This document analyzes the front covers of two music magazines. For the first magazine, NME, the analysis notes that the masthead is abbreviated and in bold red text to stand out. Yellow text highlights artist names and articles. A "V Festival special issue" sell line links to the main image of an artist at a festival. For the second magazine, Q, the logo is at the front to avoid being covered. It uses black, red and gold text in varying sizes on a light gray background. A pull quote teases drama. Both magazines follow conventions like the price being in the bottom right.

1. Analysis of Front Cover #1
For this magazine front cover, the masthead is in the left hand third, this is
because the name is abbreviated and would take up too much room if it were
enlarged. The name, NME is in red, this is to make it stand out against the black
and white border, this also makes it easy to see from a distance, existing fans will
be able to see the name NME and instantly know to buy it. The white lining
around the text adds to how bold it is. Red and white are typical colours that are
found throughout the magazine which creates better brand identity. The
masthead is written in a simple, bold font, this also makes it easier to read,
especially from a distance, so fans will recognise the magazine easily when
displayed on a shelf with other magazines.
The artists names and articles on the front cover are in yellow text, this easily
draws the readers attention so they can see what artists are featured. By making
the cover eye catching and giving a glimpse of what is inside will make the
reader want to pick the magazine up and hopefully make them more likely to buy
it.
The magazine has a sell line saying “V Festival special issue”, this directly links
to the main image, the artist is standing in a field. It is common for festivals to
take place in fields and large open spaces, this adds to the brand identity as it
establishes that it is a rock magazine of some sort. There are only two other
images on the cover, these are related to other articles inside the magazine, this
means that the main focus of the issue is on the festival as it's biggest image,
placing the most importance on it. The artist in the main image looks very

2. serious, this shows that the genre is serious compared to a genre like pop, where
most of the artists are seen smiling. It gives the impression that the magazine
won't be full of gossip and will be more information based.
The pug is in the bottom right; this is the last place the reader will look on the
cover, the idea for this being that once the reader has been enticed into buying
the magazine by the eye catching cover, they will see the price. Seeing the price
first may put some readers off of buying the magazine.
There is a puff on the right hand side, just above the main sell line, it reads “as
chosen by you!”, this direct address shows that the magazine is more personal
and the reader can make a contribution, if the magazine feels personal then
readers are more likely to buy it.
A lot of the text has a border around it, this is to help make it stand out more
against the background, if the reader can't see the text properly they won't bother
reading it. A lot of the borders and text boxes look like torn paper, this gives the
magazine a very hand-made look and personal feel, it also fits in with the festival
issue, as there would be many magazines that will be passed around and left on
the ground, they will get torn and damaged.
The front cover follows typical conventions you would expect from, such as
having important content in the left hand third and having the pug in the bottom
right corner so it is the last thing the reader will see.
Analysis of Front Cover #2

3. For this issue of Q magazine, the logo is at the front of the main image, this is
because it would be covered too much if it was behind the main image and would
be unreadable.
There is a lot of text on this front cover; it fills most of the cover in a variety of
colours and sizes. The cover mostly uses black, red and gold for the text, the
black and red are commonly found on Q magazine, as the logo is mostly red.
Black is used as it stands out on the light-grey background. Gold is used as it
makes the magazine look and feel more like a “premium” magazine and
connotes wealth. Seeing as the target audience of Q magazine is middle to
upper class men with high disposable income this colour fits in well. The
masthead is very simple, it is one large square, this makes the magazine feel
minimalistic and modern, this also makes the magazine look more sophisticated.
The magazine cover has a pull quote from one of the articles inside, “Noel was a
t*t. I’m very happy…” this is to entice readers into buying the magazine as it
makes the magazine look like it contains drama. Many issues of Q magazine
have a cover wrap over them, this is to prevent readers from flicking through and
reading articles they want and then not buying the magazine. The cover wrap
also adds to the idea that Q is a premium magazine. Pull quotes are taken from
interviews from artists, sometimes only a snippet of the quote is used thus
making the enquisitive reader want to know what else was said.
It is a common convention of magazines to have the a pug in the bottom right

4. corner of the magazine as in Western culture it is the last place the reader will
look. This also gives the reader a chance to read the entire front cover before
seeing the price, this will hopefully entice the reader into buying the magazine, if
they saw the price first they may be off put and not read the rest of the front
cover.
The entire cover looks very neat and simplistic, giving it a modern look. This is
very different to magazine covers from NME and KERRANG! This represents the
target audience who would probably enjoy modern art styles.
Most of the sell lines include the artist's names, this is so fans of the artists will
see their names and be more likely to pick the magazine up and potentially buy
it.
The main image contains a close up of an artist, the colours are very pale and
faded, along with the background, they look like they have a hint of gold in them
which is commonly featured, this adds to the premium feel of the magazine.
The magazine cover overall is very effective at drawing in readers, it uses bold
and familiar colours to entice established readers. As the colours are bold, they
make the magazine stand out to everyone, including new readers. The fonts
used are also bold and take up a lot of the cover, most of the text is artist’s
names, this is the biggest text as somebody may recognised the artist’s name
and decide to buy the magazine, because of all of these things, the magazine
cover is successful in performing its task, it follows conventions of typical music
magazines but breaks them when necessary. It also has its own unique look and
appeals to its target audience.
The magazine also follows conventions such as having important information in
the left hand third. The cover only features one image, this is to put emphasis on
the article it is related to, it is supposed to be the highlight of the issue and wants
the readers to have a look at that particular article.
The magazine doesn't feature any mode of address on the cover which is
unusual for a magazine, this is probably the only convention it doesn't follow that
would benefit it. On the other hand there isn't anywhere to put direct address, this
is because the magazine isn't doing anything that can make the readers interact,
such as giveaways or reader input.