Music magazines : Kerrang, NME, Q. Three front covers and three contents pages

1. Music Magazine Analysis

2. Masthead- The masthead ‘Q’ is very simplistic as it is the name of the magazine. The capital Q is white on a red background making it bold and bright and easy to see. The Q is in the top right corner So it is the first thing that the audience see. The masthead Is easily recognisable so that it attracts its target audience . Main Sell Line- The main band featuring in this weeks issue is Oasis so the main part o f the magazine is used for them. In the left hand corner ‘Oasis Are Back’ draws the audiences attention as it is also bright and striking. It is almost the same size as the masthead highlighting the fact that it is as important as the magazine. It also follows the same colour scheme as the masthead. The exclamation mark after it adds enthusiasm and draws attention to it as if it was a major event. Colour Scheme- The main image is in black and White due to the fact that Oasis are an old band making a comeback through this magazine. This gives a retro feel to the magazine. However the masthead and main sell line are red and white making them stand it and bold to entice the audience. Also the target audience are Indie fans so are therefore different to others. This black and white colour scheme suits there mood and attitude. The sell lines are black and silver following the colour scheme. Main Image- Noel Gallagher, the baking singer, lead guitar and song writer of the Brit Pop and Indie band Oasis appears on the front cover as a full bleed taking up the full page. This portrays there importance in the magazine. The image is black and white highlighting that they’re an old band and possibly making a one time appearance through this magazine. Noel Gallagher’s face has not been edited giving him a rough, rogue look making it seem as if he has been doing this kind of thing for a long time. He also has a bored, annoyed look on his face fitting in with the genre of the magazine. Sell Lines- The sell lines under the + are two bands that are also Indie genre. The Kaiser Chiefs and The Kings Of Leon are two bands the audiences can relate with and this will once again entice the audience. ‘The Mighty Boosh’ are an Indie style TV show, the audience can relate with this TV show and this also entices the Indie audience. Pull quotes- A quote from the magazine Lets the reader get an insight into the Magazine and once again make them buy it. The quote is also funny so makes the Audience laugh. Humour is very persuasive. Prices and barcode are essential on a magazine as it tell the audience about the price, which is £3.50. Mainstreamers and Aspirers will buy the Magazine. ‘Britain's Biggest Music Magazine’ The alliteration is a persuasive technique and this says That people are buying the best magazine.

3. Masthead- The masthead of NME is usually the colour red. However as it is a summer issue and the main band being portrayed in the issue are in yellow, they have changed there colour scheme to yellow. This shows that the band are as or more important than the magazine itself. Also the main image is in front of the NME logo making it seem less important as the band. The Arctic Monkeys being a mainstream band. They will attract and entice many people, especially Indie fans as they are the main target audience of the magazine and the band, as they are an Indie style band. Colour Scheme- The masthead and the sell lines are yellow, which connotes summer and happiness. Implying that it is a summer issue. The black sell lines at the top attract attention as it stands out on the blue background. The blue and yellow are complimentary colours so that complement each other. Sell Lines- The sell lines entice the audience to buy the magazine, however there are not many of them. This is unusual however it proves that the Arctic Monkeys maybe a very rare band to get and they are making a big deal about it. The man sell line ‘Gil Scott-Heron’ features a 52year old ‘Godfather of Rap’. This is in black and white which proves it may be about the past. Also the Plus sign at the bottom signifies that there is more in the magazine and the bands are all Indie style. This attracts more people who may not like the Arctic Monkeys but like Kasabian or Pulp. ‘OH MY GOD WE CAN’T WE CAN’T BELIEVE IT!’. This is a pun as one of the Kaiser Chiefs (featured band) hit songs. This entices the audience. Also the text is black which stands out from the blue/white background. Main Image- The main image is a full bleed- it fills up the full page- this shows the importance of the band and once again entices the Indie style audience. The main images cover the NME masthead and the sell line which implies the band is more important than the magazine. This evokes that this issue maybe a special and a one off. The background is sky blue portraying a happy and light full mood. It also implies that it maybe a summer or Sprig issue as the weather is good. Plug- Don Valley special is in the colour scheme and next to the main headline. It attracts you to it. Don Valley Preview is a festival in October. This is an unusual festival as it is not an Indie festival. This entices a different audience that like this type of music and want to go to this festival.

4. Masthead and Main image- The masthead Kerrang is in a distrusted to show the magazine is ‘edgy’ and different. The main image of the band 30 Seconds to Mars. This shows that the band are very important and more important than the title of the magazine. The target audience of Kerrang are mainly males aged 15 to 24 so this band falls under that category, as a features a male lead, someone that the target audience can relate to. Also the headline ‘Reading and Leeds’ entices this target audience as the festivals they would mainly go to would be these two. These festivals are indie festivals and are the biggest in the country. ‘You essential guide’ almost forces them to buy it otherwise they will be missing out on an ‘essential’ piece of information from these festivals. The colour scheme is blue, black and yellow. The festivals are in a bright yellow colour attracting a lot of attention to them enticing many people. Using superlatives such as ‘Awesome’ and ‘massive’ add to the excitement surrounding the magazine, making it seem important and a must buy. The feature band, ’30 seconds to mars’ are on the front cover. The lead singer at the front as he represents the band. The text is big and bold attracting people to the band mainly as this is the kind of band that they will be enticed by. If not then another band index is at the bottom of the page making it appeal to many people.

5. The layout of NME magazine is the same every week. Always the Band Index is down the left hand side and the Inside Features are down the left. This is to keep the subscribing NME readers happy and so that they can easily navigate around the magazine without fear of being lost in a world of music. The standard NME logo sits at the top of the page in red so it stands out from it black background. It is stroked in white to make it attract the readers attention, and advertise the magazine more. Also, saying ‘This Week’ at the top of the magazine highlights the fact that the magazine is a weekly edition and the similar weekly layout reinforces this. The subheadings colour also contrasts from their background enticing peoples eyes to them. Under the subheadings are page numbers and features in the magazine making it easier for people to navigate the magazine and find what they want. Every NME also has a ‘Subscribe Today’ section where it advertises the magazine enticing the audience with ‘save over £45’. Everyone loves to save money so doing this creates them more income.

6. The music magazine ‘Q’ has a similar but different layout to NME. The logo is smaller and seems more insignificant than the NME one. It does stand out however is small and quite simplistic. The features are down the left hand side for easy reading and the page numbers are highlighted in red which connotes its important. This is for ease of navigating the magazine. However they also have an ‘Oasis Special’. The text is in gold which means it is rare and very exciting. They use superlatives such as ‘greatest’ and the ‘best’, to make the reader enticed by the sell lines and buy and read the magazine. The main image is large and features an Indie style band, the genre of band the target audience likes and supports. This image is supported by a page number and subheading describing the band. The logo also appears down the bottom following the basic and simplistic colour scheme. The ‘worlds biggest’ also attracts more of an audience thinking they should be part of the magazine.

7. Kerrang magazine has used a large image of a tatooed man, the man looks very similar to the stereoypical reader of this particualr magazine, meaning the audience can relate to the magazine. The majorty of images are of men, who are the dominant sex in this genre. Many of the images featured are bands, showing the genre they are portraying. The effect of all the images being grouped together, creates shared identity between all the images. Also because some of the images are groups it creates a relationship between the images and the reader feeling they are included in this gang.Images are the main focus of the page, showing that they are aiming the magazine at a younger audience. Because we read left to right, you immediately notice the images before the text on the right side. The text is clearly displayed, sub headings are written in yellow with the black background. This conflict of colours means the eye is drawn to the key information.