The document provides information about the covers and contents of four different music magazines from different genres and time periods: 1) NME (punk rock/indie rock magazine from 1976) uses a limited color scheme and large images on the cover to attract readers. The contents page neatly lists articles and bands. Features use photos and distinct text formatting. 2) The Source (hip hop magazine from 1988) also prioritizes large cover images and uses minimal yet distinctive text. The contents are clearly laid out. Features contrast photos with brand advertisements. 3) Top of the Pops (pop magazine from 1995) employs varied colors and fonts on the cover to appeal to its young audience. It focuses more on photos

1. Music
Magazines

2. Genre of Music: Punk Rock / Indie Rock
Target Audience: 16-19 year olds
Editor: Krissi Murison
Frequency: Weekly (since March 1952)
Company: IPC
A cover from February 1976

3. Strap line
Telling the audience about a big feature in the magazine, the
question mark shows that it is a topic that people have recently
been talking about but are not sure. The black and white
writing on and red background instantly stand out.
Masthead
The iconic NME logo is black
white and red. Part of it is
covered by the image on the
front but people can still
recognise the magazine from its
other conventions.
Cover Lines
Large blocked font with drop
shadows so it stands out. The
bands name is in the largest
letters so peoples attention is
drawn to it.
Some small images are used to
support the cover lines.
Pull Quote
Shows that there is an interview
inside. The quote used is quite a
spiteful one which makes the
audience think that there will be
a lot of gossip revealed.
Cover Image
The picture is of the band ‘The
Gossip’ which is the type of band
that appeals to NME readers. The
image was taken in a studio and
takes up the majority of the
page. Their name is printed in the
middle of the page in large bold
lettering and so is easily noticed.
By having the band on the front
cover it indicates that there will
be a large feature of them inside.
General
In general NME magazine uses
three main colours (black, white
and red). This is also common
throughout all of their issues. They
have used a large band image
on the front which appeals to
their audience and have used
cover lines and quotes to give
the potential reader an idea
about what they should expect.
FRONT COVER

4. CONTENTS PAGE
• The title is ‘NME this week’ shows
that it is the contents of the
magazine but also makes it seems
more current by saying ‘this week’
•The band index down the sides
allows people to select the band
who they want to read about and
go to the page
•There is a large image of a music
venue which is a main feature
•The sub heading down the side are
bold and so allow reader s to easily
chose the section they want to go to
if they are looking for something
specific
•The advert at the bottom showing
how to subscribe attracts the readers
as it is in a different colour - the
important facts are also highlighted
•The red text box at the bottom
states a fact that they want you to
notice and recognise – this means
that if you looked at the contents
page before purchasing the
magazine you would want to read
on further
•There is a basic colour scheme of
red, white and black which
continues on from the front cover to
the whole magazine

5. A DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
• Its an interview with a band that
appeal s to the audience
•A page and a half is an image of
the band – this makes the reader
stop and look if they are just flicking
through the pages
•The remaining half is the interview –
this makes it seem like there is less
writing than there actually is
•There is some writing over the image
of the band explaining the
background for the interview – this
lets people know what its about
•The interview questions are written in
bold and the answers in regular – so
it is clear
•There is a highlighted section in the
middle highlighting a quote – this lets
the readers get an idea of the
interview before they have even
read the whole thing, the quote is
also likely to be something shocking
like gossip
•The text is quite small which can be
off putting for the reader
•There is a general colour scheme of
black, white and brown

6. Genre of Music: Hip Hop
Target Audience: 16-24 year olds
Editor: Jeremy Miller
Frequency: (since 1988)
A cover from February 1988

7. Strap line
Lets the audience know about a main feature. White writing on
a black background stands out and is clearly seen.
Masthead
The logo for ‘The Source’ is very
bold and recognisable. The
name ‘The Source; also indicates
that it is the place to find out all
the information you want. The
microphone in the ‘O; also shows
that this is a music magazine.
Cover Lines
The cover lines are very large
and stand out against the red
background. They don’t give too
much away about the features
themselves and are more one
line or single names. This is
affective as it makes people
want to read the magazine to
find out why the names are
written.
Cover Image
The cover image is of ‘The
Game’ who is a big hip hop start
and so will appeal to the
audience, The photo was taken
in a studio. The image takes up
the majority of the page,
however no writing goes across
the picture apart from the
barcode at the bottom. Part of
the image covers the masthead
but it is still clearly recognisable.
General
Overall The Source magazine
uses a basic colour scheme of
red, white and black which is
often the case with most of their
issues, although they have
recently started to use black ,
white and green. The cover on
the front shows a person that
appeals to the audience and the
cover lines used are very vague is
terms of describing the contents.
Advertising
The advert fort the website
stands out as it is the only thing
on the page that isn’t black, red
or white. It is good because if
people don’t have the time to
purchase the magazine they can
clearly see the website for it.
FRONT COVER

8. CONTENTS PAGE
• The name of the contents page
‘Master plan’ stands out as it makes
it seem like an organised way of
reading the magazine
•The sub heading of each section
are in a different font and colour so
they are easily recognized
•The general layout is very simple
and easy to read
•There is a small image of a rapper
and some large bold text beside it
showing the main feature of the issue
and where to find it
•The basic colour scheme is used
which is carried on through the rest
of the magazine
•Readers may like this style of
contents page as it doesn’t make
them feel like they are overloaded
with information as is it clearly and
neatly set out

9. A DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
• Source magazines buyers guide
featuring hip hop star Currency
advertising the brand ‘Rock Smith’
•One page is the picture of the artist
and the other is some writing with
the brand logo and the main item of
clothing being advertised
•On the same page as the artist
there is writing telling the reader
each item of clothing how much it is
to buy
•The other just has the brand logo
and a brief line under it saying the
main item
•The use of the colours black, white
and red and very affective as they
stand out to the reader
•The image of the person takes up
the whole page and is very bright
against the white background
•The 2 pages contrast with the black
and white pages but are very
effective as you can see that they
go together by the logo of the brand
and the logo on the artists jumper

10. Genre of Music: Pop
Target Audience: 11-15 year old girls and boys
(85% girls and 15% boys)
Editor: Laura Hutcheson
Frequency: monthly (since February 1995)
Company: BBC Magazines
A cover from 1995

11. Masthead
The masthead is in typical ‘girl’
colours and so is automatically
noticed by young girls who are
their main target audience. The
name ‘Top of the Pops’ tells the
audience that the magazine is
about music. The use of
lowercase letters shows that it is
informal and so appeals to
younger people.
Cover Lines
Each cover line is presented in a
different way with a different
font. This is very effective for
attracting its target audience as
it makes the magazine seem
more fun and less serious. The
main cover line says “OMG!”
which is the language used by
younger people.
Pull Quote
The quote shows that there is an
interview with the band
mentioned. It is a comment
made about the bands love lives
which is what readers of this
magazine want to find out
about.
Cover Image
The main image on this
magazine is of the Jonas Brothers
who are a band that appeal to
the target audience. The picture
takes up a lot of the page
however much of the front cover
is also made up of cover lines
and smaller images.
General
Generally Top of the Pops
magazine uses a range of
different colours that appeal to
younger people. Unlike most
magazines they do not have a
uniform colour scheme and each
issue is different. The large images
on the front attracts attention to
the potential buyers.
Cover Pictures
There are lots of small pictures on
the front cover. This shows the
reader some of the features that
they can expect to find in the
magazine. This is effective
because the younger audience
who this is aimed at would rather
look at pictures than read lots of
writing.
FRONT COVER

12. CONTENTS PAGE
Top of the Pops magazine doesn’t
have a contents page as it wouldn’t
really appeal to the target
audience. This is because the
audience is young people who
would rather just read through the
whole magazine instead of picking
out bits they would prefer. The front
cover also gives a lot of details
about features and so if they wanted
to skip pages they could find out
where to go by looking there.

13. A DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
• An interview with a popular band
which is advertising their new movie
•The double pages are split into 3 –
the first third is a basic report about
the movie, the second third is a brief
interview and the last part is an
image of the band, there is also a
section at the bottom introducing
you to others characters in the film
•The 2 pages have a lot on them in
terms of different images, text boxes
and colours – in this particular case it
is affective because the target
audience of this magazine is
attracted to a lot of colours and
shapes as well as images of familiar
people
•There is different fonts used to
differentiate each section
•Although there is a lot of large
headings there isn’t that much small
print
•The page would instantly grab the
readers attention because of the
bright colours used and large images