Music magazine analysis- front cover

1. Main image- The main image of the magazine is a mid-shot of Katy Perry, this is because she’s
going to be the main feature of the magazine. The camera angle of the shot is just slightly
further from a medium close up as it perfectly shows her figure. Katy Perry in this picture looks
very feminine, edgy and colorful. The props used on Katy make the picture original and they
also reflect Katy’s personality and her music genre. The main image is aimed to women due to
the very feminine and girly colors of her dress , the flawless and airbrushed makeup and the
flowers, also her body language makes her look naïve and innocent , signifying that she’s not a
threat to other women; moreover the picture is also aimed to men due to her facial expression
coming across as being seductive and by slightly showing her legs. The main image is a full
bleed as it takes up the entire front cover, importantly covering the masthead, connoting that
she’s the most important thing and that , that’s what the reader needs to be focusing on and
this also shows the dominance she has over the magazine for this particular issue. The picture
is a direct address as the model is looking straight at the camera , meaning that it will catch
the readers attention by feeling more personal to her and encouraging the readers to read
more as she’s looking straight at them. The costume used on Katy is something that the reader
would expect her to wear as she’s known for being original and care-free ; also her dress is fun
and short signifying her style of music. The color in the background once again relates to Katy
as she’s always wearing vibrant colors and it also blends in with the flowers that are covering
her body; furthermore it’s a simple plain color creating a focus on Katy. The flowers might
connote that it’s a fresh and new start in her career and that she’s going to bring new music
and ideas for her fans and people that enjoy her music. The lighting used makes the picture
even more vibrant and luminous , this might have been done to show that she’s not hiding her
true self and that she’s ready to open herself up to the rest of the world. She looks very
conventional making herself appropriate for a younger audience as her music mainly appeals
to young people The picture was clearly taken in a studio and this shows how famous and
known she is as an artist and therefore this connotes that taking pictures in a studio was safer
for her in compare to going out to a set location. She is captured looking flawless and royal and
this links to splash the “Queen of Pop”.

2. Masthead- The masthead in this magazine is “Billboard” which is the name of it and it’s the
largest part of the text on the front cover. It’s in bald writing . The masthead is significant as
it’s a very important and know world wide, it’s important as it’s telling the reader the name
of what they are reading and this will enable the reader to create a personal relationship
with the magazine. Also the name it’s important as it relates to a billboard you might see in
big cities and they are meant to be big, bold and eye-catching and that’s exactly what the
masthead is trying to do. Furthermore the masthead it’s important as it enables the reader
to either get to know the specific magazine, to find information or any other queries about
it or to simply know what the magazine is called. The typography used is is modern, simple
and easy to remember , this last feature is important as the readers will easily recall what
the magazines name is and therefore this will lead the reader to buy the magazine.
Moreover as the typography is fairly simple this connotes that the magazine is aimed to a
wide range of readers and to normal everyday people. The masthead is placed at the top of
the front cover stretching horizontally over the entire page; however in this specific issue
it’s covered by the main feature of the magazine(Katy Perry) furthermore this connotes
that even though the reader it’s not able to read the masthead it expects that the reader
knows what it’s called and therefore this shows that it’s a very known and famous music
magazine. By sitting behind the image it secretly gives the impression of being an
important magazine which every one is aware of. And it presents the magazine as being
iconic as the magazine is based on a memorable font. In this particular issue the latter's
“a” and “d” are filled in with bright and neon colors , this connotes that the magazine is
aimed to a fairly young and modern audience. The colors used don’t have any particular
connotation but they simply connote that the magazine as a whole is aimed to men,
women and other unspecified genders, appealing to a wider audience. Also the color of
the masthead is mainly black , the use of the filling colors might have been done to show
diversity within the artist that the magazines presents. Moreover it allows Billboard to
make their front covers different every week and to not necessarily stick to a color scheme.

3. Color- From the front cover we can infer that the the main color
scheme is of black, white and a soft but vibrant color which varies
every week. The colors that fill the letters of the masthead also vary
every week , signifying that billboard has a wide range of different
artists featuring every week and that as a magazine is diverse and
includes different points of view and different music genres. There are
no shades used , this is because the colors used are already bold
meaning that the colors don’t have to be reinforced to make them
stand out. The colors used are black and yellow which relate to the
strong floral focus and the colors used are the same as bees. The colors
as a whole have a bright and fresh feel to it which link’s to the pop
sound of Katy’s music.
Administrative detail- On this front cover there isn’t a barcode
or the price of the issue however you can find the date and
issue number just beneath the masthead written is a very small
font this is because it’s an information that it’s not very
important and that not many people are interest to now due to
not being their first priority. Placing this information just
beneath the masthead makes it visible to the reader no matter
what the font size is , and this is important and it’s done to
inform the readers about the information of the issue and the
same time it doesn’t distract the main image.

4. Cover Lines- There aren’t many sell lines as usual on this particular billboard issue , however
the one’s that are present are placed next to the main image on the simple pink background.
The font used is a similar version to the font used in the masthead , resembling that simple but
bold appearance that the magazine is known for; the font size of the sell lines varies depending
on the importance of the article, however the font used is smaller in compare to the font of the
masthead and as it’s positioned next to the main image ; the font size doesn’t distract the
image and it actually makes the image stand out duo to using such a small font and this makes
them not take the attention off Katy Perry. The juxtapotion on the size font of the general sell
lines with the cover line for “Katy Perry” demonstrates how much importance is given to her
and how her alone is the main purpose of the magazine and this shows that only her name can
sell huge numbers of magazines due to being a very popular singer ; moreover the font used
for “Katy Perry” is completely different from the rest of the other cover lines, this is because it
needs to stand out and it needs to be seen by the reader as it’s the most interesting article of
the entire magazine and it’s also the most important as it’s the main feature which will sell the
magazine. “Katy Perry” is written in black font just like the masthead, connoting that she’s
dominating the magazine just as much as she’s dominating the music industry. The other part of
the cover line is white, which doesn’t necessarily stand out as much as the black font does,
however it signifies that the rest of the things that have to be said about her are not as
important as her name, moreover by saying “Inside” it might intrigue the reader to
metaphorically go ”inside” the magazine and find out more about her. Also alliteration is used
in some of the sell lines, e.g. “bounce-back”, this language technique is used make the text
more memorable to the reader and more fun to read, therefore this will make the reader want
to read on. A puff is also used , placed near Katy's dress, the shape and colors of it doesn’t make
it cheesy or unprofessional but the contrary, the color of the circle which is orange relates to
the color scheme but by being slightly different it makes it stand out more against the pink
background and the black floral dress. The puff stand out more as it’s placed next to the main
image which is also standing alone. Lastly there’s another artist that is mentioned which
doesn’t compare to Katy Perry but it still significantly stands out as it’s placed just above the
masthead , and this will make it more visible to the reader.

5. Main image- The main image of this mojo magazine issue is a mid-
shot /close up of Madonna. The image is a full bleed as it follows the
codes and conventions of a music magazine. The first thing we’re
drawn to is her face as it’s being highly accentuated due to her bold
features, her cat eyes relate to the black of the masthead , connoting
that she’s dominating this particular issue and that she’s going to be
the main important feature of the magazine. Moreover the black and
white colours used to represent her reflect the masthead and the
colour scheme of the front cover. A phallic symbol is used in this
particular picture, this consist in the use of a cross to create a sexual
feel as she’s licking the cross and looking directly to the reader
creating a synthetic personalisation, therefore this will be one of the
main reasons why men would buy this issue, however at the same
time she’s an iconic figure representing herself as feminine because of
her make up and outfit used, this is a reason why this issue would
appeal to women as they might aspire to become like her due to being
such an influential and known artist. The shot was taken in a studio,
this was so that they could create

6. Supporting images- There are other images on the
front cover which relate to other articles which the
magazine features. One is a small thumbnail placed at
the right top side of the cover , and the picture
reveals a sneak peak of a album cover. The picture is a
thumbnail in order to not distract the main image but
to add extra information about this exciting feature;
this will appeal to more readers as we can see that
the magazine offers a wide range of musicians and
music genres. The second picture found of the front
cover is a digital picture of Madonna’s music album ,
the size of it is fairly big to emphasise the importance
of the CD and the filter of the picture is the same one
which was used for the main image , connoting that
the album relates to Madonna. This second picture
supports the main image as it adds extra information
about her as an artist without using text.

7. Colour- The main colour scheme of this particular issue is
blue, red, , black and with some hints of white. There are
two main bright colours used of which bright red and
bright yellow, this two colours stand out and make the
front cover modern but vintage at the same time to reflect
the artists personality. There’s a main theme of black and
white , however to insure that the front cover is successful
in persuading the reader to buy the magazine the uses of
different colours connote a variety of different styles of
music and artists , demonstrating that the issue is not only
about the main singer; this will make the reader feel more
secure to buy the magazine as they can understand that
there’s a variety of articles to read and relate. However as
previously said the dominant colour scheme makes the
main artist come across the most important feature of the
entire magazine and therefore this makes the reader
understand that a lot of attention and dedication was
taken when writing and creating the article for the main
singer.

8. Masthead- The masthead of this magazine is “Mojo” and it
follows the codes and conventions of a music magazine as
the masthead is placed at the top middle of the front cover.
The masthead is placed behind the main image and this
makes the main image dominant over the entire magazine.
Furthermore this also shows how known this music magazine
is as they expect the reader to instantly know what the name
is; the name of the magazine is iconic so it will be easily
recognized connoting the success and fame of this specific
music magazine. The font used reflects the style of the artist
creating a close relationship between the magazine and the
artist connoting that the magazine knows what they are
talking about and will create a true and real representation of
the artist. The font looks 3D due to the grey shades used to
make the masthead pop to the readers eyes due to being
placed at the back and this characteristic makes it look
superior to the rest of the font cover. The uses of neutral
colours demonstrate that the magazine is aimed to both men
and women.

9. Cover lines- The font cover is filled up with cover lines , however
keeping the main attention to the main image and this insure that
the main article is not being affected by other things. The sell lines
are positioned to the sides of the main image , insuring that the
main image is not being distracted by less important things. The
colours used for the cover lines are varied but kept simple, by using
different colours it crates a variety of styles and representations .
The red colour has been used for the most important information
for the reader to know as red is the first colour we’re drawn to as
readers. The colours red and blue have been used to appeal to a
female and male readers. As the main artist is a female her name
has been written in a light blue font to make it appeal to a male
audience as well ; the font used for “Madonna” has vintage
connotations and comes across as being gentle and stylish , once
gain represent the artist personality. The cover lines chosen are the
most exciting articles of the magazine, this was done to draw the
reader to find out more about the articles. The tone of the sell lines
are fairly informal to make the reader feel comfortable and excited
to read the magazine, as they might feel that they can be
themselves when reading the issue.

10. Typography- All of the fonts used on the front cover are very similar
between them and everything is written in capitals apart from the extra
information which is not as important . Depending on the importance of
the information the font size becomes bigger, to mirror the significance
of each article.
Banners, buttons and other graphics- There are banners on the front
cover to advertise free items and get the readers attention. The different
shapes used to emphasize various cover lines are characteristics which
will sell the magazine as the reader will be persuaded to buy the issue.
To make these stand out even more , they’ve used colours to stick to the
readers mind and this creates a kind of synthetic personalisation as it’s
almost talking r=directly to the reader and persuading them to buy the
magazine by using colours. There’s also a plug , as it’s referencing a ”free
CD” tricking the reader into buying the magazine as they will receive
something without spending their money.
Administrative detail- There’s a barcode with the price, date and issue
number, placed at the bottom right of the front cover. This makes it
easier for the reader to find out critical information all at once,
furthermore this characteristic is also important as it makes it easier for
the reader to know what they are reading.

11. Main Image- The main image of this particular billboard issue is a full bleed of
Justin Bieber. The picture is a full bleed as it follows the codes and conventions
of a music magazine. The picture is a mid-shot of the singer, facing sideways.
The picture is a direct address to the reader as the singer is looking straight at
the camera, and this creates and synthetic relationship between the magazine
and the reader. When analysing for mise-en scene , you can say that the facial
expression of the singer looks relatively scared and insecure, again this is
reinforced by the rest of his body language , this connotes that the singer might
be afraid to come back and enter the music industry as many years have gone
by. The body language shows Justin Bieber almost hugging himself , connoting
that he’s now alone in all of this and that his comeback is all thanks to himself
as he’s now grown up and mature, the hands might connote that he needs
reassurance and feels vulnerable. Again the hair cover his face giving a feeling
of insecurity and privacy ; this shot presents the singer as being a completely
different person and artist in compare to what he was before in the past. The
artist in the picture is wearing a sweater which shows off his muscly and fit
body, this might have been done to make the reader appealed not only to his
carrier and music but also to his looks, which many teenagers and young adults
might find attractive. The lighting in the picture is very particular as it has
shades of red, blue, purple and pink; this particular choice of light might have
been purposely chosen to make the singer appear modern and alternative and
to keep the magazine vibrant and lively as it’s what Billboard magazine front
covers are usually like. The location of the shot is a studio , this is because it
allows the use of different lights and backgrounds.

12. Colour- the colour scheme used in this Billboard issue is white, black
and a peachy/reddish colour which mimics the colours of the lights
used in the picture of the singer. The colour used in the background
is a dark blue with shades of grey this creates a solid base for the
main picture as it makes it stand out and make the picture seem
brighter; this might connote that singer was once in a dark and
confusing place due to the colours used , however the bright lights
and colours used on him make the reader understand that he’s now
reborn and ready to shine and own the world. The colour
combination on this front cover also makes the artist seem very
modern and futuristic reflecting his personality

13. Masthead- The masthead is the title or name of the magazine
which in this case is "Billboard”. The masthead is placed vertically
on the left hand side of the front cover, this is very unusual as the
majority of Billboard magazines have their masthead placed at the
top centre; however this goes against the codes and conventions of
magazines, connoting that it’s probably a special edition . The
colour of the masthead reminds of the colour of the light shades
that can be seen in the picture; this connote that the singer is
dominating this issue and that the edition is going to be mainly
about him. The placing of the masthead again reinforces the singer
as being the dominant one as it’s placed sideways in order to not
distract the reader. This also connote that Billboard is a known
music magazine as it lets the reader assume that they should know
this magazine due to the diversity of the masthead. The typography
used in the masthead is once ah=gain different to the usual
billboard issues, it’s bolder and chunky , this is due to not being
placed as usual and therefore by being bolder and thinker it still
insures that the reader is able to identify what magazine it is. Lastly
the masthead is usually placed behind the image however as the
main image is already dominating the article the masthead was
placed at the same level next to the main image to give similar
importance to the masthead and the image.

14. Cover lines- There are very few cover lines in this front cover of which one is
about Adele and the other one about some other artist. This two sell lines are
placed directly under one another and at the side of the singer. Firstly this was
done to take as less space as possible and by placing them next to the head of the
singer it ensures that the reader will read and be aware of them as the first thing
that we are drawn to is his face. The colour of this two sell lines is the same as the
masthead and lighting in the picture, this is so that there is a particular colour
scheme which makes it look professional but also so that they reference the
second dominant feature if the front cover which is the masthead, therefore this
will cause the reader to not ignore them. Contemporarily the sell lines have a
small size font to not distract the main feature of the magazine . The font used is
different to the rest of the fonts used, to create variety and to make them stand
out to the eyes of the readers. There is a use of rhyming as a language technique
“Adele’s…. Stats”, this was done to make the sell line catchy and memorable ,
creating an interest for the reader and make them read on. The cover line used as
a description for the image is the biggest out of the ones on the front cover,
especially the name of the singer is being emphasized by using a bigger size font in
compare to the rest of the cover lines; also the colour font used makes that
specific cover line stand out against the dark background in compare to the rest
as it connotes that “Justin Bieber” is a new person and artist as the font used for
this cover line is different from the rest to show that the main article and subject
of the magazine will be “Justin Bieber”. Moreover the tone of the language used in
the sell lines is formal/informal as it includes humour but seriousness at the same
time.

15. Administrative detail: There is not price or barcode on
this front cover , as it is a special edition and it might
not look aesthetically pleasing to have the price on
the front page. However there is the issue number
and date , this is important as it enables readers to
know which issue they are reading in case they have
to research it or just for collections. This is done by
using a very small size font underneath the masthead ,
this insures that it can still be read as it’s referenced to
the masthead and does not distract the rest of the
front cover as it’s not important as the rest of the
information.