Magazine analysis

Arun Bhullar

As we see from the way the Kerrang! Magazine title we see how that this magazine is aimed at rock lovers around the 16-22 age range. We can tell this as the writing is sans serif which means that it is not aimed at a more sophisticated audience. Also we can tell that it is aimed at a younger audience from the title being broken giving the readers an opinion that this magazine is for those who rebel against traditional values.

We also the barcode is out of the way making room for the reader to focus on the main image which is the man from Foo Fighters. By doing this the first thing the audience notice is the image dominated cover which then intrigues buyers to want to see what this issue is about.

The image of the lead singer is a medium shot which shows his body from the waist upwards. This helps build an image of what the man is like. His facial expression looks like it is scheming or is not very happy about something. We also see what type of man he is by the image showing his tattoo this gives the reader an implication that he is rebellious. As the image is slightly to the right but central the first thing the reader would see is his eyes as the eyes are level with the readers eyes.

Something that is traditionally in magazines are selling lines. However this magazine subverts this idea by having no selling line at all.

Another traditional feature that Kerrang! contains is theme colours. The themes colours that they use are white, red, black and yellow. The colours they use help bring out the brightness of the yellow making the magazine more appealing to the eye therefore more likely for it to sell.

Kerrang! magazine

Q magazine

Form Q magazine we see that the rule of thirds idea is subverted as the image is the most dominate thing on the magazine. This gives us the idea that the magazine has based its whole magazine on Bono.

Another reason to thing that most of the magazine is based around Bono is that the writing is bold which holds significance as it means that it is more important than any other part of the magazine.

Other device used by Q to attract the reader to buy there magazine is a quote. The quote draws the reader in to want to read the magazine so that they intrigued when they read it.

Q magazine is a magazine aimed at mature music lovers. We can tell this from the way the magazine is sophisticated and has a very simple layout. Another reason to suggest that it is aimed at mature music lovers is that it has a very simple logo. Unlike the previous magazine it is not broken just has an simple coloured box with the letter Q in it.

Q magazine makes its own suberversion by putting writing over Bono’s face. This unusual as usually all writing is kept away from the face as it help keep the picture more dominate than the text.

NME is a magazine that is aimed at the young music fans from 16-21. we can tell this by the types of music that mostly aimed at young people.

The image of Jay-Z is a medium long shot which shows some of him, his guitar and the background. This gives an indication that the he is performing.

From the top of the magazine cover we see the special issue is in bold to highlight the importance of the issue to say how there is never going to be another issue the same as this one. It also stands out more as it has a very eye catching background making it more likely to sell in shops.

The NME magazine cover is very image dominated this gives the reader the impression that it is packed full. Meaning that more people are more likely to buy it as they know they are getting their moneys worth.

The main cover line is very eye-catching as it grasps the reader as it has a red background. Red is a colour of warning or alertness so by having this the publishers are making it easily noticable.

Every magazine has a theme colour. This magazine has anew theme running through it is a cold winter theme. This impression is given by the snowflakes around the edge of the magazine. This makes it stand out from the other magazines.

NME magazine

Classic fm contents

From looking at this we see a nice layed out contents this is done by Classic fm using the rule of thirds. By them doing this it gives readers an impression that this magazine is not for people who young. As if it were to be aimed at the young the rule of thirds would be subverted therefore it would look messy and more suited to young music lovers.

Also we can tell that this magazine is aimed at an older audience as the writing is serif which is traditional writing. This means that the writing is trying to suit its target audience by making the magazine reflect the reader in being traditional and an old style of writing.

The page is nicely layed out with there being a writing to picture ratio being close to equal. There also is plenty of cover lines that are red these are used to attract the eyes of the readers to make them want to see what the strap lines say about them.

Also the highlighted and bold free CD’s to draw the readers eyes to show the importance of the CD. This means that is the major vocal point of the contents page.

NME contents

This contents page by NME is subverting the rule of thirds. This suggests that the magazine is not aimed at a older audience as an older audience magazine would have the rule of thirds. So automatically we can conclude that this magazine is aimed at 16-22 year olds.

Also we can see that there is a general contents page but there is some subsections that are divided into the different genres. This is good as it invites the reader to look at the cover lines and eventually look at the strap lines.

We can also see how the theme colours are running in the magazine of red, black and white. The theme colours gives a look of a professional which then makes it easy to notice other colours in the magazine such as the special on the Glastonbury article. This therefore makes the special article more noticeable than any other article on the contents page.

Q contents

From the contents page of Q magazine we see how the font of the cover lines are bigger and bolder than any other piece of text n the page. This is used to help the reader get draw in and see what the articles are about. The effect of this is that the strap lines are read more to explain the cover lines. Also there is a another use of bold being used. In the strap lines we see the names of different music artists. This is done to show the reader all the various music magazines they have covered in the magazine.

In the Q contents page we see how the contents is completely dominated by the image Madonna so we are automatically draw to the picture. The picture of Madonna looks very mysterious so the effect of this is that we wanting to find out what the image is about. So the impact of this is that the reader is draw to the cover and strap lines which may intrigue them to by the magazine.

MOJO double page spread

From the title of this double page spread we can tell that it is aimed at younger audience rather than an older one. This is because the writing is all messy and not neat and classical like and older magazine should be.

Another reason to suggest that this magazine is aimed at an younger audience is the picture. Pete Doherty looks very rough and tired. The picture is very representive of who the audience should be.

Top of the pops double page spread

This double page spread is aimed at girls aged 9-13. new can tell this from the colours used by the publishers as pink is a colour that represents females. We also can tell that this is aimed at a younger audience from the way they have more pictures than text. This suggests that the audience does not read a lot therefore there is more pictures than text.

The double page spread also subverts the idea of rule of thirds. It does this so that the audience can see more of Mcfly’s day (pictures) than what the interview said about them.

NME double page spread

From this double page spread we easily tell that is aimed an older audience the there is more writing and an older audience would appreciate writing more than pictures.

Also from the boldness of the tile rehighlights the fact that Noel Gallagher is more important than we think he is very important to music industry.