1. As with most music magazines, the masthead is at the top of the Front Cover. Big Cheese have chosen not to subvert this convention as the genre of music and the
band on the cover already connote a rebellious attitude. Similar to Kerrang!, Big Cheese have the main image overlapping with the masthead. This represents the
band as more important than the magazine. The reader would see this and understand the status and popularity of the band on the punk scene. Additionally, the
masthead is split in two, half of it being flipped on the side. This appeals to the Target Audience as it’s not simplistic and plain, the masthead adds diversity to the
layout and creates an eye catching Front Cover. I think that the Masthead is in the biggest font because it’s the Brand’s identity. Readers can easily distinguish it
from other magazines because of how the masthead is laid out. The reversed “E” in “Cheese” also connotes a rebellious attitude as it stands out in the masthead.
The tagline “Punk Rock special!” is positioned at the
top of the magazine, above the masthead. This is
because it is one of the first things that the reader will
see after the Masthead and the main image. By placing
it here, the reader will be able to tell what genre the
magazine is. It’s positioning also connotes the
popularity of the genre as it’s at the top.
Unlike other magazines of this genre, Big Cheese
haven’t shown the free posters on their Front Cover.
This is unusual as other big magazines like Kerrang! And
Slam show the posters as a way to lure in readers.
Although the Front Cover doesn’t show posters, it does
use another convention to advertise them. A pug is
used to alert the reader to the free posters. Positioned
in the top left corner, it also adds diversity to the layout
and grabs the reader’s attention. The pug is also part of
the vibrant colour scheme.
The sans serif typeface creates a bold and
vibrant Front Cover, drawing the reader’s
attention to it. The bold, sans serif font
represents the punk rock genre as
aggressive and loud. This allows the reader
to know the genre of the magazine. I think
that the bold font would appeal to a
teenage audience because stereotypically,
small serif fonts appeal to an adult
audience whereas bold and vibrant
typefaces don’t. Therefore I think that the
magazine’s primary target audience are
teenagers, not adults. Moreover, the faded
font used for the anchorage text and
masthead connotes a physical fight or
struggle. This links with the main image
denoting the lead singer, Frank Carter, with
his fists clenched. This represents him as
rough and aggressive. This also gives an
insight into the rebellious punk genre. The
faded font connotes the violence and
aggression often associated with punk
music. The fact that the Masthead and
anchorage text are in capitals conveys how
they are of greater importance than the
cover lines.
I think that the magazine’s primary target audience
would be 15-23 year old males. This is because the
magazine focuses on heavier genres of music, similar to
Kerrang!. Teenagers younger than 15 probably
wouldn’t like these genres of music so therefore, the
magazine isn’t targeted towards them. Although the
colourful Front Cover may appeal to them, I think that
the genres of music and the aggressiveness wouldn’t. I
think that the primary audience includes some adults
because they are more likely to enjoy these genres of
music compared to young teenagers. This edition
focuses on the genre of Punk Rock. (1)
Punk Rock’s popularity peaked near the end of the 2000s
with teens and adults all listening to it. The fans of this
music are now late teens/ adults so it makes sense that
the magazine would be aimed towards them.
Additionally, there are some fans who are new to the
alternative scene so that’s why I think the target
audience would include 15 year olds. (2)
I think that the Primary audience wouldn’t include girls
because stereotypically, they don’t listen to this kind of
music. However I think that the secondary audience
would include girls. (3)
In terms of demographics, the primary
audience would be in the social classes D and
E. This is because the age of the readers
means they may not be in employment or
are in low income employment. I think that
the primary audience are not in higher
classes because stereotypically, they don’t
like these genres of music. (4)
2. Target audience continued- I think that the
magazine would target Explorers. This is
because Big Cheese aren’t a mass market
product. They are targeting fans of
alternative music who are a certain age.
Explorers aren’t looking for social
acceptance or friendships through reading
the big brands. They strive for discovery.
Moreover, they are more likely to try new
things, like listening to alternative music .
The fact that Big Cheese isn’t globally
recognised won’t bother them. (1)
The secondary audience would be teenage girls and people in
bands. This is because stereotypically the genres of music in this
magazine don’t appeal to girls. Therefore the magazine doesn’t
target them a great deal. This can be seen through a male
dominated Front Page. However there are some girls that do like
this music and so make up part of the Secondary audience.
Reader’s may also be band members looking for inspiration or just
to find out more about their favourite bands and artists.(2)
The secondary audience would also be in the
same low social classes as the Primary
audience. This is because only the gender has
changed. The occupations (band members)
wouldn’t have changed their social classes.
This audience would also be explorers . Using
Blumler and Katz Users and Gratification
Theory, both audiences would potentially
consume the magazine for personal
friendships. They would talk about and
discuss the magazine with their friends. (3)
The main image is a low angle wide shot
denoting the band Gallows looking angry,
in particular the main singer, with his fists
clenched. This represents the band as
aggressive and powerful as the reader feels
intimidated by their presence. The
composition of the shot connotes the band
as powerful as the members of the band in
the background are looking down,
connoting superiority. With the lead singer
in the foreground with raised fists, the
reader feels threatened. This shows how
the main image connotes the band’s
power. The powerful and violent
representation of the band also suggests
how aggressive their music is. This allows
the reader to understand the genre of
music. Despite the aggressive
representation, the use of direct address
makes the reader want to find out more
about this band. Through the band staring
in the centre, the reader feels they are
staring at him/her. This encourages them to
find out more as they feel it is made for
them in particular.
The main image also takes up the whole of the front
cover and covers part of the Masthead. This can be seen
with Kerrang! and also connotes the band’s importance.
The casual clothing wouldn’t appeal to readers of a
higher social status as they would prefer sophisticated
clothing. Moreover, stereotypically it’s unlikely that
people in the upper class would like these genres of
music and therefore wouldn’t be appealed by the main
image. Additionally, the dark background represents
them as mysterious whilst also connoting violence and
aggression. I think that the style of clothes and the age of
the band suggests that their target audience are
teenagers who like alternative music . This is because
these teenagers have the same or similar fashion sense
to the band.
The anchorage text clearly conveys to the reader who the
band on the Front Cover are. Positioned in the left third, the
anchorage text would be one of the first things read. This
position represents the band as powerful and important.
Interestingly, unlike other music magazines, Big Cheese have
decided to break up the anchorage text into two separate
pieces. The separation of the anchorage text creates a
spread out Front Cover and a box shape layout. This box
shape represents the band as important as this “box shape”
is all around them. Moreover, the separated anchorage text
could represent the “waves” of punk music, the space
between them could represent the difference in time
between the waves. The fact that Gallows are on the cover
with this anchorage text connotes importance as they are at
the forefront of this new punk wave.
The yellow anchorage text has connotations of
prestige and happiness. However, the band’s
expressions and hand gestures contradict the
connotation of happiness. Therefore I think that the
yellow has the connotation of prestige, representing
the band as important on the punk scene. The reader
would recognise the band’s popularity/status because
of the fact that they have a feature about their genre.
3. The faded anchorage text also has connotations of violence and aggression. Partnered with Frank’s clenched fists, Big Cheese clearly conveys the aggressive
connotations of Punk music. The faded font could also represent how the punk genre experienced a decline in popularity, it has become metaphorically worn out.
The black outline of the anchorage text also represents how it is not as popular as before. On the other hand, the white outline on the other anchorage text
represents how it is becoming more popular, making a resurgence. Punk is making a comeback, out of the shadows. The main image also represents the genre as
making a comeback as the band have a dark background behind them. This representation of them stepping out of the darkness conveys to the reader how Punk
music is coming back with a bang. The large typeface also connotes importance as the anchorage text stands out on the Front Cover. The reader will be drawn to it
and will want to find out more.
The Front Cover has a busy layout with
separated anchorage text, trail articles, taglines,
features and cover lines all spread out across the
cover. An extremely busy and vibrant layout
grabs the readers attention whilst also conveying
the genre through the conventions. This messy
layout has features and trail articles over the top
of other conventions such as the masthead and
the main image. This connotes the importance of
the features and also a rebellious punk attitude.
The fact that the band take up the whole of the
width of the cover connotes their importance as
they take up all of the cover, not just the centre.
Accompanied with the anchorage text, one can
see how the band represent the punk resurgence
coming out of the shadows. The fact that all the
conventions are circling them represents them as
the most important as all other content is smaller
and around them. This messy layout can be seen
in other alternative music magazines as it is a
great way to convey the rebellious punk lifestyle.
The cover lines, positioned on the right hand side
of the Front Cover, are the names of bands that
are included in the content of the magazine.
These cover lines represent Big Cheese as
reputable as, in particular, they have an article
about the band Rise Against. Rise Against are very
well known in the alternative music world and
therefore boosts the reputation of the magazine.
By having the cover lines tightly packed together,
the punk genre’s resurgence is represented
permanent. The reader will be able to use the
cover lines to see which bands are covered in the
magazine. This may or may not persuade them to
buy the magazine.
The bottom strip, like the anchorage text, gives
the reader a good insight into the bands that are
featured in the magazine. The colours, black,
white and orange, used for the bottom strip are
also used all over the cover. This creates a
vibrant colour scheme which makes the
magazine stand out. As a result, the magazine is
more likely to be bought and read by the
audience. The graphics used for the “+” add
diversity to the shapes seen on the cover.
As expected, due to it being a convention, the
barcode and price are in the bottom of the right
hand corner. I think that Big Cheese chose not to
subvert this genre because by subverting a
convention, the magazine would have rebellious
connotations. Although this would reflect the
punk genre, one of the genres which the
magazine focuses on, I think that the other
conventions on the Front Cover such as the
Masthead, main image and anchorage text
already connote a punk attitude. I don’t think that
there is a need to subvert the convention as it
would be over expressing these punk
connotations.
By showing features on the Front Cover, the reader is
inclined to find out more as they have given a little bit of
information and are now hooked. The reader can also tell
how Big Cheese covers several genres as they include the
heavy metal band Megadeth on the Front Cover along
with the Punk band Gallows and also the melodic hard-
core band Rise Against. The fact that Megadeth are very
well known and even idolised on the heavy metal scene
represents the magazine as reputable as they have
content about them.
4. Colour scheme and house style-The vibrant colour scheme is effective in grabbing the reader’s attention. The orange, yellow, red, white and black colour scheme
with the messy and bold house style creates an eye catching front cover which stands out on the shelf. The messy house style is similar of Kerrang!’s, with the main
image extending into the masthead as well as the features and pugs covering the image and other conventions on the cover. This messy organisation connotes a
rebellious attitude, the same attitude as the punk genre that the anchorage text promotes. Big cheese also has the “E” in cheese flipped the other way round. This is
for every copy.
The colour yellow has the
connotation of prestige.
Through the use of the
colour yellow, the band are
represented as prestigious.
This conveys to the reader
their status on the punk
scene and their popularity. It
also represents Big Cheese as
reputable as they have a
feature on a reputable band.
The colour orange has been used to
represent the punk rock genre. The
connotations of orange aren’t as aggressive
as red. This could be to convey how punk
rock is a lighter genre that they cover.
Moreover, orange also has connotations of
success. The fact that some of the cover lines
and the anchorage text are in orange
connotes the success or future success of
these bands. The colour scheme represents
the new wave of punk as successful.
Interestingly, the masthead is also in Orange.
This could also represent them as successful.
I think that orange has also been used to add
vibrancy and to make the magazine stand
out.
The use of the colours white and
black connote positivity and also
anger. White has been used to
connote the success of the new wave
of punk whilst black has been used to
convey the aggressive punk attitude.
Alternatively, it could be suggested
that black has been used to
represent the band as coming out of
the shadows, pursuing musical
success and also the resurgence of
punk. As a pair, these colours
contrast and make the magazine
stand out, grabbing the reader’s
attention.