TEXTUAL ANALYSIS - CONVENTIONS OF MUSIC

MAGAZINES BILLBOARD MAGAZINE

By Emily Smith

This will be the first magazine

that I shall be analysing. It is

useful to analyse the

conventions used on front

covers of very well known

magazines because I can

apply these to my own music

front cover which means it will

be easier for me to layout my

magazine cover.

THE MASTHEAD

• The masthead is in the centre at the top of the page and is partially covered by the singer

on the front. This is because the magazine is well known enough that the audience will

know what magazine it is. The magazine has been around for a long time which means it’s

a well respected magazine. Also by having the masthead behind and the singer brought

to the front it makes the singer stand out a lot more as it makes them look overpowering.

• The typography of the masthead is a recognisable style it is quite basic and in boxy

shapes the colour is black which stands out on the background that is white/grey. The fact

the masthead is so simple could be suggesting that the magazine doesn’t just do one type

of genre but it in fact the magazine focuses on most types of music. As some magazines

mastheads reflect their genre and they only focus of a certain type of music.

TYPOGRAPHY

• The typography of ‘Taylor Swift' is in block capitals and is quite large this is where the

magazine plays on audience’s knowledge -they expect that people already know who

Taylor Swift is. Having Taylor Swifts name really clear on the front and big attracts the

audience because if they like that artist they will buy the magazine. Having a popular

artist on the front is a plus for the magazine as fans of her music will buy it also – as

well as fans of the magazine in general therefore, bringing in a wider audience.

THE MAIN IMAGE ON THE FRONT

• The image on the front is very bright in contrast with the background which makes

the singer on the front stand out more. There is a medium close up shot of the singer

you can see that all the attention is on her eyes, her eyes are looking ahead and they

look like they're staring at you which draws the audience in. The main colour scheme

is grey, yellow and white which are conventional country colours. the 'dull' colours

already gives the audience an insight into what the genre of music Taylor swift sings.

BAR-CODE, DATE AND PRICE

• At the bottom of the page is the bar code and above it is the date and price, the fact

the date and price are in very small print distracts the reader from the price and if

they like what they see from the main page enough they will buy the magazine

without looking at the price.

THE TEXT ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE

• The writing on the left hand side gives additional information on what the magazine

entails this encourages people who aren't fans of the singer and just fans of the

magazine to buy it as even though Taylor Swift is the main focus in this issue there is

additional stories therefore the magazine has a varied audience.

• 'Plus‘ is in medium block capitals in the colour white which stands out from the rest of

the information on the left hand side this adds extra emphasis on the fact Taylor Swift

is not the only story in the magazine it keeps the audience interested.

MISE EN SCENE

• There is no real setting for the magazine which means all the focus is on Taylor Swift,

the mise en scene of her hair is flared out which makes her look much more flawless

and famous. Also her make-up is very well done which implies that she is a

country/acoustic singer because if she looked 'trashy' her image wouldn't match her

music that she sings.

AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS

• Audiences have to clearly know what genre a magazine and its contents is because

otherwise they would have to think about what they're reading and seeing and

magazines are conventionally used for past times and most people like to read

magazines as a form of escapism when referring to the ‘Bulmer and Katz Uses and

Gratifications theory’. So they don’t want to be thinking about what they’re reading

they want to just read a magazine for a past time and to relax.