This document provides a textual analysis of the contents page and double-page spread (DPS) of a music magazine. Key elements that are discussed include the use of logos, images of celebrities, subheadings, page numbers, and alternate images on the contents page to attract readers and inform them about the magazine's content. Elements like stand first paragraphs, drop caps, pull quotes, and credits are analyzed on the DPS as ways to introduce articles and make the content look professional to increase sales. The student concludes they will replicate several of these design elements, like using celebrity images and effective sublines, in their own music magazine to attract readers and maximize sales.

1. OCR Media Studies – AS Level
Unit G321: Advanced Portfolio
Music Magazine –
Contents Page and DPS
Textual Analysis
Name: Tom Owen
Candidate Number: 3103
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135

2. Contents page Logo- This is here to give
the magazine a more
professional look, which is
important as it attracts
readers because it looks
more professional. The logo
is repeated throughout the
magazine so that the
audience is constantly
reminded of the brand of
magazine, so that they know
to buy it again if they enjoy
reading it.
Main image- This is often
used to attract readers too. A
star is often used in the image-
somebody well known. This is
because it will attract more
people to buy the magazine
through ‘Star Appeal’- Richard
Dyer. This main image fits the
stereotype of a music star due
to the expensive looking
clothes and lots of jewelry. The
pose this star uses, is a typical
pop star pose due to the
attention he is paying to his
features such as his hair. This
is also reflected by other stars
such as Justin Bieber etc.
Sub-headings and
Sub-lines- These are
used to inform the reader
what the topic/ theme of
each page of the
magazine is. This way, the
reader can choose which
page is the most
appealing and therefore
what page they want to
read first. They are also
used to convey what
topics the magazine will
cover. For instance, one
of these sub lines reads
’DJ History’ which
conveys what
information is going to be
contained later on in the
magazine. To link to this,
there is an image at the
bottom right of the
contents page of a live DJ
Set.
Page numbers-
These are also here to
help the reader to find
the pages that they are
most interested in.
Alternate images-These
often link to alternate stories
in the article, which insures
that a wider range of topics
and news about artists, are
covered. These also portray
what topics and information
will be included in the
magazine.
There is also an image of the
front cover on the contents page
for brand identity and so that the
readers are constantly reminded
of the brand of magazine that
they are reading.
For the title of the contents page,
the editors have chosen to use a
bold font in a white color which
makes it stand out against the
black background. This bold font
also makes the page look more
professional and persuades
people to buy the magazine.
Web Address
(Technological
convergence)

3. Double-page spread
Stand first- It is
an introductory
paragraph and is
used to give the
article some sort
of context. It also
helps to inform
the reader about
the main topic of
each article.
Page number- This is used as a feature to help to make the article appear more
aesthetically pleasing. This is important because a potential buyer of a magazine would be
much more likely to buy it from a store if it looked more professional rather than it
looking like it has been made by an amateur editor.
Image of a star- The
image of a star is used to
create a ‘star appeal’ and
to therefore attract
buyers who are fans of
the individual on the
double page spread. This
is important as it means
the fans of the ‘Star’ may
buy the magazine.
Consequently, more sales
will be made. The main
image is also important as
it helps to convey the
genre of magazine and
the topics that will be
covered in it.
Drop capital-
Used to make
the article look
professional,
which is vital as
an aesthetically
pleasing article
will attract
more buyers in
a store.
Magazine credits- These
are used to inform the
reader of who took the
article picture or wrote the
article etc.
Front cover pic: A
[picture of the front cover
has been included in this
DPS to create brand
identity and to help the
reader to remember the
brand of magazine that
they are reading. This is
important because if they
enjoy reading it, the
magazine will have
helped them to
remember their brand so
that they can buy this
brand of magazine again
Pull quotes: used at the beginning of an
article so that the reader is informed
about the topic or theme of the article. It
also conveys the opinion that is going to
be conveyed throughout the article.

4. What will I repeat? Steve Neale 1980
DPS-
-I will repeat use of a relevant image which contributes to my magazines theme. I will have to use the
image of a star to create “Star Appeal” (Richard Dyer) and to make people more engaged when leading
my magazine’s DPS.
-I will use a Drop Capital to make my article aesthetically pleasing and more appealing to read and
consequently, this will make it look much more professional and persuade more people to buy my
magazine.
-I will use a stand-first to professionally introduce the theme of my article and to make the delivery of
my articles information more effective. This is crucial, so that people looking at my magazine wont have
to guess what genre it is and what sort of topics it will cover.
Contents:
-I will use another star image to create ‘star appeal’ and make my article more appealing. Using a well
known celebrity for my front cover will instantly attract customers to buy my magazine as they will
instantly recognize the celebrity on my cover.
- I will use effective sub lines to deliver what information my DPS will contain. These sub-lines will
therefore have to be interesting and engaging to make sure customers are enticed to buy the magazine.
- I will use a bold and professional text to make my article more appealing. This is because the more
professional my front cover looks, the more people will be interested in buying it.