2. Masthead- The masthead for this cover is unusually at
the side- the name generally tends to be across the top in
this magazine. Despite this, the name of the publication is
instantly recognisable; they’ve continued to use the same
font they’ve always used since the redesigning of their
logo. The name ‘Billboard’ has a strong brand image as
the company has been around for over 100 years. Also,
due to the publication’s other assets in the music industry
(such as the Billboard Hot 100 & Billboard Hot 200) the
audience instantly knows that it is a music related
magazine without even needing to glance at the artist on
the cover
Main image-The main image is on an artist named Lorde.
The shot is full bleed and is a mid-long shot which shows
her leaning back on what presumably is the arm of a grey
sofa. Her hair is windswept and is perfectly tousled. This
connotes that she is a very laid back person (not feeling
that she has to brush her hair and keep it under control)
but also ,potentially, that she is, in a way, a rebellious
kind of person. She may not feel the need for society’s
demand that we look prim and proper at all times. By
staring directly into the camera, she is directly addressing
the reader and drawing them in- this encourages them to
buy the magazine as they feel like they have made a
personal connection with the artist. The pop of orange
draws attention to the falling jacket. This makes her look
more relaxed and also draws attention to the small
amount of skin she is showing; this makes the image
slightly sexualised as she appears to be taking off her
clothes but it also connotes that she is open with the
magazine in the sense that she isn’t hiding anything. The
denotation of her taking off her jacket connotes that she
has nothing to hide. Similarly, her relaxed position gives
the impression that she is not under pressure and feels
comfortable with the magazine. As a result, it can be
inferred that she will reveal lots in the publication as she
looks as if she feels comfortable enough to reveal details
about herself. Due to this, the audience may feel more
inclined to buy the magazine as they feel they’ll lots
about Lorde
Cover line explanation- This gives more information to
the primary cover line. It offers some explanation as to
why Lorde is a ‘prodigy’ and subtly notes a few of her
achievements and describes why she deserves to be on
the cover. The pop of orange used for her name is the
only mention of her name of the entire cover. It is a very
understated way of stating who she is while being able to
maintain the streamlined, chic look of the cover.
Furthermore, Kanye West is a star who is notorious for
being picky over which stars he supports and is
synonymous with the ‘cool’ music scene. The mention of
his name tells the audience that she is seen as a great
artist by the big players in the music industry. This point
of view may prove influential with them and they may
like Lorde more because of this.
Colours-The colours in this cover are calming, they’re
toned down and understated. Different shades of blue
are used along with white and the occasional pop of
orange. The orange refreshes the page and gives it life
whilst still allowing it to maintain that sleek, Zen chic look
that they’re going for. The grey background gives a
relaxed atmosphere to the magazine.
Primary cover line- ‘Evolution’ suggests to the audience
that the artist has grown since launching onto the chart;
the reader may be intrigued by this and as a result would
become more interesting. This would attract fans and
music lovers on its own as they would be excited to
discover just how she has changed and grown and what
effect the music industry has had on her. ‘Prodigy’ leads
us to imagine that she is ahead of her time and has
abilities beyond her years. So even if the audience had
never heard of Lorde, they’d know that she is a very
talented person and would be interested to know just
what makes her a prodigy.
Sell lines- These are in a smaller and thinner font and are
located at the top of the page so as to still be readable
but not detract from the main image/feature. The orange
line adds to the pops of orange throughout the cover and
adds some life to an otherwise grey corner of the page.
3. Colour- The monochromatic theme of the cover gives it
a relaxed feel as it isn’t overcrowded. It has a timeless
look due to the lack of colour- black, white and grey are
often thought of as a classic colour combination. The
crisp contrast of the white text against the black t-shirt
gives the cover a modern feel. Also, the slight grey
gradient of the background (it gets darker as it rises)
adds some dimension to the cover.
Main image- The main image is a full bleed midshot of
a smiling Drake on a grey background. The smiling male
RnB artist is somewhat of a rarity in the world of a
magazine. Male artists are generally shown to be
solemn, moody or straight-faced. By using a ‘happy’
image, they show the artist to have more personality
and character- he is depicted as actually being a human
being rather than just a singer/rapper. And that’s what
I believe Billboard are trying to do: they’re trying to sell
Drake as a person, not just as and artist. This idea is
also enforced by the lack of any music-related talk on
the sell lines. The backwards cap and t-shirt give the
impression that the interview featuring Drake will be
close and personal; due to his relaxed attire, it seems
unlikely that the feature will be overly formal. Also, the
way that Drake is looking off camera and laughing gives
the impression that the audience will feel a part of the
conversation that Drake presumably has with the
interviewer as they may feel as if they are watching his
side of the conversation. In addition to this, the wide
smile and crinkles in Drake’s seem genuine- especially
since eye crinkles can be hard to force when smiling. As
a result of this, Drake is represented as a very genuine,
real person (i.e.. Not fake/pretending to be something
he isn’t). In fact this fits in with the artist’s
representation of himself as he prides himself on
staying true to himself. Due to this, more people/fans
may purchase the magazine as they may feel like
they're seeing a true, genuine side to Drake which can
be a rarity in this industry.
Primary cover line- The use of ‘DRAKE’ in large white
typography (especially against a darker background)
instantly lets the audience know who the person on the
cover is if they didn’t already know. Also, anyone can
just walk past and will instantly notice the wording-
since Drake is undoubtedly very well known they’re
likely to stop and see what the article is about, or at
least stop to read the cover. The rest of the primary sell
line ‘FINDS HAPPINESS’ is capitalized in a simple spaced
out font. A potential reason that it is capitalized could
be that it is an important fact- it is important that
anyone finds happiness after all. Also, the simple spaced
out font could be the magazine’s way of expressing that
this is the plain truth: that Drake has found happiness
and that’s what is important. There’s no beating around
the bush- its in a straightforward font because it is what
it is and nothing can change that.
Masthead- The masthead in this cover is noticeably
smaller to the one in Lorde’s cover and is also
landscape as opposed to portrait. By being smaller, it
draws more attention to Drake’s mid shot. Also, by
being shifted primarily to the left when mastheads are
usually stretched across the width of the page, it allows
more focus to be attracted to Drake’s face as it is in
close proximity to the title of the publication. The white
of the title ties in well with the monochromatic theme
that is evidently in use across the cover.
Supporting text for the cover line- This is a direct quote
from (I presume) the article within the magazine as
indicated by the quote marks. The use of the black text
for the text as opposed to white which was used for
everything else was most likely to allow it still be seen
against the grey background but not detract attention
from the cover line. It sells the article because it shows
Drake’s confidence and his newfound happiness with
himself and his career. This would attract readers as
they’d want to read why Drake has suddenly found
happiness and perhaps apply the same concept to their
own lives. As well as this, they may feel glad for Drake
that he has found happiness and would want to be able
to feel closer to him and identify with him (as part of the
Uses and Gratifications theory.)
4. Audience- The magazine seems to be aimed at Rihanna
fans due the placement of her instantly recognisable
red hair which no doubt attract the attention of any
person who even knows of her. However, it is also
aimed at (stereotypical) men due to the inherently
sexualised way that the star is shown.
Main image- The main image consists of Rihanna
leaning over in a beige cami top with one of her many
tattoos on show. Her red hair and red lipstick take
centre stage due to the bright pigmentation of both-
the saturation has been obviously increased in order to
highlight the red. Rihanna’s image in this cover is
undoubtedly overtly sexualised- the red hair and red
lipstick connote passion, desire and danger. This, in
combination with the tattoo, give her the impression
that she is a ‘bad girl’ (this fits in with her Instagram
username: @badgalriri). The red lipstick automatically
draws your attention to her lips- the reflection of light
on her lips only add to this. Also, she is wearing a
relatively short top, which could be seen as provocative
to some people despite it being what she often wears.
Also, she is staring directly into the camera- by doing
this she is directly addressing the camera, she is making
a connection with them. It is because of this connection
that some people will buy the magazine- they feel as if
they already know her.
Masthead- The masthead generally tends to be the
same for every single issue of the magazine. The
reason that this masthead differs to the other two
covers that I chose to analyse is because this was
before Billboard recently underwent a brand redesign.
This was their old logo- the ‘b’, ‘o’, ‘a’ and ‘d’ are
coloured in red, pink, blue and yellow respectively. The
use of multiple colours allowed the magazine to be
flexible with the colours that they chose to use for each
issue- all issues would match the masthead due to the
inclusivity of common colours. Also, the use of many
colours in the masthead could be representative of
how Billboard, as a magazine, covers many genres and
many different artists.
Colours- The colours in general are very saturated in
this cover- the colours tend to be very vivid. The
background is dark which could suggest secrets (this
links with the pull quote) but it could also be used to
bring to attention the star due to the contrast of the
colours. The beige top could’ve been chosen due to the
fact that it is close to the star’s skin tone so it does not
detract from the main coloured feature of the cover:
Rihanna’s hair and lips. The bright red is a sexualised
colour and since this is a main colour in this article, she
seems very sexualised. The use of a light colour for the
cover line (‘THE RE-REIVENTION OF RIHANNA’) allows
the text to stand on its own but not detract from the
brightness of the hair.
Cover line- I presume that they placed Rihanna’s name
in a large typography midway down the page
underneath her brightly highlighted face was so that
any passer-by would automatically glance at the text as
it is very eyecatching due to the contrast of its light
cooour to the red/dark backing and it is very big. The
fading out of the text potentially links with the pull
quote as she may be losing herself as her fans ‘don’t
really know who she is.’ The ‘re-reinvention’ refers to
the star changing up her image and her sound. The use
of ‘re’ in front of ‘reinvention’ suggests that this is not
the first time that she has done this.
Pull quote- The mere suggestion that her fans don’t
know her would send the Navy (the name coined for
Rihanna’s fan base) into a frenzy as they would rush to
buy the magazine in order to truly find out who she is.
This would align with the Uses and Gratifications
theory as they’d buy the publication for information
but also to identify with her as they find out that she is
similar to them in some way.
Sell lines- With a white backing behind the text, the
subheadings stand out & are easily distinguishable
from the explanations positioned below them. These
allow the reader to identify what will be inside the
magazine & help them decide whether or not to buy it.
