The document analyzes features of music magazine covers and contents pages. It discusses conventions such as mastheads, dates, images, headlines and puffs on covers. It examines layouts of contents pages, including logos, titles, indexes, images and sub-headings. Key conventions highlighted include prominent placement of mastheads, stars on covers, charts and categories to organize content. Color schemes, fonts, images and headlines are designed to attract readers and promote the magazine's content and brand.

1. Music Magazines Analysis

2. Front Covers

3. Masthead
Date Line
The masthead on this
particular edition of
‘Rolling Stone’ challenges
conventions as the
masthead is far behind the
main image and is hardly
readable, which is not
typical of magazines as
usually the masthead is
always bold and bright and
clearly shown with nothing
covering it. ‘Rolling Stone’
is a controversial magazine
featuring artist from all
different genres.
The date line is just regularly
placed at the top of the magazine
to give information of the price and
issue date.
Puff/Pug
The puff in this case is used to
highlight an event that the
publisher wants the
consumers to pick up on, so
they frame the writing a
different colour to grab the
readers attention and sell the
information so the readers
purchase the magazine.
Main Image
The main image on the cover of
the magazine is a Mid shot (MS) as
the shoulders can be seen, but
mainly focuses on the face of the
star. The eyes are in the top third
of the magazine which is normal
and unchallenging although it does
cover the mast head and take up a
lot of room on the front cover. The
image looks slightly seductive and
the facial expression shows how
this is the view that is intended.
Colour Scheme
There is a 1 colour scheme, as only
red is used as well as black and white.
This is effective as ‘Rolling Stone’ is a
globally known magazine and the lack
of colour they use makes their
magazine look more classy and
sophisticated.
Cover Lines
Main Headline
The main headline is clearly a story about the celebrity featured on the
front. Titled ‘Crazy in love’ which suits the image as Rihanna portrays
that image by her facial expressions and her clothing. The font is sansserif italics and is very feminine but then uses bold plain writing. The
background is fairly plain and the way the Rihanna is dressed and
presented suits the headline, and it is typical of magazines to use the
main headline as a feature about the person on the cover.
The cover lines used on this
magazine advertise just like others
the content inside the magazine, but
on this particular version they are
quite dark and don’t seem to relate
to the picture very frequently. ‘Rape’
and ‘Death’ don’t seem to highlight
information that the reader would
necessarily want to read about,
challenging conventions of relative
information.

4. Masthead
The masthead for this copy of
‘Billboard’ is colourful and bold and
fulfils its purpose of grabbing
consumers attention. The text covers
Drake’s face which isn’t necessarily
unusual but would normally be above
the image.
Puff/Pug
The puff has been made to look like a
sticker peeling off the magazine, it is
bright eye catching and contains
information about a certain star. The
puff is unique and edgy and looks 3-D.
Cover Lines
The cover lines are highlighted
in a bold colour that fits in with
the general theme of the
magazine, they are advertising
gossip about stars and things
that are ‘Exclusive’ which will
want the reader to buy them to
receive the information.
Barcode
Every magazine has this, gets scanned when
you’re purchasing the item. This is probably the
most conventional feature of the magazine.
Main Image
The main image is clearly of the
star who's name is in the main
headline, which is significant to all
magazines and is in black and
white. Which is unusual as most
magazines are printed with the
star’s face in normal colour.
Drake is looking straight into the
camera, as if he is targeting a
particular person reading the
magazine. It is between a close up
and a medium close up as just the
top of the shoulders are seen.
Use Of Thirds
The rule of thirds has clearly
been taken into consideration
on this magazine cover, as the
writing is sectioned into the
left and right third with the
middle left plain and the
image being in the centre.
More cover lines are on the
right third of the magazine
with the opposite colours
used which is again catchy and
aesthetically pleasing.
Main Headline
The main headline states ‘Drake’
in bold letters, which is evidently
representing the star on the
cover. Underneath the main
headline is a strap line saying ‘The
new face of hip-hop’ this shows
us the overall idea of what kind of
music the magazine likes to
feature and the headline stands
out to make us recognise who it is
about immediately.

5. Dateline
Header
Every magazine have this so you know what
issue it is and the date it was released.
Puff/Pug
Usually most headers are
advertisements of something nonrelated to any of the contents on
the front cover. However, this
header is stating that there will be
an interview with Drake which
giving you a little insight to the
magazine.
Pugs are used for
advertisement in this case
this pug is telling you about
‘the ultimate guide’ which is
giving you information
about records and gigs.
Which again relates to the
magazine as its advertising
the music content inside.
Masthead
The masthead is in capital letters and
bold, this makes it aesthetically pleasing
to the eye and it would be one of the
first things you see on the page.
Although it is plain and simple it is a very
well known magazine so everyone
would instantly know what magazine it
was even when the main image is
covering most of the letter E.
Main Image
They have used a medium close up
of Alex Turner who is most famous
for being the lead singer of the Arctic
Monkeys. Some people would
idolise him therefore they would
pick up this issue. The photo is
posed, and placed in the centre of
the page which is appealing to the
eye.
Main Cover Line
Part of the cover line is in block
capitals, bold and is red. With it being
red it relates to the colour theme of
the masthead and the rest of the
magazine. They have stated that Arctic
Monkeys will reveal the record that
changed their life therefore, that will
attract their fans as they will want to
know why.
Cover Lines
Barcode
Every magazine has this, gets scanned when
you’re purchasing the item. This is probably the
most conventional feature of the magazine.
The other cover lines are just giving
the audience an insight to what will
be in this issue.

6. Contents Pages

7. Logo
The magazine logo has
remained the same as it looks
on the front cover so the
readers know which magazine it
is and so that it fits as a house
style and the colours and fonts
continue throughout.
Title
The masthead is written
largely across the top of the
contents page in bold black
letters, and an effect has
been added so that a white
line is running through each
letter to make them stand
out. Its effective and looks
attractive and sleek.
Chart Information
As they are a music magazine they have
used a very interesting yet clever
technique to include the top charts of
albums, singles and what’s new this
week. This would interest the reader as
everyone loves to know who’s in the
charts. They have also used different
colours so it looks more organised and it
has headers so the audience can find
their desired song/album easier.
Images
There are a variety of images used,
there is a close up, 2 long shots and a
medium close up. The sizes of the
images are also different but there is
a good amount and the page numbers
placed over the images show the
reader the page they will need to go
to, to find out more info about the
person they are looking for.
Categories/Page Features
The categories are used to define
the different sections of the
contents pages, and show how
different features are organised
into different sections. This is
giving more of an insight to the
magazine because now the
audience knows what will be
included and what pages have
what on. They have used
different fonts and bold writing to
highlight the important parts of
the article.

8. Logo
Title
They have included the logo on the
contents page to show the reader that
‘NME’ is the magazine they are reading
and is conventional as this is done on
most magazines.
The title of the contents, its
bold and block capitals so it is
noticeable. They have placed
it on a black background and
the font is white therefore it
will stand out to the reader. It
is bland and simple but
because it is such a popular
magazine it is easily
recognisable.
Index
They have used an index on
the page which consists of
bands featured in the
magazine making it easier for
the reader to find the
information inside about their
favourite band.
Date
They have included the date to
show the reader what edition it is.
Main Image
The image they have used is of
the lead singer of the ‘Arctic
Monkeys’ which is the band
advertised underneath. The
bans are also featured on the
front cover which highlights
their importance to the issue.
Sub-Headings
They’re separated into different
types of information and have
been placed on a black background
to make them stand out more. The
writing places inside the different
sections has page numbers to go
the page that the insight is
showing. The 3 colours red, white
and black are used throughout.
Article
The article is about the band Arctic
Monkeys however, it is not the full
article as it gives you a page
reference to read the rest of the
article.
Advertisement
There is an advertisement at the bottom of the magazine which allows the readers to subscribe to the magazine which would let them pay less than they normally do for the
magazine. This is a good way of making money as the readers are receiving a deal by buying the magazines in bulk. All magazines do this which is again conventional.

9. Title
This issue of ‘Rolling Stones’ has its initials
in the title to show the reader that it is
the magazine they are reading. Using the
initials and not the full name may confuse
some readers who are not familiar with
the magazine. The colours used are the
ones used on the front cover, which may
help solve some confusion.
Selling Line
The quote is used to represent the
content of the magazine as the
producers believe it has ‘All the news
that fits’. It helps to sell the magazine
as the readers will think that
everything they need to know about
the certain genre will be inside.
Main Article
The main article takes up majority of the
page and is about a specific genre of
music which is hip-hop. The biggest faces
and stars of hip-hop are featured on
each of the front covers, and the fact
they have been in Rolling Stones before
shows how it is a popular magazine. The
article is named ‘Special Section’ which
suggests that it is a one off and isn’t
something that they normally would
feature, and they have gave their best
50 songs of all time for readers who are
interested in that genre to read.
Images
Sub-Headings
The sub headings are used for the reader
to find the section of the magazine they
are looking for, for example rock and roll.
The information for each is placed
underneath the subheading provided
with page numbers where they can find
the information. This layout happens
almost on all magazines making it
extremely conventional.
Date
The date is added to show which
date it was published and what
issue number the particular
magazine is.
The images that are featured
are past issues of their
magazine, which fits into the
hip hop theme as they are all
big stars in that genre.

10. Double Page Spreads

11. Title
The title covers a large
part of the page and is
in a sans-serif font. The
writing is black on a
grey background and
the colours are very
neutral. The text says
‘The Triumph of Adele’
suggesting that Adele is
seen as a superior
star/figure as he acts
are seen as a ‘Triumph’
Main Image
The main image again is in
black and white and is a
medium close up of Adele and
it covers the majority of the
page. The image is of the start
who is featured in the
magazine which is conventional
because this is what usually
happens with all magazines.
Article
The article is in very small
writing but the ‘I’ that
introduces the text is
extremely large. The text
is again in black and grey
and fits in with the theme
of the whole double page
spread. And talks about
Adele and her rise to
fame.
Sub-Heading
The sub-heading is selling the
article as its giving additional
information about the article
and information about the
person who is interviewing
Adele and who the pictures
have been taken by.

12. Promotion
A small puff has been added to
the top left corner of the double
page spread to advertise and
promote the arctic monkeys
playing at huge festivals such as
Reading and Leeds. The colours
used are iconic and associated
with the festivals and stand out
of the neutral colour scheme.
Main Image
The main image of the
band fills up the whole of
one of the pages, the
image is a mid shot and
they are again dressed in
fairly neutral colours. Alex
Turner the lead singer is
pictured at the front to
show his role and authority
in the band.
The Mise-en-scene of the
bands clothes are mainly
denims and blues and
baggy looking, which
associates them with the
general conventions of
the ‘Indie’ genre. The
lighting is high key and
looks like a comfortable
set up.
Title
The headline covers the majority
of the page and is a sans-serif
font stating ‘The Joshua Code’
this is referring to how the band
featured, ‘The Arctic Monkeys’ to
show how they got help from
‘Josh Homme’ from queen of the
stone age for their last album
humbug. The way the writing is
two different types weaved
together could represent the two
bands coming together within
work. The writing is black on a
white background which is
extremely conventional and
stands out normally.
By-Line
The by-line shows who the
article was done by and who
took the photographs to credit
their work.
Article
The article starts off
with a drop cap which
captures the audiences
attention. The light grey
colour fits in well with
the neutral theme and
doesn't overpower the
headline.

13. Main Article
The main story ‘Girl, you’ll be a
women soon’ is in large font and
spread all the way across the
page so it is the main focus on
the page. The word ‘girl’ has
been wrote in pink and that
colour is mainly associated with
younger girls this connotes the
idea that she is a ‘girl’. However,
the rest of the sentence is
written in black and that is seen
as a more professional colour
therefore this would connote
that she is growing up.
Additional
Information
Around this writing is a
white faded box, this is
done to highlight the
little message that is
inside the box as it may
be important. Also,
they have followed the
same colour scheme by
using pink again not
only to follow the
colour scheme but it is
highlighting the writers
name.
Image
The image is a long shot of
Miley Cyrus. The way the
photo is posed relates to the
article, she is sat in the corner
of a room on her own giving
off the idea that it is childlike.
However, because she is
wearing makeup, tight
clothing and heels is
portraying adult like features,
that she is growing up. She
was once ‘teen pop sensation
Hannah Montana’ and now
she is becoming an adult.
Furthermore, because the
image is on a greyish
background the writing stands
out.
Article
The font is white
so therefore it
stands out on the
greyish
background they
have decided to
use. It looks as if
they have centred
the writing so it
looks neat and
presentable also
because it is only
an introductory
paragraph.