This document analyzes the conventions and codes used in pop magazine covers and contents pages. It discusses two main pop magazines, Top of the Pops and We Love Pop, and summarizes their typical mastheads, cover images, barcodes, competitions, quotes, and "what's inside" sections. The contents pages are also examined, noting common headers, main pieces, and posters listings. Double page spreads are summarized as including large quotes, questions and answers, and subject lines.

1. Magazine Analysis
There are two main
examples of pop
magazines. Top of the
Pops and We love Pop.
The front covers of
these magazines are
always very busy and
friendly. The pictures
are engaging with the
audience and there
are always lots of
different stories and
colours.
Top of the Pops We love Pop

2. Masthead:
The masthead fits the codes and
conventions of the top of the pops
masthead. It always has the same font
and the ‘of the’ is always in the middle of
the circle. Generally the masthead fits
across the whole of the top of the page
but sometimes it will be slightly angular
reaching 2/3 across with stars lined on
top and on the bottom.
Cover Image/mode of address:
The picture on the front is of a Taylor
Swift who is a very popular singer. The
picture is medium shot and central. Its of
direct address as she is looking straight
forward, so formal. The cover is also child
like as it is aimed for younger years and
teens, with the bright colours and gossip.
Barcode:
The barcode is pretty much always on the
front which is conventional. Its pretty
much always on the bottom half of the
cover it tells you the issue information
and the price of the magazine.
Competition:
With these magazines they are aimed for
teenage fan girls who would do anything
do win something to do with their celeb
crush. So in order for more buys from the
magazine they will place the competition
on the front page to draw the attention.
Quote:
On the front cover of this magazine it’s a
convention for there to be a quote from
perhaps the star on the front. Its to give
you a taste as to what they will be
talking/what the interview was about
inside the magazine.
What’s Inside:
This area of the magazine has the
convention of the top of the pops
magazine where it tells you what you're
going to find in the magazine. It’s
normally the most exciting stories.
Top of the Pops
front cover:

3. Masthead:
The masthead for the ‘We Love Pop’
magazine follows the conventions of most
of its covers. It generally has a heart
instead of love as that normally how
teens write when they’re texting also its
in a speech bubble which is suggesting
that many kids should be saying this out
loud because teens and kids love pop.
Cover Image/mode of address:
The image on the front is of the famous
pop/RnB singer Rihanna. So immediately this
brings the attention because they will want
to know what its got to say about her. She is
looking straight at you so this Is known as a
direct mode of address almost as if she is
trying to communicate with you. This is
known as a formal cover. The cover is very
bright attracting the attention of teens and
children.
Barcode:
The same with the other cover the
barcode is generally on the bottom half
of the cover and it includes the
information about the issue and the price
of the magazine.
Exclusive:
There is another convention of this
magazine which is they leave a little strip
at the bottom which will have a short
sentence about an exclusive which is
saying that only they had this information
first which will more than certainly excite
the readers.
Fashion:
Teenagers love fashion and for a pop
magazine to involve fashion and celeb
gossip and pop music teenagers will love
it. Most of the time the fashion is related
to the season but sometimes it will be
advice from a celebrity.
What’s Inside:
The cover will always have a short
sentence or two which will give you a
sneaky peak as to what’s inside the
magazine. It will mention what the actual
story is about or it will say what celebs
they will be talking about. This is there
ways of exciting the readers.
We love Pop
front cover:

4. Celebs & Gossip:
The top of the pops magazine has a
section dedicated to the gossip and the
celebrities. The pages are generally quite
separate but there will be a lot containing
this information.
Big Numbers:
Top of the pops have another convention
of on their pages and contents age
especially they have lots of big numbers, I
believe it’s the bigger the number the
more interesting the piece is and the
more people will look at those pages first
as they are drawn to those numbers first
and get curious as to what’s there.
Shopping/Fashion:
There are many things that teenage girls like and one
of those things is shopping and having the latest
fashion outfits. Top of the pops is a teenage girl
magazine so it focuses on the stuff that girls will want
and girls want shopping and fashion.
Header/Title:
The top of the pops magazine have the
convention of having the title of ‘Inside
the mag…’ for their contents page. It
always has the same font and slightly
angled with a different coloured
background each time.
Top of the Pops
contents page:
Front Cover:
The contents page of these magazines
will have copy of the front cover printed
so that they can point to the different
elements and elaborate as to which
pages they are on.

5. Main piece:
Just under the title of the contents page
there is normally a big picture of a certain
pop star/ group and then a bit of writing.
For example in this issue its about the
Saturdays. The convention is that the
article is finished off with a hand written
name, conventionally a girl and there will
belike a kiss at the end of it.
Posters:
The strip at the bottom of the contents
page is saved to show you which posters
are included in the magazine. This allows
you to know which ones you want to stick
up before even reaching that page in the
magazine.
The header:
The header is always in big and bold
capital letters with the ‘o’ from love filled
in. It is a convention for it to have the
masthead from the front cover on the
right corner of the title. Also the contents
title is also always ‘WE LOVE THIS…’
Inside this month:
The ‘We love pop’ magazine has a new
issue out monthly and this art of the
contents page includes what has
happened over the last month in celeb
world. Which is a good way of ordering
out the page for the younger readers to
understand.
We love Pop
contents page:

6. Main Picture:
The biggest picture on the page should be
who the article is about. The picture is
Leona smiling which is very friendly and
engaging. This means the mode of
address is very formal and direct.
Q’s & A’s:
With the Top of the Pops questions, they
will have the question in one colour and
the answer in a plain colour. In this one
its pink as that’s a very girly colour and
girls stereotypically like pink. The pictures
inside the boxes are relevant to the
answers/questions so it gives us more of
a visual look at it.
Quote:
For the tops of the pops magazine double
page spread the first convention is that
they will begin it with a massive quote
from the article which the celebrity had
said. It will be the first thing you will see
when you look at the page. The quote is
normally out of context so you have to
read to find out more.
Subject:
In smaller writing, it tells you what the
article about and if there is a celebrity
involved they will write their name in
capitals. For example this one is about
asking Leona some questions.
Top of the Pops
double page
spread:

7. Main Picture/Poster:
The main picture for this article is
doubled up as a poster, this is probably so
that when they go to get the poster they
will also read the article. The picture
allows us to know that it is aimed for
younger children as she is posing more
childlike rather than maturely.
Colours:
The colours are bright and stand out.
They are quite girly colours as the
magazine is for teenage girls. In the story
the use of different bright colours makes
some of he text stand out as perhaps
those sentences are more exciting.
Quote/Headline:
The quote is from the article intriguing
the reader because they will want to
know more about what the quote means.
It is in big capital letters to attract the
teen more because it sticks out on the
page.
We love Pop
double page
spread: