Magazine name planning and analysis

Billboard-

I believe this name and masthead is extremely effective with ‘billboard’ having the direct link to the music industry. The writing is thick, bold and black meaning it will stand out from the background. The colour-filled letters add to this and create a block effect. The colours red, yellow, blue and green are of course bright and stand out so they have been well chosen as this masthead will always stand out on the shelf. The name ‘Billboard’ also has inner alliteration of the letter ‘b’ which is quite a harsh sound adding to the standing out of the magazine. Any music that makes it onto the billboard is popular music so this magazine appeals to people who enjoy music that is in the charts right now so covers a wide range of genres. The masthead of this magazine stays the same in every issue making the magazine easy to find.

Vibe -

This name is also an effective name for a music magazine as again it is a direct link to the musical theme. ‘Vibe’ tends to have good connotations when used especially within the younger generation to describe an atmosphere perhaps that of a music concert. Just recently I believe this word has become more popular especially within the youth so this magazine will particularly appear to them. The magazine tends to have an R and B theme so would perhaps appeal to them anyway, the name just reinforces this. The word vibe creates the idea that the artist on the front cover will give the reader an amazing feeling when they give the artist a listen. The style of the masthead is the same throughout every magazine but the colour of the masthead changes dependent on the background so this shows me that having your masthead stand out from the background is important.

Kerrang! -

‘Kerrang!’ is unique in that ‘kerrang’ isn’t actually a word so it is original by the company and magazine. The name ‘kerrang’ has quite a harsh sound linking to the genre of the magazine which is rock music. The exclamation mark on the end of the masthead is significant as it adds to the loudness of the masthead and again links to the rockiness of the magazine as rock music tends to be loud, have shouting/screaming sounds which this ‘!’ reinforces. The background has deliberately been made black against the white name of the magazine to make the name stand out. The masthead also includes the ‘kerrang’ website so the magazine is plugging more readers in and more ways they can find out more about the magazine and maybe even subscribe. The masthead almost looks like a smashed mirror again emphasising on the rock genre as sometimes rock music can have connotations of violence. It almost creates the image of a rock-star smashing their guitar in the reader’s mind.

We love pop-

This magazine name and masthead is different to the others I have looked at in that it uses a graphic feature instead of a word within the name. The masthead uses a picture of a heart instead of the word ‘love’ making the name original from other magazines. The name of course encapsulates that is a pop genre magazine and would again appeal to the younger generation but because the masthead could be described as quite childish I don’t believe the older teenagers would take much interest in the magazine. The use of a speech bubble around the name is important as it shows that involves gossip not just music within the magazine. It could be a very chatty, informal magazine. The full stop on the end of the name makes the statement very definite meaning their love for pop is an opinion that will not change. Everyone should love pop.

The background of the masthead and the colour of the heart changes dependant on the topic of that issue of the magazine.

Below I have the names I am going to choose from for my magazine: