Contents page analysis for NME magazine

1. Contents Page Analysis 1
How does the contents page follow the
general and layout conventions of a
standard contents page?
The contents page maintains the brand
identity of the NME magazine and is
successful in following conventions of a
standard contents page. For instance, the
title is located at the top centre of each
issue's contents page, whilst the brand index
is always found along the left hand side of
the contents page. Furthermore, the brand
index also contains red and black text which
is another convention of an NME magazine
as these colours represent the indie-rock
music genre which is why they have been
used as the content page colour scheme.
The contents page is divided into sections or
topics, e.g ‘News’ and for each article, brief
details about the content of the article and
page number is provided. An image that is
related to the contents of the magazine has
been placed in the centre of the page making
it clearly visible for the reader to view.
Analysis
The title of the contents page is ‘NME This Week’ showing that this contents page belongs to
an NME magazine and that the NME magazine is distributed on a weekly basis. The colour
scheme of the title is red, white and black which are colours used in indie-rock magazines as
they portray this genre of music. In addition, these colours are quite masculine and appeal to
the male target audience of NME. The text ‘NME’ is written in its usual bold red text
maintaining brand identity. The words ‘NME This Week’ have been placed in a black box so
that the red and white writing grabs the attention of the readership. The font of the title is
bold and easy to read and the title is presented neatly along the top of the contents page
making it appealing to the target audience. The image that features on the page relates to
the contents of the magazine and shows a band performing at a live gig. The image in the
centre of the contents page contains iconography specific to the indie genre of music. This
iconography includes a guitar, mic and music stand and are used to appeal to the target
audience and draw them in to buy the magazine.
The contents are divided into 5 topics of ‘News’, ‘Radar’, ‘Reviews’, ‘Live!’, and ‘Features’
These articles are presented in a neatly manner along the right hand side of the contents
page. The title of the articles have been put in a black box to make the white text seem more
visually appealing. The text is bold and written in capitals to highlight the importance of the
information and is placed within the black box in a messy manner portraying the genre of the
indie-rock music. The topics for the articles has been chosen to specifically appeal to the
target audience. ‘Radar’ would appeal to the target audience because it gives them exciting
new information about new and upcoming bands that want to make it in the music industry

2. and gives them an insight into what new bands they may be interested in listening to.
Furthermore, ‘Live!’ gives the readership information and reviews about recent live gigs and
festivals and will be interesting for the readership and help them decide what gigs and
festivals they would like to attend in the future.
The layout of the content page is similar to the layout conventions of other NME magazines.
The title of the contents page is found at the top of the page and the band index is always
found on the left hand side of the contents page. Furthermore, the article topics are located
on the right hand side and in the middle of the contents page a large image relating to music
can be found. In addition, there is constantly a section at the bottom of the page which
encourages the readership to subscribe to the NME magazine and contains offers to make
the reader feel they are getting something exclusive. Lastly, the readership is reminded
every issue that the gig guide is found on pg 58, this shows that this is an important article
for the target audience and is an aspect of the magazine that they enjoy reading. The layout
and conventions of the NME contents page is the same each weekly issue to reinforce brand
identity. The layout of the magazine means that the readership is initially drawn to the main
image of the live gig and then this entices them to read the short description about the
image. For example in this case, the description is ‘Kasabian got romantic in a church’ and
the image is of Kasabian performing a live gig in a church, this image will also be effective in
exciting the target audience. The subscription section is brightly coloured to make it
noticeable on the contents page. The layout is also easy to read due to the font of the text
and the positioning of the different aspects of the contents page.
The colours that dominate this contents page are red, black and white. These colours have
been purposely chosen as they link to the indie-rock genre and are therefore appealing to
the target audience of an NME magazine. The constant use of these colours maintains
brand identity. The majority of stylistic features on the contents page includes shapes. The
majority of shapes on the contents page are rectangular, making the layout seem more
organised and more understandable for the readership to read. Moreover, a second shape
present on this contents page is of an arrow that is used as a text box to draw the
readership's attention to the text within this shape. This shape appears in red in the bottom
right hand corner of the page and contains information encouraging the readership to turn to
page 58. Due to the difference of this shape in comparison to the regular rectangular shapes
it makes the contents page more interesting for the readers and adds style.
The text size and font alters depending on importance to the target audience and this then
determines where it is positioned on the page. The main title of the contents page is
therefore the most important as it immediately educates the readership on what the page is
about, and so is positioned at the very top of the contents page. Therefore, this text appears
the biggest and boldest on the contents page. Secondly, the caption for the image
introducing the band is also seen as important and so has been presented as the second
largest text and has a bold, readable font. Other key information on the contents page is
made to stand out more than the information with lots of detail. This has also been done to
make sure an adequate amount of information is placed on the page and the space has
been used efficiently. Lastly, the fonts used are the same for each issue making them a
convention of the NME contents page and help to secure the magazine's brand identity.

3. Contents Page Analysis 2
How does the contents page follow the
general and layout conventions of a
standard contents page?
The contents page maintains the brand
identity of the NME magazine and is
successful in following conventions of a
standard contents page. For instance, the
title is located at the top centre of each
issue's contents page, whilst the brand index
is always found along the left hand side of the
contents page. Furthermore, the brand index
also contains red and black text which is
another convention of an NME magazine as
these colours represent the indie-rock music
genre which is why they have been used as
the content page colour scheme. The
contents page is divided into sections or
topics, e.g ‘News’ and for each article, brief
details about the content of the article and
page number is provided. An image that is
related to the contents of the magazine has
been placed in the centre of the page making
it clearly visible for the reader to view.
Analysis
The first aspect of the magazine the readership is presented with is the title ‘NME This
Week’. Using the words ‘This Week’ in the title of this page establishes that the magazine is
distributed on a weekly basis. Although the title of the contents page is the same each issue,
securing brand identity, the way in which the title is presented alters in certain issues due to
them updating the look they want the readership to view. For instance, the layout of the title
in this magazine alters to the layout of the title in analysis 1 and shows the text ‘NME’
presented in a smaller text to the ‘This Week’ text. In addition to this, the title uses the entire
top area of the page in comparison to analysis 1 where the top of the page was also
occupied with part of the brand index. The title also has not been placed onto a black box
and the text is black compared to other NME contents pages.
There are two images found in the centre of the contents page that show the band Oasis
performing on their world tour. This image contains a very popular band and will therefore
excite the target audience. This image also includes iconography relevant to the indie-rock
music genre, some of which includes the a guitar, mics, music stand, casual clothing and
the surrounding environment of the tour they are performing at. The use of this iconography
will make the images appeal to the target audience and helps to draw them into reading the
magazine.
The topics that the articles have been divided into are the same as other NME magazines
showing a convention of their magazines and sustaining brand identity. The 5 divided topics

4. include ‘News’, ‘Radar’, ‘Reviews’, ‘Live!’, and ‘Features’. The categories relate directly to
what the readership want to read in the magazine and so fulfills their interests. The mode of
address used here is characteristically formal, informative and direct.
Overall, the layout of the contents page follows layout conventions of other magazines
including other NME magazines. This contents page has similar layout characteristics as the
contents page in analysis 1. Although the layout is the same, some features of the layout
such as the texts colour is different. For example, the band index text has been placed in a
red box and highlighted white with black text in comparison to another NME magazine where
the text was red and placed in a white box. The colours used on the contents page are used
throughout NME contents pages and are regular conventions of their magazines, continuing
the brand identity. The colours used are red, black and white and they are used because
they reflect the indie-rock genre of music and appeal to the target audience. Using the
stylistic feature of a red box makes the page more colourful and interesting. This contents
page uses rectangular shapes frequently to highlight certain text and make the overall
appearance of the page more inviting. In a previous NME contents page an arrow shape
was used as a text box, this has been replaced with another rectangular shape and may
have been done to make the contents page appear more mature and reflects the magazine's
target audience of young males.
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