Music magazine signs and signifiers analysis

2. The Magazines that I have chosen, NME and Spin
magazine are of the indie rock genre this is shown by
the bands/artists on the front (e.g. the Foals on NME
and Pete Doherty on Spin), which is iconic because
these bands are associated with this genre.
Both NME and Spin have used minimalism on the
cover by using a plain background and photo taken in
a studio. Spin magazine have used a black and white
image that makes the bold red and white of the
masthead standout. NME have used a similar idea
apart from the image is not black and white but the
bright pink of the masthead and main headline stands
out over the image.

3. The clothing they are wearing is iconic as it follows the
fashion that goes with the indie rock genre. This would
appeal to the target audience and make them more likely
to buy the magazine. An oppositional reading for the
NME is that because they are wearing everyday clothing
it looks messy and therefore not appealing to some
people.
Also the facial expressions of the people on the cover of
both NME and Spin magazine is iconic to the genre of
music but an oppositional reading for this is that they
look unapproachable and moody which might put some
people of buying the magazine.

5. The contents pages for these magazines use very
different layouts. NME have used headlines in different
fonts and sizes with pictures to show what is in the
different pages in the magazine with main article
having the biggest photo and in the middle of the
page. Whereas Spin has used one image as
background with what the magazine features down the
left hand side of the page using the same font and
layout for each heading.
Yet again they have both used simple colours with
Spin using the black and white image again and NME
using a white background with black writing and
coloured pictures. A preferred reading of this is it is
simple to understand and so you can clearly see what
features are in the magazine. An oppositional reading
is that it is boring to look at and there is nothing to
capture the eye.

6. They have used iconic photos that fit with the genre
and will also fit with what is inside the magazines
which will make people want to read the magazine and
find out more about it. Spin magazine have only used
one photo from the main feature of the magazine
which means that if people are not interested in that
band then they might not want to read more. NME
have used many different photos related to the content
of the magazine which means the reader has more of
an idea of what is in the magazine.

8. These two double page speeds have the image as
the main focus with the article along the bottom.
This means you can clearly see who the articles
are about e.g. NME is about Lily Allen and Spin is
about Kings of Lean.
They have used medium close up photos with a
level that is equal to the audience. This gives a
sense of unity between the reader and the article
making the reader want to read the article.
Both magazines have used a san serif text for the
head line of the article this makes it more casual
and would appeal to the target audience. Within
the article they have also used the simple white
background and black writing.

9. Aside from the photo the main focus on the NME article is a
quote from the interview with Lily Allen. They have used this
as a headline for the article using a san-serif text that looks
link it has been cut out from another article to stand out.
This gives the reader and insight to what kinds of things they
spoke about in the interview making them want to read
more. Spin also use a quote in there double page spread
which stands out from the rest as it is bigger than the rest of
the text but does not stand out as much as the headline.