Generic Conventions of a music magazine

1. *

2. * Masthead
* Cover Lines
* Buzzwords
* Banners
* House Style
* Pull Quotes
*

3. * A masthead is the name and logo of the
magazine. Mastheads feature at the head of
the cover and are typically the first thing the
reader sees. Which is why it is crucial that
magazines create an easily recognisable logo.
*

4. * Cover Lines are phrases on the covers of
magazines. They are used to generate interest
from the reader enough so they actually buy
the magazine. They can feature phrases such
as ‘World Exclusive’ to draw the reader in.
*

5. * Buzzwords are used on magazine to generate a
‘buzz’ for their magazine, such as ‘Plus’ or
‘Free’ to convince people that they are getting
more for their money.
*

6. * The house style is a distinctive design of a
magazine in which it distinguishes itself from
its competitors.
*

7. * Pull quotes are used on magazine covers to
give readers a section or catchphrase used in
the main articles, usually a double page
spread, these are sometimes used as banners
to catch attention and draw the reader in.
*

8. * Banners also feature on a magazine cover. They
are used to highlight certain information we
want the reader to see, these are usually
larger text that the cover lines and are
typically on a coloured background to make it
stand out more.
*

9. Masthead
Q magazine has used a very simple
masthead and also logo, featuring only
in the top left hand corner, the very
first place the reader looks whereas
Kerrang have used the whole of the
width of the magazine for their
masthead and have covered it partially
because they believe that their brand
is easily recognisable
Main Cover line
Both of these magazine
feature a main cover
line which highlight the
main band in this issue.
This makes it more
appealing for people
following specific bands
By-Lines
Specific readers will want to read
articles written by a specific writer. In
this instance Q have used their
persuasive technics by using by-lines in
this case this article is written by Chris
Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow. Because
these figures have a large fan base more
readers are likely to buy the magazine
Cover lines
Both these magazines use cover
lines. Kerrang utilises their cover
lines which anchor the meaning of
the image by using text.
Direct Gaze to attract the reader
The ‘50’ is written in bold bright
white font which bring attention to
more articles in the magazine
Barcode’s and Issue Numbers
Collections and exclusives
Many
magazines
offer
exclusive editions for their
readers. In this instance,
Kerrang offers 4 different
covers for readers to collect.
Buzzwords
Buzzwords such as ‘Plus’ and
‘Exclusive’ entice the reader into
buying your magazine
Banners
The main text on the Kerrang cover is
brought out by the use of banners.
Banners feature a bright coloured
background which draw out the text.
These banners also feature pull quotes.
These are quotes taken from an article
inside of the magazine. These quotes
again entice the reader into buying the
magazine to read this article