The document analyzes and compares two dance music magazines, DJ Mag and Mixmag. It summarizes the mission statements and target demographics of each magazine. It then provides a detailed visual analysis of the front covers, contents pages, and double page spreads of both magazines. The analysis examines elements like layout, use of images, fonts, and language. In conclusion, the document states that DJ Mag has provided more inspiration for the author's own magazine design due to its neater layouts compared to Mixmag.

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Textual Analysis
Nicole Keighrey

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My Chosen Magazines

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DJ Mag
 DJ Mag are a successful worldwide magazine with a circulation
of 19,479.
 Their mission statement is “living and breathing dance
music, to represent the electronic music scene with the
passion, professionalism and intelligence it deserves’.
 DJMag‟s reader profile is “An average 25 year old male who
is employed so has a high disposable income and is often
single. DJ mag has a youthful audience with 41% going
clubbing at least once a week in the top 5 clubs including
Fabric, Ministry of Sound, Egg, Pacha and Turn mills”.

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Thrust Publishing Ltd.
 DJ Mag is published by Thrust Publishing Ltd, 6-8 Standard
Place, Rivington Street, London EC2A 3BE.
 Their managing director is Martin Carvell and their editor is Ben
Murphy. The publisher is James Robertson.
 They began as DJ Mag ltd but changed their name to Thrust
Publishing Ltd on the 8th of may 2009.

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DJ Magazine – Front Cover
Analysis
 The name of the artist on the magazine is large, bold and clear, making it easy
to read from a distance. This will draw in customers to buy the magazine as
they will recognise the artist when they see the name. For people who don‟t
know who the artist is, they can link the bold name to the picture in the
background.
 The yellow and red make the name stand out against the dark background. An
unusual and interesting font has been used for the artists name, this will make
people notice it and could have possibly been used to represent his interesting
personality. Also the red used in the artists name picks up on the red in the
artists top making him more noticeable.
 The words “PORTER ROBINSON” is placed in the center of the magazine and
is aligned to the left, showing that it is important but it is not taking over from
the picture of the artist.

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DJ Magazine – Front Cover
Analysis
 The shot used for the artist was a mid-
long shot. His position is not posed, as he
looks quite relaxed, but his head is bent
slightly to the side to look as if he is
moving his head out of the way of the DJ
mag logo. Showing that the logo is the
most important part of the magazine as it
is the brand of the magazine. The picture
is very dark and shadowy adding mystery
to the picture to entice readers but also
making the coverlines stand out. The
picture is in the center of the magazine so
everything is placed around him. The
image has kept to the rule of thirds, his
head is in the center of the top third, and
the rest of his body is roughly
symmetrically proportioned between the
each of the thirds.

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DJ Magazine – Front Cover
Analysis
 The coverlines on the magazine use specialist
language to the genre. This excludes people
who do not have any particular interest or
knowledge in the music genre. There are also
a lot of artist mentioned on the cover to give
the readers a hint as to what is inside. The
alternating yellow and white cover lines make
the cover look more interesting and keeps the
readers engaged. The coverlines are aligned
to both the left and the right hand sides of the
page so that one side does not took to
crowded. One of the coverlines has been
placed at the very bottom in the corner where
it will not be noticed. The „172 tunes reviewed‟
coverline is small and not very noticeable
which is unusual for a magazine.
 Overall the cover is well organised, I
specifically like the main coverline and the
alternating colours of the other coverlines.
This is something that I am likely to include
when creating my magazine.

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DJ Magazine – Contents Page
Analysis
 The contents page of the magazine contains a
variety of colors. It is separated into two
sections, the left hand side relates to the
coverlines and the right hand side is split into
subcategories for the rest of the contents of the
magazine. The contents page expands on the
coverlines that are featured on the front page,
giving more detail on what is inside. The
language used is quite informal, for example,
“comin‟ up”. The use of this language aims the
magazine more towards younger people, rather
than older people.
 The layout is neat and organised so the
audience can easily find the article they are
looking for. The font used is consistent
throughout the magazine, it is quite modern and
fits in with the dance music genre of the
magazine.

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DJ Magazine – Contents Page
Analysis
 The pictures round the edges of
the magazine relate to the articles
within the magazine which gives
the readers another insight to
what the magazine contains. The
largest picture on the contents
page is of Porter Robinson, which
relates to the front cover to show
that he is the main feature of the
magazine. The colours used in
the image are quite dark adding a
sense of mystery to the artist, but
his pose, clothing and hair shows
that he is quite a cool person who
many young artists will aspire to
be like.

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DJ Magazine – Contents Page
Analysis
 I think that the contents page is well
organised, I would use a similar
layout when making my magazine. I
particularly like the way they have
placed the coverlines/main stories in
one column and the rest of the listings
in another. This makes it easier to find
a particular article. However, I would
change the way the pictures are laid
out, they make the magazine look
slightly messy and should be
organised better. The headphones
and the DDJ-WeGo controller is very
stereotypical of a music magazine,
which conforms to Branston‟s and
Stafford‟s representation and
stereotypes (2010). The contents
page is divided into three columns to
keep a neat and organised form.

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DJ Magazine – Double Page
Spread Analysis
 The layout of the double page spread is
neat and clear. The white writing is clear
to read on the black background and
stands out. The subheadings are written
in an interesting font that makes the
magazine much more enjoyable to read.
The same font has been used for the
main heading of the article. The different
sized font keeps the readers engaged as
it doesn‟t look as boring and repetitive, as
it would if it was a large block of text.
 The picture in the background is dark and
shadowy, which adds mystery to both the
artist and the article. The small picture in
the corner, of an artist that Porter
Robinson worked with, makes the text
around it much more easily
understandable, in relation to the artist
Mat Zo. The main image is proportioned
according to the rule of thirds which
makes the article look organised.

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DJ Magazine – Double Page
Spread Analysis
 I think that the magazine is well
organised, the title of the article
matches the subheadings which
keeps the magazine looking
professional. The standfirst and
pull quote clearly stand out from
the rest of the text, these grab your
attention, and make you want to
read the entire article. The drop
cap clearly identifies where the text
begins. However, an end blob or
arrow should be used to show that
the article continues. Many of the
conventions used, I am likely to
use when creating my magazine
as I believe that it works well
together.

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Mixmag
 Mixmag are also a successful worldwide dance music magazine but with a readership of
190,000 and a circulation of 20,817.
 Mixmags mission statement is “Mixmag is the worlds biggest dance music and
clubbing magazine. Mixmag has the history, the authority and the creativity to give
the right brands an authentic association with dance music and club culture”.
 Mixmags reader profile is “Mixmag readers are the opinion-formers and leaders in
clubbing. They are the ones who make the happening music happen, and the cool
products cool within their peer group. They are the first to recommend a new tune
and the first on a new fashion trend. They’re at that new cool club very early, and
move on before it starts to go cold. Our demographic spans young budding
bedroom DJs through to accomplished producers. They’re the best informed about
top DJ’s and upcoming tunes, and just have to have the latest mobile (even if their
current on is less than six months old). They’re the biggest downloaders of music in
the UK. The median age of a Mixmag reader is 24 (72% male, 28% female) and they
tend to be urban and single. They have a high disposable income and a high
propensity to spend it on: nights out, clothes, music, the latest mobile phones and
MP3 players. Nearly 80% do not read another music magazine, and they spend little
time watching TV, especially at the weekends”.

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Development Hell
 Mixmag is published by Development Hell, 90-92 Pentonville
Road, Islington, London N1 9HS.
 Their managing director is Jerry Perkins, the editorial director is
David Hepworth and the finance director is David Joseph.
 Mixmag was originally published by disco mix club, but as the
magazine was developed, the publishers changed.

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Mixmag – Front Cover Analysis
 Mixmag have placed their main coverline “Boys Noize” directly beneath the
title of the magazine. This prevents it from standing out as much,
especially if you are looking at it from a distance. It seems to blend with the
rest of the magazine as it is in the same colours as the title and the
coverlines. However, the font is different to the rest of the magazine which
makes it standout more. But by having “Boys Noize” in a large bold font, it
is more likely to be noticed. People who like “Boys Noize” will be more
likely to buy the magazine, even if they are not regular readers of Mixmag,
this is because they have featured a well known and popular artist. I think
that the main coverline should be placed closer to the center of the
magazine and an unusual font should be used to make it more noticeable.

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Mixmag – Front Cover Analysis
 The image featured matches the
colour scheme of the magazine, but is
quite dark and mysterious. There is a
slightly smoky look to the background
image and there is a lot of red/orange
light. Most of the magazine cover is
taken up by the main image, leaving a
lot of space. I think that the title
should be placed closer to the center
so it fills some of the space and
becomes more noticeable. However,
it does make Boys Noize look good,
and would entice people to listen to
his music. Alex Ridha is placed in the
center of the top third of the
magazine, the coverlines are placed
on the left and right hand thirds of the
cover, this makes the magazine look
organised.

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Mixmag – Front Cover Analysis
 The coverlines are aligned to both the
left and the right hand sides of the
magazine, leaving the center free.
There have been many different fonts
used on the magazine making it look
a bit messy and not very professional,
there has also been a lot colours
used and different a different layout
for most of the coverlines as some
are parts are bold and others are not.
The language use in the coverlines
shows that the magazine is aimed
towards young adults, 18+ as most of
the language is inappropriate for
younger people. The coverlines are
all large and noticeable, none of them
are small and hidden.

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Mixmag – Front Cover Analysis
 I think that the cover looks messy
and not very professional. The
main coverline does not standout
very much, and the other
coverlines do not match and there
fore the cover is not very neat. The
language used is not appropriate
for younger people and a lot of
specialist language has been used
to single out those who do not
know much about the genre. On
the other hand, I like the colour
scheme, I think that it goes well
and the background matches the
rest of the front cover.

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Mixmag – Contents Page Analysis
 The contents page is spread out over
two pages, most of which is taken up
by images of the features. A different
font has been used again and the text
is very small. There has also been a
different font used for the title. Overall
the layout is clear and quite
informative, so you can easily find
what you are looking for, the images
also give you more of an insight as to
what is included.
 The two main images do not relate to
the main story on the front cover, they
are contrasting photos on is of a girl in
a club with warm colours, the other is
almost black and white, it consists of
cool colours and a much more formal
looking scene. The listings are placed
in the left and right hand thirds of the
magazine. The main picture on the
right hand side as plenty of breathing
space and most of his body is in the
center of the grid, except his head.

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Mixmag – Contents Page Analysis
 I think that the overall layout of
the contents page is clear and
well organised. However, I think
that the text should be bigger to
make it easier to read, and the
photos should relate to the front
cover more. Also, the page
numbers on the photos are hard
to read, a clearer font should be
used. The main problem with the
magazine is that too many fonts
are being used. Mixmag should
be more consistent to create a
more professional look. The
image of the woman is likely to
attract male attention, this agrees
with Mulveys Male Gaze theory
(1975), which states that women
are there for males to „look at‟.

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Mixmag – Double Page Spread
Analysis
 The used of colour on the double page
spread instantly grabs the readers
attention. All of the colours work well
together, making more people want to
read it. The colours also relate to the front
cover. The text is nicely spread out and
the article is clear and easily
understandable. The enlarged quote on
the page opposite the main text relates it
to the artist directly. The image relates
back to the front cover. The image makes
it look as if Alex Ridha is one of the
leaders of his style of music. The
language is informal and would not be
appropriate for children, as the article
discusses topics such as drugs. The
orange patterns look interesting and are
engaging to an audience. Alex Ridha is in
the right hand third of the page, this gives
him plenty of breathing room and
prevents the image from looking
overcrowded.

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Mixmag – Double Page Spread
Analysis
 I think that the magazine is well
coordinated and organised, the colours
make the page exciting, which you would
expect to see in a dance magazine.
However, the text should be divided up
and have subheadings, to make it easier
to find a certain part of the text. Also the
text should begin with a drop cap to draw
the readers attention to that part of the
article. Overall I like the layout and the
picture as it is well structured and fits
together well. The text describes a
stereotypical dance music artist, which is
conforms with Branston and Stafford‟s
representation and stereotypes (2010).

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Conclusion
 Out of the two magazines, I think that DJ mag has inspired my
work the most. I think that DJ mag looks neater and I like the
layout of the double page spread. Although I like the contents
pages of Mixmag, I want to keep my contents on one page,
preventing me from creating a contents such as theirs.
Therefore, I have taken inspiration from DJ mag‟s contents
page. I like the way they have separated all of the different
listings into categories, however, I do not like the layout of the
images. I think that they could have been aligned better to
make it look neater, which is something that I will carry out in
my work.