MUSIC MAGAZINE

ANALYSIS

P O W E R PL A Y

FRONT COVER

FRONT COVERColourThe two main colours used on the front cover are black

and white, these colours contrast strongly so the magazine cover stands out. At the bottom of the page the designers have placed an orange, red, yellow and blue banner containing the names of the bands that are mentioned in the magazine.

DesignThe front cover has quite a simple design, with only two

coverlines and a band name as their main coverline. All the coverlines are either in black or white, this has been done so the text contrasts with the background and is easily legible.

Bevel effects have been used on the masthead and the strapline, most noticeably a brushed metal effect and chrome/silver colouration on the strapline.

I think the main coverline, simply ‘Iron Maiden’ has been chosen because it is the most widely known artist featured in the magazine, and it may attract the widest range of people.

ImagesThere is only one photograph on the front cover,

which consists of two of the members of Iron Maiden. It is a medium long shot and they are using a direct mode of address.

I think this image has been chosen for simplicity and to show that their magazine features an interview with the famous Iron Maiden.

Actor CompositionBoth of the subjects in the photograph are using a

direct mode of address. They are shot in a ‘medium long shot’.

They both have stern and serious looks on their faces, this is perhaps emulating their audience, or the audience’s desired image.

They are wearing modern clothes, and one of them has a tattoo on an exposed arm. These features have been accentuated to show the reader that the people in the picture are fashionable and are people they might aspire to.

Some Emotive language has been used to entice the reader. Words like ‘riveting’ and ‘raves’ are used on the cover, these are both things that would appeal to the target audience. 

Lang

uage

WordingPOWER, PLAY, ROCK and METAL appear on

the front cover. All the text is in capitals to draw the reader’s attention. A bevel and metal effect have been added to some of the text for the same purpose of drawing attention to the front cover. This is useful because it may help the magazine get noticed -> picked up -> purchased in a newsagents.

Final ImpressionThe magazine has a simple yet effective

cover, whose content will immediately stand out to anyone who has an interest in it. People who are not interested in Iron Maiden would probably not have a large interest in this magazine.

CONTENTS PAGE

CONTENTS PAGEColourNot much colour has been used for the contents page.

The POWER PLAY logo from the front of the magazine is present. A grey font has been used for the subtitles. It is noticeable that the page contains lots of orange and red as it contains lots of images of pages contained in the magazine, many of which use a red-orange-yellow gradient for the title.

DesignThis contents page is slightly rugged in my opinion. The

articles contained in the magazine are highlighted on the contents page, the title of the article is given, along with a paragraph summarising the article. The folios have been printed quite small under the subtitles. On the left of the page the magazine gives you a comprehensive list of all the bands mentioned in the articles. There is a significant amount of white space.

The folios are not shown individually but are grouped into 4 sections: on the cover; hot this month; live and dangerous and regulars.

WordingAll of the subtitles are in full capital, whereas

almost all of the text is in plain black sans serif. The designers have been sure to have the text contrast with the background so that it is easily legible. They have given minimal information on the page folios – this may be fitting considering the target audience will probably want to spend minimal time reading the contents page.

Final ImpressionMy overall impression of this contents page is

one of haste. It is clear that a professional designer has made this page however it looks like their work was rushed, as I think it is a little rough around the edges. Again, women are addressed poorly as on the contents page, women are outnumbered 23:1.

All the images on the contents page are smaller renditions of pages contained in the magazine. These are representations of the original pages.Im

ages

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

DOUBLE PAGE SPREADColourLots of black has been used on this dps. This creates a

mood of sadness that fits well with the self-deprecating band name of the subject. Black often connotes sadness, gothic themes and, to some extent, teenagers.

DesignThis page is formatted oddly; its title is at the bottom,

along with the strapline and the picture. About 3/8 of the dps is advertisements. Most of the interview is on the left page, whereas most of the right page is advertisements. An introduction has been written in the top left, which may help the reader discover where they are meant to start reading the interview. Relatively simple fonts and styles have been used. Somewhat counter-intuitively, the body copy uses a sans serif typeface, whereas the introduction uses serif. This is slightly odd as large blocks of text are slightly easier to read in serif.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREADImagesBesides advertisements, there is a single

image of Whitfield Crane – looking cool, lighting a cigarette. This juxtaposes with his band name – ugly kid Joe – because he is, in fact, not ugly. Medium close up shot. This may represent his transformation from an ‘ugly kid’ to a person people may aspire to.

Actor CompositionWhitfield is not addressing the audience at all.

He is concentrating on lighting a cigarette. His hair has changed from his previous style – it is now combed back and sleek. This may be rejuvenating for Whit because people may never have seen him before and may be taken aback by his ugliness – or lack thereof.

This magazine is owned by Mark Hoaksey and distributed by Warners Ltd.In

stitu

tion

DOUBLE PAGE SPREADWordingAs is this magazines style – formatting is

minimal and the page is crammed full with text. There is an introduction that is in slightly larger yellow text in the top right corner, however most of the other text is white and smaller. The title of the article, Angry Kid Joe, is large, in yellow and below Whit, along with the smaller white tag /strapline.

LanguageThe interview is written colloquially in the first

person, which gives a more relaxed feel to the interview. This may have been used to make the magazine easier to read and therefore the content of the magazine easier to consume.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREADOverall ImpressionI have chosen this dps because it has more

formatting than just text, a picture of the band and a title – which is what almost all of the other dps’s in this magazine consisted of.

From reading the introductory paragraph, I am lead to believe that this magazine is less professional than its counterpart, however is still a well organised and easily legible double page spread.