1. Analysing
music
magazines

2. Cover of NME
Colour Scheme:
The colour that is used on the
front cover of “NME” is light
blue, black, red and skin
colour. The pale blue makes a
great contrast to the red
haired model. His pale face is
also emphasizing the contrast
between his red hair and
black clothes. The light
glowing from his face is eye
catching and is the first thing
we notice when we look at
the cover. His red hair drags
our attention and the editing
and colours is adapted with
reference to the photo. His
dark clothes are appealing to
boys and how to style
themselves.
Photography
The photography is set in a
studio and is taken
straightforward and is a
close-up of his face. It is a
striking photo posed with
an intense look. The cover
has a combination
between being bright and
dark, but the shadow
around his eyes makes the
cover a bit frightning and
fierce. The way he is posing
makes his eyes look up and
his eyes point straight at
the viewer. This is creating
a presence.

3. Writing style
On the front cover of NME you will find names, quotes and informing text. A good example
of showing which age group the magazine is targeting is a quote from “My Chemical
Romance”. They are saying, -“ We loathe what Goth has become”. The Goth subculture is a
rather new culture and is usually seen amongst teens and young adults. The expression
Goth might be unfamiliar within older groups. Other writing that is mentioned on the cover
is names of artists and bands. All of the musicians are trendy and popular seen from a
teenager point of view. Taking this into consideration I think this magazine is trying to
target men between 17-30 years, who are interested in these types of music genres Punk,
indie, R&B, Goth and Rock. But it will also apply to teenage girls who are very interested in
these types of music.
Text/picture ratio
On the front cover the picture is taking
more space than the text. This is most
likely done to attract attention to the
magazine. Text is not as eye catching as a
glowing picture.
Fonts
NME’s front cover has used a lot of white and
black fonts. It is most likely used this way
because of the background colours. Both
white and black stands out on this front page
because it is either black on light blue or white
on red and black. This makes it easy to read
and spot.

4. Content of NME
Colour scheme
The background of the
content is white and that
is carrying on trough the
rest of the magazine. The
white helps the magazine
not looking messy and it
makes it easier for the
pictures to stand out.
They have also used
black on the fonts, which
is easy to spot on a white
background.
Photography
Looking at the content you will
find seven photos and one
advert. They are taken both live
and in studio. All the pictures
have some blue in it, which
indicates that it is more of a
men magazine. It is used
different camera angels on the
different shots. Some are mid-
shots, one high angel and one
close-up. The pictures are
usually of the artists or the
bands. This makes it simple and
effortless for the viewers to
recognise. The clothes or
costumes they are wearing are
there to highlight their image
they would like to promote.

5. Writing style
In the content it is used quotations on each artist
or band. This might have been used because the
readers find it interesting to read what their
favourite bands are saying, but it is also a good
indicator to tell us what the article is about.
Again, it is observable that the magazine has
chosen to use up-to-the-minute words.
Expressions as ravers and hipsters are modern
words and would normally not been seen in
magazines for elderly people, or to refer to an
example from the same age group, a classic
magazine.
Text and picture ratio
It is notable that it is a difference
between the content and the cover of
the magazine. On the front cover they
have focused on one picture while the
content has used seven pictures. The
contents main goal is to give an overview
of what you will find inside the magazine
whereas a cover wants to attract
attention.
The amount of text is also different. It
consists more text then on a front cover,
but not as much as an article. The page is
informing where to find various texts
about the bands and artists, and also the
date of the magazine.
Fonts
They have used a variety of fonts, which quite fits the magazine in terms of what
kind of magazine they are. NME is promoting music genres such as rock, punk and
R&B, which are fairly rough and messy styles. On the other hand, the magazine is
very clear and easy readable which might tell us that they are not as disorganized
as they promote.

6. Double-page of NME
Colour scheme
The colour scheme that is used at most of the pictures on this double-page is relatively dark. On
the other hand we also have a bright side where we find the text. Putting together bright and
dark colours makes a good contrast and structure. Dark colours are characteristic for rock
magazines and this is shown through this double-page. The colours that are chosen are
appealing to the people reading the magazine because many are often dressed in the same
colours.

7. Photography
The double-page contains seven pictures. Some is of the
artists and some of the audience. A combination shows
that both are important. Without the audience the band
could not exist and in favour they are creating music. The
main picture is a live photo and is also containing an
electric guitar, which is usual to be used by popular music
and rock music. That means that the guitar can give the
readers a clue of what kind of magazine they are reading.
They have chosen to use different colours on the photos
this makes the double-page enjoyable to watch and attracts
attention. It is used a low angle shot on the singer who
covers half of the double-page. This is making him strong
and confident on stage. My thought about why they chose
to use half a page on a live photo of a singer is that this is
immediately creating attention towards him and makes
people start reading. When the magazine has created this,
the readers now have time to look at the rest of the
pictures.

8. Writing style
The text written in this article is
informing. Although it is informing it
is not written formal. There are
loads of up to date words used in
the text. This has been done so that
the readers can relate themselves to
what they read. The writers have
also chosen to use quotes, which
gives the fans unpublished
information that can be of interest.
Fonts
There is used a headline on the left
side of the double-page. The header is
not very sensational which is most
likely done because the creators of the
magazine do not want to drag the
attention away from the singer, but still
give the readers a clue of what the
article is about.

9. Coverof Rock Sound
Colour scheme
The cover of Rock Sound
has in this edition used
quite dark and gloomy
colours. The background
colour is black with some
traces of red. The boy’s
white and bright clothes
make a good contrast to
the dark background.
The same applies for the
headline; the white
headline is eye catching
which is vital.
It is rather fascinating
how they have chosen
to use the colours on the
other fonts. Several
fonts are white, but also
on a white background.
This makes them more
difficult to read, which
might tell us that this is
not as important as the
name of the magazine.
Although they use fonts
on white background
they still work very
good. The text is fairly
brighter than the boy’s t-
shirts, which without
really think about it,
makes them stand out.

10. Photography
Rock or alternative magazines usually like to have photos of
live events. This is not done on this cover. Although, they still
have the style of an alternative rock magazine
The photography is covering the whole band. One of the
members is put in front of the rest and he is also covering
some of the headline. This can tell us that this magazine is a
famous magazine and people will recognise it even when some
essential information is covered. His tattoos on his chest might
be what have decided what colour scheme the magazine
should use. As we see the colours on his chest is also the
colour decorating the cover. The picture is posed and is set in a
studio. No one is smiling which makes the photo rather
serious. It creates sort of a tension and the colours emphasize
this. Some of the reasons why they have dressed up the artists
the way they have done might be because readers find it easy
to relate.

11. Writing style
The headline of the magazine can tell us a lot about the audience.
Since the name of the magazine is Rock Sound it is reason to
believe that the readers are interested in music such as rock,
gothic, indie and punk. When it comes to the rest of the writing on
the cover it is used most names of the bands and albums. You can
also come across some short sentences one telling about a tour.
The reason why they have used short and not long sentences is to
make it easy readable. This also applies for the names and other
short words. The cover is giving a quick overview of what is in it.
Fonts
Rock Sound has chosen to use red, light blue and yellow as their fonts. As we can
see, the red text is the same colour as the bands marks on their t-shirts and the
red on the background. The light blue is slightly the same colour as the ends of
the t-shirts. Combined this makes a complete feeling that it is well chosen colours
and that all of the colours work together. The yellow colour is used as the colour
of advertising. Using positive words as exclusive” and “Win!”. Those words makes
the product they are selling even better and more attractive.

12. Content of Rock Sound
Colour scheme
Rock Sound is continuing to use dark and red colours on their
content. This is creating a systematic order of what colours
that should be used for the magazine. Many people listening
to rock, gothic and punk wear dark clothes so the colours
might appeal more to them if the magazine uses the same
colours. The tattoos on the artist’s arm is essential when it
comes to this colour scheme, because he have the same
colours on his arm as on the content.
Photography
It is not the same amount of pictures on the cover of Rock
Sound as on NME. A main difference is that Rock Sound have
chosen to use a live photo of an artist. This is very
characteristic for a rock magazine because many of the
readers prefer to see their artist live. The camera shot is taken
from a low angel, which in this case makes him dominant, and
in one way confident. The remaining pictures are mid-shots,
smaller and not live. This is most likely done to emphasize the
attention around the singer.

13. Writing style
@The content is presenting a short sentence on each of the main features. This is
to tell the readers what to expect. The way of writing is not very formal, but it
does inform the readers. Looking at the words, Rock Sound is using a large extent
of similar words as NME. It would be fair to think that NME and Rock Sound are
targeting the same age group of readers.
Fonts
The fonts at the content are not as outstanding as at the front cover. The
reason for this choice is most likely done because the magazine has
already convinced the readers to read the magazine and is not as
dependent on catching their eyes anymore.
Still they have focused on making the fonts at the content organized and
easy readable. The white text is unproblematic to spot on the black
background. The red numbers have another colour than the text, this
makes is simple to find the pages quickly.

14. Double-page of Rock Sound

15. Colour scheme
On this double-page it is possible to see many similarities with the front cover of
the magazine. An explanation for this is that it is the same band posing, therefore
the creators has chosen to use the same colours to create a structure. Red and
black is the main colours following by his white t-shirt. The dark shadows around his
face makes his expression more clear, but they have also used light to emphasize
this. His white t-shirt stands out surrounded by all the dark colours. This is eye
catching and attracts our attention towards the double-page. The paragon on the
page is also used on the front cover so we can almost immediately connect them to
each other.
Photography
They have not used a photo of the whole band on this particular double-page. The reason
for this choice is that it is not necessary because the article is continuing on the next eight
pages. The picture is of Oli Sykes the vocalist of the band. Readers will put him in
coherence with the band. That is why it might be a clever choice to put him at the double-
page and not one of the other from the band. The photo takes half a page and is a striking
photo and easy to see.

16. Writing style
It is a notable difference in the way of writing between this double-page and NME’s
way of writing. The article does not contain the same amount of up to date words as
NME, but it is still very modern and adapted for their audience. The text is slightly
more informing than the other double-page. It tells more about the story of the band
and is not describing one live performance as NME. This is requiring a different style of
writing and other types of words.
Fonts
Since it is the beginning of the article they have chosen to use a headline.
“Bring me the horizon into the future”. The first part is the name of the band
and the other part is whether the band will be able to continue into the
future. The white font is easy readable and eye catching on the black
background, but is not taken away the attention from the picture.