3. The core target audience
The target audience for TOP OF THE POPS
Magazine is females aged 10-16. The use
of pinks and purples on the front cover
are stereotypical of the female gender.
Also, the use of Britney Spears as the
cover image appeals to her young fans
who aspire to be like her.
4. Lifestyle profile/interests of
the core target audience
The target audience enjoy listening to the pop
genre of music. The target audience like to know
all the gossip from their favourite artists. The
price of this magazine is £1.80 and it’s a monthly
issue, so therefore the target audience are
probably using their saved up pocket money to
buy this magazine.
5. Music magazine genre codes
and conventions
• TOP OF THE POPS Magazine conveys the codes and
conventions of the pop genre. Britney Spears is a clean
cut, youthful, white and beautiful pop star who conveys to
society’s view of ‘perfect’ and she appeals to her fans and will make
them buy the magazine.
• Also, Britney wears fashionable clothes in the cover image which
relates to the target audience as they want to dress like her. The
photograph is also heavily stylised to make Britney look beautiful.
• A typical convention of the pop genre is that the music is happy.
This is conveyed through Britney Spears’ soft and sweetly smiling
facial expressions.
• The pop genre is aimed at a younger audience so therefore it is
more censored; the puff at the bottom says „ANOTHER BLEEP-
ING EMINEM INTERVIEW‟, the use of the ‘bleep’ also shows how
censored the industry is and also shows the magazine is targeted
at children.
• The institutional presence on this magazine is the BBC, parents of
the children reading this magazine will see their logo and know that
what their children is reading is safe and incorporates the BBC core
values which are impartiality, trustworthy and truth. The pop
genre is also stereotypically known as ‘safe’.
6. The house style
The main colours from the house style are
pinks and purples, these colours are
stereotypical of the female target audience.
In all of the TOP OF THE POPS
Magazines, the layout is the same. So, the
in-house style is continued throughout. They
all have a similar style of font and the same
stylised main image but a different pop star
for each issue. The text is always on the left
which makes it quick and easy for the
audience who are picking their magazine.
7.
8. The mise-en-scene
• Both the TOP OF THE POPS Magazine and KERRANG!
share a plain background on their cover image behind the
subjects. This could be so that the audience focus
predominantly on the person of interest on the cover of the
magazine. Also, both Britney Spears and ACDC have a direct
gaze; this connects with the audience and makes it feel
personal.
• Britney Spears is wearing a purple top which appeals to the
feminine audience because of the colour. It is also stylish so
it conveys to the pop genre of clothing. Her facial expression
is neither sexy nor happy, it’s in between. Yet her sexual
pose and asymmetric dress emphasise her sexuality.
• On the KERRANG! cover, Angus Young from AD/DC wears a
shirt and tie which usually symbolises smart and
sophisticated but he doesn’t so he is rebelling and
subverting the use of the tie. It also looks like he is wearing
school uniform which could show that they are childish. This
could also be a pun on old school rock.
9. Layout and style of language
• The layout in KERRANG! and TOP OF THE POPS Magazine
are both clear and simply laid out. This could be because the
target audience for the TOP OF THE POPS Magazine is for
younger girls so they need to be able to read the cover of the
magazine clearly. For KERRANG!, the target audience is
males and they stereotypically like things clear and to the
point - this cover shows this.
• The language on the cover of KERRANG! is also simplistic
which appeals to the male target audience. Whereas on the
TOP OF THE POPS Magazine cover, some larger words have
been used which shows that it’s for older teenage girls. It
also has questions as puffs which intrigues the audience.
• Both the magazines use buzz words such as „PLUS!‟ which
excite and attract the audience as they feel that all of the
„exclusives‟ are just for them which could make them more
incline to buy it.
• The style of language on the different magazine covers are
relatable to the magazines’ target audience. For example,
on the TOP OF THE POPS Magazine cover, it has a phrase
“It‟s a whopper!”, the target audience will be familiar with this
phrase.
10. Music genre conventions
• A stereotypical convention of the pop genre is
that it is happy and fun; the TOP OF THE POPS
Magazine cover imitates this as it is bright and
the person of interest has soft and inviting facial
expressions. This contrasts with the KERRANG!
cover which uses dark colours as rock music is
usually associated with being quite hard and I
think that the use of the metallic colours show
this.
• The rock genre of music is well-known for being
amazing live. KERRANG! magazine feature many
articles on their front cover to do with tours and
concerts, this conforms to the stereotype and is
therefore a convention of the rock genre.
11. Music artists featured
• The use of Britney Spears on the front cover of the TOP OF
THE POPS Magazine appeals to the target audience of
young females aged about 10-16. This audience would
probably aspire to be as talented and successful as their
idol Britney Spears and they may even imitate things that
she does as they want to be just like her. They would buy the
magazine because she’s on the front cover and they want to
find out about what is the latest thing that’s happening in her
life.
• The use of AC/DC on the front cover of KERRANG! attracts
their target audience of males aged 25-50. They appeal to
this audience because they are fans of their music and they
could be idolised as they were a huge influence on the rock
genre of music so many people have great respect for them.
AC/DC could also bring back old memories to their audience
and take them back to when they were younger.
12. Special features and articles
• Both magazines give away freebees to their reader. The
TOP OF THE POPS Magazine gives away badges and a
poster of another desirable pop star. The KERRANG!
magazine has posters of iconic and popular bands
inside. This attracts readers to the magazine as the
freebees are something that have been specially
selected to appeal to the target audience.
• The articles in the TOP OF THE POPS Magazine appeal
to the target audience as they are about famous pop
stars and gossip which is exactly what females
stereotypically enjoy reading about.
• The articles in the KERRANG! magazine are about
artists of interest to the target audience as they want to
find out what their favourite bands are doing. Also there
are quite a lot of articles on tours; this is because
stereotypical rock fans enjoy going to see their favourite
artists play live.
13. Mode of address
• These two magazines use different modes of
addresses. The TOP OF THE POPS
Magazine uses direct address by using
words such as “YOUR” which involves the
audience and makes them feel like it has
been personally written to them.
• KERRANG! doesn’t use direct
address, instead it in quite informative and
gets straight to the point and tells the
reader which artists are featured in the
magazine – this will also entice the audience
to read it.
14. Techniques used to make you
read the complete magazine
• By placing puffs of articles that appeal to the
target audience’s interests and lifestyle
inside the magazine, it teases the audience
and makes them want to read what’s inside.
• On the TOP OF THE POPS Magazine
cover, it has questions which interest and
intrigue the audience, so therefore they’ll
want to find the answers inside the
magazine.
• Also, by using a house style throughout the
magazine, it is recognisable for the
audience and makes them feel comfortable
and they are able to enjoy their magazine.
