2. • There are many techniques used by
editors and magazine producers to convey
conventions and representations, all
introduced so as to target their audience
directly. I will be analysing various front
covers, contents pages, and articles to
pinpoint these techniques used so I can
apply them to my own music magazine
3. • We see that ‘Kerrang!’ typically list some of the
most appealing bands to their target audience at
the top, and we could see listing relevant bands on
the front cover as a convention most music
magazines share.
• In addition to this, various production techniques
are used to give the magazine a more pristine and
generally cool theme. For example, the bleed of
the picture over the masthead gives emphasis to
the picture, taking focus off of the title that all of the
target audience will already know.
• We see that the page design is relatively vibrant
with lots going on, as well as a variety of different
text fonts and sizes. This magazine being as
successful as it is, we can assume therefore that
having vibrancy and various fonts and word sizes
on the page is something that appeals to their
target audience. This therefore means that it would
appeal to my target audience.
• Like previously mentioned, there is a chance to
engage the audience with the magazine by giving
them a chance to vote. This gives the reader a
sense of fulfilment and a sense of contribution to
something they enjoy. This in itself would
strengthen the loyalty of the magazine subscribers
4. • ‘VIBE’ we would expect to have completely different
codes as a pose to Kerrang!, although they seem
very different, they also share techniques to engage
their target audience. For example, the variety of text
font and sizes, and a singular picture in the
background that bleeds over the title. Also, we see
VIBE also lists popular music artists and stories at the
top of the page like Kerrang!.
• Differences we see can be as simple as the mode of
address. Although both magazines aim for an
informal but informing read, words like “Swagger”
would not been seen on Kerrang!. This proves the
idea of different music genres abiding by their own
conventions.
• We can also see that the conventions of this
magazine orientates around the sexual. The frequent
use of the word SEX appears to be a convention they
follow to attract interest from their target audience.
This would be a genre specific buzz word or flash.
• As well as this, the classic puff is introduced
throughout the front cover with words like “NO.1” and
“Shocking Celebrity Scandals”. We can assume from
this that unlike Kerrang!, VIBE seems to focus more
on the shocking and the scandals more than the
music.
5. • Again, NME has a different style of magazine
production to other magazines, yet also shares
some typical codes that form an ulterior
convention. One example is the more simplistic
layout, making everything more clear and in order.
As well as this, the colour scheme is relatively non-
vibrant to make the red hair in the background shot
more vibrant. This is done to give more focus to
the picture and therefore more focus onto the
article that it represents. This is further stressed
with the pull quote under the band name.
• NME also uses the idea of freebies to enhance the
User Perceived Benefit of the magazine. The
capitalised ‘FREE’ invokes interest from their
target audience, so we would assume NME’s
subscribers enjoy small freebies with their
magazine.
• Unlike the other two example of music magazine
front covers, NME tends to stick to only two font
colours on this issue. This would signify that the
target audience does not like an overly busy page,
and would much prefer simplistic yet interesting
layouts with relevant information to them
• There is also less puff with a fairly formal mode of
address compared to Kerrang!. As well as this,
there is only one pull quote and very few buzz
words.
6. • This magazine makes itself evident as a
hip-hop magazine. Along with this you can
clearly see the ideologies and conventions
of music magazines. For example, it is
clear that the magazine focuses on disaster
and scandals, watching closely for anything
that could be bad news to a celebrity of the
hip-hop world. This kind of information is
exactly what the target audience crave, and
it is very much like Heat Magazine of hip-
hop.
• The bleed of the central images over the
masthead is a typical method to put
emphasis on the picture. Chris Brown and
Rihanna are both iconic and idolized
celebrities, so If they are bled over the title
(the thing we usually read first) then they
will be instantly recognized by the target
audience, and most probably read/bought
• Evocative words and questions invoke
interest from the target audience. “DEATH
THREATS?!” and “ARRESTED AGAIN!!!”
shows how the mode of address is typically
over-the-top and excessive. This is clear to
be what the audience want, and they are
given their juicy scandals in the best way
possible. Buzzwords like these are classic
examples of magazines pulling the
consumer in to read more.
7. • This contents page seems to have a lot of information
on it, and would seem boring if not for the many
pictures and the colours.
