MUSIC MAGAZINE CODES AND CONVENTIONS

COVERS

• candid cover image

Personal(as if you are there)

Connects artits and audience

Increases personal relationship

(uses+grat)

No plain background, background of image fills page

#1

Alliteration effective, MANIA + ‘!’ = exciting, typography of ‘48 hours on the road’ = handwriting = personal, differentiation from everything else. Implies NME were on the road with them, not just an interview.

Tag ‘FREE’ attracts attention, better value, posters important for personal information/identity, put up for people to see, essential to own as fan/NME reader

Alliteration., catchy, rule of the 3, descriptions give intimate personal insight into star

Masthead partially covered by cover image shows brand well established and public know it is NME not NMF etc.

Sell lines are straight and neat/ordered, create house style for this edition (red +white) artists are larger bolder red, (same for every artist on cover) >artists which are bringing audience

Conform to uses + grat > surveillance & personal relationship

#2

• Posed cover image

•unconventional not to use direct mode of address

•Cover stars dressed to reinforce house style (red black white)

•Stern confrontational pose, correlates to main cover line

•Perhaps also to persona of NME, popular serious confident posed cover images

•Plain, white, background

Colloquial languageArticle shedding light on up and coming, readers wouldn't be able to find this out otherwise

‘tell all’ implies thorough detail, ‘new’ used again, latest fresh etc < important

‘MESSIEST’, this is a BIG story; messiest ever in entire history of entirety of rock... Black eyes smashed guitars and bust-up, dramatic to catch attention, curiosity..violence sells

OASIS biggest text, black bold font. Layout: ‘squeezing’ the text around the cover image is quirky.

Tightly packed design offers lots of, or what looks like lots of info, connoting an equally packed magazine/edition.

Unaligned, slanted layout - disorderly, non conformist, magazine persona?

Bottom half: like usual, listing ‘big names’ in the audience, bringing in specific fans, value for money <tons of bands

^emphasised by ‘& MORE’, ‘...’ works to draw public in/turn page

Again, masthead layered under cover imageALL text on the cover is in either red black or

white, often the colours associated with NME. Unconventionally, all the fonts are virtually the same, basic clear and sans serif.

Surveillance aspect of uses+grat

• Posed cover image, utilizing direct mode of address, in an in your face confident manner

•Develops personal relationship > uses+grat

•Obviously photo shopped – no/white background, face + hands in black and white, clothing jewellery in colour

•Styled partially in purpley pinks to match the unconventional colour scheme (or visa versa)

#3

Plus one of the usual phrases used to show audience there is tons inside. Greatest guitarist – major article, grand title, curious who picked. Unusual serif plus & listed artists positioned underneath. & MORE typical to draw readers in

Again, band highlighted, repeated exclamation mark to try and build excitement, again word new used, ‘inside’ further persuasion to buy/read on

Again, contrasting typography, in a scrawly informal handwriting style, ‘written’ around the cover image, vertically and horizontally, unusual and aesthetically pleasing, matching colours of shirt

Gives consumers chance to build personal relationship and personal information/identity, by taking part with the magazine through competition, and get closer to their fave bands, and simply by going to reading they are consolidating that identity. Winning not only tickets but the ‘last pair’ > opportunity not to be missed. Using reading+leeds logo easily recognisable

Funky/trendy again atypical masthead, straying slightly from house style, sets range of colours to be used for cover

This cover breaks some of the NME house style and conventions of music/music mags because it is anniversary special, this is a convention itself.

Shocking and iconic pull lines of what is discussed in article to catch attention, demand further reading

COVERS

•1 and 2 DONT utilize layering/over lapping, everything is placed over cover image. •3 aligns everything according to cover image ( behind, in front, next to)•1 and 2 cover images fill almost the whole cover• 3 is smaller, put to the right half and photo shopped onto the white background•All three image’s cover photos use direct mode of address > personal relationship > uses+grat•House style varies across three, blue yellow red green used consistently for colour•1 entirely in white apart from masthead, featuring elegant serif typography (unlike consistent plain chunky modern text for rest, and 1+2) font reflective of beyonce?•All three enlarge words and phrases, 2 the same as first NME•No full sentences, shapes and filled/coloured text boxes used in 2 and 3

#3#1 #2

COVER CODES AND CONVENTIONS

•Less layeringmore

•photoshoot/posed images

•More direct mode of address

•More/all female cover stars

•Less adventurous layout/design

•Orderly

•Modern

• always overlapping masthead and image

•Layers text

•Only a few key colours

•Lists artists inside

•More male cover stars

•Usually lots of little photos of artists etc shown on covers

• artist name usually above and highlighted

• ‘+’ ‘more...’ ‘EXCLUSIVE’ ‘new’ etc used

•Photos edited

•Consistent fonts except usually for one area using contrasting typography e.g. serif/handwriting

CONTENTS

f

Graphics used to highlight certain elements, simple arrow shape suits target audience, gives youthful vibe

• NME follows the same contents page design for every edition, packed tightly > packed magazine illusion• NME THIS WEEK – shows readers magazine published weekly• Band Index features every left hand side – users can easily find particular band – obvious music mag• Use sub headings white on black + bigger, sub sub headings, with red numbers, smaller text for description – easy to find what you want• Bottom center, space for advertising the magazine, design and offers varies slightly but the in house style is same (slug)• Black and yellow = danger colours = stand out = notice offer = subscribe• Mini section of main article center top of bottom half, essentially pull quote, bigger above in bold then start of article (sometimes with

drop cap, middle) • Aim to catch peoples attention in this preview to ensure they read on /read the article. Corresponds with one/couple of center photos

above• Each contents features another graphic/shape/arrow in very bottom right corner, page turner insentive, promoting infamous regular gig

guide and what page to find it (something people will look for) same page each week

Other

CONTENTS

•More visual contents design

•Minimal text

•Separate pictures with page numbers toshow articles

•Shows issue number

•Simple orderly uninteresting layout

•Follows house style using all same font reds black and white

•Similar layout through vertical numbering/listing and placing of rectangular photos to show articles

•Made more interesting with placement of back groundless centre image, overlapping contents masthead

•Contents in unusual solitary font

•Billboard (brand) and date only very small in top right corner, unconventional

•Two of the several house colours for billboard used; blue for underline and highlighting text, red through costume of centre female

•Numbers used to show which pages which articles are

•Range of fonts used for differentiation

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

PULL QUOTE, large bold grabs attention, exclamation mark immediately makes sense of shock/scandal/excitement

QUESTIONS HIGHLIGHTED easy differentiation between interview interviewee

Photo on one page article on the opposite, background border pull quotes flows seamlessly over both pages, creates continuity

Drop cap, makes it clear where article begins, draws attention to start of article > starts reading article

Border, replicating dressing room lights? Fame?

Looking face onDirect mode of addressMakes article feel personalUses+grat

Plain background with medium close up of relating musician/s

Title of section in which article exists, easy to find

Piece of text introducing the article, talks concisely about what article is about.Draws readers in to read the articleUsing colour to highlight the important phrases

Drop cap, very large very contrasting. makes it clear where article begins, draws attention to start of article > starts reading article

PULL QUOTE

White text box to contain article

Mini feature in article; fact box, quickly gives reader crucial basic background knowledge

Tells readers who wrote the article and took photo/s

Article in columns, easy to follow

Title of section in which article exists

Photo and white line border flows seamlessly over both pages, creates continuityexclamation

mark immediately makes sense of shock/scandal/excitement

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

Funky graphics, reflecting audience who will be interested in this type of artist

Pun (name of artist) house colour being used throughout

Tells readers who wrote the article and took photo/s

Plain background with medium close up of relating musician/s - convention

Article in columns but with one larger horizontal section of text above columns, creating orderly rectangle shape

Title of section in which article exists

Piece of text introducing the article, talks concisely about what article is about.Draws readers in to read the articleUsed colour to highlight artist name (readers might not understand pun)

Looking face onDirect mode of addressMakes article feel personalUses+grat

Title of section in which article exists

Drop cap, very large very contrasting. makes it clear where article begins, draws attention to start of article > starts reading article

Name of writer - convention

Piece of text introducing the article, talks concisely about what article is about.Draws readers in to read the article

Black and white image, serif font, no colour in entire spread = traditional, classiness, mature feel = represents adele’s music

No clear differentiation between two pages, no half and half, text fits to edge of image, fills entire ‘rough half’ of area = smooth continuity =smooth photo = smooth style/music

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD CODES AND CONVENTIONS

•Includes name of featuring artist in heading

•Iess plain backgrounds

•Less conventional column style

•Article beginning with quote from artist to catch attention

•Artists names only mentioned in subheading

•Use of background image as opposed to plain/photo shopped

•Traditional columns

• one main photo of artist

•Often direct mode of address

•Writing in columns

•Continuity across pages

•Subheading introducing article

•Author/photographer stated

• small text at the top showing where article is featuring (what section)