Music Magazine research and plan for AS media exam

1. MUSIC MAGAZINE PLAN
RESEARCH
Scott Harris

2. TASK 1 - DECONSTRUCTION

3. The Masthead ‘NME’
which stands for New
Musical Express could
represent that they issue
magazines which target
artists who have released
songs or albums which
are big hits at the time in
this issue Eminem
released a new album
which ended up being
one of his biggest albums
to date
The cover price is £2.30
The text on the front
cover are in a basic font
with the letters being in
capitals with the main
subheadings in white
which clearly stand out
well compared to the
black background. Then
a bit of the information
to the subheadings just
underneath are set out
the same just in a
smaller font and red text
which works well and fits
what seems to be the
colour scheme
Double meaning on this main heading
on this story about Eminem as it talks
about his recovery from rehab for drug
abuse but also recovery is the name of
his album he released a month before
this magazine were released which was
a big hit as they describe his
transformation as ‘the comeback that’s
stunned the world’
The name of the artist
‘Eminem’ is in a bigger font
size and behind a red
background which match
the colour scheme but shows
to the audience that this
issue is revolved around this
story on Eminem and what
he’s been through and how
he has surpassed his drug
addiction. Another reason
why his name stands out like
it does could be due to that
he is the only recognisable
famous white rapper in what
is seen as a genre
dominated by the black
population

4. The layout of this front
cover is predominantly
the subheadings and
little info about all these
artists on the left hand
side of the cover.
Whereas the main story
about Eminem is near
enough in the middle
of the cover so that it
clearly stands out to
the viewer as the main
story of the magazine. I
wouldn’t say that it is
cluttered as the text is
clear and visible and
not all closely compact
despite being down the
left hand side of the
cover in between the
margin and the photo
of Eminem
This is an exclusive as this story is
published by one source as it is
from one of the writers point of
view of the music festival T in the
park. Depending on the review it
could make people decide
whether T in the Park is worth
paying the money to go to or
not. This review could make
judgements of the audience on T
in the Park
Another play on words as the band is
called ‘Arcade Fire’ and they talk about
them blazing into the UK which means that
they are upcoming and becoming large
and attracting fans in London
The expression on his face to me looks
like he could still be on drugs despite his
‘recovery from rehab’. The photo looks
like he is performing at T in the park as
he has a mic in his left hand but still
looks like he could still be drugged up
The photo here shows Eminem looking
healthy and back the way he was before
rehab. Potentially the use of his necklace
with the cross on could show that he is
effectively ‘reborn’ since his recovery
from rehab

5. Making reference to T in the park,
telling people that Eminem made his
comeback into the music world by
performing at T in the park. From
research into the target audience
they’ve done this as there target
audience are interested in festivals
such as T in the park
This is what seems to be
another reference to T in the
Park as through this ‘+’ sign it
means that these are other
artists who performed at the
event and will have some
article or photos of them
included inside the magazine

6. TASK 2 - AUDIENCE

7. AUDIENCE
 The main target audience are predominantly males between the
age of 17-30 years old
 On the standard classification it would appeal to people in the
categories of C1, C2 or D
 Meaning people between lower middle class, skilled working class
and working class are all targets of this specific magazine
publication
 NME appeals to a variety of countries also as different musicians
from all over the world have featured on the front cover. NME
appeals to its audience by using well known artists and stories that
people want to read about. As the target audience are most likely
interested in festivals and concerts, NME also provides line-ups to
upcoming gigs

8. TASK 3 - LANGUAGE

9. LANGUAGE
This is the relevant article from the front cover of the
addition of NME magazine that I am basing my
research around. This article is the main story which
goes with the main headline on the front cover
which is ‘From Rehab to Recovery to T, Eminem, the
comeback that’s stunned the world’.
NME have used an informal approach to
their audience through the use of words used such
as they do not hold back as they say in the article
how the crowd chants ‘where, where, where the
f*** is Eminem?’ the use of language such as a
swear word conveys that it is an informal approach.
The vocabulary used is easy to understand and not
too sophisticated this is more than likely because
their target audience are lower middle class/skilled
working class.
NME uses predominantly more long
sentences rather than short this could be used to
match the long anticipated wait for many Eminem
fans to have him return to Europe to perform as his
performance at T in the Park was his first
performance in Europe for 5 years.

10. LANGUAGE
The article speaks to the reader as they’re a close
friend in the first 2 paragraphs as they’re about
Eminem’s drug abuse and how he nearly died and
the problems he was suffering at the time ‘ We
should feel lucky that Marshall Mathers is on this
earth at all’ this quote touches and makes
everyone realise the problems he was going
through and really openly open up about it like you
would to a close friend.
For the rest of the article you could say that
they speak to the reader as they’re intelligent fans
as they talk about his performance at T in the Park
by talking about all aspects including his late
appearance, the collaboration of songs he sang
and talking that he has not lost his touch despite his
drub problems ‘ His tongue is sharp, every syllable
arrowing through the chilly Scottish sky’ this
highlights to all his fans that he has not changed in
the way he performs his songs.