Task 2 and 3 of Research and Planning- Analyse music magazines.

1. Magazine Analysis Caitlin Hulse

2. Front cover analysis- VIBE Masthead Vibe’s masthead follows the conventions of one as it is located at the top of the page so its easy to be seen amongst other competing magazines. Its also bright and bold so its easily visible even though the main image is overlapping over it because its an established and recognised brand. Headline The main headline is ‘Janet Jackson’ because the main image is of that person. It relates to the genre of the magazine as she is a famous singer and sister of Michael Jackson who is an icon for the magazines genre of music. Her name is in a bold, bright blue which makes it jump out and appealing. Cover lines These follow the conventions as they are smaller than the masthead and main headline but still visible. They are either in blue or orange which is the colour they have used for this magazine as it stands out and works well together. The cover lines are what are in this edition and use words such as “Luv’s” and “Shawty” which are generalised with this genre of magazine – hip hop. Mode of address This magazine is quite informal as shown by words such as “Exposed”, “Shawty” and “Wild night” which suggest that the audience are on a personal level where they can tell them secrets or personal information. Main image The main image is of Janet Jackson who is sister of the icon Michael Jackson and a famous singer who's sings the genre of music for this magazine. Her expression/pose is casual and cheeky and her clothes are quite urban which may relate to the magazine and what its trying to portray. She also has direct eye contact with reader which makes the magazine more personal and eye catching. Layout and Font The main image is in the centre of the magazine, so its in the middle third. The font is Sans Serif so it emphasises the informality of the mode of address. All of the cover lines and writing etc are in a bold font so its easier to read and stands out so its eye catching.

3. Front cover analysis - Smash hits! Masthead ‘ Smash hits!’ follows the convention of the masthead being at the top of the magazine so its easily visible for its audience to notice it on the shelf. It’s also covered a small bit by the main images hat and by the ‘New look’ puff but because it’s a popular magazine this wouldn’t effect the sales. Main image There are a lot of images on this magazine but the main one is of Shayne Ward, a singer and winner of the XFactor. This image has been used because he is a pop singer and the genre of the magazine is pop. He has direct eye contact so the magazine is more eye catching and personal. His pose/expression is cheeky and he has a friendly smile which is also shown by the pose with his hand on his hat too. Cover lines These follow the conventions as they are smaller than the headline but still eye catching. One of them, “Gwen” is bold and in bright pink which fits with the colour scheme of the magazine as its aimed for young females who like the colour pink. Headline The main headline is “Shayne X Factor” which is in white so it stands out but also has pink around it to stay with the colour scheme. Having Shayne’s name as well as the ‘XFactor’ makes it clearer who he is and what genre of music he performs which fits in with the music genre of the magazine. Mode of address The mode of address is informal as shown by the cover line “Private snaps” which suggests that the audience is on a personal level with the magazine and McFly to be able to see personal photos of the band. Another cover line, “I’m a celeb secrets” suggests that the magazine are able to share secrets with the audience because their on a friend basis. Layout and Font The main image of Shayne follows the rule of thirds as its in the left third part of the thirds, this allows the front cover to have more pictures which is more effective than writing because the target audience is young girls and younger children prefer pictures to lots of words. There is two types of font on this cover, Sans Serif for the majority of the writing but in the ‘McFly’ feature they use Serif which may because they want this story to stand out because its secret as it has “private snaps”.

4. Front cover analysis - KERRANG Masthead The masthead sticks to the convention of it being at the top of the page so its easily seen although this masthead is partially covered by the main image. This doesn’t affect the sales of the magazine because it is a well established and recognised brand. The masthead is also in a font that looks broken or smashed up which links with the genre of music as rock and the idea that rockers smash up things e.g. guitars. The word Kerrang also links with the genre of rock and the instruments as it could be symbolic of the noise that symbols in a drum kit make or guitar strings being played. Main image The main image is of a band member from the featured band in the magazine, Foo Fighters. His pose his relaxed and casual and his clothes are smart but the undone top button suggests his rebellious side. The bright red colour of the shirt may have connotations of danger as it links in with the caption underneath, “back to blow your mind”. His tattoo partially visible on his left arm also shows signs of rebellion. His expression is moody yet he still maintains direct eye contact with the audience. Mode of address The magazine is informal as the genre of rock isn't associated with as being polite and proper but rather unrestrained and free-and-easy. This is also emphasised in the cover line, “Their filthiest interview ever!” which suggests that in the interview the band didn’t hold back and said what came to mind which tells us that there may be private/secret information told or bad language which makes it ‘filthy’. Headline The main headline is “Food Fighters” which is in the second largest font used on the magazine to signify its importance. The font is bold and has a slight shadow around it to make it stand out even more. By it being in white it is coherent to the house style of the masthead being in white too. Cover lines One of the cover lines is “Korn - Live in the UK! Rocking in the US!”. This shows that although the band ‘Korn’ is a band originated from the UK, they are also sharing their music across to the US, not only do they rock the UK but also they rock the US. The use of exclamation marks are also effective as they are used to indicate high volume which links with rock being a loud music. The colour yellow and white are used as it adheres to the house style of yellow, white and black being the colour scheme. Its effective as its appealing and attracts the audience. Layout and Font The main image lapses over the second and third part of the rule of thirds as its not completely centred but its neither the second or third part of the thirds, this is unusual which emphasizes the uniqueness of ‘Kerrang’. The font used is all in Sans Serif which proves that the magazines mode of address is informal.

5. Cover analysis - VIBE Features/Pages It has similar features of the front cover and direct the readers to the different sections of the magazine under the title ‘Features’. It also informs the reader where the top stories are which are in white so its bold and easy to read against the dark red background. The features of the magazine are listed on the left hand side which is a convention for most magazines. They adhere to the conventions as these headings are visible and not covered up by an image. They are also in white so they are simple and don’t attract attention away from the main image which should be the focus point. Main heading The font is the same house style as the contents as its in bold so its stands out. Although ‘Vibe’ has gone against the conventions of a contents where the heading ‘contents’ is normally at the top of the page but here its on the right hand side of the page and jumbled up going down the page. This is effective as its not normally used meaning its different and unique, like the genre of music this magazine is representing. Another interesting thing is the ’V’ in the background. This is the starting letter of the magazines name, ‘Vibe’ and by having it in the background its effective as the reader is reminded of the name of the magazine. Its also cool and creative and personally I haven't seen this done before which makes the magazine unique and something new. Main image The main image of this page is of the rapper/singer Plies which fits in with the contents page as Plies and Janet Jackson are both hip hop/RnB artists. Plies pose is different as he's showing off his wealth by holding up his number of diamond necklaces and bracelets. He even shows off his grills and tattoos which are a common stereotype thing to have in the glamour of the Hip hop world. His backwards cap and him being topless also suggests his rebelliousness and that he’s a ‘bad boy’ which is also a common stereotype that men rappers are ‘bad boys’. Layout and Font The main image is centred which is more effective for this image because its so elaborate and ‘out there’, so by having it in the centre its more eye catching and superior. The majority of the font is in Serif which is unusual as it doesn’t feel like it suits the magazine because the magazines mode of address is informal and Serif font is used to show formality. Although they could have used this font to show contrast and to be different as the genre of RnB/Hip Hop is all about being unique.

6. Cover analysis – SMASH HITS! Main image The main image is of the band Westlife which fit with the genre of the magazine as they are a pop boy band. They are used because they do pop music but they also act as ‘pin ups’ because young girls will think they are good looking and this will encourage them to buy the magazine. Their pose is simple as they are all close together showing their friendship as well as smiling. They are dressed smart in suits but all have the same colour shirt, again showing their unity and friendship. Extra images Two of the smaller images are of the boy band McFly who also do pop music and young girls find them attractive, meaning they’ll be more likely to buy the magazine if McFly are in it. Their poses are natural as the images are taken when they are going Go-Carting, so it has a high sense of reality so its believable and the audience will relate to it better. Their expressions are cheeky as they are pulling silly faces and smiling. The third small image is of the girl band Sugababes, by having their image in the magazine, it encourages young girls to buy it as Sugababes is their favourite girl group and they aspire to be like them. Their pose has a lot of attitude to it which shows that girls are in charge and its all about girl power. They are dressed causal but feminine and are wearing clothes that are fashionable which means that the audience will think of them as role models. Features/Pages The features of the magazine are listed at the bottom of the page which is unusual as conventionally they are on the left hand side of the page but by doing this it makes the magazine more unique and individual. The features stick with the house style and colour theme of pink which is a girls favourite colour making the magazine more attractive. Artists/bands names are in bold pink and are mostly males/boy bands which also emphasizes the point of young girls finding these people attractive and therefore buying the magazine if their in it. Other One thing that this magazine has is a PUG. The word ‘win’ in it is in bold and in white which is eye catching as it stands out against a darker shade of pink, which again is the audiences favourite colour. The PUG attracts the readers attention as they have the chance to win something which makes the magazine more irresistible to buy. Another thing is the image near the top of a piece of paper that looks like its been ripped off a notepad. This is a note from the magazines team e.g. editors, columnists etc. By having this it makes the magazine personal and the audience feel like they are on a personal level with the magazine as they are being treated as a friend rather than a reader. Layout and Font The layout of this contents page follows the convention of the rule of thirds but it overlaps into the third part of the thirds, not just the second third. The font used is all in Sans Serif which is effective for this magazine because the mode of address is informal because it’s a children's magazine. Its also better to have the font in Sans Serif because there is a wider variety of styles of it which means its more interesting to catch the child's attention.

7. Cover analysis - KERRANG Main image The main image is of Billie, a member of the rock band ‘My Chemical Romance’. His image has been used as it relates to the genre of music this magazine is about. His expression is scary but not to the extent where he looks aggressive but rather jokey and messing around about it. His clothes also show the genre of music he plays and the genre of music this magazine is because the jumper is black, a typical ‘rock’ colour and the picture of the skull which is also a stereotypical image to do with being a rock star and the genre of rock itself. The picture itself looks like its been taken with a special effect on the camera as it looks old/vintage. It also looks like it’s a photo booth photo as the background is a red drape/cover, often used in old fashioned photo booths which also emphasises the vintage effect/feel. Main heading The word ‘contents’ is in the same font as the masthead on the front cover which means that it adheres to the house style as its consistent to the masthead. The font looks broken which links to the idea that rock stars smash things up e.g. instruments or stereotypically they smash up hotel rooms. The heading is at the right hand and at the top of the page which is a convention for all magazines Extra images There are four other smaller pictures on this page. The one on the left, top corner is of the editor of ‘Kerrang’ which is obvious as next to his picture is the ‘editors note’ which is a short paragraph from him about this issue of the magazine. The next image is of a member of a band, his pose is taken from a low angle so he looks quite dominant and scary, his expression is very moody as he's not smiling and has a straight face. The caption “Download here we come” is also used, Download is a music festival which is specifically for this type of genre of music, rock. The third image is of a band member from a rock band called ‘Chimaira’. His pose is less serious as he's kissing a dog which is very clever as it fits in with the caption ‘Doggy style’ and his bands name, ‘Chimaira’ which is similar to the dog breed of a Chihuahua and therefore links in with why he's kissing the dog. This is effective as it shows that the genre of Rock isn't always serious and it can be fun too. The fourth image is of another band member of ‘My Chemical Romance’ called Aiden. His other band member is the main image of this contents page so both images link together. Aiden’s expression is silly as he's pulling a silly face which shows Rock can be fun too. Other Another thing to mention about this page is the colour scheme. It shows continuity as it follows the house style of the front page too by using the colours black, white and yellow. A second thing is that on the bottom left hand corner there is another small image of three example magazines of ‘Kerrang’ and a pug saying “Get Kerrang delivered to your door”. This will entice readers to consider the offer as its eye catching and may seem like a good offer to them. Layout and Font The main image is in the first and second third which is effective as the contents under the heading “this week” looks more effective as its not crowded or covering the picture which makes the image more dominant. The font is in Sans Serif because the magazine is informal, this is effective as it allows the font to be in different styles, for example the ‘contents’ and ‘this week’ heading has an effect on it which makes it unique and eye-catching.

8. Double page spread analysis - VIBE Main image The main image is of Solange Knowles who is an RnB singer and young sister of Beyonce Knowles who is a very famous RnB singer. Having Solange as the main image fits with the theme of VIBE being about RnB. Her pose is dominant showing girl power and woman independence but yet her expression is somewhat innocent and calm possibly showing another side to herself. Her clothes represent her split personality, as she is wearing a pretty, frilly red dress along with pink heels but she's also wearing a black leather jacket and a chunky black necklace. The contrast between the different items of clothing shows her different personality of being girly and ‘bad’. Main Heading There is no main heading on this double page spread, this shows that its very audience intended because the reader is expected to know who Solange is. This is effective as it adds to the uniqueness of VIBE as a magazine. Extra Images Where the heading is conventionally on any other magazine, its been replaced by seven other images of Solange. This means that the audience are expected to know who she is and therefore she doesn't need a big heading with her name. She is in a different pose in each image, some are serious and some are jokey which again shows her personality. Layout and Font The main image is in the third third of the page and the font is in Sans Serif, because the magazine is informal this is effective as the VIBE’s contents page I looked at was in Serif, this contrast and clash between the two different fonts shows how different VIBE is as it doesn't conform to the conventions, as it prefers to be unique. Feature heading This cover line would attract the reader and make them want to read more, “Forget the sister. The outspoken Solange Knowles created one of the years best RnB albums.” This not only emphasizes that VIBE is an RnB magazine but also that the audience are expected to know Solange and her sister Beyonce and why its big deal that Solage is trying to become better known than her sister. “ Solange Knowles” is also in a bold, blue colour which emphasizes the importance of Solange. It also shows that the colour scheme is blue, grey and red. These colours are used as they make the page less cluttered and look more sophisticated like Solange. The colour scheme also doesn't distract the attention away from all the pictures, because there are so many of them, VIBE obviously wanted them to stand out the most, especially the main image as its the only one in colour.

9. Double page spread – SMASH HITS Main image The main image is of the famous singer Beyonce. Her pose looks natural as she's smiling and brushing the hair off her face but still posed as her hand is on her hip. This pose links in with the heading “I'm a shy girl” as the hand by her face may show she's uncomfortable. She's giving direct eye contact which makes the picture more personal, as if she's actually looking and smiling at you which will make the reader feel like a friend rather than just a reader of the magazine. From what you can see she's wearing a sparkly vest top which contrasts together well as its sparkly which shows her ‘diva’ side but because its just a simple vest top this shows her ‘normal’ side, and that she's the same as everyone else, not just a pop star. Headline The main headline is “I'm a shy girl but on stage I go wild!”. Its in bright pink which links the to the gender of the magazine that SMASH HITS is aimed at, as well as linking with who the story is about and what gender they are, in this case its Beyonce who is a female and pink is associated with this gender. The lettering is very big and takes up about a third of the page. The biggest lettering is “I go wild!” which is effective as its emphasise that although Beyonce is shy, she can be wild and fun. It also links in the audience as because they are young girls, they want to have fun and go to discos and dance etc like Beyonce does. Beyonce may some what be their role model. Layout and Font The layout is simple as the main image takes up one page to itself and therefore there is no evidence of the rule of thirds. The font is in Sans Serif which is effective as it means that different font styles can be used, the one used mostly on this page is simple, large and bold as its must be easy to read as the readers are young. But in the pink box on the left hand bottom corner which is a match up game, the font is still Sans Serif but its a different style. It looks a bit like graffiti and has a black shadow around it, this is effective as it distinguishes between that activity and the main story about Beyonce. Extra Images Other images on this page include one in a small insert of Jay-Z, Beyonce’s husband and Beyonce herself, together. Its a picture obviously taken by paparazzi and maybe not SMASH HITS itself and that why it isn't posed and has a pink background behind it. Another image is of Jessica Simpson who is also a pop singer and actress, in the pink box on the left bottom corner. The picture is taken from her movie “Dukes of Hazard” as the game in the box is a match up of who starred in what movie and therefore having Jessica Simpson as an image is relevant.

10. Double page spread - KERRANG Main Image The main image is of the rock band All American Rejects. Two of the members have a serious facial expressions whereas the other two, mainly the skinhead is pulling a less serious face. This shows the contrast that being in a rock band is serious but also fun at the same time. The main singer of the band who in the red hat is placed at the front of the picture and your eyes are focused on him immediately. His clothes are very mismatched as has wearing a red hat with pink jeans and a silky blazer. This jumble of clothes clash together and emphasize that rock is all about having fun and not caring what you look like and what people think of you. Headline The main headline is “Dirty Little Secrets” which is very effective as it links to two different things. The first is that it links to the text that follows – “Tyson and his crew dish the dirt” – this links to the secrets part of the headline as well as “Dirty little secrets” being a name of one of their best known songs. I think this is very clever and gives the magazine a edge. The headline is in the colours pink and red which are the colour scheme as the text after follows these colours but also those two colours are the colours of the two main items of Tyson, the lead singers outfit – the red hat and pink jeans. This is very clever and looks really good against the black background too. Layout and Font The main image of the band is in mainly the second third but overlapping into the third and the text is structured well in a question then answer interview style. The text is in Sans Serif which works well with the images as it means the texts can be in different font styles and not just one boring style. It also means there's no formality to the page especially as the headline uses the word “secrets” which implies that the reader is on an informal/friend level with the magazine. The word “secrets” is also in KERRANG’s famous font style of looking like the letters have been smashed up or broken, this allows the magazine to have continuity throughout. Extra images Other images this page includes is four insert pictures of each band member. They are natural and probably taken without the band members realising as in one of the pictures, one of them is smoking and in another picture one is laughing. This is effective as it makes the reader feel on a personal level with the band as these pictures have been taken without the members knowing which also again links with the headline “Dirty little secrets” as they have been secretly taken.