Cover Page & Contents Page
I analysed "VIBE" music magazine firstly looking at the front cover of the magazine and the contents page/s.
Double Page Spread:
I then moved on to looking at the double page spread of this issue of "VIBE" magazine, which was an article on Usher.
From this, we were then able to have a better understanding of how we can analyse a music magazine, which was the next ask that we had to complete.
I then moved on to analysing two different music magazines of my own as part of my magazine
project. I carried out research of each of these magazines in their genre. Firstly, in part A, I looked at the textual analysis of these identifying and analysing the techniques used (image, language, genre, and conventions of the layout) for the Front cover, contents pages, and Double page spread of both magazines.
a)
XXL
This is a n image of the front cover of
XXL music magazine. The image consists of a medium-close up, at eye level, of
the main artist for this issue, which has been edited on top of the masthead
for the magazine. For the mise en scene it uses only a shot of the artist, in a
low-key lighting setting, being that the image is in black and white, with a
dark background, even though there is still some lighting shining on the artist
in the image. The artist is wearing no top, with a woolly hat, and dreadlocks.
XXL
FRONT COVER:
This is a n image of the front cover of
XXL music magazine. The image consists of a medium-close up, at eye level, of
the main artist for this issue, which has been edited on top of the masthead
for the magazine. For the mise en scene it uses only a shot of the artist, in a
low-key lighting setting, being that the image is in black and white, with a
dark background, even though there is still some lighting shining on the artist
in the image. The artist is wearing no top, with a woolly hat, and dreadlocks.
There are also conventions of the page
layout used for the front cover of this music magazine. The “XXL” masthead is used,
in its distinct red and white colours, and the choice of font is bold, and
clear for the audience to see, making it easier. What would usually be the skyline, has been placed
beside the main image of the artist, aligned in a vertical column, and the cover
lines have been positioned on the other side, giving a hint as to what an
article in the magazine will be about. The use of this colour theme, and fonts
are something which is standard as for this specific music magazine as it is
part of their house style (red,white, and black). The left third of a magazine
is usually where everything is placed on a magazine, being one of the generic
conventions of a music magazine, and this would apply to this issue of XXL
magazine. They have included the Masthead, “exclusive” caption, cover-lines,
barcode, pricing, and some of the main image of the artist. The reason as to
why they do this is so that when the magazine is placed in a shop/newsagent, it
is easier to identify, and customers could scan through and know which magazine
it is, how much it is, and what it is about or what the main topic is. All
three of these is what you have in mind when looking for a music magazine, and
they are indicated by the masthead, cover-lines, and pricing. The relationship
between the image and the text is that the image reinforces what the text is
saying. The cover line says “lil Wayne. Nothing left to prove”. This would link
to the image, as it is a close up of lil Wayne, who has a smirk on his face and
his facial expressions, would suggest that he “has nothing left to prove”. Also
the cover lines to the right, would link to the image as they indicate who will
feature alongside this artist in the magazine.
The cultures, groups and genres
represented and portrayed from this music magazine would be those of
rap/hip-hop. The culture represented would be young black people, as it is
typically this certain group who are the target audience of this magazine.
CONTENTS PAGE:
The image used here again is a medium
close up shot of the same artist as mentioned on the front cover, at eye level.
The lighting here Is high key lighting even though there is the background
would contrast as it is a dark background. The image here on the contents page
is similar to the image on the front cover, however this is in colour, and the
costume has slightly changed as the artists is not wearing a hat in this shot.
The use of the masthead is that it is in
a bold, clear font, and along with the image, it is the first thing you notice
about the contents page. The subheadings are also in the same font/style. the reason
fir this is because it is a contents page which needs to have structure and be
clear so that the audience can find out clearly what is on each page and what
will feature in that issue of the magazine. The text on the contents page is
aligned in a column, beside the image, again making the layout clear and
simple. The contents page maintains the house style of black, white and red.
The tone of the language used in the
contents page and the mode of address is informal, as it is a magazine so it
can be less formal, and more casual. The language is well structured and laid
out, being straight to the point.
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD:
The image used in this double page spread is a long shot of the cover
artists at a canted angle. There is a plain white background behind the artist,
and there is high key lighting. The costume used is the artist in a hat, dark
shades, t-shirt, and trousers with one leg rolled up. From what we see, and the
body language of the artist in the image, that he is
The choice of font for the pull quote is simple, and in bold. This would
be because it is the main quote for the article. The font for the text is also
a simple font. Because this article is a Q&A the responses are in regular
text, and the questions are in a bold, italic font. This is done purposefully
so that the audience can distinguish between the questions and the responses.
The main is aligned in three equal length columns, with equal margins between
them. The colour scheme or house style remains similar colours of black and white.
The connotations of using just a black and white colour scheme could be that it
is plain and simple, as so is the article, being a Q&A. The relationship
between the image and the text is that the image relates to the text. This is
because the artist in the image is the same person who the topic is on, and who
is giving his responses in the text.
The language used in this double page spread is informal, being that it
is from an interview, so it would be less formal, even though the artist is
answering questions. The text is still structured however with a question, and
then a response and so on.
KERRANG
FRONT COVER:
The image used here is
a medium shot, at eye level of the artists/music, against a dark, black
baground. It has high key lighting in the mise en scene. There aren’t any props
used here, however the costumes worn, are the group in casual clothing, some
with dark shades on.
The mastheads are
large and in bold. The name of the magazine “kerrang” has been edited to make
it look as if it is in the background and the image of the artists is in the
foreground. It is in an “edgy” font, which reflects the nature of the magazine.
Also the masthead “avenged sevenfold” is in a distinct bright yellow colour so
it is easily visible and a bold and simple font was chosen for this. It uses a
caption below the masthead as well. The magazine has the barcode and pricing in
the bottom right corner of the cover, and includes a skyline above, hinting at
what will be included in the magazine which, along with where it says there is
a free poster pull out inside, is a teaser. The house style here would be
black, white and yellow, and the image used would link to the text as it is
these people who are mentioned in the masthead title “avenged sevenfold”, the
name of their music group.
The language used on
this front cover is informal, and has a similar tone. The structure of it is
that the text is short, simple and straight to the point. This is because it is
the front cover of the magazine so people want to quickly know what the magazine
is about, who will feature in it and what genre it is just by scanning through,
and with this they can do that.
The costumes here
would portray representations of a typical rock band..
CONTENTS PAGE:
The main image used
here is a close up shot of an artist who will feature in the magazine. It is
high key lighting and is in colour.
The contents page masthead
is in the top right corner of the page and is in black and white, and is in an “edgy”
font which similarly relates to the nature of this music magazine. There is a
teaser in the caption which is under the masthead. Here it hints at who will
feature in some of the music magazine.
The language used here
formal, as its purpose is to infirm and guide the audience to what will feature
on which pages, however it still has an informal tone being that it is a music
magazine, so it wants to closely connect with its audeine and it does this by
using a more casual and less formal tone. It is strured well so that it is
understandable, and clear.
The types of groups,
and cultures portrayed here would be rock or metal, with a stereotypical, niche
target audience of young white people, males in particular. This is reflected
in this magazine as most of the artists who feature would come under this
category. The groups here are portrayed in a way which
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD:
The image used here is
a medium close up shot of the artist mentioned in the double page spread. The costume
she is wearing is a black polo shirt, with colourful buttons. The framing of
the shot is the main artist in the foreground, and photos of her with other
people in the background. The lighting is high key lighting and the photo is in
colour. There may be make-up which the artist in this image is wearing, but if
it is it is minimal.
The masthead has been
creatively edited from saying “about a girl” in bold capital letters. The word “girl”
here has been crossed out and replaced with the word “band” in bright orange, yet
it is still visible what the masthead had said before. This editing of the
masthead changes the meaning of it, and it refers to the text as it talks about
how a solo artist is now part of a “band” instead. The choice of the colour
bright orange, against a black and white
writing make it stand out even more so that it catches the eye of the audience.
Also, choosing this colour is significant as it is a similar colour to the artist
which the topic is about, so it is symbolic in that sense. The double page
spread uses drop caps for the first word in the text, which is also orange.
Therefore the colour scheme and house style here would be white, black and
orange. It uses a oull quote which is superimposed on top of the image of the
artist. The text is aligned in three columns, which are all close enough to the
same length. The relationship between the image and the text would be that the
image reinforces what the text is about, in a way.
The tone used here is informal,
and so too is the language, as it is from the views and topic of an artist,
speaking about something in their music career.
The text here in this article doesn’t really have a structure as it is
not them giving a story to the magazine, or a Q&A on the artist, yet still
is laid out in paragraphs which vary in length.
Then, in part B, I carried out analysis of the audience and institutions for each of the magazines. This included looking at secondary audience research, looking at press packs/media kit for each magazine and who publishes each of the magazines
b)
XXL:
The audience for the xxl music magazine would
stereotypically be teenagers and young adults between the ages of 16-23. The
culture and ethnicity would be of the target audience would also
stereotypically be people of black ethnicity, as they tend to be the target audience
for this type of music which is rap/hip-hop, males in particular. This would
help them publish the magazine as it would help them to decide on the content
to include and what they should advertise in their magazines, which is usually
something that is aimed at their target audience. This would produce a vital
income for them, because in this magazine in particular, being an American magazine,
there is a lot of advertisement, meaning they would make a lot of money off of
this advertisements and promotions. Harris publications publish XXL magazine. Harris
Publications Inc. is an American consumer-magazine publisher in New York City,
New York, that publishes over 75 titles, including Juicy, Dog News, 0-60, Guns
& Weapons for Law Enforcement, Small Business Opportunities, Exercise &
Health, Celebrity Hairstyles, and many more. Harris publications also produce
comics. One major division, Harris Outdoor Magazines, publishes several titles
on hunting, fishing, and firearms. Harris Comics published the former Warren
Publishing character Vampirella for nearly two decades.
KERRANG:
The target audience for this music magazine would stereotypically
be again teenagers and young adults. The culture and ethnicity would be people of
white ethnicity, males in particular. It is this group of people which then
help the publishers decide in what content to include to attract advertisers,
even though this is a British magazine and isn’t so heavily based around advertisements
and promotions in the magazine. The publisher of this magazine is Bauer media
group, who are a large European-based media company, headquartered in
Hamburg, Germany that manages a portfolio of magazines, digital products, radio
and TV stations. H Bauer is a publishing brand that include women's weekly and
TV listings magazines; namely Bella, Take a Break, that's life! TVChoice and
Total TVGuide as well as a number of puzzle magazines. In 1987 Bella was
H Bauer's first venture into publishing in the UK. In 1990, H Bauer launched a
weekly women's magazine named Take a Break. H Bauer also has a
sister title, that’s life! which launched in 1995. The H Bauer
Publishing brands also include puzzle magazines that carry the Take a
Break name. Q started out as a music magazine published monthly in the
United Kingdom. Originally it was to be called Cue (named after the act of
cueing a record to play), but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be
mistaken for a snooker magazine. The Q music brand has expanded to Radio and
Television, with Q Radio and Q TV being music entertainment that specialises in
indie, rock and alternative.
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