Contents analysis - NME

This magazine uses images on its contents page. There are 7 images uses on this page, include one main image. The main image is placed at the top in the centre with the smaller images placed at the left and right of this image. This main image is of the band MGMT, which are the ‘main puff’ used on the front cover.  
The layout of the images make it easier for the readers to read and recognise what stories are going to be inside – linking the images to the text next to them.
The images support my initial findings about the style of the magazine as they are plain and simple, whilst at the same time being interesting and eye catching. This links in with the style of the magazine because it is seen as ‘different’ to other magazines, and shows ‘normal’ images to attract the target groups attention rather than using a complex photo shoot image that costs a lot of money to take. It suggests that the magazine is seen as normal to the intended audience and makes the audience feel as if they are on the same status as the artists and bands in the images, rather than being over powered by an image of a ‘powerful’ singer, making the audience feel as if they are a lower status. The magazine does this by taking images that make the artists and bands look normal and not fame grabbing like other images in other magazines. This supports the initial findings about the style of the magazine as it is different and keeps the readers locked in.
The colours used on the contents page are mainly white and black, with a few different colours in the images used. The contents page is still attention grabbing and bold, without using shocking, vibrant colours. There are a range of fonts used on the contents page. These are all bold, capitalised and clear so that it is easy for everyone to read.
The colours and font used support the style of the front cover as they are both simple and use limited colours without it being boring and unattractive. The fonts on both the contents page and front page are similar – both being bold and easy to read, with the layout emphasizing this.
The information is organised neatly and in an organised layout. The text underneath the images are quotes from the article that links with the image. For example underneath the image of MGMT says “After the record came out, people asked ‘What happened to you guys?’”. This relates to the MGMT article and also makes the audience want to read more once they see this on the contents. This is done to all the images used on the contents page, including the page number of the article on the bottom right hand corner of the image. By having the number of the page clearly put here makes it easier for the readers to turn to that specific article rather than going through the whole magazine.
The different sections of the magazine are displayed in a small columned box near to the bottom of the contents page. Although it is crammed between all the other text and images of the contents page, it is easy to read. Some of the sections included in the magazine are features, reviews, live, gig guide and fan mail. This tells us that the magazine is all about music and massively includes the readers in the things they include inside the magazine. For example ‘fan mail’ has a whole section in the magazine – targeting all types of audience as you can contact NME mag by email, facebook, and twitter which again shows the young, technology aware audience.
On the contents the only promotional feature is to buy the magazine for the best price possible, this is by subscribing to the website, or to call the number given. The logo of the magazine is not shown anywhere on the contents page.
The brand NME doesn’t have any franchises, although they advertise and promote other things such as JD clothing (page 2) and HMV (page 5) inside the magazine.

Front cover anaysis - NME

NME (New Musical Express) magazine is a punk/rock music magazine in the United Kingdom. The magazine has included massive artists and bands in the past such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones -This emphasizes the popularity of the magazine.
From the front cover we can see that a tribute is going to be the main part of this issue. The tribute articles are going to be about David Bowie. From the words ‘Ultimate Hero’, we can tell that the audience see David Bowie as heroic and somebody they look up to. This suggests that the audience are dedicated music fans and that this certain music magazine has always followed this specific artist throughout the years.
NME magazine targets both males and females, although the average reader for this magazine are males aged 24.  The male majority doesn’t effect what is going inside the magazine or affect the front cover in anyway particular way.
The middle age target group for this magazine suggests that they are working class punk/rock fans, their interests being music, gigs and the lives of famous bands and artists of this specific genre.
The magazine became most famous in the 1970’s, this suggests that the target group are really familiar with the magazine as it would have been most popular as they were growing up. David Bowie was particularly known for his work in the 70’s – at the same time as NME became popular. This relates to this specific issue of the magazine as it means a lot to the fans of NME and the actual magazine.
The mode of address that the magazine is using is heroic and .... This is taken from the central image. The central image is a close up of David Bowie. It is a slight low angle shot which emphasizes the heroic mode of address. The image is as if everyone is ‘looking up’ to David Bowie which portrays him as a Godly figure. The facial expressions on his face also emphasize the meaning of why everyone should see him as a hero, as he looks innocent and graceful which automatically makes everyone see this image in a different way. The colours used also help the magazine to portray him as a God like figure, as they are bold and vibrant. They also make image seem ‘inspiring’, which links into they way people see David Bowie. The colours also emphasize on the artists personality and his fans – saying that they are original, bold and different.
This tells us that it wants a close relationship with the reader, making the reader feel part of this magazine, as they are the reason and understand why David Bowie was seen as such a hero.  
David Bowie is on the front cover because this issue is based around celebrating the most ‘influential’ artist of all time.
The anchorage text ‘Ultimate Hero’ and ‘More influential than he’s ever been’ suggests that the artist is a music legend and is still loved years on after producing music, and that now he has influenced artists and bands in this present time such as Lady Gaga. He has also influenced others such as Brandon Flowers, Paul Weller, Fanelle Monae and Everything Everything.  All these named are popular and have made it huge – all due to their influence of David Bowie. The words ‘Ultimate Hero’ is written in a different font than the other anchorage text to make it more elegant and to emphasize on the word ‘hero’. Overall David Bowie is getting portrays as encouraging and inspirational.  
I don’t think there are any certain groups being represented in this magazine, but I think David Bowie fans are shown as dedicated and this is why this issue has been published – to show David Bowie how dedicated they are. The magazine shows this by portraying him as an ‘idol’.
There are a few ‘buzz’ words used on the front cover on this magazine. For example ‘Ultimate’, ‘BETRAYED’ and ‘EVER BEEN’. The word ‘ultimate’ makes the reader feel as if they are part of something that is special and that they are reading something that is going to be ‘unique’. The word betrayed is capitalised which emphasizes on the harshness of this word. It makes the audience feel worried about what they are going to read, whilst at the same time interested about what they are about to find out. The words ‘ever been’ stand out as the same way as ‘ultimate’.
The design of the title block tells us that the magazine is bold, serious and stern. This is because the font is capitalised and is very bold. The sharp edges on the letters also make it seem stern and bold. The boldness of the font tells us that the magazine is going to be ‘bold’ inside. For example, not being plain and boring and that it is going to stand out against other magazines.
The font also suggests that the audience of this magazine, and that the artists and bands included in the magazine are going to be like this.
The puffs suggest that there are going to be a lot of music related stories in the magazine. This tells us that the audiences main interests are music, and the magazine expects fans of certain artists that are going to be included in the magazine to buy the issue.
‘MGMT “we want to work with Jedward”’ is one of the main puffs. This is because ‘MGMT’ is bolder and bigger than the other titles of the puffs. I think this has been done because ‘Jedward’ are recognised for their version of ‘under pressure’, which was originally made by Queen and David Bowie. This puff relates with the main image and the main story in the magazine.
The colours used are primary colours and black. This keeps the colours simple but bold. The colours aren’t block and solid colours, instead they are slightly faded and merging into each other. They attract the target group because they are bright and colourful, without being too childlike. The main font used is a simple, bold capitalised text. It is simple and easy for everyone to read.
The magazine uses the layout, colours, text and an image to attract the audience. They are all bold and simple but seem to be really effective and attract the target groups attention immediately.

Double Page Spread Evaluation

The band featured in this article are ‘BMTH’. They are a young, modern rock band which suggests that the target audience for this article are teenagers who are into this genre of music.
 The main image of this article is of a guy from the band sitting on chair inbetween two women ‘zombie’ nurses whispering something into his ear. By the hard and confused facial expressions on his face makes the audience want to know what the women are saying to him – This makes them want to read the article to find out the secrets and stories behind what we see in the main image.
The type of language used in this article is ill mannered due to some certain words and phrases used. A quote in the article was taken out and enlarged on the double page spread to emphasize the storyline of the article. This says “I was pissed off, upset, angry. I couldn’t enjoy anything”. Due to the phrase ‘pissed off’ shows us that the article uses quite a bit of strong language. By using strong language in an article tells the audience a lot about the audience and the band that are being interviewed. It shows us that the audience are used to talking this way, this suggests that they are scruffy and messy, which are the connotations of ‘rock’ and rock style.
By having quotes from the band that have language like this, shows us that they talk to their ‘fans’ how they normally talk and how they would talk to their friends, which suggests that they are very open as people and don’t want to change who they are just for the sake of their fans.
The dominant colours used on this double page spread are black and white. The background is black with white text. This is a good contrast of colour and makes the text stand out so that it is easier to read. The connotations of the colour black are dull, dark, depressing and miserable. All of these connotations link in with the images used on the double page spread. The expressions on the band members faces relate to the colour black and the connotations of it. The only colour showing is the colours of the bands tattoo’s and the ‘blood’ over there faces or clothing, this emphasizes their image of being rockers.
The style of text used is easy and simple to read. The font is Arial which is a plain style of writing but effective for an article. A bigger size font is used for the first letter of each paragraph. This is to grip the reader every time when you start to read a new paragraph again. This is effective because it regains your concentration in what you are reading, rather than it being all one sized font throughout the article.
The double page spread is laid out with the images in the centre of the two pages and the text along the left and right side of the page. This is effective because your eyes automatically draw there attention to the centre where the images say a lot about the article. The main images used have captions which are displayed right next to them.

There is a lot of text used on the double page spread, but it is a small size. This is to make the images stand out and make them more dominant on the double page spread. This may be due to the effect that it has on the target audience and that their attention is more drawn to the images rather than the text. Whereas the captions on the images and the images there self make the readers want to read the article.

The tone that the magazine uses when addressing the reader is almost as if they are informing a friend. ‘as K! Said in our interview last week’- This suggests that the writer is talking to a friend that has obviously read the last issue. Also when the magazine is interviewing the band it is almost as if you are the 3^rd person in that conversation, listening over what they are talking about.
The band are represented as lonely and almost depressed in the images shown throughout the double page spread. These images relate to the text and what the article is about.
The style of the double page spread matches the front cover because its the same theme and the same band. They both have the same colour scheme and they both create the same mood.

This article doesn’t demand any prior knowledge to the band or what the article is about because it explains almost everything you need to know. As a first time reader of this magazine and my little knowledge of the band, I found out almost everything I needed to know to red this article from the first paragraph which explained who the band was and what they did. For example ‘The band have been busy, since the release of their second album Suicide Season in September 2008’. It then goes on into more depth about the album and the band.

Questionnaire Results

I asked 20 Teenage girls aged 16-18 these questions and the results are shown above.


From this questionnaire I have found out what my magazine will be based around and what will be included in the magazine. The magazine will be called ‘Pure Pop'. My target audience chose this title because it is fun and quirky as the first letter of each words are the same, which make the title automatically catchy. The dominant colour of my magazine will be pink. My target audience voted for this colour because it stands out most, its bold and vibrant and really attracts teenage girls to buy the issue. I will include the sections artist interviews, upcoming artists and music gossip - as these were the most popular sections in my research. The magazine will cost £3.00 because this is how much my target audience are willing to pay for my magazine monthly. As its a monthly magazine it has to be more expensive than a weekly magazine. £3.00 is a reasonable price for a monthly magazine.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

1)      Who would you prefer to see on the front cover of a Magazine?

·         Lady Gaga

·         Katy Perry

·         The Saturdays

·         Cheryl Cole

2)      Out of these Titles, what one do you find more appealing?

·         Pop scene

·         Kandy Life

·         Kaboom

·         Pure Pop

3)      Tick at least 3 things you wish to see in the magazine.

·         Artist interviews
Music Gossip

·         In the style of... (Fashion section)

·         iTunes top 10

·         Puzzles and quizzes

·         Upcoming artists and music

4)      How much are you willing to pay monthly for a magazine?

·         50p - £1

·         £1.10 - £1.50

·         £1.60 - £2

·         £2 or More

5)      What colours would appeal to you in a ‘pop’ music magazine? List 3

·         Pink

·         Purple

·         Green

·         Orange

·         Black

·         White

·         Red

Contents Evaluation - KERRANG!

The magazine ‘Kerrang’ uses images on its contents page. On this issue there is a ‘main image’ at the top half of the page. The images featured on the contents link to the stories that are going to be inside. For example the biggest image is of Ozzy Osbourne who is being interviewed, which is a ‘cover story, this means that it is an important story in the magazine.
These images have been placed next to certain pieces of text to make the article more noticeable.
The main colours used on this contents page are black white and yellow. The yellow on black font reminds me of a caution sign tape. This relates to the genre of music ‘rock’ as it is edgy. The style of the font is capitalised and bold. This tells us a lot about the target audience. For example that they are loud and have ‘bold’ personalities.
The information is organised so that it is easy for the audience to read whilst at the same time being interesting to them. Pictures have been placed near certain information so it is easy for the audience to pick out certain articles. The black text over the white background is really effective and a good choice of contrasting colours. It is easier the read because it is bold and stands out from the background.
The different sections of the magazine are ‘Feedback, news, win, live reviews, features, albums, gig guide, quiz’. From these sections we can see that the magazine is all about music, from the news to the quizzes. From this we can tell that the audience of this magazine are into everything about rock music and are big fans.
There are promotional features on the contents page of this magazine. One is to buy the magazine monthly to get it cheaper and delivered to your door. Another promotional feature is a DVD, which is pictured close to the section ‘albums’.
The magazine logo is placed in the middle of the page, titling the sections of the magazine. The logo is dominant because of it is coloured in white, whereas the other writing that size is yellow.
The brand ‘kerrang!’ has other franchises such as a radio station and a music channel. These are not promoted on the page, although they are well known and popular.

Magazine Evaluation - KERRANG!

This is the ‘Kerrang!’ magazine. It is a rock music magazine, which is well known and popular with its target audience. From the front cover we can see that there are going to be many interviews with famous rock bands, singers and rock legends. We can also tell which stories that are going to be inside by reading the secondary lead and the puffs. The secondary lead says (“I was at rock bottom!” Pete Wentz on life after Fall Out Boy). By having this as the secondary lead shows the audience that this is one of the main and important features of this magazine.
The target audience for this magazine are rock music fans. I think the age group are roughly 16+ years, both male and female. I think this because the main image is of a young male rock band who seem to be popular, trendy and well liked. By having this rock band as the main image gets the older teenage target audiences attention, as teenagers would notice a ‘cool’ band quicker, rather than an older age group audience. The target group’s interests seem to be mainly rock music, concerts and gigs. You can tell this by the menu strip displayed along the bottom of the magazine, showing all rock group names.
The central image is of the rock band ‘bring me the horizon’ with their clothes covered in blood, pale faces and dark eyes, giving off a vampire effect and theme. The band are standing either side of which seems to be the main guy in the band. The order in which they are standing is very organised and well ordered. The way they are ordered links to the image we have of ‘vampires’ and how we think of them as hunting strong in packs. This mimics the central image of the magazine.
The body language and facial expressions of the band shows us that they want the relationship with the reader is for readers to be like them. For example they want to make the target audience want to feel... strong, popular and well liked.
The anchorage text says “Exclusive! Reign in blood! Bring Me The Horizon rise again!” By using the words ‘rise again’ show us that they have came back stronger and better than before. This probably is that the band has come out with a brand new, better album before, therefore have ‘risen again’. The overall message that the band are giving out is that they are back even better than before.
The magazine is representing all rock bands as intimidating. The magazine does this by using dark colours and by using certain main images such as this one.
There are a few ‘buzz’ words on this magazine cover. The main effective one is ‘exclusive’. This has a big effect on the reader as it makes the readers feel as if they are being let in to something secretive, new and exciting.
The title of the magazine is bold capital letters which looks as if it has been slightly torn and riped. This shows us that the readers are a bit rugged, this links in with the rock genre of the magazine and gives it a rough effect.
There isn’t many ‘puffs’ displayed on the cover of this magazine, but there are a few. They are mainly shown alongside an image which makes the information of the puffs stand out and more noticeable. This grabs the audience’s attention more as they can see what sort of things will be in the magazine. The type of puffs shown suggests that the readers of this magazine are really interested about the facts of artists and what the artists are doing (gigs and concerts).
The dominant colours used for this front cover are red, black and white. All the colours used on this cover are linked together. For example the colours of the main image fit with the masthead, headline and cover lines. The fonts used on the cover are very bold, almost as if they are coming out and shouting at you. This is what they want the readers to feel.