Analysis of a General Magazine Front Cover

I have also analysed the conventions of a general magazine, so that I can use it in comparison to music magazines.

Cosmopolitan is a very well-known, popular institution. It provides entertainment and advertisement, based upon fashion, beauty and real life, to attract a wide female audience. We can tell that its target audience is female by the many conventional aspects displayed on the cover. For example, the main image is of a female, Mischa Barton, and each of the cover lines relate to women and fashion, ‘Cosmo gets real about women’s bodies’. It is also stated on the front cover that this particular issue of Cosmopolitan is their ‘Naked body confidence issue’, and this seems to be represented within the main image. Mischa Barton appears to be wearing no clothes within the image, an action which is portrayed as something only ‘body confident’ people do, yet she is seemingly comfortable and confident with her appearance. She is looking straight on at the camera, which is using a medium close-up shot and a straight on angle, and therefore she is engaging with the audience. She is also smiling, further enhancing the fact that she is happy with her body. Several of the cover lines also relate to this topic of ‘body confidence’, particularly the main cover line which boldly states ‘Your Body Rocks!’. One cover line reads ‘Mischa Barton on loving your shape’, which will further attract the audience as a large audience of females will be interested on how Mischa gains the confidence which she seems to have so much of within the main image. However, not all cover lines relate to this topic, as there are still aspects of content relating to real-life and fashion, also distributed around the main image.

The Masthead is written in its recognisable, bold and capitalised font type. A range of different colours have been used, including pink, blue, white, black and purple, but all of them work well together. A range of different fonts have also been used upon the cover, which makes the magazine look more creative. Moreover, the banner at the top of the magazine is used as a further selling technique. If this is the only part of the magazine visible within a shop, the promise of two free cinema tickets for every reader may attract the reader into buying the magazine. The date and price of the magazine are visible beneath the masthead, clearly stating the month and year of publication and the clear price of £3.30. This price suggests that Cosmopolitan aims to target an audience of medium-class, as it isn’t overly expensive, nor is it particularly cheap. The barcode and website are displayed within the bottom right-hand corner.

In addition to the target audience of this magazine, though I have also identified it being female orientated, I would say that it targets a specific age group. It seems that much of the content is fairly mature, with aspects on body related issues and sex, both of which are not concerns for younger readers. One of the cover lines also relates to a woman’s marriage, suggesting that cosmopolitan targets an older audience and those who have entered into marriage. Therefore, based on the content of the magazine, I would say that cosmopolitan aims to target a wide age group of sixteen to thirty five year olds.

Analysis of a Music Magazine Front Cover #3

Q magazine is a very well-known music magazine. Its selling line, situated beneath its recognisable masthead, is ‘The ultimate rock’n’roll magazine’. As ‘Q’ is a popular magazine, the masthead can be covered by the main image, with readers still recognising the institution. The banner across the very top of the magazine is also used as a selling technique, and therefore includes something catchy and intriguing, in this case ‘inside the rolling stones’. This short but snappy statement will attract many fans of the popular band, both young and old.

The main image is of female artist Beyonce. Though Beyonce is not particularly rock’n’roll, as her music falls under the genre of R&B, the way in which she is portrayed within the image suggests that she is. A typical stereotype of a female rock’n’roll artist is thick black eye makeup and plenty of leather. It seems that Beyonce has heavy eye makeup, and is wearing a white leather coat, lined with fur. The main cover line beneath the main image states ‘Sex, Power, Booty!’ all of which also relate to what is being presented within the image. Beyonce appears larger, and therefore more powerful, due to the angle of the camera. The camera is titled upwards, suggesting Beyonce is far more dominant than she would appear if the camera were focused straight-on, or more importantly, from above, where she would look smaller. Not only does this camera angle allow us to see the expression upon her face, it also allows us to see her figure and the way in which she is stood. Her visible facial expression suggests Beyonce holds a certain ‘sex appeal’ about her, again stated within the main cover line; she looks confident and self assured, her head tilted to one side, her lips parted, and her eyes focused on and engaging with the audience. One of Beyonce’s most popular and well-known singles is ‘Bootylicious’, a song written to represent the ideology that Beyonce has a very curvaceous figure. Therefore, not only does the last part of the main cover line, ‘Booty!’, refer to this, but it may also refer to what we can see within the image. The tight dress that Beyonce is wearing makes her curves clearly visible. Beyonce seems comfortable with this appearance, creating a positive attitude towards real beauty with the readers.

Other conventional aspects of this magazine are the cover lines distributed around the main image. Each of them refer to content within the magazine, that will interest the reader and encourage them to buy the magazine and read on. Each of the bands within the cover lines relate to rock’n’roll genre. The magazine is priced at around £3.30, stated next to the barcode in the bottom-hand corner, where the dateline is also situtated. The conventional colours for this magazine are black, white and red, which are again found upon this particular issue.

Furthermore, the target audience of this magazine are fans of rock’n’roll music, but also, for this particular issue, fans of Beyonce. As there is a wide range of bands listed within the cover lines, both new and old, I would say the targeted age group is anywhere from fifteen to twenty eight year olds, male and female, though it is perhaps slightly more swayed towards targeting a male audience due to its more masculine appearance. The price of £3.30 is slightly higher than average, and may be more affordable for those of medium-class.

Analysis of a Music Magazine Front Cover #2

This music magazine varies slightly from the ‘NME’ magazine, which I analysed previously, however it still displays most of the usual conventions. The artist within this magazines main image is Chris Brown, who is a well-known hip-hop/R&B artist. Again, the image of Chris Brown covers the magazines Masthead, which is ‘VIBE’, possibly because it is a popular, already recognisable institution. It is also a commercial institution, like NME. Additionally, the masthead is printed in a large, bold font, of white colouring, which ensures that it stands out upon the splash.

The way in which Chris Brown is displayed represents him in a particular way to the audience; he looks self assured and confident, displayed by the look on his face and the way in which his cap is perched upon the side of his head. He also carries a certain ‘swagger’ about him, also represented by his body language, and the way one hand is in his pocket, the other making a signal to the audience to present this. A typical stereotype for an artist of this genre is a confident, tattooed person sporting plenty of expensive jewellery or ‘bling’. Therefore, Chris Brown’s presentation fits this idea. For a male, Chris’s hat and baggy jeans also fit this stereotype. The image has been shot from a tilted angle, looking upwards and therefore making the artist appear bigger and more dominant. It is also a long shot, ensuring that we can see both Chris Brown’s facial expression and read his body language. Similarly to the NME magazine, the main cover line (the largest and most recognisable cover line upon the cover) is in relation to this main image, and therefore to Chris Brown. It also contains an item of speech which intrigues the audience and catches their attention: ‘I’m still a virgin’, this may shock fans of Chris Brown, before it then states ‘…in your eyes’. We are then intrigued to read on in order to understand the meaning of this statement. Each of the other cover lines are situated in a list towards the right-hand side of the magazine, all of which relate to popular artists and their music.

Though the main text colour of this particular magazine is white, all key words are displayed in a different colour; generally green but on few occasions either red or yellow. The banner is again displayed at the top of the magazine, and is therefore the first thing visible when the magazine is displayed within a shop. The banner states an area of content that will interest the readers and attract them into buying the magazine; in this case, the downfall of the famous Debarge Family from the 1980s. The barcode is situated within the bottom left-hand corner, along with the dateline and magazine website. As all content within this magazine relates to hip-hop/R&B/rap music, the target audience will ultimately be anyone interested within this particular genre of music. Also, as many of the artists stated upon the front cover are fairly modern, such as Will.I.Am, Chris Brown and Usher, I would say this magazine targets an age group of around fifteen to twenty five year olds. Though the main image is of a male, I would also say that Vibe’s target audience is both male and female orientated, due to content stated within the cover lines. For example, ‘The 30 hottest spots for hip hop and R&B on the web’ would be of interest to both genders, with cover line such as ‘Usher’s exes’ being particularly of interest to females.

Analysis of a Music Magazine Front Cover #1

This particular music magazine cover displays many conventional aspects. Firstly, its main image. The image presents ‘The Gossip’, a well-known ‘punk’ band. Not only is the image as a whole the first thing to catch the readers eye, and therefore the most prominent aspect of the cover, but the lead singer of the band is also the most visible of the three members; this is due to the camera angle at which the image was shot. She appears to be closer to the camera, the two males behind her being merely part of her background. This suggests she is of higher importance within the band than the other members. The angle of the camera is tilted slightly upwards, suggesting that the band are bigger, and therefore more powerful, than they actually are. The way in which the female is stood also suggests that she holds power and importance, as well as portraying that she is self aware; she is looking down upon the reader, over the top of her sunglasses. The members of the band represent the typical stereotype that all members of a rock/punk band are tattooed, with the males sporting long fringes and the females wearing slightly heavy makeup, particularly around the eyes. This is evident in the image of this magazine, as two of the three band members appear to have tattoos upon their arms, and both of the males are sporting this type of hair style. The female has bright red lips, and from what we can see beneath her sunglasses, appears to be wearing thick black eyeliner. The main coverline is also in relation to this main image, and therefore to the band being displayed; it states the name of the band and an insight into the content of the spread, based upon ‘The Gossip’, inside of the magazine, using the selling line ‘How Three Punks Smashed the Mainstream’.

The institution of this particular magazine is ‘NME’, which is clearly a very well-known and popular institution, as the logo is partially hidden behind the main image, yet is still recognisable; it is also a commercial institution, providing entertainment. The banner at the top of the cover is used as a selling technique, for when a variety of magazines are all stacked upon a shelf within a shop, and only this banner is visible. This particular magazine states content about a possible band reunion, which will be attractive to all previous fans of ‘Blur’, and it also states that upon page 10 of the magazine, the full line-up of V festival is revealed. As V festival is a very popular event, with tickets in high demand, this is likely to appeal to a very wide range of people and therefore help to sell the magazine.

Furthermore, the cover lines of this magazine are situated around the main image, again somewhat covered by the image, which is of more importance. Each of these cover lines contain short, snappy sentences on different, well-known bands that relate to the content of the magazine, often containing short quotations from something that a band member has previously stated. Within the bottom, right-hand corner there is a bar code with the price of the magazine and the dateline. The NME website is also displayed here. The price of this certain magazine is £3.99, and therefore fairly expensive. Its target audience must ultimately be those of medium to high class. Additionally, as each of the bands presented upon the cover fit into the rock/indie genre, the magazine must also aim to target fans of this type of music. As the magazine contains contents about both new and slightly older bands, I would say that the age group in which the magazine is possibly targeting is of a wide range, from around fifteen year olds to thirty year olds.

LIIAR

Language - This is the specific terminology used to describe a media text. For example, within a music magazine, the terminology would be each of the various conventions we expect them to use, as each of these conventions communicate to the audience the meaning of the text.

Institution - An institution is anything that creates a media text. For example, the institution of Q music magazine is ‘Q’. Not only do they create music magazines, but they also have a website.

Ideology - Ideology is a system of beliefs or a dominant set of ideas that belong to a group of people, or to individuals, and are acceptable to the creators of a media text. Some of the more dominant ideologies are an accepted part of society, as they include ideas that are accepted by the majority of the society.

Audience - These are the consumers of a media text. Many institutions set a target audience for their media texts, which is a specific group of people the institution aims to attract into buying their product. Some institutions aim to target a wide audience, whereas others target a niche group. Ultimately, any media text must include a range of different aspects that relate to this target audience, and must therefore take into consideration areas such as sex, gender and social groups.

Representation - Media texts represent our society and its values back to us as the audience, often by the use of stereotypes and codes.

Conventional Aspects of Magazines

Conventions of magazines

Magazines have various different conventions that we, as readers of these magazines, have come to recognise. For example, each cover of a magazine is expected to have the following aspects: a masthead, general cover lines, a main cover line, a selling line, a main image, bar code, date line, price and often a banner across the top. Magazines usually represent our society back to us, largely through the main image, to portray specific stereotypes that different groups of people believe. These representations usually relate to everyday lifestyle.

Masthead - This is the name or title of a magazine. It is usually situated at the top of a magazine, and is written in a unique and recognisable font.

Cover Lines - These are short, snappy statements or phrases which inform the reader on the content of the magazine. They are often distributed randomly around the main image.

Main Cover Line - The main cover line of a magazine is written in a larger font than the other cover lines upon the Splash, and usually takes up about a quarter of the cover. It is often used to represent the purpose of the magazine, and educate readers on the major article within the content.

Selling Line - This is a short and memorable statement which may be a description of the magazine title, or may be used simply to attract the audience into buying the magazine. It is often situated just beneath the Masthead.

Main Image - The main image of a magazine cover is the most important, and the largest, aspect upon the splash. It is often a medium-close up shot of somebody famous and recognisable. The main image usually presents a positive message to the audience.

Bar Code - This is merely a standard tool used by retailers. Often, if the magazine institution also has a website, the website is displayed next to the bar code.

Dateline - This is the month and year of publication. Some magazines are published weekly, whereas others are published less frequently and therefore monthly. However, if a magazine is published monthly, the month stated upon the cover is often one ahead of the actual date.

Price - This is the cost of a magazine. The magazine price often determines the type of audience who purchase the media text. This is often situated next to the dateline, or with the bar code.

Banner - Though not all magazine covers display a banner, many have one running along the very top of the splash, just above the masthead. This is used to further sell the magazine, and often features free products or promotions.

Conventions of music magazines

Music magazines use many of the above conventions. They each have a masthead, which is usually recognisable and written in a unique font face. If the magazine is popular, it is possible that the main image of the music magazine slightly overlaps this masthead. The main image is often of a well-known music artist or band, often artist's who’s music fits in with the genre of the magazine. Music magazines have cover lines, also relating to relevant bands and artists, a main cover line, which often relates to the main image and is therefore situated just beneath it, a bar code, date line, and a price. The price usually determines the target audience of a magazine, as a higher price will equal a higher class audience. Often, they also have a banner situated across the top of the cover. The artists within the main image of music magazines are often made to look powerful and self assured, as well as representing what is stereotypically correct for an artist within their genre of music. Some music magazines also display other images around the main image, in relation to the cover lines, however these are much smaller and therefore of less importance.

The Brief

Main Task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original, produced by you - minimum of four images.