2. NME’S STYLE
NME as a brand views itself as the broadsheet
newspaper of the music industry and is held
in high regard by rock music faithful. Despite
wanting to appeal to a younger generation
NME has set itself up to be more of a
newspaper, which the paper type, size and
layout connoting this. Their brand image
works because they are viewed by many as
the newspaper of the youth. Those that want
to feel disconnected from society, purposely
seeking individualism are the key to NME’s
success. By aiming their brand towards youth
and individuals as well as the music faithful
NME has become one of the most successful
music magazines. Their contents page is
perhaps the most like a broadsheet news
paper and is made up mainly of an image wall
with a few editorial pillars. Consequently it
connotes this upmarket theme that they
desire.
3. EDITORIAL
TITLE
PILLARS
Editorial pillars are the
features and sections that are
The title on this TOC is incredibly similar to what consistent throughout all of
you would expect on the front cover of a the issues. The most
broadsheet news paper. However it is slightly noticeable thing about the
dumbed down and geared towards it’s owns NME editorial pillars is that
readership. The title is simple but yet easily they are often one word, or
recognizable. It means the contents stand out in no more than two. This is key
the magazine. This title is also very easy to scan because it shows their
quickly and consequently it needs little around it. relationship with their
audience. As an institution
they have noted that their
readers do not want to read
FEATURES AND
long titles , they want to
quickly be able to zone in on
PICTURE WALL
the appropriate content. The
language used for these is
also simple and related to the
The features in the TOC page all have rock genre.
pictures and pull quotes to
accompany them. Using pull quotes in
the contents page is becoming
increasingly common but is still
borderline unconventional. NME is
one of the few institutions that have
this style. The images have large page
numbers, the idea being that readers
can identify the band and skim to their
article. This is again to reduce to effort
of the reader and make the magazine
more generic and suitable for all
audiences.
4. LAYOUT ANALYSIS
The NME contents style is very blocky
and regimented. The articles are all
formed to fit in individual boxes. They
are as symmetrical as possible and
they designate the major articles. The
lager pictures draw the eye to the set
articles. The faces of larger artists are
used as almost selling points for the
magazine. For example, The Rolling
Stones’ Mick Jagger, is an icon
amongst modern music and so his
story is placed in the center. This spot
is often graced with rock icons such
as Noel Gallagher. The idea of this is
to highlight the feature article, but
keep it linked with all of the
surrounding stories. The smaller
artists have wider shots and the more
prestigious the more close the shots
are.
5. WHAT I LIKE
I particularly like the alternating shot styles. I think
that the different colours are important because they
give a different dynamic to the contents. The close
up shots of important artists are also equally good. I
particularly like the strong bold page numbers. They
stand out and are clear, meaning readers can
identify the artist they want to read about and find
the page number, all whist not needing to spend a
great deal of time reading the explanatories. The pull
quotes and different fonts are also a nice touch. The
NME contents fits with the style of the rest of tha
magazine and particularly the headline-making
nature of rock stars. Hence why the news paper
style is particularly fitting.
