The masthead

The masthead of this magazine is placed at the top left. This is a very conventional area on the front cover of a magazine to place the title because naturally when viewing a page we start by looking at it from the very top. The most pertinent colour of the masthead is red which is a very noticeable from a distant and contrasts against the dark central image. The Font used for the Title is curvy and well presented, which makes the magazine look sophisticated. This is a trait that will be desired by readers that want to reader a magazine with serious articles.

Central image

The central image is a close up shot of Cheryl Cole. In this image she is staring directly out at the reader which establishes a direct mode of address with them. This makes a her look as though she is approachable therefore inviting the viewer to buy and read the magazine. Additionally this is a very high quality image, the lighting suggests it was shot in a studio. Having such a high quality image on the cover suggests that the contents of the magazine are also of a high standard. The image has also been edited in such a way that the image seems monochromatic, the lack of colour and dark shadows help portray the new Cheryl as being quite dark. Also the lack of colour helps accentuate the red of her tongue and lipstick. Choosing this blood red helps tie the image in with the masthead and the anchorage text and gives the singer a dangerous edge. Using the dark Helps build the image of a dark and dangerous woman which really conforms with ideologies behind a real ‘rock-chick’. The whole image is also an homage to the film sin city, the way Q are aiming to portray the celebrity is very relative to film. It seems Q are trying to tell the audience that the Cheryl is no longer that generic girl band girly band but now an powerful and independent female musician that knows how to rock.

Anchorage text

The anchorage text is both a clever pun and an intertextual reference the title of Cheryl’s new album, which goes by the name ‘3 words’. Even to provide further reference to this album Q have decided to order the anchorage text in 3 lines and present it in 3 different fonts. Providing so much reference to her album establishes that the issue will focus on the musical career of Cheryl Cole, despite the fact she has risen back into popularity for a variety of reasons, another being the fact she hosted the X factor.

Selling line

The selling line used to bargain with the reader, telling them why they should buy this magazine instead of another music magazine. In this case they have claimed to be the ‘biggest’ music magazine in the UK, this is a very worthy credential because in order to be the biggest it must be the best. This makes the reader feel as though by getting this magazine they will be getting the best new music information in the UK.

Puffs

The puffs on this magazine mainly consists of the name of different music acts spanning over a wide variety on genres. For example 50 cent representing the more R’n’B and rap side of music and then vampire weekend representing the more indie and rock.

Layout eye flow

The eyeflow for this magazine front cover is not as simple, having a full scan of it requires you to revisit certain areas to read additional information. Q have contrasted the cover is such a way that your eye is lead around the page in order of the largest feature to the smallest. The first of course being the masthead, big red and contrasting. We then move down to read the large text at the bottom and by doing so we examine the central image. Then finally our eyes move around the page to read the puffs to gain additional information about the magazine.

Front Cover Analysis NME

The Masthead

The masthead of the magazine has been placed in the top left corner; this has been done for the same reasons and intentions as on Q magazine, the top left naturally being where most people start to look when viewing a front cover. Again bearing similarity to Q magazine the colours used for the title are similar. NME has mainly chosen to use a combination of red and white. Red is a colour that connotes immediacy and importance, which conveys to the readers that the contents of the magazine will be the latest and most important news. Furthermore the perimeter of the letters have been accented with black, this helps helps detach the title from the background which uses similar colours.

Central Image

The central image is a full body shot of lead singer of My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way. MCR are a very popular band within the rock/punk music genre. By having him on the front cover the magazine is clearly addressing their target audience. Although it is a full body image, the way it has been constructed the viewers attention is mostly drawn to his eyes. This has been achieved by the strong white ambient light protruding from behind his upper body. From evidence of such effective lighting we know that this image has been taken in a studio. Gerard’s costume is predominantly black which lends greatly to maintaining an overall dark and monochromatic style for the front cover

Anchorage text

The anchorage text seen to the left of the central image is split into three parts. The first part is a quote, presented in white text on a red background it stands out the most amongst the three. This shows that what Gerard has to say is valued as the most important thing to the readers. Below that is the band’s name in a large bold font. Lastly is the reasoning for the punk rockers appearance on the front cover, which as the text reveal is the release of MCR’s new album.

Puffs

The puffs used on the front of this magazine are tailored specifically so that only people familiar with the music genre know of the bands mentioned. Whilst music acts such as Vampire Weekend and Sliede might be more commonly known due to their popularity acts such as the late Jay Reatard will only be known by fans of rock music. The puffs are numerous and are spread across the magazines front cover. By doing this it connotes that the magazine is packed with the latest information.

Layout and Eyeflow

The eye flow of this magazine is very simple. Most will start first by observing the very apparent NME title. After do so their eyes will travel down the length of Gerard body. The anchorage test and the puffs have been placed either side off him to take that into account. Again bearing similarity to Q magazine things of importance are in proportion to the amount of space they take up on the front cover. Clearly the emphasis of this issues front cover is MCR’s story, as the central image couples with the anchorage text take up the largest amount of space. Unlike Q magazine however in terms of layout everything is placed around Gerard, careful not to overlap the space of the image that he occupies. Even the title block is placed behind him. On the front cover of Q magazine however, both the text and title block overlap her image. This difference is perhaps brought about by the age range each magazine is aimed at. Younger audiences are be more interested in the person portrayed on the front cover (how they look and dress attracts their attention), so it makes sense for them not to obscure their central image too much.

These are the results of my questionnaire based on the response given by a focus group of 20 people.

Based on these results I have concluded it will be best to release the magazine monthly, as majority answered that they would prefer a magazine released in this frequency.

Majority answered that they would buy the magazine for the interviews, this reveals that my magazine must prioritise interviews over other such features as news and freebies to keep the readers interested.

Judging by these results I should include more stories about unconventional (upcoming) acts, However the results are pretty close so I have decided to keep information on both types of act equal. This will not only help the magazine appeal to a wider audience if done in an alternating fashion it will provide a more interesting magazine.

The most sensible price range to place my magazine in would be £1.99- £2.99 this is because this is the price most chose that they were willing to pay. If the magazine costs too much it would put potential buyers off.












I had previously decided to include freebies with my magazine so this question was to help me find out which sort of freebies my target audience would more like to receive. The results are pretty even so naturally I have decided to come to a compromise between the three. The most sensible decision seems to be to provide the different freebies in an alternating fashion; this is because providing all three with every issue might prove to be too costly.




This question has helped me to decide which feature to bare greater importance on. According to these results the Central image is what most notice first, this means that if the central image does not attract their attention then they might overlook the magazine.












Most do not mind seeing Advertisements in the magazine. This will be an advantage because now designated areas in the magazine can be sold to advertisers earning additional funds for the magazine.









The results here show us that it is very likely the readers use a social networking site. Using such websites to offer an alternative way for readers to keep in touch with the magazine can be a major advantage. This can also be a method of freely promoting the magazines.

My proposal

I propose to make a magazine based around rock music. It will mainly concentrate on the Indie and more alternative sub-genres of rock. The magazine will update its readers about already existing and well established bands in the UK and the US such as Temper Trap, Vampire weekend and Florence and the Machine as well as regularly Informing them of the new and upcoming artists in this genre of music.
The main features of this magazine will include exclusive interviews with different artists as well as information sections that give the dates and locations on where bands will be playing in the near future. Also, each issue will also come with a freebie themed after the band focussed on for that issue.
My magazine will be primarily targeted at Males ranging from age 14-22, this is because I believe these two sub-genres of rock are becoming more and more appealing to young males. As of yet there is not yet a music magazine that focuses particularly on these sub-genres, so in affect this magazines will be filling a potential gap in the market.

Questionnaire

1.) How frequent would you prefer a magazine to be released?
· Weekly
· Fortnightly
· Monthly
2.) What would you buy a music magazines for?
· Interviews
· Freebies
· Latest news
3.) Which sort of artists do you prefer to read about
· Mainstream (well known bands)
· Unconventional (up and coming artists)
4.) Up to how much are you willing to pay for a music magazine?
· £0.99- £1.99
· £1.99- £2.99
· £2.99- £3.99
5.) Which sort of freebies do you prefer?
· Poster
· Downloads
· Free CD
6.) When looking at the front cover of a magazine, what is the first thing you notice?
· Central image
· Title
· Content
7.) Do you Mind seeing Advertisement in a Magazine?
· Yes
· No
8.) Do you regularly buy Music magazines?
· Yes
· No
9.) If yes, please state which ones?
·
10.) Are you a frequent user of such social networking sites as Facebook and twitter?
· Yes
· no

The title of this magazine has been written in Bold capital letters, this is to ensure it is legible from a distance. The font chosen is very sharp and angular. There is an exclamation mark at the end, use of this graphological feature helps to connote the loudness and excitement associated with the music title serves to represent. The title is in black and worn, also a smashed affect has also been used. Rock music is a very modern style of music and considered very dark, hence the appropriate use of the colour black. Rock music is also associated destruction, so the worn styling and smashed effect are also an appropriate addition. The title is the onomatopoeic sound of a guitar being strummed. With the guitar obviously being one of the key instruments within rock music, again we see the title making it apparent to the audience what type of music the magazine is based on. These should appeal to the audience because it relates to the genre they are interested in.

The readership of Q magazine is slightly older, aged 22-24. This is clearly connoted by the more sophisticated styling of the title block. The Font chosen is very swarve and curvy, this shows that the magazines content will be serious and be more focused on the intellectual side of things.
The Name of this music magazine is Q, also known as queue. This is a title that tells the viewer that the magazine is based on music because queuing is an action associated with it. The colours chosen for the title are red and white which are vibrant colours, red usually a colour associated with prestige. Both the colours also contrast making it a very clear and visible title.

College magazine Contents page draft

College magazine front cover