1. Front Cover Analysis

2. Masthead The ‘Kerrang’ masthead follows most codes and conventions of magazines by putting it at the top of the page and making it fit the width of the page. It is the largest font on the page making it the most noticeable feature. The appearance of the masthead shattering adds to ‘Kerrangs’ brand identity by making it look more rock and roll. This effect helps appeal to its target audience of a mostly male audience . Barcode Like most other magazines, the barcode is situated at the bottom right hand side of the page. Close to the barcode you can find issue information and price details. Cover Image The cover image follows the codes and conventions of most magazines. It takes up almost the whole page and is the most eye catching part of the front cover. In this edition of the magazine it portrays the band ‘Biffy Clyro’ looking straight at the audience. This creates a personal interaction with the consumer and the band. Consequently this will intrigue and encourage people to purchase the magazine. Colours This edition of the magazine it sticks to one colour scheme. In this case it uses black, red and white. These colours appeal to the male target audience that ‘Kerrang’ are aiming at.

3. Masthead Like most magazines conventions ‘Decibels’ masthead fills up the width of the page. It is written in bold capitals making it very eye catching. Even though the masthead is partly covered by the main image, the target audience can easily recognise the magazine and pay more attention to the main image. Main Image The main image depicts two of the members of ‘Iron Maiden’. The picture is taken at a low angle making the look bigger and giving them a higher status. The two band members are almost the height of the page, this leaves room for the magazine to fit a noticeable background onto the front cover. Graphics The font of all the letters on the magazine are big, bold and easy to read. Making it easy to read and an ‘in your face’ style. The colours of most of the words are orange/yellow, this links in with the fiery background. All the orange and fire fits in with the target audiences expectations and creates a scary dangerous look. Mode of Address The magazine uses language on the front cover that the target audience can relate to and most probably use themselves. ‘116 Holy Smokin’’ is direct address to the audience and follows the conventions of this magazines.

4. Masthead The masthead of ‘Mojo’ fits the width of the page and is in a very thick bold font. It is the largest piece of text on the front, this makes it eye catching and very noticeable. Free Give-aways The top left of the cover gives a flash informing consumers and audiences that there is a free CD inside. This indication intrigues audiences and will encourage them to purchase the magazine Graphics The front cover mainly sticks to the same colour scheme. This edition of ‘Mojo’ uses the colours white, black and red. These colours fit the conventions of their magazines and appeals to their target audience. Lure ‘ Dylan’ on the front cover is the second biggest font on the front cover after the masthead. It’s the second biggest because it is the main story of this edition of ‘Mojo’ Above the word ‘Dylan’, there is a direct quote from Bob Dylan himself. This lures the audience into the story and gives them a small insight into it. Main Image The main image is of picture of Bob Dylan which takes up almost all of the page. The picture is in black and white which makes him look more vintage and classic It also makes the text in red stand out.

5. Masthead The masthead doesn’t cover the width of the front cover like most magazines tend to do. The ‘…sh’ in the word ‘Smash’ is highlighted, this stands for ‘Smash Hits’. The pink and white colour works well for the female target audience. These colours are used throughout the rest of the front cover. Strip The pink strip across the middle advertises 12 free posters in the magazine. This encourages people to buy the magazine because it looks as if the audience is getting more for there money. Flash Big letters ‘WIN’, intrigues readers and makes it look like they have already won. This makes the consumer feel good before they have even purchased it. Main Image The main image is big and takes up most of the page. As this is magazine is targeted at females, they would try and find other ways of maybe attracting a male audience. So using an attractive picture of Britney Spears could just attract a few male purchasers .

6. Masthead The Masthead for this edition of NME doesn’t take up the whole width of the page which most other magazines do. However it is still used to good effect and stands out amongst the rest of the cover. It is solid, blocked/bold and bright red with a white outline. The colour red is continuously used within NME and is what gives it its brand identity. Because of the simplicity of the NME masthead, it can appeal to all of their target audience. Barcode NME have followed most codes and conventions of putting the barcode at the bottom right of the front cover. Near the barcode, it also displays issue information and price. Cover Image The mis-en-scene of the cover image works really well with the conventions of the magazine. The three members of Muse are stood in the centre of a road in a town. Not much of the background is visible, this intrigues the audience and makes them curious of the story. The bands name is written across the front of the cover image, it’s is written in red keeping to the same colour scheme and brand identity that NME use. Skyline The Skyline gives the audience more information of what is inside the magazine, in this case it’s referring to a pull out magazine about Oasis.

7. Masthead The masthead of ‘Q’ magazine uses the just the logo in the top left hand corner of the page. It doesn’t follow the convention that most magazines use of having the masthead fit the width of the cover, however as the title of this magazine is only one letter, it works just as affectively where it is positioned. Part of the masthead is covered by one of the band members of ‘Kasabian’, this doesn’t matter because audiences can still recognise the logo and immediately relate the white ‘Q’ and the red square because of ‘Qs’ brand identity. Barcode Most magazines have there barcode on the bottom right of the page. ‘Q’ magazine in this edition have positioned it in the bottom left corner. Near the barcode audiences can find issue information and price details. Graphics The magazine uses three preliminary colours in this edition. In this case they use red, white and dark grey. The red and white are the colours used on the logo and masthead. Most other ‘Q’ magazines will use red and white text on other parts of the front cover to make it more recognisable to their audiences. The guitar that Sergio Pizzorno is holding is on fire, this is used as a metaphor for the newly released song ‘Fire’. This also gives a rebellious look to the magazine and relates to ‘Qs’ target audience of mostly males. List of Bands At the bottom of the page is a list of bands and other articles within the magazine. This gives the reader an insight into the content before they even open it.

8. Masthead The masthead is situated at the top left of the page. ‘XXL’ is written in block capital letters in white with a red background. It is made to look like an actual clothes label for extra, extra large. Most magazines’ mastheads have got an image covering part of them and fit across the width of the page , this one doesn’t. I believe it looks better like this because if they were to spread out the title it would unclear and hard to read. Main Image The main image takes up most of the page and depicts a man playing chess on an oversized board. The fact he is playing chess shows sophistication but because the pieces and the board a larger than normal it gives a fun quirky look. The man on the front is looking at the audience whilst hold a chess piece, this gives him a cocky but cheeky personality. Because he is looking at the audience, the magazine creates a relationship with the man on the front and the consumer making a friendly atmosphere. Colours The main colours used in this edition of ‘XXL’ are black and white. The masthead uses a red background but that is to make it stand out. Also the word ‘PLUS’ is highlighted in red to attract the audiences attention to the content of the magazine.

9. Masthead The masthead for ‘Vibe’ follows the conventions used by plenty of magazines by making it bold and biggest text on the page. It fits the width of the page and has part of it covered up by the main image. The font of the masthead sharp and easy to read, this suits the conventions for their male target audience. For example a magazine targeted at a female audience may have a more curved font. The top of the ‘V’ on the masthead gives a small yellow notification stating ‘new’. This has been placed there because the masthead is usually the first part of the front cover that audiences look at. Colour Scheme The main colours used on the front of this edition of ‘Vibe’ are black, white and yellow. The yellow and black looks dangerous and appeals to the target audience of mostly males. The white masthead and other white texts work well on this magazine because they stand out very clearly amongst the black background. Main Image The main image depicts a music artist, the picture takes up a majority of the page following conventions of most magazines. The clothes that he is wearing fit in with the colour scheme of the page, this includes his black flat peak and t-shirt, the silver jewellery and white text on the front of his t-shirt. The word, ‘unstoppable’, on his t-shirt intrigues the audience and put questions in their mind.

10. Masthead The masthead of ‘Downbeat’ follows conventions of magazines, it takes up the width of the page and is the biggest piece of text on the front cover. The is classy and a bit crooked, this could be a representation of jazz music and its improvisational element. Although it’s a jazz music magazine, it still has the main image covering a part of the masthead. Main Image On the front of the magazine is Freddie Hubbard, the picture takes up a significant amount of space on the front cover and is the most eye catching ingredient of the front page. Freddie’s suit is very smart and sophisticated, this reflects the content of the magazine and is suitable for their target audience. The target audience being a mostly older generation of males interested in jazz music. Barcode This magazine has positioned its barcode at the bottom left hand side of the front cover. Most other magazines have it on the opposite side. Near the barcode you can find issue innformation and price details. Colours The main colours used are white, maroon and light green. The maroon background adds to the sophistication of the magazine. The green blazer stands out in front of the maroon, this makes the audience pay more attention to the detail and information about the content of the magazine.

11. Masthead Because ‘Rocksound’ is such a well known and recognised magazine, its main image covers up a lot of the masthead but there is enough for people to identify what magazine it is. The masthead follows conventions of most other music magazines. It is bold and takes up the width of the page. The font is in an easy to read style and highlighted in white. Free Give-aways At the top of the magazine there is a flash indicating that there is a free CD with this magazine. This could intrigue there target audience but also could attract the attention of other people who don’t purchase the magazine regularly. There are also free posters that are being given away, influencing the same effect. Mode of Address The way the magazine connects with the audience is hugely influential for there target audiences commitment. The statement ‘on the run form Satan’ is something that the target audience is expecting. For example you would find this language on a fishing or knitting magazine. Colours Everything that the magazine wants to be recognised or is significant is highlighted in yellow, Yellow is bright, easily noticeable and stands out amongst the rest of the magazine. Other colours such as red and white are used to make other things on the front cover stand out.

12. Front Cover Analysis Summary After analysing 10 top music magazine front covers, I now have a clearer idea of what to include on mine. I’ve seen repeated techniques used on the front covers that work really well such as: big mastheads taking up the width of the page and the main image taking up the whole front cover. These codes and conventions used have made me realise what I must incorporate within my own front cover to make it look interesting and professional.

13. Contents Page Analysis

14. Layout The layout of the contents page for NME uses few few pictures and quite a lot of text. All the pages are numbered towards the centre of the page. This makes it noticeable straight away and draws the readers attention. Each page number is bold and black. Next to the page number is the name of the article in pink, then followed by a small snippet of information about the article. Page 1 of the catalogue is at the top of the page and is the only one with a picture as well as information on the article. This makes it the most important, and will attract the readers straight away. Colour Scheme The colour scheme of this contents page is mainly pink. It’s a bright fun colour, that is suitable for the target audience of mostly males. However, the colour pink could help to attract a female audience. Community On a lot of the page, you can see ‘Club NME’, this gives a sense of all the readers being part of a community. Sharing similar interests in music naturally creates relationships and ‘Club NME’ emphasizes this.

15. Layout The layout of this contents page from an issue of ‘Kerrang’ is very simplistic. There are few words and a lot of pictures. For each of the pictures, there is number indicating which page they can find article on. The big main picture is obviously the main article of the magazine hence why it’s the biggest. The fact that the page numbers are placed on the right hand side of the page shows that edition of ‘Kerrang’ hasn’t followed the conventions of most magazines by putting the page numbers and article names on the left. Colour Scheme The colour scheme used is mainly plain colours, this technique draws more attention the pictures on the page. The background is a pale blue colour, however important parts of the contents page are highlighted in yellow. This indicates important parts of the page, such as page numbers and article names. Picture Placement The way the pictures are placed and the size of them make them seem like CD case covers, emphasizing the fact that they’re a music magazine. The size of the pictures shows the audience which article the magazine are focussing on in this edition. Evidently, this issues main article is of the big picture on the left.

16. Main Image The main and only image takes up almost the whole page. The person depicted is pulling a strange face and wearing very punk clothes. This relates to the target audience of the magazine. Against the black background the man stands out making the centre of attention on the page. Quote Underneath the main image, there is a direct quote from the article about him. This gives the reader an insight into the story just from being on the contents page. Title The title at the top indicates what magazine it is, underneath there is a date and issue information. The issue information could help for a reader that collects the magazine and want s to keep on track of what they have and haven't got. Layout The layout of the contents page doesn’t follow the same conventions of most magazines. For example the article page numbers are on the left hand side of the page. The black background contrasts with the red and white texts and the main image. This adds to the punk style of the magazine and keeps to the expectations of the target audience.

17. Layout The layout of this edition of ‘Qs’ contents page is very basic and neat. It follows conventions of most other magazines by putting the page numbers and articles on the left hand side of the page. Nothing on the really overlaps, it is all very tidy. This makes it easier for the reader to identify pages and articles they are interested in. Monthly Information At the bottom of the page there is information about crossword answers and subscription payments. This bit of the contents is sectioned off compared to the music section above. Pictures Like the front cover, the contents page has a picture that takes up most of the page. Although there aren’t lots of pictures like other magazines, this one just has one big one indicating the main story within the magazine. Colour Scheme The colours are very plain, the background is light shade of grey. ‘Features’ and ‘Every Month’ are in white writing and are highlighted in red. This stick to the brand identity of ‘Q’ by keeping the same font and style.

18. Magazine Title The title of MOJO is big and bold at the top, like the front cover it’s the first bit of text that attracts the readers eye. Underneath the title, there is a small list of cities which are iconic for this music. Quotes At the bottom left hand side of the page, there is a direct quote from one of the articles in the magazine. This gives the reader some insight to the article and intrigues them to read it. Colours The background colour scheme is very plain, it uses light blue, black and gold. The gold stands out in front of the background, this works well because the gold text is marking page numbers for articles and other important information for the reader. The bolder black writing tells the reader what the article is, then the small black text gives a bit of information about before the reader has properly read the article. Main Image The person depicted on the contents page is wearing a completely red suit. The red contrasts with the rest of the page and makes him stand out from other elements on the page. The fact that he has been dressed and positioned like this suggests that he going to be a big part of this magazine.

19. This contents page from and addition from ‘Q’ magazine uses very plain colours. The logo of ‘Q’ has stayed the same, and other parts of the contents use the same red and white colour scheme as it. For example the background colour is white and the page numbers are in red creating a similar effect. At the top of the page, the readers are given the date and the issue number of this particular magazine. This could help them keep track of which magazine they have purchased. The main image is very large and takes up most of the page. In this edition of ‘Q’ they have used James Blunt as there main image. This suggests that one of the main stories in the magazine is about him. They he is looking straight at the camera creates a connection between him and the audience.

20. Magazine Title The title of the magazine is used at the top of the page in the same font that ‘Mojo’ always use. It is out there instead of the word ‘contents’ however audiences can still recognise this being the contents page due to conventions such as page numbers and article names. Articles The articles are written in a bold font next a bold number indicating what page they are on. Next to the article name is a small bit of information about what sort of things the article entails. Pictures The page has pictures down the right hand side. On each picture there is a page number indicating which article the picture is about. His also gives a visual idea of what the article is about.

21. Like most ‘Kerrang’ magazines, this style is used on most of their contents pages. It has the actual contents on the right hand side of the page and use plenty of pictures to give visual images about the articles for the audiences. All the pictures on the page have a number underneath them. The number indicates which page they can find information about that picture. The colour scheme is very much the same as most of the other ‘Kerrang’ magazines. The word ‘contents’ is in yellow with a background. The actual titles of the articles within thee magazine use the same colour scheme. Because the word ‘title’ is bigger is it makes it more noticeable. But then makes the article names easier to identify.

22. The title of the page is something that captures the readers attention straight away. This is because of the large white lettering against the black background. The abstract way in which it’s written also draws attention towards it. The main image of the page really works for ‘Vibe’s’ target audience of a younger people. The attractive pose from the woman on the front can catch the attention of both female and male readers. The whole page lacks in colour, however I think this makes it look more stylish and professional. Adding more colour to this contents page could potentially ruin this suitable outcome. The main text on the page is written on the right side of the page, this position works well because the reader is automatically drawn towards the image. So positioning the text next to it makes it more noticeable.

23. NME regularly put a band index on the side of their contents pages. This works because NME have a very wide target audience and they need to always supply information to keep all their audiences gripped. The colours on the band index represent the same colours as the NME logo keeping to the same brand identity and making it easily recognisable as NME. At the bottom of the page, in bright yellow writing is subscription cut out. It is in yellow to make I stand out amongst other bright parts of the page. The main image on the contents page is also the main story of the magazine. However, some of the actual article has been put on the contents page itself. This technique almost forces readers to read it, even if not all audiences are interested in it. Some of the article could have also been put here because almost all readers will look at the contents page, making the article more obvious to other readers.

24. Contents Page Analysis After reviewing and analysing 10 music magazine contents pages, I now have a better understanding of what needs to be included in my own. Certain codes and conventions of these magazines has revealed to me what works well and what doesn’t. Using more images rather than text is a technique used by most of the magazines that I analysed magazines and works very affectively, therefore in my contents I will follow this method.

25. Double Page Spread Analysis

26. In this double page spread, it is easy to find the title of the article as it is the band's name: The Teenagers. The blue colour represents masculinity and is used in several parts of the article to reinforce the male theme and to also highlight specific information about the band and other important bits of information on the page. For example, the "Need To Know" section is styled like a page ripped from a notebook, this could relate to school - as the band consists of three young males also known as The Teenagers, this also relates to their target audience which is mostly populated by teenagers. The main image of the double page spread is situated on the left hand side of the page and takes up the whole of it. This is very eye catching for the audience and intriguing. The article itself is actually on the other side of the page following the conventions of most magazine double page spreads. The picture has more blue flashes over it to emphasize even more that masculinity of the article. The article has little text as the double page spread is mostly occupied by the main image of the band. However, NME regularly use this technique as do most other music magazines, again following codes and conventions of most magazines.

27. The colour scheme of this ‘Kerrang’ double page spread is preliminary black, red and white. The background is completely black with red and white text. The big white text stands out amongst others because it is the title of the article and needs to be obvious to the reader. Other useful information on the double page spread is highlighted in red, also standing out and easily visible for the audience. The font of the text is large and easy to read, it keeps the same effect used on most ‘Kerrang’ front covers by making the lettering look grubby and dirty. Reflects the attitude of the band depicted and the magazine itself. The main image takes up the whole of the left hand page, following codes and conventions of most magazines. This picture is in black and white making it look classic and professional. The main image gives the reader an illustrated picture of what the article could be about, then underneath the article itself are smaller pictures. The smaller pictures also give a small insight into the article. On a whole, the page is mostly crowded with pictures and the name of the article. The actual double page spread lacks in text, a regular technique used by music magazines especially ‘Kerrang’

28. The colour scheme sticks mainly to the same one throughout the magazine. Its black and white represents simplicity and sophistication. The main image being in black and white creates an sense of curiosity and intrigues the reader into the article. The light behind his head really emphasizes his facial expressions helps the reader understand the mans emotions before reading the article. Nothing overlaps the main image keeping the double page spread very neat and tidy. Above the title of the article, it states the name of the magazine. ‘Mojo’ regularly put this on top of their pages sticking to the same style throughout different issues. Below this is the actual name of the article. All the important elements of the article are highlighted in bold in the title. This helps the audience identify what is in the article and help them decide whether they want to carry on reading it.

29. On this double page spread, Lily Allen takes up most of one of the pages making her the most noticeable and eye catching piece on the pages. Her casual clothes and dark eye shadow reflect her personality and the title of the article. Her stance is very casual and forward, also linking in with the title of the article, the stance could also be suggesting that she doesn’t care about acquisitions people are making about her. The style that the title of the article is written is very intriguing. Each letter is in the style of letter in a newspaper. But each letter is a different size, making it different and quirky. It also reflects the rebellious attitude that the magazine often portrays in other articles. The title of the article takes up more room than the picture and the actual article itself. This shows that the magazine is trying to grab the eye of a reader that is maybe just flicking through the magazine. The colours on this double page spread are used to good effect. Her red shirt stands out amongst the plain white and black that is used on the rest of the double page spread. This helps to attract the readers attention and invite them to read the article.

30. Rocksound has a double page spread which in this case is an interview. However they don’t always use interviews, Sometimes they have pages that introduce other artists of musicians within the magazine. This double page spread only has one large image which is the band Paramore. Hayley Williams stands out more than the rest of the band because she is in colour whereas the rest of the band aren’t. This could be because she is answering the questions in the interview and mainly because she is the front woman of the band. The image is also photographed in a way that makes the band look bigger than the readers, putting them in a more dominant status. There is a Masthead on the page which is "Paramore“. This is the name of the band and it stands out in yellow, this is so the audience know who its about. However they may already recognise them by the picture of Hayley Williams. There is a paragraph that is a brief description and gives you a quick insight of the interview and makes the reader want to read on and recognise what is being said in the interview.

31. This magazines main image takes up the whole double page spread. Most other music magazine follow the codes and conventions of putting the main image on the left hand side of the page and the rest of the article on the right. This technique looks like more of a poster rather than a double page spread of a magazine. The simplicity of the font is used to good effect by making it straightforward to read and easily identifiable on the page amongst the busy background picture. Because it is situated in the bottom middle of the page, readers that are just flicking through the magazine can get there eye caught and take an interest. Instead of an article, this page is more like a small snippet of information. There are extremely few words used on this double page spread making it simple and easy to take in. This works because some readers may not want to read a whole article about ‘Mumford & Sons’ but will still take interest to his page because of its simplicity.

32. The colour scheme of this double page spread is very bland and uses very basic colours. The background is a very light grey and the word ‘USA’ is in a darker grey to make it stand out. The brightest colour on the page is the American flag the she is sat on. The use of a bright colour on the main image is what draws the attention of the reader towards it. Her red hair makes works well with the colours on the page and coordinates with the flag that she is sat on. Some of the text on the page is very stylish making the double page spread look professional and high-quality. The start of the article uses a drop capital in the same font as the title, this keeps to the same style and intrigues the reader.

33. This double page spread has a very plain background by only using the colour white. The left hand page is where the title of the article is positioned, following codes and conventions of most magazines. The title has a line for each for one word that takes up the whole left side. As the reader reads each of the three lines, they get darker in colour as they’re red. It starts off in red, then maroon then black, this gives more effect to the title and makes it more interesting. The actual title itself is a play on words. Saying that ‘She’s the man’ makes readers stop and read it again. It implies that she is one of the best in the music business and better than some male artists. Lady Gaga herself is quite strange with her sexuality and this title just emphasizes that idea even more. The main image of Lady Gaga depicts her in an outlandish outfit, adding to her own brand identity. The peculiarity of the image draws the attention of most readers and will make them take notice to the article.

34. The background of this double page spread shows a picture of some sort of industrial site. This insinuates something new, acting as a metaphor for the new band depicted. The band is positioned in front and across the site making them centre of attention and most noticeable piece of the double page spread. The way all the band members are looking at the camera puts them in control and creates a relationship with them and the readers. The name of the band is put on the top left hand side of the page. It is in white text with a blue background. The blue used represents masculinity and is suitable for the bands target audience. The same colour blue is also used to highlight other information on the band at the bottom

35. This double page spread shows Tom Meighn on stage at a gig. He takes up the whole of the right hand side of the page pointing towards the information on the left. The camera angle is low giving him a higher status and makes him look like he’s in control. The spotlight behind him adds effect to the picture by making him look important and professional. Instead of an article about a band, this double page spread shows the ‘Kasabian’ tour dates. Most of the information on the page is the dates of the tour, where they’re touring and ticket information. Underneath this, there is information of ‘Kasabians’ recently released single ‘Vlad The Impaler’ and how to download it for free. The title at the top of the page is big and fits the width of the double page spread, similar to the front covers masthead. It is written in the style that ‘Kasabian’ always use on albums, at festivals and merchandise making it easily recognisable to the readers.

36. Double Page Spread Analysis Following my analysis of 10 double page spreads, I now have more of an understanding on what to include on mine. However a lot of magazine I analysed have their own style or different use of the pages. For example, most of the magazines have a band interview or an article about the band, whereas another had a tour dates for a band an no article at all. In all, after reviewing all the different aspects of these magazines, I now have a better understanding of how to create my own magazine.