Music magazines Textual Analysis

MASTHEADThe masthead for ‘Mixmag’ is located across the top of the magazine so that it stands out. The masthead is also a larger font to the rest of the text which means that the audience would be able to recognise it from a distance. For each magazine the colour of the logo is different. In this instance, they have chosen orange because it contrasts with the black and white of the photograph so that the orange is eye catching. Even though the text is in lower case letters, it still stands out due to the thickness of the font.

MAIN IMAGEThe image of Annie Mac is a medium shot so that the audience can see what she looks like properly as well as what she is wearing. The image fills the front cover to draw more attention to the celebrity. Annie has been positioned in the middle of the photo with space around her so that text can fill the gaps. The text is all around Annie’s face which attracts attention to her.

SUBHEADINGEven though the sub heading is small, it is eye catching due to the different colour use. The orange emphasises the main part of the sentence so that it attracts the audience; when people look at it from a distance the orange would stand out more than the white. They have positioned the sub heading purposely below the celebrities name so that the audience knows that the sub heading is connected to her.

COVER LINESThere is a lot of cover lines vertically down the right hand side of the front cover. Each cover line is alternately orange and white to make it eye catching and to show that each cover line is a different story. Each cover line is in capital letters to emphasise the font more to attract the audience.

GENREThe magazine cover makes the genre look pop/R&B because of the style of font. Annie Mac is also an R&B/pop singer so by looking at the image it gives a hint to the audience of the type of genre the magazine is going to be about.

AUDIENCEThe audience for Mixmag is likely to be teenagers/young adults because of the genre of music and the colour scheme used for the magazine. The colours are bright and interesting.

MISE-EN-SCENEThe artist is wearing a black top which could suggest that she has a dark side to her or that she is hiding something from her fans. She is also wearing a gold chain which could represent her wealth and fame in the music business. The way that her hair covers part of her face also suggest something mysterious.

COLOUR SCHEMEThe colour scheme used for the front cover is a mixed of light and dark colours. The only real colour is the orange used on the text.

CONTENTS PAGE ANALYSIS OF MAIN IMAGEThe main image for this Mixmag contents page implies that this magazine is targeted at young adults and teenagers. This is because the image is taken at a party which suggests that the genre of music would be pop/dance music which younger adults and teenagers are interested in. The colours that have been used in the image are bright and usually attract a younger audience. The image takes up most of the page which suggests that they are trying to attract the audience.

SKYLINEThe skyline for this particular Mixmag contents page is located along the top of the page. This makes room for the main image and the column of contents. The skyline includes the name of the magazine, the month and the year of the issue and ‘contents’ to inform the reader that it is the contents page. The skyline also consists of different fonts which makes it more appealing to the target audience and to add excitement and creativity.

COLUMNSColumns have been used vertically down the right hand side of the contents page next to the main image. The writing is small but the colours used makes it stand out a lot against the black.

SUB HEADINGSThe subheadings used in this particular Mixmag contents page is ‘VIP’ and ‘Your free CD’. Both subheadings are in the same size and font which makes it clear to the audience to identify that these are the headings to pay attention to. They are also in capital letters which makes them more eye catching and attractive. ‘VIP’ attracts the audience’s attention because it will be something important, and ‘Your free CD’ is attracting the audience because it is trying to encourage people to read the magazine by offering something for free.

OTHER FEATURESThe other features in this Mixmag contents page are located horizontally across the bottom of the page. The font is significantly smaller than the rest of the text which could suggest that is isn’t as important as the other information. The text is also coloured white so that it stands out against the black background. A few parts of text are coloured yellow. This could be to add more colour to the page and also to attract attention to that particular piece of information. Yellow has also been used to number the ‘VIP’ section.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD ANALYSIS OF IMAGESThe main image used in this Mixmag double page spread is located in the top left hand corner of the page. The two shot includes bright colours like yellow, orange and pink. The brightness of the colours make the image eye catching and attractive. There are four other smaller images on the page. This could suggest to the reader that these articles aren’t as important as the article associated with the larger image. The other images also include similar colours which links the articles together. The images consist of young adults at a party. This could reflect the target audience of Mixmag and what genre of music the magazine focus’s on.

HEADINGThe main heading on this double page spread is located in the top left hand corner of the page, ‘the big 3’. This doesn’t give must insight about the page but when you read on we discover it means the 3 biggest nightclubs.

COLOUR SCHEMEYellow and pink are the two main colours in this double page spread that make the page look interesting. It is attracting the reader by making the articles look bouncy and exciting to read. Pink and yellow also link to a young theme of the magazine audience.

FONTThe font used in each subheading is the same which helps the reader identify that when there is a new article/topic. The font is in black, bold lettering which jumps out to the reader. Even though the font isn’t in capital letters it still stands out due to the size of the font used and the colour. Black also stands out against the white background. The font is rounded and informal which links to the night club theme in this article. By looking at the font the reader would be able to tell that the article won’t be serious and formal

COLUMNSAll of the different sections of text in the double page spread are laid out in columns. This makes the double page spread look like it is in the style of a newspaper but more informal. Columns also attract the reader more because it is harder to read chunks of text rather than when the text is laid out in smaller chunks, like in columns.

OTHER FEATURESEach section of writing has been numbered in pink. This is helping the reader to identify that it is a new topic in the page. The font for each number consists of several pink lines to make up that number. The makes the article look more fun and bouncy which matches the target audience of Mixmag magazine. The pink makes the number stand out on the page because it catches the readers eye because it is bright. Pink has connotations of happiness and love which links to how the article is about night clubs and parties. The pink also matches the pink line located at the top of the page.

• Mixmag is the world’s biggest selling dance music magazine

• Mixmag is available in every continent – each issue comes with a free mix CD

• Mixmag contains news, features, fashion, charts, reviews, and is widely respected for its authority in the dance community and its laugh-out-loud humour.

MASTHEADThe masthead for NME has been positioned carefully in the left hand side upper corner of the magazine in capital, red letters. The font is significantly bigger than any other text on the page which draws attention to which magazine it is. Furthermore, the masthead has been positioned behind the celebrity which gives power and status to the celebrity. The colour chose for the masthead is red which is a primary colour. This makes the ‘NME’ stand out significantly well compared to the other subheadings.

MAIN IMAGEThe main image of the male covers the whole front cover of the magazine which draws attention to him. The way that the masthead has been positioned behind the music artist gives him power and status which makes the audience think that a large part of the magazine will be an article based on him. The man is holding a record which stands out because it is the darkest part of the cover. This prop could also suggest something about the story which will be inside the magazine.

MISE-EN-SCENEThe artist is dressed in a black top which makes him eye catching because it is one of darkest parts of the front cover. Likewise, the record he is holding has the same affect due to the colour of it. The shirt he is wearing has a red rose on it which compliments the colour scheme of ‘NME’

COLOUR SCHEMEThe main colour scheme for NME is red because of the masthead. A few cover lines and objects have purposely been coloured red so that it matches the magazine title; ‘NME’

SUBHEADINGThe main subheading on this front cover is ‘The record that changed my life’ which is positioned along the bottom of the magazine cover. It is in a different font to the cover lines to make it attract more attention. It is also bigger than the cover lines. The subheading has purposely been coloured white. This contrasts with the colour of his top behind the text to make it stand out to the audience.

COVER LINESThe cover lines on the cover have been positioned around the artists face to draw attention to the artist. The cover lines are also a range of different colours so that each individual ones stands out. A couple of the cover lines are red which is so that it links to the ‘NME’ masthead. One of the main cover lines is ‘Arctic Monkeys’ which is coloured red to draw attention to it. This is done because the artist is part of Arctic Monkeys. GENREThe genre for this magazine is likely to be hip hop/indie rock type of music. This is suggested by the record the artist is holding. Arctic Monkeys is a indie rock band so with the band being on the front cover this gives a hint to the audience.

AUDIENCEThe audience that is likely to be attracted to this magazine is young adults and teenagers. This is due to the style of music it links to and the genre of the music they are advertising.

CONTENTS PAGE ANALYSIS OF SKYLINEThe masthead for NME has been used in the skyline to inform the reader that this contents page is for the NME magazine. The skyline has been located horizontally along the top of the page in large, white lettering. This is the largest piece of text which makes it stand out significantly. The skyline also includes the date and year of the issue. The background of the skyline has been coloured black, whereas the main background of the contents page is white so this makes the skyline stand out a lot.

MAIN IMAGEThe main image is this particular NME contents page is a photograph of a band. This could suggest that one of the main headlines is to do with this band so they are giving the audience a flavour of what is to come. The image gives the contents page more colour which makes it attractive and eye catching.

COLUMNSColumns are used on the right hand side of the page and down the left hand side of the page. This makes more room for the main image to attract the reader.

SUB HEADINGSThere are many sub headings in this particular contents page due to a lot of different information on the page. Down the right hand side of the page the sub headings categorize each main article headings that will be in the magazine. The sub headings are in capital letters which makes them jump out to the reader and it has been coloured white because it contrasts with the black background to make it eye catching. The other sub headings on the page are also in capital letters so that it is easy for the reader to recognise that it is a sub heading.

OTHER FEATURESThe other features on the page include advertisements and insights to what is on other pages in the magazine. The insight in the bottom right hand corner is coloured red which makes it attractive to the audience but it also matches the NME masthead at the top. A few of the texts are coloured red as well for the same reason. The advertisement for subscribing at the bottom of the page is coloured yellow. This is a primary colour like red which makes them both more eye catching than none primary colours. The designer of NME would of chose these colours purposely in order to attract the audience.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD ANALYSIS OF IMAGEThere is only one image on this particular NME double page spread. This is located on the left hand page of the spread, it dominates the whole page. The image consists of one person which is suggesting that the article will be about him. The way that the artist dominated the entire page will mean that it will attract the readers attention because it isn’t hard for them to miss. This double page suggests that they are wanting the reader to focus on the one artist because they haven’t included any other smaller images on the page.

‘NEWS’In the top left hand corner of the left hand page there is a black box that says ‘NEWS’ in bold, red lettering. Underneath there is a link to NME’s website. This is promoting NME by trying to persuade the reader to read more news on their website. ‘NEWS’ stands out due to the colour red and that the font is in capital letters.

COLOUR SCHEMEThe background of the double page spread is light grey. Even though this isn’t an excited colour, it makes the headline, image and text look more interesting because they are coloured brightly.

BORDERThe border around the edge of the double page spread is spotlights. This makes the page look very professional and exciting because it is putting the page in the spotlight.

HEADLINEThe headline consists of each line being a different size and colour. This makes it look very attractive and fun for the reader because it isn’t formal or boring. The heading also overlaps onto the left hand page which gives the heading dominance and status over the rest of the text on the page. The headline has been coloured white and pink. This contrasts with the grey background which makes the headline eye catching. This is good because it will attract the audience and persuade them to read the article. ‘Absolutely’ has been purposely made bigger in the headline to draw attention to that word. The font has also been changed for ‘absolutely’ which could suggest that the author of the article wants people to pay attention to it. It also dominates the page due to the size of the word which is also suggesting the same thing.

SUB HEADINGThe sub heading in this NME double page spread is the same font and colour as the headline, but smaller. The size of the text makes it clear to the reader that this sentence isn’t as important as the heading. The majority of the sub heading has been coloured white but a few words have been coloured pink. The purpose of this would be so that the reader pays closer attention to them than the other parts of the sub heading.

COVER LINESThroughout the columns located on the right hand page, every so often there are parts with a white background. These cover lines help the reader to identify that there will be different piece of information in that section. By colouring them with a white background it makes them stand out against the grey background to draw attention to the reader.

Not surprisingly NME readers are completely obsessed by music. Reader research has demonstrated that they rely on the editorial and the ads to keep them up to date with new music. This knowledge then makes them the authority in music in their peer group.

MASTHEADThe masthead of the magazine is ‘Q’ which has been positioned in the top left hand corner of the page. The colour is red which makes the white ‘Q’ stand out because they compliment each other. However, it has been positioned behind the subheading and two of the artists on the image which is giving power and attention to the artists themselves instead of the name of the magazine. The masthead still stands out by itself due to the primary colour red that has been used.

MAIN IMAGEThe artists on this image for this ‘Q’ magazine has been photo shopped on. We know this because they don’t have a real background around them. However, due to the unrealistic sense, it makes the artists stand out a lot more because they seem to be closer towards the audience. The four artists have been positioned differently which suggests their power in the band. For example. The person at the front must be the main singer in the band.

MISE-EN-SCENEEach artist in the main image are wearing different colours of clothing. This makes the magazine stand out significantly because it will be eye catching from far away. The audience are usually more attracted by a larger range of colours. The singer on the far right hand side is wearing red which matches the masthead.

COLOUR SCHEMEThere isn’t a colour scheme for this particular magazine because there is such a large range of colours used. The colours are bright and bubbly which colour suggest the genre/audience.

SUBHEADINGThere are two main subheadings for this magazine; ‘50 best albums of 2015’ and ‘Coldplay’. Each subheading is either black or white which contrasts with the colourful background. They are also in capital letters to attract the audience and the fonts used are both in bold lettering. Together, this makes the subheadings look large and attractive. One subheading has been positioned along the top of the cover and the other one is across the centre of the cover. The one in the centre says ‘Coldplay’ which means it is clearly advertising the band that are behind the text.

COVER LINESThe cover lines for the front cover are mostly in a white font in capital letters. Against the colourful background the white stands out significantly. A few of the subheadings are coloured red to match the ‘Q’ masthead.

GENREThe genre for this particular magazine is pop/rock music. The audience will know this by the band ‘Coldplay’ who are on the front of the magazine because they are a pop/rock band

AUDIENCEThe audience for this magazine Is likely to be middle ages adults, young adults and maybe a few teenagers. This is because Coldplay is usually attracted to by this age group of people in society because they became popular when they were teenagers.

CONTENTS PAGE ANALYSIS OF SKYLINEThe skyline on this Q contents page includes the masthead, the date and year that the magazine was issued and a heading saying ‘contents’. The skyline is coloured black which separates itself from the rest of the page which tells the audience this. The ‘contents’ headings that the date of issue are coloured white which contrasts with the black background. The mastheads consists of the Q logo which is red. This also contrasts with the black skyline. However, the masthead is significantly smaller other features on the page. This is suggesting that the designers of Q magazine want to promote the information in the magazine rather than the magazine itself.

MAIN IMAGEThe main image in the contents page is located in the top right hand side of the page. The image is a medium close up of Adele. The image dominates most of the page which suggests to the reader that the main article in the magazine will be about Adele. The size of the image is also attracting the audience because it is making Adele stand out a lot.

COLUMNSColumns have been used vertically down the left hand side of the page which includes the sub headings and the information on what is on each page in the magazine. The columns only take up a small quantity of space on the page which is making more room for the main image. The font throughout the columns are in capital, black letters which makes it stand out hugely. Half way down the columns section the background has been coloured grey. This could be to add more colour to the page otherwise the majority of it would be white. By adding colour it is making the page look more interesting and exciting for the reader

SUB HEADINGSThere are two main sub headings on this particular contents page; these are ‘features’ and ‘every month’. There have been coloured white with a red background. The red matches the Q logo which makes the magazine look more interesting. The white contrasts with the red which makes the sub headings stand out significantly on the page.

OTHER FEATURESAcross the bottom of the contents page there is a Q review section which summarises the main articles in the magazine. This is giving reader a larger insight into what they can expect in the magazine. This could also attract readers if they are interested in the information that is briefly given.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD ANALYSIS OF IMAGEThis Q double page spread consists of only one image which is of Ed Sheeran. This gives a hint to the reader that the article will be about him. The image dominates the entire double page spread, but on the right hand side a text box has been placed over the image which contains the article. The colours in the image are very bright due to the background being edited. Even though the colours are browns and greys, due to editing they look very enhanced.

HEADINGThe heading is in capital letters located on the bottom of the left hand page. The font is very large to make it stand out, and the text is white apart from one word, ‘ginger’. This has been coloured red to represent Ed’s hair colour and also to match the Q logo. This works well on the page because it makes the red on the page links to Q so it is informing the reader that it is a Q magazine. The use of an exclamation mark at the end of the heading emphasises it more and makes it look important

SKYLINEA white horizontal line has been marked at the top of the double page spread to create the skyline. The only thing in the skyline is the word ‘hotlist’ which is in capital letters. Part of this has also been coloured red to link the article to Q magazine. The background that Ed is stood in reflects the music industry because he has been placed in London which is the centre of music culture. It is also ironic that the skyline has been placed on the background of the sky because it makes the double page spread interlink each other.

OTHER FEATURESAn interesting feature that is part of the article in this double page spread is the first letter of the article. It has been put into a red square and coloured white. This is advertising Q magazine because it looks exactly like the Q logo but with a different letter.

COLUMNSThe article on the right hand side of the double page spread is presented in columns. This makes the page look in the style of a newspaper which could suggest that Q magazine is very formal. However, the columns have been separated in the middle due to an advertisement. This makes the article look less formal and boring. The advertisement heading has been coloured red which is matching the Q logo.

COLOUR SCHEMEThe colour scheme of this Q double page spread consist of bright, vibrant colours that have been enhanced through editing. The colours are overall browns and blues, but they look colourful from the editing. There are a few red parts on the page which links the article to Q.