1. 1
The Generic Conventions of Music Magazines
Some Key Terms
 Masthead – The name and logo of the magazine.
 The Lead – the introductory paragraph of an article. Usually written in bold or
capitals.
 Body copy refers to the text of your written articles, which should be produced as a
printed presentation to accepted industry standards, e.g. correct use of language, font
size, word limits etc. Usually written in columns.
 Serif font – fonts like Times New Roman, or Baskerville Old Face, which have little bars
(serifs) on the end of the letters.
 Sans serif font – fonts like Impact, or Agency FB, which do not have little bars (serifs) on
the end of the letters.
 Drop Capitals – Really big letter, which start off an article.
 Cross Head – Small sub-heading used to split up a large block of text.
 White Space – white parts of a page other than text or pictures.
 Mode Of Address – How the magazine talks to the audience.
 Sell Lines – Text on the cover that helps to sell the magazine to the audience.
Kerrang!’s sell line is “life is loud”.
 Banners – text, which stands out because its on a coloured background.
 House Style – a magazines distinctive design that distinguishes it from its
competitors.
 Borders – the gaps at the edges of the page.
 Gutters – the gaps between the columns of text.
 Leading - the space between lines of text.
 Kerning - the space between letters.
 Strap Lines – a smaller headline, printed above the main headline.
 By-lines - name of the person who wrote the article. Picture Credits - where did the
photos come from, or who took them.
 Anchorage – The way in which text helps to pin down the meaning of a picture and
visa versa.
See page 2 for an example of an annotated music magazine cover that uses the terminology
above.

2. 2
Annotating Pages
Example of An Annotated Front Cover
Bar Code
Pull Quote:
serif font and
yellow colour
to make it
stand out.
Tilted at a
slight angle.
Courier
font –
resembles
typewriter text,
which
highlights
‘journalistic’
content.
Sensationalist
subject matter
(drugs) draws
the viewer’s
attention.
Magazine’s
Cover Price
and Date Of
Publish
Banner:
Slanted At An
Angle – Left To
Right.
Yellow/white
writing stands
out from
background
Masthead: Special font with a high impact red colour and
shadow effect. Onomatopoeia connotes the sound of a
cymbal crashing. Main Picture Covers Masthead
Competition:
round ‘box’
with yellow
boarder and
yellow or
white text to
make it
stand out.
Sans Serif ‘Arial’
Font, Block
Capitals,
shadow effect,
Arrowhead suggests
that these features
can be found inside
the magazine.
Band Names to attract
attention of one-off
buyers.
Cover Lines,
especially
‘world
exclusive’,
which is
highlighted in
a ‘house style’
black box with
bold yellow
text.
Anchored by
pull quotes
Yellow dots to separate band
names. Part of House Style
Exclamation
marks connote
excitement but
are also part
of house style
as the title of
the magazine
includes an
exclamation
mark, i.e.
Kerrang!
Main cover
picture is of a
major
international star
and relates to
main article
topic. It is
anchored by the
main coverline.
Main Coverline: has
much larger font size
and runs across the
middle of the page.
Has an underline
effect separating it
from its subheading.
White writing stands
out from dark
background.
Cover Picture:
overlaps and
anchors banner.
The subject has a
typical rock and
roll pose and punk
styling.
Cover Picture:
overlaps and
anchors banner
Direct Gaze
looks out at
reader.

3. 3
Annotating Pages
Example of An Annotated Double Page Spread
Page Number And Magazine Name in
black box with page boarder. This
helps to create a ‘House Style’.
By-line And Picture Credit:
within a box as part of the
‘House Style’
Picture covers
both pages with
right hand page
consisting of
nothing but
picture and all of
the text
appearing on the
left hand page,
although the text
still wraps
around the
image.
The image
conforms to the
‘Rule Of Thirds’
and has plenty
of negative
space on the left
hand side to act
as a background
for the text.
Picture overlaps
boarder
Headline: Latin, Serif Font
(Varies from article to article)
Band name
highlighted
with bold,
capital
letters.
Pull Quote: attributed
to interviewee
Light coloured, uncluttered picture
background – no ‘white space’.
Two main text
columns with a third
block of text.
Text blocks are left
justified/ranged but
placed towards the
right hand side of the
page.
All text is in Arial
(sans serif)
Font.
Mode of address
peer-to-peer style
with a ‘Gonzo’
influenced interview
style.
First two
words of
article are
in much
larger
uppercase
letters –
no drop
capitals.
Feature Headline – Part Of House Style
– Black background with special font.
Boarder continues over both pages.
First two words of
each article section
are in larger capitals
The Lead: Same
font as the rest of
the article but in a
larger text size.
Story relates to
cover article
The
boarder
line has an
arrow at
one end to
indicate
that the
story
continues
over the
page.
Picture: Reznor is gazing off page – into the
distance – connoting thoughtfulness. Whilst the
strong shadow effect connotes a duel personality,
i.e. a public side and a private side. All black
clothing reflects dark sound of his music (but
looks fairly normal in contrast to the band
pictures over the page) and contrasts well with
bright ‘earth-tone’ background colours. His
posture is supposed to look natural but is clearly
posed. The positioning of Reznor on the right
hand side of the page with negative space to his
left balances the image with the text. The picture
is taken in the late afternoon to create the long
shadows; this also creates a soft, wistful light that
adds to the pictures thoughtful mood.
Gutters
Verso Page Recto Page