing has been purchased and where you can get them from by their websites.

The main image shows Duffy holding a ukulele. This helps indicate to the reader that this is a music magazine. The pink colour stands out and contrasts with the colours used in the contents page, but also emphasizes her femininity. This helps draw our attention to the musical instrument.

The information has been put in a box to show it separate from the contents information which then allows it to stand out with the bold white text.

The page numbers have been put in blue as it is a colour that helps it stand out against the greyish back ground and the black text.

A greyscale colour scheme has been used allowing the bold red heart to be the only colour on the contents page. Due the reds boldness is means it is the first thing the viewer notices. The single heart-shaped prop in the woman's hand suggests love and that a women has captured his heart. This raises the idea that the article on Kanye West is about his love life .

The contents page includes a column titled “features” . This is used so that they only have to mention the main pieces in the magazine which can quickly be found.

The “features” and “fashion” are in bold serif. The fact they are in the same font enable continuity in the contents page.

The contents page has a single column on the right hand side of the page. When reading the contents page your eyes follow from left to right. Vibe clearly wanted Kanye West being the main focus feature to be seen first. The contents are the last thing you see.

The Faint light grey background is contrasted by the darker shade of grey of the letter “V”. This reminds you that this magazine is “Vibe” magazine. The “V” from “Vibe” is used on the contents page as it enables continuity during the transfer from the front cover and the contents page.

The main image of “Kanye West” suggests that within the magazine there is a feature from “Kanye West” the image promotes them. Using a large image of him that takes up the entire left side of the page makes it clear that he is there main feature which fans will be able to spot quickly.

The word “contents” has a stylish and bold layout out on the page. This is an abstract way of present the word as most magazine simple write the word “contents” across the page. “Vibe” do this with all their magazines which makes them doing it this was iconic to that magazine. This helps make it recognizable to fans.

There is an image of the front cover of the “Kerrang” front cover. This enables there to be a link between the front cover and contents page.

This focus of the magazine is drawn straight away towards this image compared the rest of the other images. Having our focus more drawn to this suggest there is a bigger feature about “you me at six” compared to other bands as they are more likely to be the main feature in the magazine. Also, comically, the magazine has give their article the page number “6” which also happens to be the same number that appears in the bands title.

This paragraph is from the editor and is telling us about the editor which could give us an insight as to what the magazine is about. The audience will find this interesting as it makes a connection between the audience and the creators of “Kerrang”.

The picture of the band seem to be portraying a Halloween spoof look which connote a laid back attitude, but they know how to have some fun. Doing the picture this way gives a insight into the bands personality and what they are like at people.There are many different article shown with the corresponding image. This suggests that even though they are the main feature of the magazine they are however important features that deserves a lot of attention which is given to them as the first thing you see is the image.

The title “contents” and the different category titles use the same colours, yellow and black. This is because the theme of the colours of the magazine are these colours, using these colours helps keep the house style making the magazine look far more professional and coherent, but it also make the use of these colours iconic to this magazine.

The quotation from the artist is quite comical and will make the audience laugh. This shows that the magazine can be laid back and fun. The use of the ellipsis shows the audience there is more to the quote which make the reader want to read the rest of the article to find out more.

The different subject titles have been used here to help separate the articles into different categories of the magazine. This helps the audience to separate the articles they want to read about and what they don’t want to read about. This makes it quicker for the audience to find what they want.

The magazine subscription is being advertised here and offers a discount on future purchases of the magazine. This creates and interest to the audience and the discount may persuade them to buy more issues and get a subscription to the magazine.

Analysing Double Page

Spreads

The main and only image on the double page spread fills up the entire left side of the page and part come across on to the next page also. This is similarly seen in the “vibe” contents page of kanye west as he is also taken up most of the left side of the page. With the righting then being placed on the right.

The Text on the right hand side has been neatly aligned into three column which are in black font.

The colour scheme used fits the house style as the contents page of Kanye West is in greyscale apart from the red heart. Here, the same has been done, everything is in black, white or grey except for the red stripes on the white table cloth and Florence's hair. Doing this allows the image to stand against the plain grey background. This makes our eye draw straight away to the image which shows us who the article is about before reading.

The feature headline is made up of two different font one being a translucent, large, bold font. The second is a smaller, opaque, italic script type font. The second part of the heading draws more attention to itself, due to the bold black font. Also, the heading has been cleverly worded as it is referring to one of Florence songs; ‘You Got the Love’.

The drop cap here matches the same font used in the second part of the heading. This helps to keep the house style across the double page spread

The introduction to the article highlights “Florence Welch” in a blue font as it helps her name stand out against the rest of the text which it just black. The colour blue fits the house style across the double page spread since “USA” colours are blue, white and red, all these colours feature somewhere on the double page spread.

The headline of the double page spread consists of two different fonts. The words “dirty little” are in a serif font and pale pink. The effect of this make the title seem quite feminine and innocent. This is then contrasted by the word “secrets”. “Secrets” has been written in a grunge, masculine burnt red font. This suggest that there are two sides to the band , half being innocent and the other half being quite rebellious rockers.

The title has been cleverly chosen as not only does it accurately reflect what the article is about which is the confession to their secretes, but it is also the title to one of their songs.

The colour scheme used on the double page spread coincides with the colours of the clothing that the lead singer of the band is wearing. This makes the double page spread look coherent and makes a connection between the image and the text about the image.

The text has been placed into columns and look very orderly making it easier to read. The colours used on the text indicate when a question is being asked and also who is answering. This structured colour coded question and answer make it easy for the read to see what the article is about.

The smaller black and white images around the main image help give the reader a better perspective as to who they are as a group and individually. The red outline around the image help define the image and again to define the individual.

The pull quote “I was tripping balls” gives a quick insight as to something one of the band member said. This makes the read question what is it they were doing for them to have said this which then make the reader go on to read the article to find out what was making him “tripping balls”.

The dark background also supports the dark edgy vibe that the headline font suggests. The dark background helps the white stand out as it is its contrasting colour. This make the text easy to read.

The colour of the shirt and the colour of the highlighted text are the same. The effect of the magazine doing this keep the link between the image and the text. The image shows you who he is and the highlighted text give a brief outline as to who he is. Using the same colours create continuity and keep the house style across the double page spread.

There is a picture credit here. This is to tell the reader who took the photo and the picture has been taken of.

The image of Pete supports the edge rock theme that the title and colours chosen connotes as he is tired, has messy black hair, unshaven, and shirt look untidy with the collar not straight. His facial expression mocks the traditional magazine pose, this mocking give the impression he is quite fun, quirky and immature.

The article headline takes up almost a third of the page. The bold white font has cracks and splatters which makes it look quite edgy . This connotes the genre of the magazine is also quite edgy.

The drop cap here matches the same font used in the heading. This helps to keep the house style across the double page spread.

The back ground is white. The plain background helps Pete to stand out. The background being white helps separate the two pages as the background on the other page is white.