Analysis of 2 Music Magazines

1. ANALYSING 2 MUSIC
MAGAZINES

2. Serif fonts are used for a few of the coverlines. This
makes the text easier to follow because the serifs on
the letters act as a line for the text to be on.
Sans serif fonts are used for the rest of the text on the
front cover and are often bold. Sans serif fonts are
often thought of as tidier and more modern looking
which could appeal to the target audience more.
The colour red is a colour that's easy to see at all
times because it's very bright colour. It is often
used to bring forward text and images. People
generally have a quick response to the colour red
which is why it's a good idea using it on the front
cover of a magazine because it means, as it
catches their eye, they'll have a fast reaction to it
and could pick it up and look at it.
The masthead is very big and stands out so it
would be easy to see from a distance. It's also very
simple and easy to distinguish from other
magazines.
The puff is a different colour to all but one of the coverlines.
This makes it stand out from the rest of the page and draws
attention to it. The fact it's the same colour as one of the
coverlines suggests that they are related to each other. It's
the perfect size as it's not big enough to draw attention
away from the image or the coverlines, but it's big enough
to catch the eye.
The coverlines are white and bold which causes them to
stand out and allows people to be able to read them without
being close to the magazine. Also, the coverlines don't make
it immediately obvious as to what the stories are about
which would cause people to pick up the magazine and read
the front to find out what's inside.
The main image is a photo of Florence and The
Machine reaching out towards and looking directly
at the camera. This is an example of direct address
and can draw in the target audience because they
feel personally addressed by her. This also shows
that the cover story is about her and it informs the
readers what they can expect to read about in the
magazine.
The way she's styled in this photo looks casual but
stylish. For example, her hair is curled loosely and
she's wearing an unbuttoned plain shirt with an
unbuttoned jacket. This makes could make the
readers relate more to her because she appears
more as a 'normal' person rather than a celebrity.
This magazine is designed to appeal to people who like all
sorts of music genres but this issue is specifically for fans of
indie rock music. It represents the readers interests by using
an image of a popular indie rock artist. The kind of readers
that are not addressed are people who like hip-hop and rap
music or really popular dance/rave music. They aren't
addressed because this issue is focusing on indie rock music
which is stated clearly by the main image and the coverline
that says "indie rock" very large at the top. This wouldn't
appeal to people not in the target audience.
This cover shows a good indication of what's inside. For
example, all the artists mentioned on the cover are included
in the magazine.
The language used in the coverlines is very simple.
For example, a lot of the coverlines are just artists
names. While this doesn't give information about
the stories, it does tell the audience which artists
they can expect to read about in this issue and
they can decide whether or not it appeals to them.
Also, using simple language like this wont lose
people's interest straight away.

3. The colour black denotes strength and is
often thought of as a very formal colour.
it's also used to create contrast. There are
lots of different colours on the page. This
is done to catch the reader's eye and to
stand out from the picture and the plain
white background. The white and red
from the front cover have been carried
over onto the contents page. This
establishes a sense of brand identity.
There are a variety of images relating to
the contents. This keeps the page from
being boring and allows the reader to see
what the stories are about without having
to read much. This lets them instantly see
and choose what appeals to them and
which story to read instead of having to
read very word on the page.
The contents are just the name of the
artists which allows readers to see the
artist's name they want to read about and
find the story straight away.
The contents are bold and bigger than the
rest of the text on the page, this makes
them stand out and are the first thing
people would read on the page.
This contents page gives a good indication
of what's inside this issue of the
magazine. This is done by the use of
photos to represent what the audience
would be interested in. Also, the use of
the artists names as the titles of the
contents is a really simple way of letting
the readers know what stories are about
who.
The language used is what people who
are big fans of music and listen to it often
would use and understand. The words
used aren't long and difficult to
understand but slang isn't used.
The 'Q' logo is on both pages of contents. This
maintains the brand identity and reminds the
reader what magazine they're reading.
The fonts for the title and the contents are
bold sans serif. This makes them stand out
from all the other text on the page. The
rest of the text on the page is serif. This
makes it easier for the reader to follow as
the serifs act like a line for the text to be
on.

4. The colour scheme of red and
white has been carried over onto
the double page spread from the
front cover and the contents page
and it ties all pages together while
maintaining the brand identity.
The main text is serif which makes
it easier to follow because the
serifs make it more like reading
along a line.
The title is big, bold and white. This
makes it stand out from the image.
The title doesn't give exact
information about the story which
would make the readers curious
and lead them to read the whole
article.
The title is bold and stands out this
makes it visible from a distance.
This also makes it clear that it's the
title and it tells the readers what
the story is about
The pull quote is also bigger and a
different colour to it's background
which makes it stand out and
suggests it's an important part of
the interview that they want the
readers to know about
The Q&A section is a different colour
from the main text. This makes it
stand out. It lets the reader know that
they can read that section if they
want to find out shorter things about
the artist without reading the whole
article if they don't want to or don't
have time to.
The photos used on this page all
relate to the article and are
interesting to look at. This engages
the audience in what they're reading
and looking at as it grabs their
attention. This is also done by having
one image significantly larger than
the other two so it leads the reader
to look more at the page. The photos
are also what the audience would
expect to see on an article like this.
This magazine is published by Bauer
Media Group. They publish lots of
other magazines including Kerrang.
They also own many radio stations
including Absolute Radio.

5. Masthead is at the top right corner and is
covering part of Taylor Swift's head. This could
have been done instead of putting it behind
her head to make people more aware of what
magazine it is.
There is only one coverline which is big and
stands out from it's background. It would be
easy to see from a distance and it clearly states
that the story is about Taylor Swift which,
again, would appeal to her fans. The puff is a different colour from the colour
scheme on the cover which makes it stand out
and draws the eye to it, but it's not too
different that it makes it distracting from the
rest of the page. It gives very simple
information about the kinds of things people
can expect to read about inside the magazine.
This issue is made to appeal to fans of Taylor
Swift. They do this by using her photo on the
front cover and by having the only coverline
about her. What little information is actually on
the cover is about Taylor Swift so this issue
wouldn't necessarily appeal to people who
aren't fans of her.
The date and the price is very well hidden and
isn't distracting from the rest of the cover at
all.
The strapline simply says "Exclusive Interview
& Photos"

6. The magazine's logo is included on this page
and is at top this maintains brand identity. It
is bigger than the other text on the page
which makes it seem more significant.
Has one main photo, one photo of the editor
and a few logos. This might not be the most
visually pleasing page for readers to look at
and it might not engage them enough.
It's also not laid out like a normal contents
page as the contents are in the center and
many of them don't have that much
information written about them underneath
or next to them.
The editor's note is quite big on the page and
he has even included a photo of himself. This
means he wants people to recognise and
acknowledge him and his work.
The page has a big advert at the bottom which
is eye catching but could also be quite
distracting from the rest of the page.

7. The colour scheme of
blue and red from the
logo on the front cover
and the contents page
has been continued
throughout the
magazine. This
maintains brand
identity.
The drop cap is visually
pleasing and fits in with
the strip of a
photograph on the right
of the second page. This
ties the pages together.
This magazine is published
by TimeIncUK. They also
publish many other
magazines such as InStyle
and TV Times.
The logo is in the bottom
corner above the folio. This
reminds the reader which
magazine they're reading.
The "What they say about
Tay" section will get
attention from Taylor
Swift's fans because they'll
want to know what people
think of their favourite
artist. They included various
opinions in this section to
not be biased and to show
fans that not all opinions
about Taylor Swift are
amazing.
Represents the target
audience by including
facts, opinions and
photos that they would
want to see and read
about in an article like
this.