Music Magazine Analysis

The Masthead on this magazine is in the top, right corner. It is in a clear red colour. Red is a colour that attracts the eye, which means that we automatically look at it, it gets our attention. This means that if we are in the store looking for a magazine this magazine gets our attention and there is therefore a greater chance that we will buy it. The fact that the Masthead is in the top right corner makes it easier to see if it is stacked, we will still be able to see the name of the magazine and identify it. The Masthead is placed behind the head of the band members. This can say that the magazine is quite well known and we do not need to be able to read the whole word to know what magazine it is. It can also say that the band is important and some people might buy the magazine because of the band that is on the front and not because of the specific magazine. This is then a way to get more people to buy the magazine.

The splash image is of the band Mumford & Sons and are taken on location. It is not taken in a studio as most splash images often are. This can represent that they are more like the average person and not like other super stars that takes their pictures in studios. This is also reinforced by the way they dress and the way they pose. They are wearing everyday like clothes which you can see people wearing on the streets. They are also wearing boots which can represent that they are hardworking. The man to the left is wearing a yellow and green scarf which is something that might not be looked at as very fashionable, this can represent that they are not perfect and do not care that much about fashion, they care more about good music than what they are wearing. Therefore people that care about good quality music might buy this magazine. Also their instruments are instruments that not are very much used in the music that is on the top charts today, like for instance the accordion. This show us that they are different from others and in general they are more like the everyday man on the street.

There are three main colours on this front cover. They are red, white and black and can be seen several places on the front page. These are colours that often are used in different types of rock magazines and are therefore often associated with those kinds of magazines.

The anchorage is just the name of the band, Mumford & Sons. This grab the attention to the fans of Mumford & Sons because they want to read about their idols and know as much as possible about them. Also people that might not know much about the band will like to get to know more about them. Maybe they have heard about the band before but don’t know much, so they want to know more. The fact that Mumford & Sons are on the front page does obviously tell people a bit about what is inside the magazine, and people that like bands similar to Mumford & Sons might find this magazine interesting because they think there will be some articles about bands that they like inside. They might also want to find new music that is similar to the one they already like. This anchorage can therefore grab the attention to different kinds of people, even if they are fans of Mumford & Sons or not.

The puff says “special edition: must-hear music”. This makes the audience want to buy the magazine because they should not miss this special edition, this says that it is something that you cant get anywhere else. And since it is must-hear music it is something that you really need to hear and you do not want to miss this chance.

The Strapline is placed underneath the anchorage and is saying “How a band of Brits are leading an American revolution”. This then shows to what is inside the magazine where you can find out accsactly how they do this. Therefore some people get interested in how they do it and therefore will they buy the magazine.

The selling lines are several other bands and artists which then makes the magazine interesting for a larger group of people. Maybe people not are a fan of Mumford & Sons, but they might be a fan of one of the other bands and will therefore be interested in buying the magazine anyway.

This is a quite simple contents page. You do not have a lot of pictures, colours or text which can confuse the reader. I think this is good because it is easier to read and you can quickly find what you are looking for.

In the right hand upper corner they have included their logo. This again reminds you what magazine you are looking at. The logo is in a bright red colour and stands out from the rest of the contents page which is mostly black, white and grey. It is a great contrast which makes it easy to see. It is only one picture on this page, and it covers

the whole page. It is a black and white picture of the band She & Him. They are one of the main articles in this magazine so therefor this picture again reminds you that you can read about them. It is like an advertisement for one of the articles that is inside the magazine. People that might not bother reading the whole list with the content can immediately see them and therefore they know that there is an article about them further back in the magazine. The fact that the picture is in black and white makes it look simpler and it is easier to read the text. The picture takes most of your attention, but since it is not in colour it doesn’t take all your attention. You still focus on the text written around. Also that the picture is taken in a studio makes it simpler and there are less details that takes your attention.

The clothes, styling and posing in the picture is quite important. They are both dressed in quite similar clothes, both wearing a shirt, blazer, hat and patent leather shoes. This makes us understand that they belong together and are a group of some sort. We understand that they are not just placed there together randomly, but they are a group. The clothes they are wearing are quite manly and masculine, but she is wearing a more feminine and girly version of the outfit. Instead of wearing trousers she is wearing shorts and tights. This gives more attention to her legs and therefore makes her more interesting and attractive for men. This is reinforced by the way she is posing which draws attention to her legs. Her shirt and blazer are also more tight and form fitted than the man’s, which again draws the attention to the female figures. She is also wearing high healed shoes and wearing her hair down which reinforced that this picture represents the male gaze. The clothes they are wearing are dressed up and quite smart. This can represent that they are serious when it comes to their music and cares about their music being quality and professional. Also since she is a woman she could be wearing clothes that show a lot of skin and are revealing, but she does not do that. This can show that she wants people to like them for the music, not her appearance. This is reinforced by their facial expression which also are serious, they are not smiling. They are also looking straight into the camera can get the readers attention and make them feel like they are included in the picture. The reader can feel like they are looking exactly at them and that She & Him wants exactly them to listen to their music.

The quote in the right hand corner is a quote by Zooey Deschanel which is half of the She & Him group. This quote represents the article about them later in the magazine and might interest people to read the article. Underneath it says in a little text that is was Zooey that said it and where to find the article about here so if you though the quote was interesting and want to know more about it you can easily figure out where to find the article.

On the right hand side we find the content. It is written in an simple font that is easy to read. First it says the main subject in the article or which artist the article is going to be about. This is written in a bold font and is also bigger than what comes underneath. This makes it easy to see and you can clearly see which bands and artists there are articles about. So if you are looking for a specific article it is easy to figure out where it is. The page number is also placed right besides which makes it even easier. Underneath the band names there is a small summary of what the article is about which can be nice if you want to know a bit what the articles are about.

The main image in this article is also the only image. It covers more than half the space and is therefore considered an important part of the article. The picture is a black and white picture of Florence and the machine. In the picture we can see her with her hair in the air. She is wearing a black t-shirt or blouse. Compared to the picture of Lady Gaga that I will look at later in the double page spread from Q, this does not represent the male gaze much. She is not showing a lot of skin or posing in a sexual way. Still there are some elements that can be connected to the male gaze theory. She is for instance wearing a bold lip colour which emphasizes her lips. Also long and flowing hair is something that can be looked at as attractive for men. They might have used a picture of her with her hair flying to all sides to show that she has a lot going for her at the moment and he has a lot to do. Her hair would be like that is she was running, jumping or is in activity. This can be representing that she is in lots of activity and is doing lot of things in her career at the moment.

The headline is just her name which will get the attention to her fans. It does also clearly tell you what this article is going to be about, her. The headline is written in a large, bold print and is written in capital letters.

On the top, in the left-hand corner we can see a small text bubble saying "artist of the year". The text bubble is showing to the headline which says Florence and the machine. This means that she is chosen to be the artist of the year. The text bubble is probably placed in the left hand corner because this way it is easy to see if you are looking through the magazine. So if someone is looking through the magazine and sees this they will probably start wondering who the artist of the year is and will therefore stop and maybe read the article.

The sub-headline is placed underneath the headline and is written in all capital letters. This way if the reader got interested in the article by reading the headline, they can easily read the sub-headline and get to know a little bit more what the article is about. The reader then might be even more interested in reading the article.

The text is written in a clear and simple font. It is easy to read and it is also separated into paragraphs which make it even easier to read because you don’t feel like it becomes too much text. This may attract people that are serious about music and cares more about what is written than that it is a new and interesting way to layout the page.

The Masthead Is placed in the top, right hand corner and is in a bold red colour. The Q is written in white which is a great contrast to the red and makes it easy to read. This masthead is quite similar to SPIN’s masthead, they are both red with white typing and it is placed in the top right corner. They follow the same conventions. The difference is that in this masthead is on top of the picture while SPINS is placed on the back of the people. This can be because this picture is a close up and therefore it is difficult to place the masthead on the back of the picture without covering the whole masthead.

The Splash image is a close up of the main artist, Florence & the Machine. This picture is highly influenced by the male gaze. Her hair is laid out so it fills the whole frame. She is wearing heavy, dramatic makeup in a mix between a clear blue and a dark blue colour. This can represent that she is a bit dangerous, but blue is a colour that often is associated with the good which then can say that she is a good person. As far as we can see she is not wearing a top which then again connects to the male gaze. It is quite a lot of skin in this picture when we think about it being a close up. Showing skin is something that is looked at as sexy and is therefore representing the male gaze. She is wearing a dark, red nail polish and is also posing with her hands which are to make her look sexier and more attractive. Her lips are also a contrast to her light skin. Even though the lipstick is in a light colour it is a contrast to her skin which is even lighter. This gets focus to her lips and make the picture more sensual. Long hair is something that women often are represented with and associated with. Long and voluminous hair is looked at as sexy and feminine. Her heir is red which is a colour often associated with danger and people that are not like everyone else.

The main colours are white, red and blue. These colours are also reinforced in the picture. Her hair is almost red, her skin is almost white and her eye shadow is blue. Red and white are colours, but blue is a colour they only use once in a while. To use the same colours on the front page that is in the splash image is a technique that often is used on fashion magazine covers to get more attention to the clothes. Here it can be used to give more attention to Florence and the splash image so that more people notice her and if they are interested in her they might buy this magazine.

This is reinforced by the strapline which says “woman on the edge” which means she is a bit out of the ordinary and different. This strapline is placed beyond the anchorage. It is also one more strapline above the anchorage, which says “I feel so alone”. This can make people feel like they are similar to them if they are also feeling alone. Therefore people can buy the magazine to read about how she deals with these feelings. It can also surprise people because they did not think a famous woman like her could feel alone. Therefore they buy the magazine to read more about this shocking story.

The Plug is used to bring attention to Zane Lowe and the article about him. Quote underneath says “where’ve all the guitars gone?” which can appeal to people that care about guitars and also music from earlier ages. The plug looks like a sticker and stands out from the rest of the cover. The blue frame makes a great contrast to her red hair.

The puff says “Discover Great Music” which appeals to people that like music and wants to find new music to listen to. Since it says “Great” music it makes people think that they will definitely find something they likes and that the music they will find is quality music.

The Buzz word is “16-page gig blow-out” which can appeal to a large audience because is suggest that the articles are about loads of different bands and artists. Then people think it might be an article about their favourite band and they will therefore buy the magazine to get to know more about them. The selling lines are underneath the buzz word which again make the magazine appeal to a larger audience.

The headline is contents which clearly tell the audience what are on these pages. This is the largest text on the page and it is easy to see and no one would be unsure about what it is you will find on this page. The contents page is a page where the audience can easily read a summary of what is inside the magazine and they can decide if this is something they would like to buy or not.

The masthead is in the left hand upper corner, just like on the front page. Again this makes it easy for the reader to see what magazine it is they are reading. The red colour is a bright colour and it gets your attention. Having the masthead on the contents page is something often used, we could see this in SPIN as well. Constantly reminding the audience what they are reading works as an advertisement for the magazine.

The main image is a black and white picture of the band Take That, which, looking at the picture in the right hand corner, seems to be a behind the camera picture of the cover shoot. Having a behind the camera picture can represent that you will get to know them better and how they are when they are not in the media. How they are when they are by their own and not on TV, radio etc.

There are several sub-images. They tell you about some of the articles that are inside the magazine. These articles are probably the articles about the most famous artists and that most people would be interested in. Having a picture of them then makes it easier to find the page number for the article and you do not need to search through all the text to find the right article. All the images, both the main image and the sub-images have the page number written big and easy to see on top of them. This makes it easy for people to find what they are looking for.

The list of content is on both the left and the right. It is written in a simple font which makes it clear and easy to read. You can easily see what the different articles is about and where to find them by looking at the text written first in each paragraph. This is written in a larger, bold font and is also written in capital letters. Underneath you find a short summary of what each article is about. This makes it easier for the reader to find what they are looking for and also to find something else they might find interesting.

The main colours used are red, black and white. These are colours often used in rock/indie rock magazines and can therefore help the reader understand what kind of magazine this is. Red is also a colour that stands out and catches the eye so it gets the audience’s attention.

The fact that the issue number is written on the top makes the reader aware that this is a magazine that has been published for a long time which means it must be popular among their readers. To be able to publish a magazine for so long it must be a good quality magazine and a magazine that people can trust. This make new readers trust the magazine easier as well.

The main image in this article is also the only picture. It is a black and white picture of the artist Lady Gaga and covers a whole side. Reasons why the picture might take up so much space and be so important in this article is that Lady Gaga is quite known for her style being out of the ordinary. How she look and presents herself is an important part of her career and she is well known for some of the crazy outfits. The picture is a medium close up of her wearing only a necklace and covering her breasts with her hands. This is a picture much affected by theory about the male gaze. She is showing a lot of skin and is practically naked. This is something men often are attracted to. This is reinforced by her makeup and her posing. Her makeup is dark, dramatic and sensual. She is wearing a shiny lipstick which gives attention to her lips. She is also posing with her moth a bit open which make her look like she might be ready to kiss someone. Her eye makeup makes her look a bit mysterious. Her hair is blonde, short and messy. This can represent that she is a bit crazy and out of control, which again can represent her name, Gaga means crazy in Spanish. The fact that she is covering her own breasts with her hands might suggest that she is independent and will not let other people tell her what to do. She is covering herself up and protecting herself. The necklace might symbolise that to look good is important, but since it is tangled and messy it might suggest that looking good has its disadvantages. It is not always possible to look good and be perfect, sometimes things can get a bit messy. This picture does not have anything in it that tells us that she is an artist. This might be because she is so famous and people are expected to know who she is and what she is doing.

The headline is just her name, Lady Gaga. It is written with Lady without any capital letters, and Gaga with all capital letters. Lady is written in another font that looks a bit like it is in cursive. Writing her name like this suggests that she has two different personalities. She is both a calm, sophisticated lady that can take care of herself and a crazy, wild and don’t really care what other people think.

The text is written very simple. It is written in a clear font that is easy to read and is just written straight up and down the page. This is classy, simple and can interest a reader that care about simplicity and text being easy to read.

Again Q has their logo on the page. This time a small square down in the right hand corner. This is placed next to the page number and therefore when the reader is looking through the magazine they will constantly be reminded what magazine they are reading.

The huge L written in red does definitely get the reader’s attention. When they are looking through the magazine they will certainly notice this page. Red is, as earlier mentioned, a colour that attracts the human eye and gets your attention. To have a huge letter all over the text like this is a convention often used in Q’s articles. This obviously gets your attention, but it does also gets focus on the name of the artist. It makes the artist and their name seem important.

The masthead is placed in the left hand upper corner. It is red, white and black which are colours that create a great contrast to each other. The masthead follows the same conventions as in SPIN and Q. It is red which is a colour that attracts the eye and it is placed in the left hand corner so it is easy to see. This masthead is placed beyond the lead singer in the band on the front page, but not the other band members. This may say that she is the one people know who are and will recognise. Therefore some people might buy the magazine because of her, but since the other band members aren’t that famous people are not that likely to recognise them and buy the magazine because of them. Then it is more likely they will buy the magazine because of the magazine is well known, and therefore is the masthead on top of the band members but not the lead singer. The masthead is also overlapped by a banner that says “685 UK gigs listed”. This is because concerts are something that is important for NMEs target audience and they will be attracted by the idea of having a long list with concerts. This can then be a reason for them to buy the magazine.

The anchorage is just the name of the band, Paramore. This will attract the fans of that band because they want to learn more about the band, but it can also attract people who don’t know a lot about them, but wants to learn more. This is the same as SPIN did at their cover and it is a commonly used technique. This is probably because it can attract large group of people, you can read more about this in the analysis of SPIN’s cover.

There is a strapline both over and under the anchorage. The one above says “Gun, god & 4 million albums sold”. This tells you that this is a really successful band and that they have archived much. So if you have not heard about them before you might feel like you need to because other people do obviously and you want to be as them. Therefore you might buy the magazine to get to know more about them. The strapline under the anchorage again suggests that “everyone else” have heard about them and therefore you should too.

There are two sets of selling lines. The one down in the left hand corner is a list of bands. This will make the magazine appeal to a larger group of people because there are a larger number of fan bases that will be interested in reading about their bands. The one above will appeal to the fans of the band The Manics because they will know there is an article about that band inside the magazine. The more band names you mention on the cover the larger the group of people the magazine will appeal for will be.

In the right hand, upper corner there is a plug. This is a round shape with text inside. This is a contrast to the rest of the page and will bring focus to the article about Mumford and Sons.

The main colours on this cover is red, black, white and pink. Except for pink are these colours commonly used on rock/indie-rock magazines and this way potentially new readers will know which kind of magazine this is and might consider buying it. The colour pink might be used because this is the colour on the lead singers lipstick and it will therefor bring your attention to the picture.

The splash image is a picture of the band Paramore and is taken in a studio. In the front we can see the lead singer Hayley Williams in the front and the rest of the band members in the back. Hayley being in the front suggests that she is more important and more known than the rest of the band members. She has her iconic red hair and is easy to recognise. Her red hair and pink lipstick is almost the only colours in this picture, the rest is mostly black and white. They all look serious and none of them are smiling. This may represent that they are serious about their music and do not fool around. To not smile, but to look serious or scary is something that many rock bands do in pictures. Therefore this is a convention and you can tell by the way they are posing what kind of band they are and what kind of music they make.

The headline on this contents page is “Inside this week”. It is written in a bold font on the top middle. The Text is written in all capital letters and is really easy to read. The fact that they choose to write “Inside this week” instead of just writing contents page make the reader feel like they are more down to earth and maybe a bit less serious. They do not just write a “boring” headline saying no more than is necessary, but they make it more interesting. Also writing “inside” people might feel like they are part of a group and only some people will be able to see this.

The main image is placed in the middle of all the other pictures. It is a bit bigger and it is the only picture in black and white. The picture suggests that this is the most important article and the article the largest amount of people will find interesting. The picture is taken from below which makes the person in the picture seem important and significant.

There are seven sub-images and they are placed around the main image. They make the reader aware on the other articles in the magazine. They grab the audience’s attention and make them read the text underneath. This may lead to them reading the whole article inside the magazine. All the images have the page number where the article is in the right hand, lower corner. It is placed inside a white box and it is really easy to read. This makes it easy for the audience to find what they are looking for.

Underneath every picture there is a text which tells you a bit about what the article contains. There is first a title which is larger and written in another font. These are supposed to grab your attention and make you want to read the rest. The font of these titles varies. For instance the one below the picture of the woman is written in cursive and not in capital letters while the one below the man underneath is written in a bold font in all capital letters. These different fonts might reflect the article a bit. The cursive font is more feminine and elegant than the bold capital letters which seem more rough. This is the same as in the pictures, the woman is feminine and elegant while the man is wearing a baseball tank top and seems less elegant.

There is a line which has the title “Plus”. This mentions several other articles which are included in the magazine. This makes the magazine appear to a larger group of people.

As in the other double page spreads the main image covers a whole page. It is an important part of the article. The main image is of Pete Doherty holding two glasses of beer. It is not shot in a studio, but on location. This may suggest that he is more like you and me, he is a normal person not just a celebrity. He is also wearing a chain necklace, there is a hole in his sweater and he is holding two glasses of beer which suggest that he is a bit of a rebel and maybe not the kind of man that is represented as the male gaze. He is more rough and more like the man on the street. This can make people compare themselves to him and get more sympathy towards him. They feel like they could have been his friend, or even they could be him. This can be a reason for them to read about him or buy his music. They feel like if he, a normal guy, could get famous and create good music, then they can do the same.

The headline says “in good health” which is a bit ironic since he is holding two glasses of beer in the photo and alcohol is something that is looked at as unhealthy. The headline is written in a large font that is easy to read. It is also written in capital letters.

This double page spread is quite different from the two previous ones. It has more colours, both the picture is in colours and some of the text has colours. The headline is not just the artists name and thee is a sub image on the side. There is also a pull-out quote in the middle of the text. This says that maybe NME has less straight rules they need to follow and is more open to try different things, while SPIN and Q cares more about traditions and to be serious.

The main colours are black, white and orange. The colour orange is probably chosen because Pete Doherty is wearing a orange sweater and his beer is orange.

The sub-headline is placed beyond the headline and between the two glasses of beer. If it was placed on top of the beer it might be more difficult to read because some of the beer is white and the font is white. Placing it on his sweater makes the background in one colour and more simple.

The pull-out quote in the middle of the text breaks the text up and makes it seem more manageable to read. You get a break in the middle. It can also attract people to read the article because they read the quote and find it interesting, therefore they will want to read the rest as well.

The sub-image is placed in the right hand, lower corner and is a picture of Pete Doherty playing music. This again gives you a break in the reading and makes the article seem more interesting for people that might not like reading long text’s usually. It also gives more depth to the article and makes you feel like you get more information, you get proof that they actually plays music.