magazine analysis

1. Masthead: The masthead is in the top left corner
of the front page and is written in bright red text
and bold font. This magazine is aimed at a target
audience of young adults between the age of 16-23
so the readers will be looking for something that is
quite sophisticated and will catch their eye.
Furthermore, the title of the magazine, NME,
stands for “New Musical Express” and as the target
audience is of a young age and lifestyle, it is likely
that they will be interested in the latest music and
will therefore purchase this magazine.
Colour Scheme: A simple colour scheme of white, red and black
has been used on the front cover of the magazine. The sharp red
and black colours stand out against the white backgrounds and
has been used to draw attention to the important cover lines that
the producers of magazine want the reader to see.
Puff: A puff has been used on the front
cover to draw attention to an important
point that the magazine is covering inside.
Also, the puff has been placed in the top left
third of the Rule of Thirds grid, and is
directly next to the face of the artist in the
main image, so it will be directly in the
readers eye line when they are buying the
magazine.
Cover Line: This cover line is discussing a
group of indie bands that can be seen inside
the magazine. This will appeal to the target
audience as the sub-genre of the magazine
is Hip Hop and Indie music, and it is likely
that young adults under 30 are going to be
interested in this genre of music.
Also, the cover lines have been written in
simple fonts and do not go into much detail
which is likely to appeal to the target
audience as they will be looking for
something simple and not too much
description.
It could be suggested that the magazine is
aimed at a target audience of multiple
different ethnicities as the artists mentioned
in this, and other cover lines, are spread
across different sub-genres of music, which
therefore can appeal to people of multiple
ethnicities.
Price: The price of this magazine is £2.30
which is suited to the target audience as they
are likely to be middle class and the price is
affordable if they are working, but still
affordable even if they are unemployed and
in education.
Main Image: The main image is of a popular artist
relating to sub-genre of this music magazine. The
photograph is a medium long shot and the image
is slightly off center, however direct address is still
held on the front cover as the person in the main
image is looking directly at the camera, and
consequently at the audience.
Barcode: This is a feature that is used on every
magazine and is essential for the selling of a magazine
as it is scanned at the checkout before it can be
purchased.
Grab Quote: A grab quote has been used on the front cover as anchorage text to the
main image and it also works as a caption for the main cover line. The quote is from
an interview with Dizzee Rascal which is the main article in this issue of NME
magazine. By giving just a small insight into what the interview is about with an
interesting quote, the producers are making the readers curious, so they will want to
buy the magazine to continue reading the interview.

2. Masthead: The title of the magazine has been
used again on the contents page in a strap line
across the top of the page. The masthead has
been written in the same font and styling as it is
on the front cover of the magazine. This has been
done so that the title becomes recognizable to the
audience and can become a branded name.
However, the title is slightly smaller on this page
than on the front cover and this follows one of the
codes and conventions of a contents page, as the
masthead must be included but in smaller text, as
it is not a main feature on the contents page as it
is on the front cover.
Section Headings: The magazine contents have been split up into sub-sections based on their genre.
These are written in capitals and are in bold, white font against a black background so they are clear
to see and will stand out to the audience. This feature is useful as it makes it easier for the reader to
find a specific type of article they are looking for without having to read through all of the contents.
Main Image: The main image on this page
features what seems to be the editor of the
magazine next to a tour bus. The mise-en-scene
includes just the front of the tour bus. The image
is above a note which anchors the image as the
heading is “Touring Special” which connects the
image and the text as the image links in with the
“touring” aspect. This will appeal to the target
audience of young adults between the age of 16-
23 as they are likely to be interested in live music
and as the producers of the magazine have used
the adjective “special”, it suggests that the
information held in the magazine can not be seen
anywhere else and the audience will therefore
want to purchase the magazine to find out the
information first.
Index: An index has been used on this page which orders the bands included inside the magazine in alphabetical order
and tells the reader what page they can be found on. This feature will be useful to the target audience as they will be
able to directly find their favourite artists without having to spend time flicking through the whole magazine trying to
find what they are specifically looking for. Furthermore, this will appeal to the audience more as they are most likely
not going to want to read all of the magazine as not everything will interest them, so this will save them time.
Rule of Thirds: The feature of rule of
thirds has been used on the contents
page to make the layout of the page
clear. This makes the page easier for the
audience to understand as it is separated
into 3 sections that include different
content. This follows a convention of a
contents page as they are typically split
into three columns for the readers
benefit so the information is presented
in a more readable manner.
Offer: A subscription offer has been
included on the contents page. This
will appeal to the target audience as
the offer states that the reader will
save money and 16-23 year olds are
going to want to save their money so
a bargain will catch their eye. Also, a
subscription offers delivery of each
new issue of the magazine first which
may appeal to the audience as they
will not have to go and get it
themselves, and will receive it the
day it is released so can hear the
latest music news first.

3. Article Title: A play on words has been used in the title of the article as the magazine producers have changed the phrase “from
rags to riches” into “from tags to riches”. This has been done to link the main image to the text as in the image the artist is shown
to be tagging a wall. The heading has been written in large, bold text and fills half of the page to attract the reader as they may
be able to empathize with some aspects of the story just from reading the title, or they might purely be attracted by the twist on
the words used.
Main Image: The main image
on this page includes Dizzee
Rascal, the artist that the
article on the opposite page is
about. This will appeal to the
target audience as if they have
purchased the magazine, they
are most likely going to like
the artist shown and by
placing the main image on it’s
own page, there is no
distractions and the reader
will be attracted to the colours
and different aspects of the
image. Furthermore, a
different angle has been used
in this shot compared to the
main image of the artist on
the front cover to show a
connection between this
image and the opposing
article.
Corner Tab: There has
been a square added to
the corner of the double
page spread that says
“Dizzee”. This would be
useful for the target
audience, as the teenagers
between the ages 16-23,
are likely to just be flicking
through the magazine, and
could therefore see this
corner feature and will
turn to read this feature
article.
Sub-Heading: The sub-heading
of any article gives
the reader a slight insight
into what the article will be
about. This feature will
appeal to the target
audience as the small line
explains that the artist has
not always had a
glamorous lifestyle, and
therefore the readers may
be able to relate to the
article as they may feel
that they have been in
some of the same positions
as him when he was the
same age as the target
audience.
Article: The main article has been written in smaller text than the heading of the article and the
sub-heading and has also been divided into four columns. These columns spread the text out so it
is displayed in a more organized manner. This will appeal to the target audience as a large chunk
of text will most likely be off putting to 16-23 year olds, but as it is split up, it looks clearer and
like there is less to read. Also, a drop cap has been used at the start of the article to determine
where the article begins so the target audience can see where the main article starts.
Images: Other images have been included which are of speakers an
d empty beer bottles. The connotations of alcohol and loud music ar
e teenagers partying and these images have been used on the doubl
e page spread to link to the story so that the stereotypical teenager
within the target audience may be able to relate.