Vibe is a music magazine focused on hip hop, R&B and urban culture. The magazine was launched in 1993 by musician Quincy Jones and Time Inc. It has since changed ownership several times but continues to profile popular artists. The cover features Drake wearing all black with sell lines and the masthead in white to stand out against the black background. Vibe provides information on music and entertainment targeting those interested in genres such as hip hop and R&B.

1. Analysis of magazine front covers
Cover 1.NME Sept 2009
THE MASTHEAD THE HEADER is simple and
Dizzie Rascal Edition clearly visible to
is big and bold
so that it stands audience in black and
out. white
USE OF A FLASH- THE SELL
(offering LINES/COVER LINES
something extra
to T.A) THE MAIN IMAGE is of
BACKGROUND a famous rapper who
is colourful and the audience might
graffiti which admire or aspire to
reflects what be like
sort of people
this is for. THE MAIN COVER LINE
USE OF A PULL
QUOTE
THE FOOTER
RULE OF
THIRDS/THE LEFT Barcode-
THIRD date/issue/price

2. TARGET AUDIENCE OF THIS MAGAZINEreaders of
The statistics for
METHODS USED TO ATTRACT NME are:
THIS TARGET AUDIENCE ARE: •Male - 73%
•Female - 27%
NME is a music magazine that focuses on •Average Age - 25
genres such as rock, indie, alternative and •ABC1 73%
pop-rock. The magazine is published by IPC •Target Market Men 17-30
Media and Time Warner. The average age •They are entertainment
of the NME readers is 25 years old, and it’s enthusiasts with 80% of NME
audience is 70% male and 30% female. The readers feel that music is
target audience is people interested in an important part of their
particular types of music. The magazine lives.
currently costs around £2.50 – which is quite •49% specially choose to
average for a magazine but this is more listen to live bands in studio
than what other magazines cost so the and 52% are interested in
target audience will be lower/mid middle taking a musical
class as they earn enough money to course/qualification.
purchase several issues and be a full time •Almost half (49%) have
reader. been reading NME for at
least 3 years with 84% think
NME tend to ignore particular ‘rules’ when
the magazine gives them
it comes to layout and design. For
what they want, spending
instance, most issues of the magazine
an average of 46 minutes
ignore the rule of thirds on cover; they
reading each issue.
feature unjustified lines and there is a
•They are good with
strong similarity in layout and design of
technology 93% own a
covers. Every week the contents page
computer with 96% have
conforms to a very similar layout and is
access to the Internet.
always on the right face. They use these
fonts and colours to create a unity
throughout the magazine so that it sticks
together well – this is known as the house
Possible example of a target audience^

3. WHO PUBLISHES THE
MAGAZINE? - IPC Media
CHALLENGE
(Time Inc.)
HOW MANY SALES DOES IT
MAKE? – NME has made
millions of sales however
sales were dropping, and by
the mid 1980s.
The first issue
was published on 7 March
1952 – so this magazine has
The New Musical Express, popularly
been published for a long
known by the initialism NME, is
time, 60 years. Circulation of
a music publication in the United
the magazine has fallen
Kingdom, published weekly since
continuously since 2003. At
March 1952. It started as a music
its peak in the 1960s, NME
newspaper, and gradually moved
sold 230,000 copies per
toward a magazine format during the
week.
1980s, changing from newsprint in
NME is a music magazine that focuses 1998. It was the first British paper to
on genres such as rock, indie, alternative include a singles chart, in the 14
and pop-rock. The typical contents in November 1952 edition. In the 1970s it
this magazine are to inform people became the best-selling British music
about what's going on in the music world newspaper. During the period 1972 to
and behind the curtains. The 1976 it was particularly associated
bands/artists that it currently features are with gonz journalism, then became
bands such as: Rihanna, dizzie rascal, closely associated with punk rock.
lady gaga and many more. The target An online version of NME - NME.COM,
audience is usually focused on people was launched in 1996. It is now the
interested in indie/rock and also people world's biggest standalone music site,
who can afford it so anyone above with over 7 million users per month.
lower middle class.

4. Analysis of magazine front covers -
Cover 2. BILLBOARD - Lana Del Rey Edition
(Special issue) – 21st January 2012.
On the masthead of the
magazine it states that this
is a “special issue” which The floral jacket that she’s
makes the reader more wearing tells us the readers
eager to buy it as it isn’t that she is a very feminine
just an ordinary copy of character and flowers also
the magazine. represent flirtatiousness.
The masthead is large and Her jacket is rather unusual
can be seen from a and its not something the
distance. It is also of a general public would wear
white colour which stands which says that she is
out perfectly on the dark unique and she has her
background. Even though own personalised style.
4 of the letters of the name
of the magazine aren’t
completely visible the She is revealing quite a bit
reader can still know what of skin with those shorts
magazine this is as it is very and her body language is
popular worldwide. rather romantic and she
The reason why the models wants people to find her
head is in front of the mast attractive and sexy, many
head and not behind is might even aspire to look
because all the attention like her and see her as an
needs to be focused on idol because of her good
her and the name of the looks and great
magazine is as important personality + confidence.
but people will know which
magazine this is anyway.

5. Billboard is an international news weekly magazine devoted
The one irregularity about this
to music and the music industry, and is one of the
magazine is that it doesn’t stick to oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several
the rules of thirds – in fact in most internationally recognized music charts that track the most
issues the rule of thirds is completely popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly
ignored which is quite unusual for basis. The two most notable charts are the Billboard Hot 100,
most magazines although maybe which ranks the top 100 songs regardless of genre and is
this magazine just wants to keep its based on digital sales, radio airplay, and internet streaming
individuality. data; and the Billboard 200, the corresponding chart for
album sales. Billboard is intended for music professionals,
such as record label executives, artists, music retailers, and
radio DJs. Although it is generally considered a business-to-
business magazine, it can be found at many consumer
bookstores and magazine stands, particularly in cities with a
large music industry presence such as New York, Los Angeles,
and Miami. Billboard was founded on November 1, 1894 –
which makes this an extremely old magazine – one of the
oldest in fact. Originally titled Billboard Advertising it was
a trade paper for the bill posting industry, hence the
magazine's name. Within a few years of its founding, it
began to carry news of outdoor amusements, a major
consumer of billboard space. Eventually Billboard became
the paper of record for circuses, carnivals, amusement
parks, fairs, whale shows and other live entertainment. The
magazine began coverage of motion pictures in 1909 and
of radio in the 1920s. At the start of 1961, The Billboard was
renamed Billboard Music Week. Billboard magazine is
published weekly. Published by the American entertainment
publishing company Prometheus Global Media, it attracts
more than 4 million visitors each month in more than 100
countries. Billboard.com's readers rely on the site for music
news, videos, charts and more. Magazine is of a high price
at £5.50 in the UK, however this high price maybe due to the
magazine been imported from the U.S. and quality features.

6. Analysis of magazine front covers -
Cover 3. VIBE – Drake edition – 2010.
• Sell lines/Cover lines –
• Header – this highlights
are placed around the
the artists included in this
main image to make
issue of the magazine
sure that the attention
which helps buyers to
isn’t drawn away from
decide weather they
the main article. There
would like the contents.
is a consistent house
• The masthead –is of
style throughout.
white colour which
• Main image – is of
stands out form the
Drake in a medium
background allowing
close up shot which is
buyers to notice if from
close enough to see his
the magazine stand.
facial expression. He
• Background – plain with
looks like he has more
a blend of two colours.
attitude and he’s
The plain background
aggressive. He is also
doesn’t distract the
putting on an artificial
audience from the main
pout to look more
focus of the front cover
attractive.
which is the celebrity.
• Main cover line – its in
• Barcode/date/issue/pric
bold and has a drop
e – this is important as it
shadow as it is the
allows vibe to know how
main article.
many they have sold
• The rule of thirds – are
and also tells the
all neatly planned out
audience the price of
and the more
the magazine so that
important cover lines
they can decide
tend to be closer to
weather they can afford
the centre of the
it or not.

7. Vibe magazine is a popular magazine in the United States but
• The masthead is in white which stands out not a lot of people know when it was started. Some of its
perfectly from the black background making readers thought that it started in 2006 while others believed
it perfect for the reader to notice easily. that it started in the late '90s - it started in early '90s.
• Drake is wearing all black clothing to reflect It was musician Quincy Jones who started Vibe, a magazine
his seriousness and his mood. about music and entertainment. He partnered with Time Inc.
to ensure that they would be able to launch the magazine in
1993. For three years, the magazine was owned both by Jones
and Time, Inc. until it was sold to Miller Publishing. In a short
span of time, Vibe was then sold by Miller Publishing to Spin
magazine. Vibe was owned by Spin for several years until it
was bought by Wicks Group of Companies IN 2006. So now
you know when did Vibe magazine start - it started in 1993,
launched by Jone and Time, Inc.
There are probably people who even think that Vibe would
just be starting to be launched in 2009. The reason for this is
the fact that InterMedia Partners, LP has been exerting effort
in launching the magazine as soon as possible. What not a lot
of people know is that it will just be a relaunch. InterMedia
Partners was the one who bought Vibe from Wicks Group.
Knowing who were the featured artists or musicians in Vibe will
allow us to know when did Vibe magazine really start. Among
those musicians are the late Michael Jackson, R. Kelly,
Eminem, Li'l Wayne, Keyshia Cole, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce,
Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, TLC, and Brandy. Some, if not all,
of these musicians were already popular in the early '90s.
We can get an even clearer idea about the beginnings of this
magazine by concentrating on its competitors. Vibe focuses
more on hip hop music and R&B than any other types of
music. In this regard, the closest of its competitors may be XXL
and The Source, which focus on rap music. Rolling Stone may
also be considered a competitor.
So, now, it is probably clear as to when did Vibe magazine
start. While some of us thought that Vibe was somewhat new
in the magazine industry, some of us would probably be
surprised to know that it has been operating for over ten years
now.