Music magazine

Double-page spread analysis for NME, VIBE

and Billboard

The Double-page spreads

Billboard VIBE

NME

Consistency

• As I was reading through the three double-page spreads I noticed many more similarities than differences, despite the fact they are based on three different music genres.

• However, there were still some differences in page furniture, style, mode of address and more.

• Each double-page spread has the header at the top of the page, much larger than any of the other text, but still allowing the one image to be more dominant.

• Both NME and VIBE’s header both include the Artist/band’s name that the article is written about. However, for Billboard, there is a pull quote from Justin Bieber. Like in my front cover analysis for Billboard (where JB also starred), the image is used to ‘say it all’ as he is a such a well known figure.

• The header for NME of ‘The Vaccines’ is a lot less extravagant, which is the nature of the band – as you could argue that Justin Bieber is the complete opposite hence the brightly coloured text. The Vaccines is in a simple, black font with no fuss which I believe is the mode of address of NME which is transferred throughout the whole magazine, especially with those I have looked at.

• VIBE’s header ‘Eminem’ with the iconic reverse facing letter ‘E’ is similar to NME’s header in the way that it is fairly simplistic, and for the most part in black Sans Serif font. The reversed ‘E’ is highlighted in red, again as this is associated with Eminem, but the colour red also connotes passion, aggression and confidence. Three words that can safely be affiliated with Eminem’s reputation.

• Another thing to mention is that VIBE states Eminem’s real name “Marshial Bruce Mathers III”, also highlighted in red gives an extremely brief suggestion that the article may be about the life behind the stage.

Header

Entry points & Drop caps• This is where reader can initially look at the page and get a brief understanding of what the

article/feature is about.

• Unsurprisingly, NME and VIBE have very few entry points as the articles appear to be more sophisticated and in-depth compared to Billboard’s double page spread. This can be seen straight away by the text:image ratio which though it isn’t much, there is still one extra image in billboards double page spread, which means less text. Also, the nature of the article causes this as it is a Q&A rather than a more extensive look into the artist’s life.

• As the article in Billboard is a Q&A with multiple short-winded answers, the reader would be able to look at any of the questions they want in no chronological order, as they a fairly unrelated. However, in NME’s and VIBE’s double-page spread, it would be difficult to understand the text if the reader was to start reading half way down as it is written by a journalist, where as in Billboard the questions may have even been fan-suggested as they are something anyone could do (Though getting hold of Justin Bieber was probably the hardest part). This links to the overall mode of address of Billboard, as it shows where the stereotype of pop magazines being informal and less sophisticated has come from. Despite this, it is likely that there are other double-page spreads from Billboard that are similar NME’s and VIBE’s.

• The entry point for VIBE’s double page spread will be simply at the top left, as this is common sense and there are really no other attractions around the page to draw the readers attention away from it (E.G no Drop Caps to show the start) However, in NME’s double page spread they use two drop caps (J&F) to signify two entrance points. This is where the reader will go to first to read the article, excluding the fact that they might be draw to the pull quote first due to it’s size and it being blue rather than black.

Cross-heads & no stand firsts

• Similarly to the byline, only Billboard uses it out of the three double page spreads. This again can be linked to agenda and mode of address of the magazine, as in my opinion cross-heads make the page(s) look more un-professional and less mature. However, using them in understandable for Billboard as their key demographic is of a younger age to that of NME and VIBE. This general theory applies to some of the other double-page spread features that are missing most noticeably from NME and VIBE.

• A stand first is where the first paragraph in the article is in bold and commonly includes a brief summary of the article. This cannot be used effectively on Billboard’s double page spread, as it is a Q&A – so the bold is needed to separate the questions from answers. However, for the others not to use it was surprising, though it is not considered as one of the most important feature of a double page spread.

Info bars• An info bar is just as the name suggests: a usually small

bar, consisting of dates and facts relevant to the article. Once again, Billboard is the only magazine to use this on their double-spread which I find quite unusual. The info bar is of Justin Bieber’s ‘dressing room demands’, which is an exclusive, unique selling point. This info bar alone could interest a lot of people, especially Bieber’s fairly young audience, who will be more intrigues by short and snappy facts rather than long sections of text like that in NME or VIBE.

• This particular info bar is boxed out in a red box, clearly separating from the rest of the Q&A, making the overall page look a lot more slick, as well as it being easier to understand. It also offers another entry point, due to it standing out from the rest of the article.

Byline • A byline is text informing the reader of whom

composed the article.

• There is only a byline on one of the three double page spreads – Billboard. This is likely down to it being the only article that finishes over the two pages (again suggesting lack of depth). And even though it is there, it is unnoticeable at first glance because of it’s small size, which implies that they deem it a reasonably irrelevant feature. Certainly, if I wasn’t analyzing it so in-depth, I wouldn’t have noticed it.

pull quotes• However, pull quotes (which are the same as on the front cover) are used on all three double-

page spreads – proving it is a popular technique in the music magazine industry that I should definitely consider including when I make my music magazine front cover/contents page/double-page spread. As I have mentioned previously, Billboard uses the pull quote from Justin Bieber as a header for the double-page spread. The quote is “Girls give me a headache” which is an answer to one of the questions during the interview for the article. This particular could be considered controversial by some people, making it perfect to captivate the reader – assuming they like Justin Bieber. Unlike the other two magazines, the pull quote is much larger, which implies the writer values it as an important factor/selling point for the article.

• The pull quote from The Vaccines in NME is “We are a pop band, and want to be a pop band”. Again, this quote could be considered controversial as at the time their music was challenging the conventions of pop music, which shocked music enthusiasts as it was difficult to describe them as a pop band; as they're far from being and looking like a band like One Direction. So, with this argument being the main topic and purpose for the article, it is important to put such a gutsy quote in the limelight: standing out from the rest of the article. To do this, it is in a larger font and in blue; which sticks to the colour scheme so the double page looks great.

• “The truth is, you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Life is great, nothing it guaranteed.” is the pull quote from VIBE's double page spread, lay out like this – at the very start without any other introduction. This is very effective as it gains the audiences immediate attention, leading them on to read the rest of the article, which may have not been their interest prior to seeing the pull quote. Another feature of this pull quote is that it uses an enlarged opening quotation mark, in replace of a drop cap, hinting that the quotation is the start of the article, and is meant to be read first (entry point).

Reader interaction, folios & Opinion boxes

Reader interaction involves things such as Polls, Quizzes… basically anything that get the audience active, which is vital for all media products. For these particular double-page spreads, there is no features that involve audience interaction, though this is presumably down to the style of the articles, that don’t really suit a poll or quiz. Undoubtedly, there will be other double-page spreads within in each magazine that do involve some sort of audience interaction as it it vital to have an active audience.

Folio is a new term for me, that means page or sheet (or leaf) in Latin. So, in the magazine industry, it is the name for the page numbers, usually positioned in the bottom corner of the page(s). This allows the reader to know where they’re in the magazine. If there is a high number of pages, it suggests the magazine is of a high quality (depending on the content on those pages). Sometimes they’re not displayed, for example in VIBE’s double-page spread where there is a picture; though it does mention where the article continues. NME’s and Billboard’s double page spreads both feature the folio traditionally, where it emerges from the background colour through bold font, being in a different colour or being boxed out.

Opinion boxes is another way the magazine can interact with it’s audience, which as I previously discussed, there is very little of on these particular double spreads. However, I am sure they will be present in other double-page spreads throughout the rest of the magazine, along with other reader interaction techniques that I mentioned before.

Anchorage, BOX outs and colour palettes

• The anchor is a piece of text that captions an image, which is there is only one out of all of the three double-page spreads do not not have, despite all having at least one image. The anchor is used for the smaller, additional image in Billboard of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, implying that they should be only used for an additional image when I make my double page spread/contents page. The anchor says ‘biebs takes an easy stroll with Selena’, which is a fairly basic caption simply describing what we can already see in the image. This conforms to the stereotype of pop magazines being a lot less mature and more informal.

• Similarly to the anchors, Box Outs only feature in Billboards magazine which is becoming a common trait for these double page spreads. A box out, like on the cover page and contents page, is a piece of text placed in a block of colour – which helps to split the page making the layout and style look much cleaner. Within the box out on Billboard’s double page spread is ‘Dating dramas, family feuds and coping with crazy fans - could good boy Justin gone a little bit bad.’ This is in white text within a red box, excluding ‘Justin’ which is in a larger, bold font which signifies his importance. Even though there is an image designated to Bieber’s picture, this may be another reinforcement of how big the article is, hinting it’s a must read exclusive.

• The colour pallete of a magazines double-page spread usually replicates the colour palette of the rest of the magazine. If it doesn’t do this, the colour choices will always be relevant to the type of article, who it's about and/or the colours stereotyped with the target audience’s age and gender. For example, Billboard’s double-page colour palette is predominantly red and white, which as when they are mixed together thy pink, it gives the overall page a ‘pinkish’ look at first glance. This colour is associated with the female gender, which as I have mentioned, is the target audience for Billboard (especially the younger females)