This document analyzes and compares the cover designs of three music magazines. All three covers prominently feature the main artist being profiled in the center. They also advertise exclusive bonus content like free music downloads or CDs to incentivize readers to purchase the magazine. Additionally, they list other popular artists on the side to attract readers interested in different musicians. While the covers share these common elements, they differ stylistically, with one being simplistic, another more subtle, and the third more boldly designed in line with the profiled artist's style. Overall, the covers are carefully crafted with images, text, and promotions strategically positioned to appeal to fans and sell copies of the magazine.

1. Analysis of Music Magazine
Covers
By Mark Warren

2. Cover 1
The name of the magazine is indicated
by the logo in the top left hand corner.
The use of a simple design for the logo
and the name being a single letter
help make the magazine memorable
and distinguishable to both regular
readers and prospective customers.
The colours used, red and white are
bright and bold, helping the cover to
stand out.
In the top right corner, inside a brightly
coloured roundel, is an offer to listen
to exclusive music by the main
featured artist for free if you buy the
magazine. This is a sales tactic
commonly used in magazines, as it is
designed to make the magazine seem
more like value for money, by adding
an additional item for free. By relating
the offer to the artist pictured at the
epicentre of the cover, the magazine
are helping to entice readers who may
have picked up the magazine because
they saw an artist they like on the
cover. The words ‘exclusive’ and
‘unheard’ are featured to have the
effect of making customers think they
are ‘missing out’ if they don’t
purchase the magazine.
By having the names of other large
musical artists in large text alongside
the main feature, the magazine hopes
to attract potential readers who may
not be persuaded to buy the magazine
based on the main feature, but could
be swayed by the inclusion of these
other artists. As with the tagline of the
main feature, a short summarising
sentence is included underneath each
artists’ name to inform the reader of
the focus of each article, with the
hope it will interest them.
The cover is dominated by a large
image of the main featured artist,
serving to attract fans of that artist
and to give the cover a focal point. The
fact this centre image overlaps the
logo emphasises the importance of
the main feature. Special effects are
used to embellish the image.
The main title and tagline are in large text towards the bottom of the cover. The name
of the artist is emphasised by the fact it is in bold, white text against a dark
background. The tagline is short and emphatic. It also leaves the reader with a lack of
information, forcing them to read on if they wish to find out more. The use of a quote
from the article adds to the unambiguity of the tagline and is dramatic as well.
Overall, this cover is simplistic and
stylised, which is very effective at
drawing the eye and appealing to a
wide audience as well as a specific
group of fans.

3. Cover 2
The Header is a list of featured artists
which helps inform the reader of which
artists will be covered in the magazine,
with the hope that they will find an
artist that they like and are interested in
enough to buy the magazine.
The Name of the magazine is in large,
bright text above the central image in
order to make sure it stands out to a
prospective reader.
The central image is the focus of the
entire cover. In contrast with Cover 1,
each member of the band is an equal
size, whereas on Cover 1 the singer was
the largest and clearly the focus of the
feature as well, this could be because
the band featured on Cover 1 have a
singer who is more of a household
name than the other band members,
however, the band featured on Cover 2
are more well known as a group,
therefore the magazine doesn’t need to
exploit the fame of just one member to
draw readers in. The fact the band
members are all wearing the same
colour and none of them are
aggressively emphasised suggests that
they are of equal importance and all
contribute to the main feature.
As in cover 1, the names of other
famous artists in the same genre are
displayed down the side, in order to
entice those who aren’t convinced by
the main featured artist to buy the
magazine. The fact hat these two are
larger than the features across the page
suggests these artists have a larger
audience.
The name of the main feature band is
the subtitle and is one of the few
intensely coloured elements of the
cover, acting to draw in the eye. The
colour scheme of the cover as a whole
consists of fairly plain white and grey,
which are contrasted by the vibrant
purple, which links to the name of the
band.
Along the bottom, some of the band
members have been named, similarly to the
singer in Cover 1 and the capitalised ‘NOW
WHAT?’ at the end of the line creates a
sense of anticipation which can only be
satiated by reading the article.
Similarly to Cover 1, free music is
advertised in the top left, leaving fans
of the featured band feeling like they’re
missing out if they don’t purchase the
magazine.
Overall, this cover is more subtle than
the previous cover and isn’t as
cluttered, however they share a
number of conventions in terms of
positioning of images and phrasing of
text.

4. Cover 3
Similarly to the previous two covers,
this one offers free music inside to
entice the reader to buy it.
Interestingly, all of these covers
have offered this music in CD
format, whereas magazines covering
other more modern genres tend to
offer free music as a download,
rather than a physical item, this
could be seen as an indication of
these magazines appealing to an
generally older demographic of
people, who are more comfortable
with or prefer older methods of
listening to music.
Like Cover 1, this cover uses quotes
from the main article in order to
project what the main feature is
about whilst still maintaining a level
of ambiguity which forces the
reader to buy the magazine to get
the whole story. The use of profane
language suggests that the reader
can expect a raw, unfiltered article.
Again similarly to Cover 1, the word
exclusive is used to imply that the
magazine is the only way the reader
can access this content.
The central image serves as the focal point around which the cover is constructed,
similarly to the other 2 covers and similarly to Cover 1, focuses on one member of a band
rather than the whole band. The casual attire of the featured artist, compared to what is
worn in Cover 2 adds to the suggestion that this with be a less formal article.
Again, other artists are named on the
cover to appeal to those who aren’t
convinced to buy by the main feature,
however these names are smaller and
less of a focus than they are on the
other 2 covers. The underlining of the
word ‘never’ is used for a similar effect
as the word ‘exclusive’ in order to
entice fans.
Both the name of the band and the
name of the mainly featured member
are included, like Cover 1, however,
unlike Cover 1 the name of the
individual is larger and more
pronounced than the name of the band
suggesting that he is more of a draw for
potential buyers.
The name of the magazine contrasts
the background in order to make it
stand out, but still takes a backseat to
the central image. As shown in covers 2
and 3, the name of this magazine is
always in the same font, around the
same size and isn’t intensely coloured.
Overall, this cover is more punchy and
in your face than Cover 2, perhaps to
reflect the different musical styles of
the featured artists. It has a similar
style to Cover 1 in terms of colours,
however, it has a more casual style.