This document summarizes a magazine article about country music artist Scotty McCreery. The summary highlights that Scotty is represented on the magazine cover as a relaxed, happy, Christian country singer through his smiling pose in a denim shirt with a cross necklace. The contents section of the magazine outlines the different article sections and features photos relating to country music artists to engage readers.

1. Country Music Magazine

2. I decided to annotate in depth
‘Country’ music magazine since it is
very different to my own ideas. This
way, I can highlight the differences
between my own magazine with the
genre of Indie Rock, with a
publication with a completely
different genre.

3. Front Cover

4. Genre
The genre gives a publication its identity and determines
the target audience, so can be easily identified by its
readers and impacts upon all areas of design, content and
underlying ideology.
Immediately the reader is drawn to the large magazine
title “COUNTRY” which is ironically the genre of the
magazine itself. This makes it straight away clear what
the genre of the publication is and readers are likely to be
interested in country music. The strap line at the bottom
of the title page also establishes the genre as it reads
“From Austen to Nashville and beyond” which are
stereotypically associated with this style of music and the
people from there are thought to be interested in it.
Words such as ‘CD reviews’ and ‘tour guide’ also
determine the genre since they are word that you would
expect to see on a music magazine as well as the tagline
‘Music People’ which directs the audience and suggests
that the magazine is only for people who are interested in
music. Also there are no cover lines linking to stories
inside the magazine, other than music artists, which
eliminates any gossip features, usually present, in varying
scales, in music magazines.
The model himself also fits within the country music
genre, as he has a relaxed pose, as his clothing is pretty
simple.

5. Language
The house style of a publication is how it is recognised.
Generally, aspects such as the layout and masthead will
be continuous throughout different magazine editions,
so that the reader can easily recognise the magazine,
perhaps from just seeing the title. Part of this house
style is the colour scheme, which on this edition is red
and white, where red is the dominant colour, a warm
and positive colour which exudes a strong and
powerful energy. Mainly red is the colour of physical
movement, which links to the themes of the magazine,
as country music artists often play an instrument and
are very positive and enthusiastic.
White on the other hand is the colour of ‘perfection’,
connoting new beginnings. The background is of this
front cover is white, which could mimic a ‘blank
canvas’ suggesting that the music artist is relatively
new or upcoming. It also makes the artist stand out
more to the reader. Moreover, superimposition is used
where the artist covers part of the magazine name,
which implies that it is a well known publication, and
also makes the artist appear significant and important.

6. Language
The masthead consists of the magazine name, which is
‘Country’. It is placed at the top of the magazine so that it can
be clearly seen by reader. The typography adds to this effect,
such as the significant red, bold font in capital letters. The
font of the tagline is similar, although in a much smaller font,
so the reader’s eye focuses here next.
The layout of this front cover is very simplistic in comparison
with magazine’s such as ‘NME’ where the use of lots of text
and puffs is perpetual. ‘Country’ music magazine takes the
form of more of a poster layout rather than an integrated
cover, since there is not much text surrounding the main
image.
The anchorage text relates to the main image as it is the name
of the artist, although this publication goes against general
conventions of music magazines since there is no story or
article suggestions which give the image meaning. This
suggests that the target audience are expected to know who
‘Sotty McCreery’ is.
The magazine price and date is shown so that the reader
knows exactly when the publication was released. This also
infers that it is a monthly issue and can be collected by the
target audience. Through research I have discovered that
monthly magazines are usually priced higher, like this one at
£4.00 compared to weekly mags like NME at £2.20, which
suggests that more stories are covered, as it over a longer
period of time.

7. Audience
The target audience are people who are interested
in country music. I have researched into the TA of
‘Country Music People’ and discovered that they
target both male and female readers of ages
between 16-60 (I think that this large TA is due to
the niche genre of music). However, their readers
are mainly in the 25-40 age group and 67% male.
The magazine appeals to its audience by its
choice of title and the artist in which they have
chosen for the front cover - a young male.
The picture is posed as it has clearly been taken
in a studio (with a clear, white background). The
artist is looking directly straight out at the reader,
which is called direct mode of address. This
makes the reader feel more directly targeted and
may make them want to read the magazine, to
find out more about the artist. The uses and
gratifications theory also works here, where the
audience will be more gratified as they will feel
more involved, with interaction between them
and the artist.

8. Representation
Scotty McCreery is being represented as a
relaxed, happy, religious, country music
artist.
The relaxed aspect can be deduced from his
position, with his hands in his pockets.
Furthermore, country singers are often
stereotypically thought to wear denim shirts,
and it is untucked and open. He is smiling
directly to the reader, with eye contact,
which gives him an enthusiastic, friendly
personality and could make the reader want
to find out more about him. Another
stereotypical feature of country artists is
religion, and Scotty is wearing a cross
necklace around his neck, which reinforces
this portrayal.
He is being represented in a positive light
and this representation adds to the
reputation of the whole magazine.

9. Contents

10. Contents ‘GLARN’
The layout is very organised and neat, making it easier for the reader to navigate.
Clear page numbers are shown next to the articles also, so that if the reader is looking
for an article in particular, they can skip to it. The photos of actual double page
spreads gives an insight of what is inside the magazine and may catch the audience’s
attention. These pictures link to the articles in the ‘features’ tab suggesting that these
are the focus, or most important items in this issue of ‘Country’.
The main sections of the magazine’s content are split up into: features, reviews,
regulars and charts. The ‘regulars’ section implies that the audience are constant and
adds to the collectable aspect of the issue.
The reader can also ‘write a reply’ which makes the magazine more interactive and
the reader will feel more involved as they can give feedback and their own opinions.
The sections are split up by grey filled text boxes with white writing, which makes it
stand out against the white background. The boxes also make it clear what different
aspects there are to read about.
The pictures relate to the genre of the magazine as they all show country music
artists. One shows a stereotypical country musical instrument - the ‘banjo’.
‘CMP’ refers to the magazine name but has been abbreviated. The TA or loyal readers
will understand immediately what it stands for, making them feel more part of a
group.
People typically read a page top to bottom and left to right, therefore the positioning
of text and images in laid out in order of importance. The ‘features’ as discussed
earlier, are thought to be the most important and biggest articles in the issue,
therefore they are placed at the top of the page as this is what the reader will view
first.
A wide range of country artists are mentioned on this contents page of this magazine,
which suggests that it is trying to appeal to a rather large audience, rather than just
focusing on for example, two young male singers.
The house style is continued onto the contents page, with a similar colour scheme of
red, white and grey, Red is still the dominant colour, and is used to highlight the
names of the articles, making it clearer for the audience to read. The typography is
also the same, establishes the magazine as the reader can recognise it.

11. Double Page
Spread

12. DPS ‘GLARN’
The layout follows typically music magazine conventions,
with three columns of text under a title and a subheading,
usually in a larger and bolder font as shown in this
example. The typography of the text shown as a quote over
the photograph is different which emphasises it. The italic
effect reinforces the fact that it is a quote, by the artist
being written about.
The white font stands out clearly against both the picture
and the grey coloured background.
The article itself establishes the genre since it is about the
artist who is a country singer, his life and his music mainly.
I feel as though the magazine is trying to appeal to a
particular audience on this double-page spread as the artist
being portrayed is male and middle-aged (52 years old)
which would attract a similar target audience.
Furthermore, fans of the artist will be enticed to read the
magazine as they will want to find out more about him.
The article also appeals to the TA since there is an
interview involved, so fans will be interested. Also, there
are mentions of other artists such as Sammy Hagar and
Van Halen which expands the target audience even further.
The music artist being represented is being stereotypically portrayed as a
‘cowboy' with facial hair, wearing a cowboy hat and a denim shirt as well as a
necklace which is usually associated with this representation. He is also
wearing a bandana under his hat. This representation reinforces the genre of
the magazine country, since this is what readers will expect to see when
looking through or reading the magazine.