Analysis of NME cover, contents, double page spread and background information.

1. The NME masthead is a very well known and recognisable magazine name/ title. This is because it very prominent and memorable by the large, bold font. Thus the font dominants the page in terms of the rest of the copy. Also it’s simplicity by the single coloured filling and the straight lines it is made up of make it poignant and stand out, as it is in contrast with the busy design and layout of the rest of the magazine cover. Plus the three simple letters and the simplicity of the deign make it easier to remember and recognise. The use of the colour red with the black and white make it stand out and appear very poignant. Next the colour red is a unisex colour and therefore does not limit the target audience to a specific gender. Finally the colour red has connotations with sophistication suggesting that this is a serious, sophisticated music magazine. The flasher is used here to highlight this aspect or article of the magazine. It makes the headline stand out compared to the rest, which suggests it is a story that will engage or grab the attention of a lot of readers and thus, persuade them to buy the magazine or that this headline is one of the most important in terms of public/ readers interest. The context of these cover lines are of well known and famous bands of this genre of magazine (Mainly Indie Rock). Therefore by making these band names the main cover lines , it is instantaneously attracting any fans of the bands and of the genre of music. The colour and font of the cover lines are very bold and the use of the red and black text on the white background makes them stand out more and attract the readers attention. The son-serif fonts also continue the simplistic theme and the generalisation of the readers as they may be of many ages, genders etc that are fans of the music genre. The footer is incorporated in order to highlight more artists of a wider genre to attract more people. Plus if the genres are of similar styles of music many of the readers may be fans of both genres. The pull quote used here suggests the magazine content will include comments or even an interview with the artist shown on the cover ‘Dizzee Rascal’. It may also give a slight insight into the article in the magazine that is based on him. They simple use of a white font is made more poignant by adding the black outline of the text. This also can give a three dimensional effect to the text making it stand out even on such a busy background. The header is a short description of what can be found in the magazine in order to entice and attract a buyer and reader. As it is a description of the following content if the magazine it is placed at the very top of the magazine so that it is the first item the reader sees. The main image is a photo of ‘Dizzee Rascal’ crouching down, waving his arms out, as if towards the reader. His facial expression is very energetic and excitable reflecting the nature of him music. The fact that the picture is directed towards the reader creates the appearance that he is inviting in the reader. The mode of address of the magazine and the cover is informal and colloquial to show that this is a causal magazine meant to entertain and inform the reader. This is shown by the language of the pull quote, the improper language in the flasher and the one word cover lines. The background of the main image shows a wall full of graffiti, reflecting Dizzee Rascals excitable and rebellious nature which may engage and interest many readers. As a common feature of most magazines the barcode and date of issue is displayed in the bottom right hand corner in a small box to allow the readers focus to be on the magazine cover and content. The main cover line is the name of the artist shown on the cover ‘Dizzee Rascal’. This is to highlight the fact that he is featured in the magazine and emphasise his fame and importance. It is made the most prominent cover line on the page by making it the largest font, also in white with a black shadow to create a three dimensional effect make it stand out more than any other item of text on the page. It is also slightly canted to reflect the excitable and rebellious nature of Dizzee Rascal and his music. It highlights the fact that he is not the stereotypical artist to be found in the NME magazine.

2. Subscription... The subscription box advertising the discounted, weekly subscription to the NME magazine is placed in the bottom right of the page. This is so that after the reader has finished looking over the contents page showing what is featured in that edition, they are reminded of the subscription and thus can decide whether to subscribe to the magazine or not. Layout... Like many magazine NME has chosen to follow the convention of rule of thirds in this contents page. The masthead and ‘contents’ title take up two over two thirds of the page. This is so that the Masthead is a prominent item on the page. The centre column is the largest as it includes a short paragraph of writing. Yet it is also the most image led column as it has a large image of a tour bus and the text and photograph is positioned on top of an image of a tour box relating back to the music genre of the magazine. Also the connotations with both of these images are of tours and live performances. This and the title of the article ‘Touring Special’ relates to the fact that more people associate the rock genre more with live performances and gigs. The left hand column features a band index. By listing all of the bands and artists featured in the magazine on the contents page it allows readers to read this list and decide whether they want to purchase and read the magazine. Thus the list can attract fans of all of the bands and artists featured. Furthermore it is placed in the left hand column so it is the first aspect the reader view and therefore can attract and entice them to continue reading. Mode of address... The mode of address for this magazine continues to be very informal and casual on the contents page. An example of this includes the question ‘Thank god the sun has disappeared, eh?’ This is used because for the readers the music is meant to entertain and for personal enjoyment of the fan and reader and thus is not a formal or professional/business magazine. House Style... The house style for the contents page is the same as that on the front cover. This allows a consistent, simple and recognisable magazine. The NME masthead has been positioned slightly differently to the cover to allow the band index and so it was next to the ‘contents’ title. Yet it is still situated at the top left hand side of the page. The colours used throughout the page are red black and white to create a simple and prominent and memorable house style. They also use the colour yellow to make the subscription stand out and persuade people to subscribe to the magazine. The subtitles of the contents and the ‘contents’ title are in white text with a black box around it. Which make them stand out to show that they are subtitles. For the band index the text is in red and the page numbers are in black. In contrast the article listings are in black font with red page numbers. Thus the house style uses consistent colour schemes however the use of this switch makes the band index appear more poignant. The font throughout also remains the same, yet to make certain aspects more prominent some titles are in bold.

3. There is a tag included at the top of the page which states what/ who the article is about to allow a simple structure of the magazine and to briefly summarise and thus attract a reader to the article. The stand first above the article briefly summarises the content of the article to persuade the reader to continue to read. The name of the artist that the article is based on is in bold to make it stand out as it is the main aspect of the article. Like many magazine articles there is a small by-line and picture credits showing the author of the article the man who created the images on the page next to the title. The mode of address continues to be informal and casual. Plus for the title of this article NME have used a play on words to briefly insinuate an aspect of the article. Also as they have used a well known saying to adapt, the reader may be able to relate to this saying and thus maybe more interested in the content of the article. Like most magazines the NME have followed the convention of most articles by including a drop capital. This makes the text look more dynamic and interesting. The NME has its own house style for the drop capital of the same font, colour and a size that takes up six lines of the article. The double page spread is very image led/ dominated. This makes the article’s tone less serious and more entertaining and attractive. The theme form the background of the photo continues over to the article page dimed slightly. It also includes more colour. The house style of NME is once again continued by keeping the red, black and white colour scheme . This is done by making the background of the article mainly white, the font colour black and the colour of Dizzee Rascals jacket (which is the most prominent aspect of the photo) red, to continue the theme and colour scheme. By making the whole of the first page the photo of Dizzee Rascal, it is not only making the double page spread more dynamic and interesting but makes it very clear who is the artists that the article is based on. Also the small images on the article page are also related to the fact that NME is a music magazine. The layout of this magazine follows many conventions of most magazine double page spreads. This is because the main image fills the whole of one of the pages. The article is split into columns, making the article more visually appealing and easier to read. The title of the article is the largest item of text on the page, this makes the page still appear more image dominated, more dynamic and more attractive for the reader.