1. Country Music People Analysis
Firstly, the masthead is a bold, simple, sans serif font in a dull reddish colour.
The simple font and bland colour do not give the magazine a particularly
vibrant look, and therefore may appeal to a slightly older audience. The title is
very clear and simply summarises the basis of the magazine. The straight to
the point title may again appeal to an older audience as they may not be
interested in titles that they may see as pretentious.
The cover star is looking away from the away from the camera with a nostalgic
type of expression on his face. To the target audience of older adults, this may
represent the tough troubadour lifestyle Jim Lauderdale has lived as a country
artist. This is because many associate country musicians with the working class
and a simple, travelling lifestyle and meaningful lyrics. Therefore they may see
the image as a representation of the artist’s relentless touring lifestyle. The elaborate embroidery on his jeans and
shirt contributes to this. This therefore may put Lauderdale across as a person who is unaffected by people’s views
on his fashion etc, and only cares about real issues as opposed to a materialistic lifestyle. Therefore the target
audience may see his attire as admirable and a good representation of a country artist, as someone with the right
priorities in life. However, to a younger generation who may not have heard his music, the image of Jim Lauderdale
may just represent a has-been lifestyle because of the nostalgic expression and outdated hairstyle and clothing
that they may see as unfashionable. This contributed to my reasoning behind creating a new, contemporary folk
and country magazine for the younger generation. The cover lines are laid out one underneath the other with the
same size, style and colour font throughout. This again reinforces the simple, non pretentious nature of the
magazine that would appeal to older country music fans.
The contents page is also simple in structure and layout, with a clean and clear colour scheme. The titles of the
features and reversed out cover lines labelling the different sections are very regimented and clean cut, again
reinforcing the simple and straight to the point style of the magazine. The colour scheme also remains consistent
as the dull red and white text is carried through the contents page. On the right hand side of the contents page is a
column of feature page print screens, similar to a power point handout style. This indicates that the magazine is
showing the audience what the magazine is offering, therefore the reader can see whether they’re interested in
buying the magazine or not. This evidence of pull media implies that the country music audience have a strong
attitude towards what they want.
The feature page news spread of the magazine is very simple in structure, and like the
contents page is very regimented. It has the appearance of a broadsheet newspaper, implying
that the audience are very serious about music, in the same way broadsheets are serious about
current affairs. There are only two images used over the two pages, this reinforces the
relatively formal image of the feature.
Although the formal image of the magazine may appeal to an older target
audience, for my magazine, I hope to create a more contemporary look that is
more interesting and edgy to look at. However, one element that I will put forward to my focus group as a result of
Country Music Magazine is the idea that country/folk/acoustic music doesn’t have to have a “wishy washy”
appearance as it often does.