This document summarizes and contrasts the cover designs of different music magazines. A hip hop magazine cover features bold fonts, black text on a white background, and an image of Nicki Minaj that represents hip hop as powerful. In contrast, a smooth jazz magazine has a natural-looking image of a musician holding a clarinet, with simpler fonts highlighting the genre. The document also analyzes magazine covers featuring Trey Songz, Jay-Z, and Kanye West, noting how their images challenge conventions to represent artistic evolution in hip hop.

2. Contrast Of Genres
As every existing magazine, there is a masthead. The above image is a Hip Hop magazine so as
expected the fonts would be bold, plain but in a way that would stand out. Also the technique of black
writing on a white background is very common, this is because they aim for the cover lines etc. to grab
your attention yet it’s simple. The masthead ‘King’ emphasizes the genre of music it is about. In a way
that Hip Hop is sent across as very powerful and dominant, therefore it links in with the idea of a king
as it represent similar characteristics. The main image is of the amazing worldwide known Nicki Minaj
and the image works well with the genre of the magazine because it represents Hip Hop as dominant
and powerful. The same way Nicki Minaj is posing in the magazine, with a serious firm look and a pose
that screams at the audience for them to look at. A look that says ‘She’s got it’. The image itself shows
that was edited in different ways i.e:Airbrushed etc. In the main image the person has direct eye
contact, this is a powerful technique to use as it then reflects on intimacy between the producer and
the audience. They kept the colour scheme very simple and straight forward, but the use of pink could
appeal more to the feminine audience and also the fact that it’s a ‘girly’ female on the cover. A
Medium-long shot is used and Nicki Minaj looks sexy. This shot was used to capture her body language
and as she's wildly known people would pick up straight away the genre of the magazine. In the text
where pink is used, the font is no longer bold but a smooth italic and fancy font which again
emphasizes the idea of feminism. I think they done a great job with the spacing of the cover lines, it all
goes well together and in a way that makes the main image stand out from all the rest which I believe
is the main idea. Also the fonts used and the layout is part of their brand identity, every magazine
published sort of follows the same layout, you can say they don't really play about or risk for
something different

3. On the other hand, we have a smooth jazz magazine. By looking at it, you can see
straight away the differences and how they differ from the techniques used in each. The
main image looks like a natural look type of magazine, where the person is not trying
too hard to stand out or anything and unlike the other analysed magazine he’s not
posing in a way to grab attention, he looks comfortable and passionate linking to the
fact he’s holding a clarinet. A Medium-Close up shot is used, possibly to show more
detail as said already we see him holding his clarinet. This highlights the fact he is
passionate for his music. Also the picture itself doesn’t seem like it was edited
much, because his look looks natural. However, similarly to the other cover magazine
main image, direct eye contact is also used. This just highlights the importance of the
main image and the connection/use it has to the audience. The fonts used are also
completely different, there’s no use of bold fonts apart from the main cover line and its
name of the artist. This could be because even if the picture doesn’t grab much
attention, the name speaks for itself. He could be a famous jazz idol so if audience
interested in this genre of music picked up the magazine, they would recognise the
name straight away. So Jazz is sort of a more undercover genre, only people who
actually really like and enjoy the sound of a good Jazz would look or even buy this
magazine. This shows the contrast and that both magazines work successfully in
different ways according to the genre they are based on. The main cover is very simple
but all the information needed is there for the target audience to read from. The use of
yellow and red represent a sense of more classical music as it’s used to represent
smooth colours. Linking to the masthead ‘Smooth Jazz’

4. Research of Front Covers…
Compared to other magazines this is seen as more classy. On the cover
magazine we have Trey Songz in an unusual pose; not expected to be
in a cover magazine, it’s almost like he was moving. This could
represent his moves or where he’s at in his career also because he is
wildly known the image could speak for itself; as in he doesn't need to
do much to be noticed. The magazine is Black & White, possibly to fit
in with the rest of the colour scheme, the colours etc. The same way
he fits in with the theme of the magazine as everything around the
cover magazine revolves around white, black and white; very simple
but yet very eye catching as it's a different piece. Overall the cover
magazine is very simple and neat. There’s not a lot of cover lines and
once again possibly because the picture speaks for itself as a known
artist is also in the main picture.
Whilst researching into the Hip Hop music industry I came across this
cover magazine. We’re used to see Jay Z in the spotlight with bling etc.
but in this picture, its completely different. He’s not posing in a
dominant way or anything and the fact the colour scheme is that the
picture is black and white (with bright red cover lines) could show a
more vulnerable side to the worlds famous Hip Hop artist. Although
the picture chooses to show the background it’s blurred out and the
main focus is on Jay Z. His face expression is not happy but a serious or
even sad. It emphasizes him being alone with his thoughts, and this
challenges convention for a Hip Hop artist. As a worldwide known Hip
Hop artist he’s not with a t-shirt, posing with a ‘hard look’ and no
cheerful colours were used.

5. This particular magazine challenges all codes and conventions of what a Hip Hop
magazine represents. There’s no bling, no male dominant pose, no baggy tees etc.
They kept it simple and unique. No bright colours were used too, you could argue that
this picture is very artistic and made to challenge the reputation of Hip Hop. This is not
a common type of Hip Hop magazine.
The main picture is Kanye West: another world known artist and it’s a close up shot of
his face… In the eyes he has this bubbles electric feel and this represents the evolution
of music in most music genres. Meaning Hip hop is also keeping up with the electro
feel trend and highlights the fact that Hip Hop is not left behind. Throughout the rest
of the cover its based on simplicity.
To contradict the black and white theme they used a bright red for the cover lines and
mask head, this is used to grab the attention of the customers. If the scheme was just
black and white it wouldn’t be appealing and therefore no sales. But even though Jay-z
is in not in his ‘comfort zone’ the colour makes up for the absence of the picture.