The document provides research and examples of conventions for music magazine covers and contents pages. It analyzes features such as mastheads, images, layouts, colors and target audiences. It then shows a mock contents page the student created for a school magazine, highlighting the masthead, central image, block color background, and numbered listings of articles. Overall, the document examines conventions for music magazines and demonstrates applying those principles in a contents page design.

1. Media Coursework
Eloise Kenton –Barnes
Actual Task: To create a music magazine to a standard level of
presentation, also produce a mock layout of the contents page to
accompany the magazine.

2. Contents Page
• Preliminary Research
• Preliminary Exercise

3. Music Magazine Research

4. Conventions
• All mastheads are located across the top of the magazine page. The colours used highlights them from the
rest of the text which directs the readers attention to the masthead.
• The images featured in the magazine relate to the theme of ‘music’, they are a anchor for the magazine as
they are in the centre of page. The images are all of well known musicians which we can assume will have
a large fan base, this causes the magazines to become attractive to the public and cause readership
numbers to rise.
• The layout of the magazines vary; ‘Spin, Q and Rock Sound’ have a chaotic layout with captions featured
all over the cover, this could be aimed at their target audience of people from the ages 16-24 which
sterotypically dislike regimented layouts. The magazine ‘Clash’ features a block colour background with few
headlines on the front cover.
• The institution of ‘music’ is represented as modern and stylistic and fresh this is done through the
contrasting colours and the poses of the models, the models are of a young age with concrete links within
the music industry.
• The sub-headings are all under the topic of music the audience are of a young age which coincides with the
bright colours, topic of the magazine and the chaotic layout of each cover.

5. Conventions Of A Music Magazine
• Bold masthead in yellow which
• Situated at the top of the title page is the bold
contrasts with black background.
masthead in white which contrasts with the vibrant
red rectangle. The affect of this is that the masthead • Large central image which anchors
stands out from the rest of the page, attracting the
the rest of the topics, the featured
readers attention to the masthead of the magazine.
to Located at the top of the page. articles (all in yellow) are placed
around the articles.
• Large central image, anchors the topics. The
model is singer for M.I.A who is influential in the • Black background gives the
music scene. magazine a sophisticated look. The
• Colours of red, black and white feature throughout. image features books indicating the
Offers the magazine a modern and young look audience is of post -16 age.
which correlates with the audience.
• The masthead is white and
•The orange colours highlights located a the top of the page the
the masthead from the rest of edition of the magazine is in the
the magazine and does attract top left hand corner.
the readers attention. • One solid block colour as
• The image is the central background, differs from other 3
anchor features a girl magazines.
presumably from college – • Picture located in middle of
relates to theme. magazine acts as an anchor and
• Featured captions are in presumably is a picture from a
contrasting purple and orange school trip which relates to the
although colours stand out it’s topic of ‘student life’. It anchors
hard to read them against the the rest of the magazine.
background. • The magazine features the
college logo this is the only
magazine that does this.

6. Will use a contrasting
colours palette - white
Ideas: masthead and white sub-
headings.
• Revision tips
Name:
• Uni advice
• Coolage
• Fun pages - funny
• Questionmark
exam answers
• The Move
• General school
news • Prospects
College/School
Magazine
Image:
• One student side on visible tie.
Magazine name coming from a
speech bubble.
Contrasting colours • Two students holding
give a modern prospectus’ for the college in a
look. dominant pose.
• 6th form student and school
student – varying ages.
Background:
• One block colour to contrast with masthead.

7. Contents Page

8. Codes and Conventions of
Contents Page
• All feature the mast head of ‘contents’ clearly labelling what the purpose of the page is.
• Featured numbered pages for easy access to the relevant articles, numbers are clearly displayed with a
small description of the articles details.
• All of the contents pages have contrasting colours with images that are relevant to the topic of ‘school life’
the images are the anchor of the page and draw the readers attention into the magazine.
• The backgrounds on the pages are plain in colour and usual only feature one block colour.

9. Result