CONTENTS PAGE ANALYSIS

I have chosen to analyse NMEs contents page as this magazine is most representative of the genre I am attempting to emulate in my music magazine. As expected, this contents page maintains the same colour scheme that encapsulates NMEs brand identity, with the white, red and black being the dominant colours shown on this particular contents page – instantly expressing the familiarity of the front cover to the reader and prompting them to read on. Furthermore, the banner shown here serves as a title to the contents page, suggesting that the target audience reading it will be sufficiently intelligent and mature enough to understand that it is a contents page without a need for a title. Also, the title and subheadings displayed here are all in the ‘sans serif’ font and are shown in block capitals, representing the boldness and masculinity of the target audience. As is customary with NME, only one central image is used, with primary focus being on the text and accessibility of the page – again highlighting how it is primarily aimed at a slightly older audience with significantly more interest in the music, as opposed to the glamorisation of the artists and the magazine itself.

Again, the emphasis on music is shown in the band index, which essentially lists all the bands that the target audience will be familiar with as they are representative of the genre, and this is segregated from the rest of the text in terms of font colour and the gutter. The language and mode of address is informal, but not oversimplified or overly enthusiastic – showing that the magazine is aimed for those with a certain degree of maturity yet still maintain a sense of trendiness and familiarity with the bands being mentioned. Moreover, the extra feature promoting subscription also stands out drastically from the rest of the text and serves as the most eye-catching aspect of the page, next to the dominant banner, due to its change of colour scheme and prominent contrast.

This entices the reader to pay the most attention to it and consequently be inclined to do as it says, with its use of an imperative consolidating this point. Proceeding on from this, the graphic features and their boldness prompt the reader in the direction of turning the page and contrast the rough, text-based appearance of the page with bold, almost modern aesthetics. The articles on the main page are also subdivided under different categories, in order to promote accessibility and break up the text, which subsequently makes it easier to read for the target audience. These are shown on the furthermost right hand side of the page, so the main article has room to be seen as the focal point of the contents page.

CONTENTS PAGE ANALYSIS 2

This contents page differs significantly from the previous as it is extracted from a more up to date issue of the magazine – one that has been altered significantly. The absence of the masthead logo and banner is evident, instead replaced by the formal looking ‘INSIDE THIS WEEK’ title. Furthermore, this in itself is an implication of the older, more sophisticated audience that the magazine is aiming itself towards, as it more reminiscent of the old newsprint that the magazine used to encapsulate – consequently implying that there will be more focus on older, more classic bands. In conjunction with this, quotes such as ‘bands are all really pussy these days’ emphasise this point, simultaneously showing focus on the older bands as well as suggesting that, despite the older age of the target audience, they should still have an interest in the rebellious nature of the music.

Another significant change is the colour scheme – or rather, the application of the colour scheme. The recurring colours of red, white and black are still present, which allows the reader to understand that it is NME by the formation of this brand identity, but the boldness of the red is only visible at one place. Ultimately, this demonstrates a huge difference to the brighter, more bold approach of the previous contents page, again enforcing the older, more educated new target audience and indicating that the primary focus of the magazine is the music – as opposed to just attracting an audience with colours and indications. Likewise, the subheadings are also limited to a small column surrounded by two gutters, displaying that the overall accessibility of the magazine has been lessened in favour of the promotion of the music itself. Essentially, this is no a change to try and attract an entirely new audience, rather one to ensure that it is dedicated to the older people of its loyal fanbase.

Despite the older target audience, the general humorous/aggressive/laid-back mode of address is still maintained , corresponding with the brand identity of NME, and this can be seen in the largest pull quote on the page – ‘I want to be like a boot stamping on a human face forever’. Consequently, this enforces the idea that the magazine is still remaining loyal to its readership in terms of general brand identity, while expanding to fit the needs of the older members. Furthermore, the amount of feature article photographs has increased substantially from the previous contents page, and all share music-related content. This puts further emphasis on the artists which help define the genre, which is much more likely to please fans both new and old, while also introducing a more accessible element to the page in order to make up for the minimised subheadings. Also, it is likely that the majority of these feature articles have been seen on the front cover, and by allocating them with page numbers and more pull quotes, the reader is even more enticed to buy the magazine and find out the context in which the pull quotes were taken from. Proceeding on from this point, the separation of the subscription text box from the rest of the page is still present, and still manages to succeed in being the most bold and eye-catching feature on the contents page, in order to show its detachment from the music-based content and indicate that readers should pay the most attention to it – as it serves as the best financial benefit for the magazine. Generally, however, this contents page is largely different to the previous, in terms of layout, colours, and general aesthetic. Despite this, it manages to illustrate that, if the brand is established enough, then even significant alterations within the magazine will still manage to be representative of the brand identity, and readers will be able to instantly familiarise the content with the fact that it is NME.