My presentation on Front Cover analysis

1. Front Page Analysis

2. Masthead: This is NME’s logo which is unique. NME stands for New Musical Express. This logo stands out as it is made with bright colours. This logo is used to advertise and brand this magazine. Main Image : This image of Lily Allen catches your eye because she looks really pale and disorientated. This image of Lilly Allen comes across as quite punky and not a usual look for her I think her hair being black and her face pale white I think this will also draw readers in more than a black and white image would. Main Cover Line: NME has used the colours black and white which looks really good with all the colours on this front cover. The white against the black really makes an impact and stands out and I think it matches with her black hair and almost white face. Left Third : NME have put the main cover line and pull quote on the left third because that will be the part that will catch readers attention the most as it is the main feature of this magazine. Pull Quote: On this particular magazine this pull quote gives an insight into what her interview is going to be about. This pull quote makes readers think what she going on about she can’t live like this? And it will make them want to read into it some more so they then buy it so this pull quote is acting as a sentence to pull readers in. Other Cover Lines: Instead of showing just a main feature it is advertising other interviews and showing readers there’s album reviews and stories e.g. how bowie started the credit crunch makes you wonder what there on about and I also think that it is a really effective technique the way they have placed the page number under the feature which then tells readers to go to this page before they've even opened the magazine. This section on the front cover is offering readers more and giving them reasons to buy this magazine so they know what else is in store. NME have also advertised that there are special in studio interviews with artists which would interest readers.

3. This main feature is an image of Britney is very natural and she looks really pretty and she also looks very happy, this makes a magazine really interesting when there is a celebrity that looks natural and the image doesn’t seem like its been over edited. She isn’t wearing brightly coloured clothes so they haven't made it overly stand out. They have used neutral colours for the colour scheme and this magazine comes across as a contempory magazine and it is very different to the first front cover I analysed. Her position is also natural and it seems as if she’s laughing at something. This magazines house style is based around the fact it’s a American music, politics and popular culture magazine. This magazine deals with mainly music and solo artists or bands but it also includes popular issues arising around the time this magazine gets published and it also deals with a lot of film stars. The masthead is two words written in full compared to NME which are the initials of the actually name. The font of this masthead is very simple and again in neutral colours, they’ve gone for a bold title in which stands out on the background behind it. The style and font changes on the words rolling stone as they tend to make the title fit with the colour schemes on the features for that magazine. This magazine also has no skyline which says that the magazine would rather people make there own decisions about this magazine. Rolling stone magazine I have also noticed have mixed certain issues which will target all audiences not just people who want to know about music an example is the title ‘A Sci-Fi Beyonce’ this isn’t a usual title you would see about Beyonce as she is an R’n’B superstar. This magazines target readership is aiming at all different types of people and I think that they are wanting to educated people about the music business and stars etc but I also think that it’s a way of keeping people up to date with more serious issue like political press etc and other popular issues within the country of America. This magazine hasn’t used a direct pull quote but they have added almost an answer to something, as if someone as asked something about Britney and so they answered yes she can! Then there’s Britney Returns underneath and this simple line is the selling line for the main feature in it’s self, because people are going to want to read about Britney’s return as before she had a bad reputation. All the features of this magazine are set out on the left third of the magazine because this magazine isn’t magazine you would find in small corner newsagents as it isn’t a usual gossip mag etc and so everything being on the left third will make the magazine get noticed when stacked on a shelf in a large book/magazine shop because magazines are stacked across not down. Also it’s eye catching that they have added THE HOT ISSUE highlighted in red and written in capitols as if this is a must read issue especially when it’s based around Britney and the popular Twilight film. Another thing is that I really like how they’ve shown the shadow behind Britney making this photo even more realistic.

4. Kerrang have kept the magazine quite equal and they haven’t focused on putting main features to the left and they’ve put the image of the band in the middle which shows that it is the main feature of that weeks magazine. The masthead of Kerrang stay the same each issue in its usual colour of black and white which makes this magazine noticeable. There is no skyline on the front of this magazine but instead they’ve put other cover lines of what’s in the magazine that week as when people read the front cover they notice the top straight and because people tend to read everything on the front to see if it’s worth buying, so Kerrang to me looks like its tried to cover the whole page and fitted as much as they could on then, so then it shows readers more and more ‘goodies’ as such. I think that Kerrang’s front covers always looks like a contents page just without the page numbers. The masthead is really well done as it fits with the style and target readership Kerrang is going for, as this title looks cracked or smashed like glass and I think this links in with the rock genre and rebellious look that Kerrang try to portray because of the bands they have featured in there magazine each week. This front page has included a total of three direct quotes, one on the main feature which is the pull quote for the magazine because Fall Out Boy are the main features on this issue and it’s also and exclusive interview as its there last interview for now as there talking about going on a break for a while. Another quote is used on the feature of Linkin Park’s singer and the quote is “I wanted to kill myself” and I think when a strong quote like that is put on a magazine it will definitely interest readers because for a band member wanting to kill themselves is a shock and it would want you to read more about him and his reasons. The last quote is put right at the bottom of the page and hasn’t been made an obvious quote because Slipknot is the word that stands out and the quote is above that and I think that it’s been written small because it could only be a small article otherwise they would of made a bigger selling line etc. This magazine also includes a PLUS! section like NME magazines has. The fact that every feature has been highlighted in some way has made every feature seem pretty equal obviously except the FALL OUT BOY exclusive interview. The image Kerrang has used is simple but I also think that it is a strong image in what its supposed to be representing because the image is of the band FALL OUT BOY and there exclusive interview is about why there quitting for the time being and I think the fact one of the band members that can be seen most of on this cover is strong because he has his fingers to his head, imitating a gun and I think that it makes strong links to the fact there a rock band who are going off the music scene for a while. This front cover also shows that it includes a wide range of features to interest people in all matters of music and this is an example of an album review which music magazines do to encourage people to buy good and popular latest albums. Magazines that include ‘specials’ in something often attract peoples attention and I think that a poster special attracts both male and female readers because females often like getting posters of single band members and male like whole band pictures who they like or inspire them. And I think that a poster special on a view from the pit from a festival could included some really good pictures that people might want to see in full and when posters are in magazines it’s sort of offering readers something in return to them buying this magazine and that’s also why magazine include freebies as it gives other reasons to buy the mags.