Magazine EvaluationSamantha Jones

Music magazines are an easy and effective way for people to receive information about their favourite musicians and artists, and they can see what is current at the moment. Music magazines have been around since the 1960’s when the magazine ‘Billboard’ published it’s first Music Magazine in 1961. It has now become a well known music magazine. The Top 5 music magazines are; Billboard, Electronic Musician, Entertainment Weekly, Guitar Player and M.

Music Magazine Research

Textual Analysis 1

Front Cover Mast HeadIt is at the top of the page so it is noticeable. It is in a large font so this will catch someone attention. The font hints that this magazine is a rock magazine not a pop one

LayoutThe bar code is place in the bottom right hand corner so it will not be in the way of any pictures or writing. The smaller pictures are all in a line down the left hand side so it can be clearly seen what is in the magazine. The smaller headlines are on the right hand side of the magazine in a smaller font so they not in the way of the main picture but are still noticeable.

ImagesThe main picture is in the middle and is bigger then the rest, this shows the reader what the main topic of the magazine is. The angle of the photo is medium close up so the reader can really see the person and the emotion on their face, in this picture there seems to be no clear emotion. The meaning of the picture is connected to the question on the magazine so the audience can see who the question is about.There are then smaller pictures to show what else is in the magazine so the audience know there is not just one topic in the magazine.

ColoursThe main colours are black, red, a dark yellow and white. This enforces that this is a rock magazine and the dark colours show that this magazine are for older teenagers and older.

Slogans/Cover linesThe slogans and cover lines are around the edges so not to get in the way of the main headline.

Contents Page

ImagesThey have a main image at the top of the contents page so people will maybe be interested to read what the picture is about. There are images next to the contents and this provides a glimpse into what are certain topic is about, like a taster to get the audience interested. Above the introduction to the magazine there is a picture probably of the editor, publisher or a journalist. This gives the magazine a personal touch. All together there are six pictures in total.

LayoutThe word ‘Contents’ is at the top left hand corner of the page so it can be easily seen by the reader. The actual list of the contents is in four columns, this makes it easier for the reader to find what they are looking for. The biggest picture is at the top and this would interest the reader since the topic is important enough to get the main picture in the contents page. There are pictures overlapping the biggest picture and this will draw the readers attention to it. The bottom half of the contents page is organised and well layout yet it has this slightly messy look because of using different sizes of fonts and colours. This emphasises that this is a rock music magazine and it’s meant to look organised.

ColourIt is a simple colour scheme; yellow, black and white. These are the magazines’ signature colours not including the colours of the picture or band symbol. This portrays to the audience that it is not just one type of rock magazine but it is about all types of rock music and bands.

Double page spread

ImagesThere are five pictures all together on this double page spread. There is the biggest picture which is also part of the background to the page and then there are five pictures on the bottom of the page closer to right hand side. The pictures are from a concert so it give the reader and idea on what the article is about.

LayoutThe layout is simple. The pictures are all together and can be clearly seen. The title of the article is at the top of the page and the writing of the article is in two columns under the title. There is a white column at the right hand side of the page which holds additional information and it isn’t over lapping any thing else. Everything is organised.

ColourThere is a simple colour scheme of black write and red. This give the page of rock genre look. The back ground is black, most of the font is in white and some words/small titles are in read. This would capture the readers attention and make them interested in reading what the article is about.

The audience is represented as people who enjoy rock music, artists and band. The audience that this magazine is targeting at is teenagers and adults.

The magazine is appealing to the audience because they colours suit the target audience, the layout is organised so everything is clearly seen but it still has a rock theme so the audience can tell that it is a rock magazine.

Everything in the Textual Analysis is effective because the audience can see what the music magazine if about, the type of audience it is aimed at and what information is in the magazine.

Audience

Textual Analysis 2

Front CoverImagesThere is only one image and it is centred in the middle of the magazine . It covers the title and takes up most of the front cover. It’s eye catching and interesting.

Mast HeadIt is at the top of the front cover but it is covered by the image. This shows that the magazine is so well known that it doesn’t matter that the name is covered because people with still know what the magazine is called. It is in a thick black font with a little colour filling in some of the letters. This shows that the magazine is for young people too.

ColourIt is a basic colour scheme. The back ground is white with black and pink font and yellow and blue in the mast head. This shows that the magazine isn’t just for one type of genre but for a range of genres/

Slogan LinesThe slogan lines are around the image and the main slogan line is across the image. This shows what the main topic is in in the magazine and what other interesting topics are in the magazine.

LayoutThe layout is very simple. The barcode is in the bottom left hand corner so it is out of the way, the mast head is at the very top so people can clearly see the name of the magazine. There is only one picture so this shows the main topic in the magazine. The slogan lines are around the picture so they don’t over lap yet are clearly seen.

Contents Page

ImagesAll together there are four images. There are three small images along the right hand side of the page and a larger image in the middle of the page. The readers attention would turn to the larger picture first and would be interested in finding out what article that image was related to. The three smaller image would give the reader a glimpse into what else is in the magazine before they read the contents.

LayoutThere is a simple layout. The word ‘contents’ is centred at the top of the page and can be easily seen. The actual contents is in one column underneath the word ‘contents’ and to the left of the large image in the middle. Everything can be clearly seen except the word ‘contents’ is being over lapped by the large image but it doesn’t matter because people can still see that this is the contents page.

ColourThere is a very simple colour scheme of white, blue and black, The background is white, the font and the word ‘contents’ is in black and a bar underlining the word ‘contents and a few sentences in the contents are in blue. This gives the impression that this magazine will hold information about many different genres of music, it is not dedicated to just one genre.

Double Page Spread

Images There is only one image on this double page spread. Is shows the band the article is talking about. All but one member is slightly faded so this give the impression of what the article is going to be about. The image takes up all of the left had page and some of the right. There is writing overlapping the picture but not enough to obscure it so the reader doesn’t know what it is.

LayoutThe image is at the centre of the article so it can be clearly seen. The actual information is on the right hand side of the page in one column. There is additional information over lapping the image but it can be clearly read and the image can still be clearly seen. A few sentences are highlighted so this would show the reader that is an important or interesting piece of information.

ColourThe colour scheme is white, black, grey and gold. The title of the article is in golf and grey font which makes it stand out. The font of the article is in black. The band in the picture are dressed in gold, grey, black and white so this is the reason the article has followed the same colour scheme.

They are appealing to the audience because everything can be seen clearly and is to the point so the audience can find out what they want quickly.

The audience is represented because the magazine is for people who like different genre of music and this is shown in the colour scheme and the images in the magazine.

It is effective because the magazine would catch the audiences interest and would persuade them to buy it. It is also effective because it targets a variety of people so more people would be interested in buying the magazine instead of just a group of people.

Audience