analysis of a music magazine

2. Denotations/ connotations
• Collage of images connotes fun, enjoyment,
and a party lifestyle which would appeal to a
student audience
alcohol
gaming

3. Genre
• The main genre is music, this could be dug
deeper into British music but the cover does
not show anything to support this.
• This is supported by the names of bands and
artists on the cover.
• Generally, people wouldn’t recognise the
artist image unless they have sufficient
knowledge in music.

4. Rule of thirds & masthead
• Goes against the human subconscious of
gazing right by placing most of the content of
the magazine on the left hand side.
• Rule of thirds goes from top to bottom rather
than left to right = unconventional
• Masthead is kept to left hand side which is
conventional of magazine design

5. Image
• The magazine appeals to a large male
audience and rap has a slightly larger male
following as opposed to females so it’s the
logical decision to use a male rap artist on the
main Image.
• Model is casually dressed which creates a
sense of relatability to the audience and genre
• Pose of artist is reaching out top the audience
as well as making direct address

6. Cover lines
• Informal language used in main cover line shows
they are trying to appeal to a certain audience.
• Cover lines at the top mention band names
showing they cover a wide range of genres and
follow the colour scheme of the magazine which,
while smaller than the main cover line, draws
attention to it.
• Use of a pull quote shows there is an interview
inside without having to mention it on the front
cover which maximises space.

7. layout
• Messy, unconventional
• Cover line: “Dizzee Rascal” has one line tilted
and the other left straight which connotes
freedom, rebellion and excitement which
relates to the genre as it doesn’t conform to
the mainstream design structure.
• Mixture of colours in background of image
emphasises this sense of messiness.

8. Mise en scene
• Graffiti in the background relates to the main
image which relates to the music genre (rap)
• Clothing of the model conforms to the
magazine colour scheme
• Use of long shot in image which gives the
impression of the of a medium close up due to
the cover lines.

9. Colour scheme
• Red, white, black
• Neutral colour scheme which stereotypically
leans towards a more masculine audience due
to boldness of colours

10. Strap line
• ‘special’ draws audience in, gives a sense of
exclusiveness

11. Target audience
• Male
• Early – mid 20’s
• Student readers

12. Task 2B
contents page

13. Font
• Both serif (for body of the text) and sans serif
fonts for headings. Sans serif font is typical of
heading fonts.
• Headings on the right hand side are bold,
chucky and modern which appeals to a
younger audience
• It gives a high impact and clean effect

14. Borders
• Image has a white border which gives the
impression of a polaroid image
• Black border and metallic corners represents a
flight case which bands use on tour

15. Language
• Humour – irony = “thank God the sun has disappeared
eh”
• Alliteration= “masterclass in messiness”
• Colloquial language= “eh” is friendly and establishes
the tone of the magazine
• Pronouns= “we” gives a sense of unity and is more
personal
• Verbs= “listen” “pick out” are example of verbs in the
second section which gives a sense of action and is
imperative.
• There is a semantic field of touring with words such as:
“gigging”, “rock and roll” and “tour”

16. Layout
• Uses the rule of thirds to show the different
areas of information that are being addressed

17. Article Title
• Follows colour scheme of magazine which
creates a sense of association and
professionality

18. Mode Of Address
• Informal and chatty which is aimed to make
the reading fun and entertaining

19. Columns
• There are three columns and each one
signifies a different area of information being
conveyed. This helps set out a clear structure

20. Main image
• The image consists of a medium shot of a
woman who is pointing towards a tour bus
which helps tie with the use of the semantic
field of touring and the whole theme and
genre of the music magazine

21. Sub Headings
• The sub headings follow the same colour and
font scheme as the main heading which looks
sophisticated and professional

22. Brand identity
• The brand has a strong identity as the
magazine title is boldly placed at the top of
the page as well as the specific colour scheme
throughout

23. Target audience
• The target audience is,
• Male
• Early – mid 20’s
• Student readers

24. Shot type
• The shot used is a medium shot in order to
show the expression of the person in the
image as well as being able to fit in the tour
bus in the background which the model is
pointing out

25. Rule of thirds
• There is use of rule of thirds in the contents
page in order to separate different groups of
information
• The left third shows the band index
• The middle third shows the introduction
paragraph and image
• The right third shows the contents of the
magazine issue

26. Border around image
• There is a thin white border around the image
which gives the impression of a retro polaroid
picture

27. Masthead
• The masthead shows the brand name in red
followed by ‘contents’. This is bold, clear and
concise and also gives the brand a higher
sense of identity and association

28. Task 2C
Double Page Spread

29. Basic layout
• The basic layout has an image occupying the
whole left page
• The right page then has an article title
covering the top half of the page, with the text
of the article itself in columns occupying the
bottom half

30. Column width and positioning
• The column width is around half a centimetre
and goes from left to right

31. Font and type size
• The font is sans serif which is common
amongst magazine and news paper text
• The size is small in order to fit the whole
article onto one page which produces a more
professional look as opposed to it taking up
more than one page.

32. Colours
• The colour scheme is mainly black and white
with the exception of the images used at the
bottom of the right page which uses a neutral
colour scheme apart from the green of the
bottles.
• There is also some faded colour at the top of
the page where the background is graffiti ad
has been blurred out to continue with the
theme of rebellion and the rap genre

33. Use of images
• The main image occupies the whole left page
creating the impression that the image is
important and should have an equal focus as
the article itself.
• There are also the images of bottles and a
stereo with speakers which emphasises the
target audience they are trying to appeal to
and the typical lifestyle they would lead

34. Page numbers
• The page number is found at the bottom left
hand side of the left page. It is small enough
to keep the focus on the image but large and
bold enough to be identified

35. Branding
• The brand name is also found in the bottom
left hand corner of the left page along with
the page number. This enforces the brand
identity and creates a sense of association

36. Captions
• There is no image caption on this article but
there is a caption after the masthead which
introduces the article and draws in the readers
attention

37. How image and text are integrated
• The image and text are integrated by
occupying the same amount of space on the
double page spread.
• When open, the reader can gaze at the image
and article at the same time without having to
turn the page

38. Main image
• The main image is a medium long shot of the
artist and has a wall covered in graffiti as the
background. This again emphasises the target
audience and genre of music that the article is
focussing on

39. Language
• The article does not censor swearwords in the
article which strongly emphasises that it is a
magazine aimed at adults and also has a sense
of informality. It could be argued that by
including this, the magazine loses
sophistication however its language that the
majority of the target audience would use on
a daily basis. This makes it more personal

40. Design
• The background of the article is a wall covered
in graffiti which has been faded out. This
continues the design from the main image but
by fading it, neutralises it and makes the
reader focus on the text.

41. Overall impression
• The overall impression of the double page
spread is informal, personal and fun

42. Drop cap
• The drop cap successfully shows the reader
where the article starts

43. Denotation
• The noun ‘riches’ in the masthead denotes as
material wealth which shows the lifestyle that
successful artists live

44. Connotation
• ‘mercury prize’ has connotation of success,
prestige and high publicity which shows the
reader that the artist is popular and shows
that the magazine works with highly
successful artists

45. Mode of address
• There is no direct mode of address in the
image which is unconventional and goes
against the conventions of most magazine
images. This emphasises this sense of
rebellion