Wednesday, 28 November 2012

Music magazine survey

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music magazine analysis

  
Q magazine is a music magazine which covers most genre of music. It is therefore versatile and appeals to most music fans. 

All the Q magazines uses the same masthead to keep the consistency throughout the magazines so the readers can identify the magazine as being Q by just the masthead. Furthermore the Q can be seen as a logo as it is short and will help the audience remember the brand name. The masthead is always in the same position (top left) this is because when the magazines are on the shelves the identifier can still clearly been seen.  I think the masthead works well because the red background of the Q contrasts with the white making it big and bold so the readers can clearly see that it is Q magazine. Q's masthead is a convention as they always position it in the same place with the same colours.

 The main image on the front cover of the Q magazine is a model shot, the artist has posed for the shot and has purposely been dressed for the magazine. For example the clothes have worked well because the black leather jacket and black t-shirt portrays him to be into rock and roll/ bad boy, which is what they want the reader to see as soon as they look at the image. This idea of him being rock and roll/bad boy is reinforced by the lead line. The image is a medium close with him staring out to the audience this helps captures the audiences attention and makes it feel more intense. His facial expression also makes the reader feel like he has attitude. The lead line is the biggest piece of text on the front cover, this makes it clear that it is the lead line. Furthermore it has a quote above it which makes the reader want to buy the magazine as they want to know what they are talking about, they they said what they have said. The cover lines differentiate in colour and font. 


The Q magazine logo is on the top left corner this is purposely done because it is directly in the readers eye line, it also reminds the reader what magazine they are reading. furthermore it show house- style as the design is the same ( red background with a white Q)

the articles are categorized under two subheadings, features and every month. This is to divide the chunks of text  in to manageable sizes so it is easier to navigate and find the pages you want. Moreover by having the page numbers in red it makes it stand out so is easier for the readers to find the page numbers. 
The main image is a close up, this dominates the page which makes it the main focus and engages and addresses the audience, this attracts the readers into buying the magazine. 

The sub-heading are in capitals while the explanatory text is in lower case and smaller. This works because it separates the text and makes it easier to navigate. The article for for James Blunt is second which seems odd as the main image is of James Blunt therefore you expect the article to be the lead line on the page. The red arrow character in the bottom right hand corner tells the reader to turn the page without using up much room by using writing . 
Q's magazine double page spread has the typical codes and conventions such as a main image, by lines, columns, article title and drop cap, which most music magazine offer. By having Lady GaGa's name as the heading it reinforces the significance of the artist, it also informs the audience what the article is about. The red L placed underneath the article is there to represent the first letter of the artist name, it continues the house-style (red,black and white) and is a convention which Q use often use in their magazine. Lady GaGa is dressed just in chains and nothing else, this show they want her to be seen as sexy bust fierce this is reinforced with the amount of eye liner she is wearing and how her hair is styled.  Moreover her hair suggest to the reader that it is meant to old fashioned with a modern twist, this is reinforced by the image being in black and white. Another convention on the double page spread is that Q magazine always dedicate one page to the main artist. This works well because it catches the audiences attention as it is big and bold, and if they like the main image the readers are more likely to buy and read the article. Drop capitals are usually used at the start of an article, but in this article they are used at the start of a new paragraph. This makes it look more appealing to read and more interesting. 



All the NME magazines uses the same masthead (letters in capitals, bold writing) to keep the consistency throughout the magazines so the readers can identify the magazine as being NME by just the masthead. The masthead is always in the same position (top left) this is because when the magazines are on the shelves the identifier can still clearly been seen and it is typically the first place we look. I think the masthead works well because it is big, bold, can clearly be seen and catches the audiences attention as it is the biggest text on the front cover. The main image is an extreme close up, it dominates the front cover and makes it feel more personal and intense, which would make the audience more inclined to buy the magazine. The dark colour of his suit contrasts well with the white of the background and the red writing. Mike Skinner is also starting out directly at the reader which makes it seem more intense and as if he is looking especially at you.

The main cover line is the second biggest writing on the front cover, however it is not obvious that it is the main cover line as it quite small and does not stand out as much as the white writing underneath. i think the extra images are good as they persuade the audience to buy the magazine by visually showing them what they could get by buying the magazine with out using words. 


The heading is big and bold, easy to read and informs the reader what the page is about. The features are big with images,so readers can clearly see that they are features and not regulars. It also encourages the audience to buy the magazine as it is visual representational of what is to be found in side the magazine, instead of having lots of writing. The caption under the images are quotes which captures the audiences attention as they are interesting and might want to find out more about why they said it and what it is about. I think the numbers work well as they are big, bold and contrasts well against the white. This makes it easy to see and navigate. The regular information which is in the magazine every week is in a box under 'Plus' which separates it from the features so the readers don't get confused. 





NME magazine double page spread has the typical codes and conventions such as a main image, by lines, columns, article title and drop cap. The articles are written in columns which makes it clear and easy to read. The close up of the main image catches the audiences attention. The glasses and facial expression is the first thing that draws your eye. The glasses make the reader think that he is a bit of a geek/nerd as people associate thick black glasses with being geeky. His facial features are serious which make the reader think he is a serious person and that the article is going to serious. I think this works because the idea of the article being serious changes when you read the quote. This makes the audience want to read more as they are not sure what to expect. Furthermore his gaze is intense witch makes the audience feel closer to the person, therefore making the audience want to buy the magazine. The page layout is split in two so the image is on one side of the page while the text is on the other. I think this works because it means the image can be larger therefore making it more impacting which makes an impression on the reader so they are  more likely to buy it. The lead line uses words like 'Vomiting' and 'Orgies' to appeal to there target audience. 




Mixmag magazine uses the same masthead to keep the consistency throughout the magazines so the readers can identify the magazine as being Mixmag by just the masthead.The masthead is always in the same position across the top.I think the masthead works well because  it stand out and the i has an identifier over it witch makes the magazine name more remember able, as the audience will see the identifier and know it is Mixmag magazine. The magazine also presents its self as being arrogant as they describe the magazine as the best dance music magazine. 
 The main image reflects the idea that it is a modern dance magazine as he is wearing a suit, which indicates that he is smart however the top buttons of the shirt are open, this suggests that even though he is smart and business like, he is also laid back and cool. The dog reflects the idea that he has money, this is reinforced by his facial expression, he is look down his noise at the audience
The magazine is a dance magazine, we can tell this from the colour scheme. The dark background makes it seem more cool and relaxed, the pink makes it feel more cutting edge and modern.  The lead line is big , bold and continues the house-style. I think the lead line works well because it catches the audiences attention and encourages the audience to buy the magazine.

The three images help create a column for the information to go. The articles are categorized under different sub-heading (Up,Tunes,Club country and regular) this is to make it easier for the reader to navigate and find which articles they want easily. The main image and  page numbers are big,bold and bright which makes it easy for the reader to see it is the main image. Moreover by the main image being bright and fun it captures the audiences attention and makes it more interesting. I think the layout works as the contents is not to close together, everything is reasonably spaced out which makes it very clear and easy to read. Contents pages are there to entice the target audience more into buying there magazine by what is being advertised inside. The font and colours go with the genre of magazine because there bright and individual and continues the house-style.


Mixmag's double page spread has the typical codes and conventions such as a main image, by lines, columns, article title and drop cap. There are lots of mise en scene which suggest that they are are at a club. For example the images in the center suggest that they are having fun, their facial features, positions and beer suggest that they are in a club, which promotes dance music.This works well because it appeals to their younger target audience.The background colour is bright, which makes it stand out and catches the readers eye.Yellow also represents joy, happiness and freshness, moreover it matches the colour scheme on the contents page.  By having a character at the beginning of the article it makes it clear to the reader that the article begins there.The heading is hard to read however it does reflect dance music as it looks like they have used a Stencil and is edgy. The sub-headings are in bold so the reader can easily distinguish between the different articles.  

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