This document analyzes the front covers of three music magazines: NME, Rolling Stone, and XXL. It examines elements like the masthead, cover lines, images, backgrounds, and layout based on conventions like the rule of thirds. For each magazine cover, these elements are described in detail and how they are used to attract readers, convey information about the featured artists, and represent the tone and content of the respective publications.

1. Analysis of Magazine Front Covers Unit G321

2. Cover 1.NME Sept 2009 Dizzee Rascal Edition

3. FRONT COVER ANALYSIS THE MASTHEAD… The masthead is a recognisable logo. It is bold, big and red, so it stands out and grabs the audiences attention. It shows the colour scheme (red, white and black) and is easily identifiable. THE HEADER… The header reveals a special feature included in the magazine. This is at the top so the audience see it straight away and it grabs their interest. Also revels what bands are featured in the magazine (Kasabian, Muse). It also enforces the colour scheme. THE SELL LINES/COVER LINES... There are a limited number of sell and cover lines, suggesting that the magazine- in a way- sells itself. However, the ones that are on the magazine reveal to the audeince what bands are in the magazine and what genre of music the magazine covers. THE MAIN IMAGE... The image straight away grabs your attention. It’s a lively and fun shot of Dizzee Rascal, suggesting that the magazine is fun and lively. The use of a mid shot creates a relationship between the subject and the reader. However, it is not a typical mid shot as it includes his whole body, suggesting the magazine is different and doesn’t follow the rules. THE MAIN COVER LINE... This is big, bold and stands out. The fact it only says ‘Dizzee Rascal’ suggests that he stands out and is bold. It also reveals the main interview in the magazine and because it stands out so much it tells the reader it’s an important interview with and important person. BARCODE/DATE/ISSUE/PRICE... This is useful to the buyer as it tells us the date, the price and issue number of the magazine. It also makes finding these things out easy as they’re all in a convenient place. The barcode is also used to let the producers know how popular the magazine is and tells them if the person featured on the front is popular or not. THE FOOTER... This reveals to the audience even more bands featured in the magazine. It also reveals the genres that NME covers. Putting these in the footer makes them seem less important that the bands on the rest of the page but they still are significant. Using a footer again makes the reader feel there is more in the magazine and that there is a selection. USE OF A PULL QUOTE... Again, the pull-quote adds the importance of Dizzee Rascal and reinforces the fact he’s the main focus. The use of this particular quote gives us more ideas of what the interview is like and also tells the reader that this perhaps what NME are doing; spreading joy. BACKGROUND... There is a lot going on in the background: it’s fun, busy and different. This reflects the bands in the magazine and give us an idea what the interview with Dizzee is like. It also makes the cover look more busy and makes us feel like there is more than there actually is. USE OF A FLASHER… This acts as a way of making elements look more exciting, thus making the magazine look more full and exciting. It stands out to grab your attention and makes the audience more interested in the contents. RULE OF THIRDS/THE LEFT THIRD... The magazine follows the conventional rule of thirds; main focuses (Dizzee’s face, the cover lines, ect) are all in the areas where your eye’s drawn too. This makes the magazine more appealing to the reader as the most important areas are the ones we see first. The left third makes us feel there’s more in magazine as it creates a balance between text/images.

4. Cover 2. Rolling Stone 2007 Amy Winehouse Edition

5. FRONT COVER ANALYSIS THE MASTHEAD... This is a recognisable masthead. It’s bold, big and stands out, making it attention grabbing and easy to recognise. The font used looks quite old, fitting in with the title (a ‘old’ band, ‘old’ saying, references to old songs). However this doesn’t reflect the audience as they would be modern and the magazine features modern bands/music. THE COVER/SELL LINES... These inform the reader about the bands involved in their ‘Summer Tours’ section. The main cover lines are in a different colour than the sell lines, suggesting they are more important but also this means they stand out and you are told quickly and easily who’s featured. They also inform us of the genre of the magazine. The bands featured are ‘old’ which fits with the theme of the title/magazine. THE MAIN COVER LINE... This is the same colour and size as the title, telling the audience of the importance. This also suggests that Amy is as recognisable and important as the magazine itself. BARCODE/DATE/ISSUE/ PRICE... Here only the barcode is featured. It is in the opposite corner to the product information (date, issue, price) suggesting they are equally important. THE FLASHER... This stands out as it doesn’t fit the colour scheme. It adds excitement to the cover and your eyes are automatically drawn to this area because it doesn’t fit the colour scheme. It also makes the information seem more exciting than it probably is. It also makes it look like there is more on the cover than there is, again making the reader more interested so they buy the magazine. THE MAIN IMAGE... This is automatically the main focus of the magazine. It takes up at least half of the cover and the fact its a mid close up makes the magazine look more approachable and friendly. The image covering up the title suggests her importance and emphasises how good this article about Amy must be. Her eyes are looking directly at you which creates a relationship between the reader and magazine. RULE OF THIRDS/THE LEFT THIRD... This magazine follows the rule of thirds as the main focus points are in the cross-sections. For example, her eyes are on one of the focus points and your eyes are automatically drawn to them. The cover lines are also on the cross-sections. The left third appears to be at right side of Amy, creating balance and giving the magazine and fuller feeling and it also makes it look even more professional.

6. Cover 3. XXL 2010 Dr. Dre Edition

7. FRONT COVER ANALYSIS THE MASTHEAD... This stands out the most as it is big and bold. The colours- white on red- automatically grab your attention and make you realise that this magazine is different to others and stands out by itself. The title of the magazine, ‘XXL’, reflects the contents and suggests that this magazine is bigger and better than others. It’s recognisable and acts as a devise to quickly see what magazine it is. THE MAIN COVER LINE... The cover line is the same size as the masthead, suggesting the importance of Dr. Dre. It’s in-line with the masthead and directly underneath it so you automatically read it after you’ve seen the title. ‘Exclusive Interview’ tells the reader that it’s a one off and only in this magazine; it gives the impression the magazine is proud to have this interview. THE BACKGROUND... It’s a plain background so that everything else stands out. However, the colour is a serious colour which perhaps reflects the seriousness of the magazine and of Dre. The fact it’s plain could also suggest that the magazine identity, and the identity of the musicians featured, stands out by itself against all other magazines. RULE OF THIRDS/THE LEFT THIRD... XXL appears to follow the rule of thirds, with all the important, eye catching areas in the cross-sections. However, there isn’t a definite left third. It is spaced out around the top of the magazine, making the middle/bottom look more full and appealing THE COVER/SELL LINES... These reveal to the audience who else is included in the magazine. ‘Plus’ in a different colour makes it seem like there is more and they’re important. Despite this, they’re in a small font compared to the main cover line, suggesting these artists are less important than Dre. BARCODE/DATE/ISSUE/ PRICE... This is all in one place, so it easy , for the reader, to find out what they want. This is important information for the reader but it’s clear the magazine feels it’s secondary as it’s small and in the bottom corner of the page. The barcode is important so that the producers know how many people buy the magazine and what they’re interested in. THE MAIN IMAGE... The image is a mid close up shot, creating a relationship between the reader and magazine. However, it seems to be a serious tone as the image is of Dre playing chess- a serious game- and he’s staring directly at you with a serious expression. This again can reflect the seriousness of the magazine/Dre. The chess pieces are larger than usual, reinforcing the XXL idea and therefore fitting in witch the magazine.