There is a wide amount of music magazines on offer in the UK and below i have analysed a few examples. Most music magazines share conventions and below are the most common you will find:
Front Page
- Captions
- Cover stories
- Quotes
- Name of main article
- Issue number
- Issue date
- Barcode
- A picture resembling the main article (usually a music artist)
- The font is usually easy to read as it is in a colour that stands out (Sans serif fonts)
- There is usually a theme of a magazine such as punk rock or hip hop
- Some magazines are gender specific through their use of colours and images (the top of the pops magazine below clearly aims at a young female audience as it is pink and has many boy bands on the front cover)
Above is the music magazine top of the pops. The first object that strikes me is the use of colour on the magazine. It looks as if it is clearly directed at a female audience as pink is not a colour that tends to interest me. However this then proven as the use of images on the page show music artist such as Justin Bieber and JLS. Although there is two little pictures of female artists, the male artists are heavily focused upon therefore showing that it's target audience are female. The bottom right side on the magazine, is filled up with techniques devised by an artist on how to improve your beauty for a cheap price such as '£3.89'. This clearly shows that it is directly aimed to a female audience as the items displayed along side this statement show a dress, makeup and sandals.
The main article seem's to focus on the artist in the main image. This a common convention as when a reader look's at a magazine, seeing one of their favourite artist's on the front page, instantly informs them that there will be an article about them within the magazine. Also the main image of the artist takes up some of the space where the title should be. This is also often used as the magazine publisher want the image to be as large as it can be so that the audience can see it from a distance and instantly gain interest.
The main article's title uses a quote from the existing article within the magazine and uses a pink font, but as there is a yellow background to the font, it stand's out the audience therefore making it also easier to read for the reader and more eye catching.
The publisher of the magazine is shown clearly above the masthead on the left corner as the BBC. As the BBC is a well known trademarked company, as it publishes this magazine, it shows the audience that the magazine is produced by a professional company therefore it will deliver quality. As it has this reputation people believe that the magazine will become a good investment of money as they are being delivered the latest information abbot their favourite artists.
Article titles such as "Could you be taylor's girl?", "Dying for a tan" and "What boys really think about" again clearly showing that this magazine is trying to attract a female audience. As they are all highlighted in different colours and used in different fonts, the reader is instantly able to tell the different articles apart. The use of different images surrounded in a different background to the main pink theme, is another way the designers have cleverly been able to show the different articles. Therefore the reader doesn't even have to look at the text but just looking at the different images and how they are split apart by colour, shows the various articles within the magazine.
The top of the pops title, although not clearly shown, it is a well established magazine therefore the whole title does not have to be shown. But 'top of' and 'pops' is displayed therefore the audience should be able to place the 'the' in their own mind when reading it.
The main article seem's to focus on the artist in the main image. This a common convention as when a reader look's at a magazine, seeing one of their favourite artist's on the front page, instantly informs them that there will be an article about them within the magazine. Also the main image of the artist takes up some of the space where the title should be. This is also often used as the magazine publisher want the image to be as large as it can be so that the audience can see it from a distance and instantly gain interest.
The main article's title uses a quote from the existing article within the magazine and uses a pink font, but as there is a yellow background to the font, it stand's out the audience therefore making it also easier to read for the reader and more eye catching.
The publisher of the magazine is shown clearly above the masthead on the left corner as the BBC. As the BBC is a well known trademarked company, as it publishes this magazine, it shows the audience that the magazine is produced by a professional company therefore it will deliver quality. As it has this reputation people believe that the magazine will become a good investment of money as they are being delivered the latest information abbot their favourite artists.
Article titles such as "Could you be taylor's girl?", "Dying for a tan" and "What boys really think about" again clearly showing that this magazine is trying to attract a female audience. As they are all highlighted in different colours and used in different fonts, the reader is instantly able to tell the different articles apart. The use of different images surrounded in a different background to the main pink theme, is another way the designers have cleverly been able to show the different articles. Therefore the reader doesn't even have to look at the text but just looking at the different images and how they are split apart by colour, shows the various articles within the magazine.
The top of the pops title, although not clearly shown, it is a well established magazine therefore the whole title does not have to be shown. But 'top of' and 'pops' is displayed therefore the audience should be able to place the 'the' in their own mind when reading it.
Contents Page
- Contents title
- Stand out colours
- Small pictures
- Small fonts along with page numbers
- Captions
- Quotes
The contents page is often used where more articles can be shown in greater detail such as where they are located within the magazine, what the topic of the article might be and an image to go along without hat title. As we can see above the use of images has been used to a greater extent as the reader is able to find out what other artists are included within the magazine that they may be interested in. Also featured in the above contents page, the editor of the magazine has a little comment to make on this months issue.
Three quarters of the page are taken up by images, showing the most important articles are more easily shown in the form of images as people are able to see their favourite artists.
The font sizes are varied on the page showing the more important articles over the sub articles. However when referring to the sub articles the font is the same and so are the sizes. Certain pieces of text are highlighted as well to show different catergories therefore people are able to locate what they want to read more efficiently.
The font sizes are varied on the page showing the more important articles over the sub articles. However when referring to the sub articles the font is the same and so are the sizes. Certain pieces of text are highlighted as well to show different catergories therefore people are able to locate what they want to read more efficiently.
Double Page Spread
- Headline
- Main picture
- Quote from article in a larger font
- Article starts with big letter
- Font stands out from background colour or picture
The double page spread focuses on the main article and does not attempt to focus on anything else. It usually displays various images of the artist in different environments or a photo shoot. The article is usually an interview or background information about the band/artist such as their tour dates or how they rose to fame. As the main feature the style and layout to the article are key in order to deliver a professional and stylish way of presenting the information.
Above we are able to see there is one big image along side other smaller images. Using a lot of images seems to be key when designing a double page spread as it interests the reader. All of the images above are in black and white which is a very stylish approach as the red and white fonts can stand out well against them and also the pictures stand out well against the black background.
This research into magazine conventions will enable me to replicate them within my product, therefore enabling me to create a better product.
This research into magazine conventions will enable me to replicate them within my product, therefore enabling me to create a better product.
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