Front cover NME analysis for Media Studies.

1. Corey Balsom AS Media Studies 6/11/2015
Analysis of music magazine front cover - NME
The Header/Strapline at the top includesthe text
“16 PAGE AUTUMN TOUR SPECIAL”where the
wordsseemtoget biggerandbolderas itgoes
fromleftto right.Thisputsthe reader’sfocuson
the buzz word“SPECIAL”whichstandsout the
most.
The main image of hip-hop artist
“DizzeeRascal” tells the audience
immediately that he is the main focus
of this issue of the magazine. He is
directly addressing the audience by
looking straight at the camera, giving
increased communication between the
magazineand the reader, almost as if
DizzeeRascal is tempting the audience
into buying the magazine. DizzeeRascal
is positioned in the centre of the
magazine, where most of the focus is
for the audience. DizzeeRascal is also a
successful man of black ethnicity, so
this may also appeal to others of the
same ethnicity, success or just fans of
his music. It may also appeal to a
certain social class, possibly C2 or D
because of its casual demeanour and
appeal to young people.
The main cover line isanchoringthe
mainimage so thatit relatestothe
mainfocusof the magazine;the
article aboutDizzee Rascal.Itis also
the biggestthingonthe front cover
nextto the mainimage itself;the pure
white textwithshadowingcontrasts
well ontothe background.
The pull out quote nexttothe maincoverline
isa quote fromthe article that the frontcover
isreferringto.Thisincreasesthe interestof
the audience as theymay wantto readmore
aboutwhat he is sayingandwhy.
The Masthead stands out very well at the top of the
page; the house stylecolours of red and black
contrastnicely onto the pure white background. The
typography of the masthead is simplistic;straight,
sans serif font(possibly taken from Dafont.com) and
fits in nicely with the theme of rock/hip-hop.
The puff underthe mastheadusesa bigred circle to
containitsinformation,usingthe words“NEWS”and
“Wowee zowee it’son!”tocatch the reader’seye.
The coloursof red,white andblackare brightand
vivid,sothey contrastagainsteach otherwell. Italso
fitsinwiththe overall house style of the magazine,
withitsmaincoloursbeingred,white and black.
The list next to the masthead
shows all the bands/artists
appearing in the magazine.
This attracts customers who
are intoanyof these bands,
as theywillno doubt want to
find more about their
favourite artists.