Front cover analysis

1. The main sell line is big and bold to draw the readerships
eye and is located on the lower right.The main sell line is
often the name of the artist who features as the main image
and is another layout convention of a standard magazine
front cover. The text is partly slanted giving it a new look to
other NME magazines and by doing this it also links to the
music genre as it is quite messy and unique. Furthermore,
the slanted nature of the text resembles the band and links
to their messy appearance visible in the main image. The
text is yellow and white so that is stands out against the
background image and is appealing to the readership.
The masthead is found in the same place on each issue
and the text is presented in the same big, block, bold
capitals. This reinforces the brand identity. The colours of
red, black, blue and white have been purposely used as
they are associated with Indie music and are conventions
of NME magazines. They are associated with Indie music
because they are colours within the british flag and indie-
rock is quintessentially british with indie bands most
commonly known to be british. Using these colours on
every issue maintains brand identity.
The band featured in the front cover main image is the
popular English band ‘The Wombats’. ‘The Wombats’ will
attract the target audience because they perform indie-rock
music and have sold over 1 million copies worldwide.
In the skyline the popular music festival of Glastonbury
has been mentioned. It is in a large emboldened font
drawing the reader's attention and emphasising its
importance as Glastonbury is considered the holy grail
for indie music
The layout of this NME magazine follows the general layout
conventions of a standard magazine. The masthead is
always found in the top left and the main image in the
middle of the magazine using the large majority of space.
Moreover, the sell- lines are found along the left and right
hand sides of the front cover and feature other artists within
the images and text. In addition, the main sell line is
introducing the band in the main image. And the pug is
located in the bottom right hand corner of the front cover.
Lastly, like most magazines a bright puff is displayed on the
bottom left of the front cover. You can therefore see that
the layout of the magazine front cover shares a symbiotic
link with other NME magazines and music magazines in
general. This magazine has followed general layout
conventions because it is then recognisable to the
audience that it is a music magazine and the brand identity
of the magazine is maintained. It follows layout conventions
because the commonly used layout makes it easier and
more understandable for the target audience to read and
locate the information they want in a music magazine,
resulting in the magazine attracting the target audience.
The bands expressions are very neutral which is
typically used to portray the indie-rock genre as it
shows a laid back, not bothered attitude. This attitude is
similar to NME’s target audience and so this will attract
the audience as they will feel relatable to the bands
featured.

2. Introducing other bands in feature article photographs will
attract the target audience and make them curious as to
what the article is about. The band in this image makes the
sell-lines more effective by using mode of address to draw
the readership's attention and make them feel that the band
are connecting with them.
Artists featuring are often presented in a list formation,
vertically or horizontally. In this case the artists names
are featured horizontally in the magazines skyline.
The mise-en-scene of costume is quite casual which
draws the attention of the target audience because they
feel they can relate to their bands fashion through their
fashion. ’The Wombats’ are wearing t-shirts, plaid shirts,
hoodies and jeans which are all casual attire that
represents their laid back approach. One of the band
members is also wearing bracelets which makes their
costume more intriguing and bold which also reflects the
indie-rock genre. In addition, the bands hairstyles are
purposely long and messy to resemble their indie-rock
lifestyle and the target audiences easy going lifestyles.
This also links back to the reflection upon the hippie
lifestyle that is common in indie music and is so part of the
representation of indie-rock. Lastly, the bands are all white
and very pale resembling the english weather and the
british theme throughout the indie-rock genre. The bands
are all male on the front cover which is conventional in the
music industry as it targets the male reader
Other artists featured are listed at the bottom of the magazine. This is a
common layout convention of music magazines and makes the audience
feel they are getting more for their money. It also attracts fans of the
music and artists to read the magazine and entices them to buy it.
NME is an acronym for New Musical Express showing its
link to the music industry through the name. New Musical
Express is also written beneath the NME masthead so
that the reader can be sure that the magazine is based
around music. As the brand becomes more developed
and their brand identity grows they will not need the
lengthened title to be presented as NME will be
immediately recognised as a music magazine. This may
be why other NME magazines do not have the long
brand name written beneath the text ‘NME’ making it
unique to this magazine.
The puff is bright blue making it eye-catching and blue is
also recognised as a colour regularly used in Indie
magazines due to its relation with the British flag.
Furthermore, the puff also introduces another artist
through a featured image. Involving another band will
entice the readership to read the magazine. Using the
phrase ‘RIP’ will make the reader question the situation of
the band and urge them to find out the current information
that the magazine knows about them. Blur have been
chosen to feature in the puff because they have a high
status in the indie-rock music industry and are a British
band. Blur gained massive popularity in the UK after
establishing the BritPop genre and have battled for the
charts against other successful bands such as Oasis. Blur
stopped making music together after 2003 which is what
this puff is indicating. The band then reunited in 2009, and
in 2012 won a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to
Music. They have therefore been chosen to feature in this
NME magazine because the bands are very popular music
icons and the target audience want to read about them.
Pugs contain the barcode, price and date of the magazine
and are placed in the same position as other magazines.
They are usually hidden away from direct view. This pug
also has some added information about the contents of the
magazine to draw the reader into purchasing and reading
it.

3. Two of the music artists in the main image are direct
address to connect with the reader and entice them to read
the magazine.
Another convention includes the composition of the image
through the use of the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is the
way in which the aspects of the front cover, such as the
masthead and the main sell-line, are arranged within a grid
of three rows and three columns. From looking at this front
cover I think that it follows conventions as the masthead is
in the top left hand corner, the skyline is found at the very
top, The main sell-line is positioned in between the second
and third rows and the sell-lines are found in the first and
third columns. In addition, the barcode is found in the third
row and column and the puff is not conventionally found in
one specific area. The positioning of these aspects of the
magazine are all in the conventional positions following the
rule of thirds.
The actions of the band ‘The Wombats’ in the main image
is what is expected of a lively, young indie band and
reflects the genre of music.
One of the sell-lines features a quote. This will attract the
target audience as it gives them the information that an
interview with the band is featured within the magazine.
Interviews are conventionally used in music magazines
because the target audience like to hear first hand
information about their favourite bands.
The sell-lines introduce other artists such as ‘Muse’ and
‘Panic At The Disco’ to the reader, making the magazine
more appealing. They are presented in big, bold writing to
express the importance of their names and make them
easily visible for the reader to view. These sell-lines are also
presented differently to the other sell-lines in terms of their
boldness, this is to make them grab the reader’s attention.
The pull quote is used to give the reader some intriguing
information about ‘The Wombats’ and make them want to
find out more and educate them on why the band have
become so popular in Britain. The label ‘Britain’s gone silly
for the lords of the indie dance floor’ will likely influence the
target audience's opinion of the band and make them think
more highly of them as they are being compared to ‘lords’. It
also informs them of who’s currently popular. In addition this
pull quote has used the word ‘Britain’ to show the link the
indie-rock music shares with the British culture. The
magazine has used buzzwords such as ‘lords’, ‘silly’ and
‘dancefloor’ to excite and attract the reader.
The target audience is urged to turn to page 5 making the
readership intrigued to find out what bands have been
announced to play at the very popular music festival T in the
park. Mentioning this festival will also interest the readership.
Some of the sell-lines have been highlighted blue to make
the text more visible and show its importance to the reader.
Having the sell lines highlighted is a common layout
convention of magazines and is used to present the bands
names.
The font of all the text is very clear and understandable to
read. This has been done to make the reader find the
magazine easy to read and therefore enjoy reading it.
The pull quote will usually present sub-information
relating to the artist as this is another layout convention of
a music magazine.

4. The front cover follows the general conventions and
layout conventions of a standard magazine front
cover in many ways. For instance, the heading is
found in the top left hand corner of each NME issue,
maintaining brand identity, and this is also a
convention of other magazines. Furthermore, The
main sell-line is located in the bottom half of the front
cover and introduces the band featuring on the front
cover. Moreover, the main image is in the centre of
the magazine cover and is very eye-catching to
attract an audience. Furthermore, the pug is located
in the bottom right hand corner and is another layout
convention of a magazine front cover. Lastly, another
layout convention of this magazine includes the
location of the sell-lines as they are usually found
along the left or right hand side of the cover. This
technique of rule of thirds is visible through the layout
of the magazine.
The main image is of a band related to the indie-
rock music genre called ‘Paramore’ and this image
has been used to attract fans of this band and
music genre.
The colour of the female band members hair,
makeup and eyes draws the reader's attention to
the magazine. The colour of pink/purple used for
Hayley’s makeup has also been chosen to form
the colour of the main sell line .
NME is an acronym for New Musical Express showing
its link to the music industry through the name. Some
NME magazines consist of the lengthened title being
placed under the masthead but this magazine may be
a newer edition as there is no need for the lengthened
title due to the magazine company being very
successful and having a recognisable brand identity.
The colour scheme of the front cover includes the
colours, red, white, black and pink. Red, white and
black reflects the indie-rock genre and so makes the
magazine more appealing to the audience.
A triangular formation is used, with the lead singer,
Hayley, at the front of the frame and the rest of the
band positioned more or less symmetrically behind her.
to reflect the hierarchy or the band members.
The colour scheme is reflected through the
costume of the band as the only colour used on
the band's clothing is black and a bit of grey.
These colours are used because they are dark
and grungy reflecting the genre of indie and rock
and emphasising the merging of these to genres to
form indie-rock.
The Iconography of black clothing and its link to
the music genre and the band appeals to the
target audience.
Piercings and tattoos link to the rock genre and
are visible in the image as three of the artists have
piercings. These accessories are also black to
represent the genre of music.
The layout has a minimalist, simple approach. This
is so that it is easy and clear to read and attracts
the target audience of men who stereotypically like
things to be simple and easy to follow.

5. The main sell-line is pink making this magazine more
appealing to the a female target audience in addition
to the common NME target audience of males.
Making the main sell-line pink also links with the
female band members lipstick adding to the colour
scheme.
The use of a question ‘Everyone has fallen for them
Will you?’ in the main sell-line is using direct mode of
address to make the magazine communicate with the
audience and makes them think more deeply about the
band featuring on the front cover. The question will
also spike curiosity in the readerships mind and entice
them to read the magazine. The question is an indirect
reference to the fact that Paramore are an American
band and NME are taking a risk as they usually have
British bands on the front cover as indie is a British
genre. The question is referring to whether the british
public will ‘fall’ for them like the rest of the world has.
This is further reflected as every other band and artist
on the front cover is British.
Using the word ‘Plus’ makes the reader feel they
are getting more in the magazine then they payed
for
‘4 million albums sold’ highlights the success of
the band ‘Paramore’ and is likely to influence the
readerships view of them and make them want to
read about them.
The sell-lines are all white or red so that they stand
out against the dark, black background and this
makes it clearer and more effective at grabbing the
reader’s attention. Furthermore, some of the sell-lines
are red which is another colour that stands out
against the background and this is used to highlight
small, key information that the rest of the sell-line in
white explains.
Using the recognisable bands ‘Mumford & Sons’ and
‘Muse’ will appeal to the target audience and make
them intrigued to read the article about them. The
text in the puff has also compared these two bands
by saying that ‘Mumford & sons’ are ‘bigger’ than the
iconic band of ‘muse’ This is a big statement to make
and will surprise the audience and attract them to
read the magazine
The two sell-lines on the front cover have underlined the
last words of ‘America’ and ‘The cribs’ this is to make it
apparent to the reader that these words are important
and also makes the layout neater and more interesting.
Introducing the band of ‘The Cribs’ also appeals to the
target audience.
The text is written in block capitals making it appear big
and clearer. Having the text in capital letters highlights
the importance of the writing and makes the audience
intrigued.
‘Guns, God’ GET OPINIONS
The skyline is used to reveal to the reader that ‘Jack White’ is partaking in
lecturing and is also an indirect suggestion that he is also a professor of music.
This is again making the point that the artists featured in NME are the cream of
the crop
A way this NME magazine is unique to others includes
where the puff is located and its colour. The puff is
usually found on the left of the bottom half of the front
cover, however in this case it is placed in the top right
hand corner. Furthermore, the puff is usually very bright
and eye-catching, whereas in this front cover the colours
blend in with the background and do not ‘pop’ out of the
page. This may have been done to make the main sell-
line the centre of attention as it is introducing the band
that is featuring and is therefore important.