This document analyzes the front cover designs of several music magazines. It identifies common design elements, including a bold central image featuring an artist making eye contact, concealment of the masthead, placement of information in the left third, use of plugs and puffs, and inclusion of additional content details at the bottom. Key cover lines are linked to the central image and simple color schemes are used. Both male and female icons are featured to attract broad readerships.

1. FRONT COVER ANALYSIS
Music Magazines
Friday, December 17, 2010

2. Bold for the names
of the artists to draw
attention.
Analysis One
Lilly Allen is the model in this cover.
She is an icon for both men and women.
Lilly Allen’s name big and central to entice the reader.
‘Sexy Beast’ and ‘Wicked’ is in different colours
to make it more bold.
Plug/Puff to attract the reader
into buying this magazine.
Bar code is a typical
feature of all
magazines
Tag line under the Panther’s symbolise danger, beauty, perfection,
title sex and fear. All of these things are portraying the
The cover lines are at the bottom to make reader or what they aspire to be.
room for the cover shot. These cover lines give
insight to the reader about whats inside.
Friday, December 17, 2010

3. The masthead has been covered slightly. This shows that they are
confident enough that the readers will know the name to hide it.
The majority of the information is placed on the left third
The names of the bands are in bold
to make them more noticeable.
The artists in the cover photo are making eye contact with the
camera which draws in the reader and makes
them feel more involved with the cover.
‘The Gossip’ is the biggest text on the page
to get the attention of the reader.
Pictures of other artists are used to make the
page look busy and to draw the reader.
Bar code/Issue No./Date
Other cover lines are highlighted at the bottom of the front
cover to show the other content within the magazine.
Puff/Plug to entice the reader.
Analysis Two
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4. Analysis Plug/Puff is very prominent in the top corner to entice the reader.
Three
The masthead is covered as they
are confident that they are well The models used are actresses
known enough to hide some of rather then musicians but are
the name. relevant to the cover lines.
The actresses are very famous so
therefore will encourage readers.
The cover line’s are
on the left third so
they are seen when
they are stacked. They are making eye contact to
entice the reader.
The other cover lines give
information about the They are both male and female
other things that are in the icons so will attract both sexes to
magazine. read this issue.
They are posing very Issue no./Date in the bottom corner but
seductively to attract the uncharacteristically there is no bar code on the
reader. cover.
Friday, December 17, 2010

5. Fourth Analysis
The masthead is slightly covered by the model which
shows the confidence of the magazine that the
readers will know the name.
This cover line acts as a plug/puff also. It is separate
from the other cover lines and it is being used to
encourage the reader.
The featured artists, R.E.M, are the most
prominent item on the page, in turn making
them the most important.
The main cover line is linked to the cover artist.
Bar code/Issue No./Date
Even though the cover lines are small, they are still
placed on the left third of the page.
The cover lines are small the smallest text
on the page which makes them seem less
important then the featured artists.
Friday, December 17, 2010

6. Evaluation
By decoding these Indie magazines I have found that the typical
features of this genre of magazine are:
-A bold cover image, taking up most of the page
-The rule of the left third is applied
-The masthead is concealed slightly
-Bar code/Issue no./Date
-The main cover line is relevant to the cover image
-The model is making eye contact with the camera
-Plugs and puffs are used to entice the reader
-Additional information about what is included in the magazine is placed at the bottom of the
page
-Simple colours have been used as the colour scheme with only two or three colours in one
scheme
-The cover models generally attract both male and female readers
-The masthead is the biggest item on the page
I aim to use all of these features in my music magazine front cover coursework, by doing this I will
achieve the most accurate front cover I can with the resources I have.
Friday, December 17, 2010