Detailed Analysis of Music Magazine

Typography

The font styles used throughout this page is sans serif. Using a sans serif font connotes that the magazine is modern and gives off a relaxed feeling. The masthead is conventional as it is positioned to be bigger than the rest of the font so it’s easy for the audience to determine what the magazine they’re reading is called. The font and colours used within it also draw attention to it, so that it’s the first thing you look at this is conventional as the name of the magazine is the most significant part as you want people to remember what your magazine is called for future reference. They also used the cover story ‘Beyoncé’ in a larger style font so it’s clear that that is the main cover story and exclusive interview for that issue, this is conventional because the cover story is seen as the most substantial story within that magazine and the use of bigger font embraces that. Under ‘Beyoncé’ there is a pull quote written in bold black font ‘I want to be an icon’ which gives a snippet about what the main, cover story is about this is conventional as it is placed there to draw people’s attention into the magazine. A majority of the text is placed along the left third of the magazine – this is an effective technique used by publishers so readers can determine the coverlines and other articles published within the magazine. It is also an effective and conventional use of layout as magazines tend to overlap on the shelves – by placing them on the left third, it allows the stories to be displayed.

Layout

The layout of this magazine is very ordered and very basic which is conventional for a magazine. This connotes that the magazine is aimed at an older target audience as young, pre-teen magazines are conventionally cluttered with lots of celebrities. By having an ordered layout it also signifies that the magazine is sophisticated and targeted towards older people this is conventional. This magazine also uses lots of different techniques to reach out to its audience and make it a conventional magazine cover. The magazine uses both the ‘route of the eye’ and part of the rules of thirds these are conventional techniques to make use of the layout on the page. The route of the eye is an effective

layout technique as it put’s items in order the path that our eye takes when we look at things. The first thing you see is the masthead, ‘Billboard’, which is distinctively placed at the top of the page in the primary optical area. It is very conventional to have the masthead placed at the top of the page as it makes the title of the magazine easy to determine. The eyes then follow a path straight through the middle of the page where the cover story is placed ‘Beyoncé’ along with the pull quote ‘I want to be an icon’ which is supposed to entice the readers to look at the main cover story. The magazine also uses the left/rule of thirds to order the magazine. All of the coverlines are placed alongside the left third which, as I have mentioned before, is an effective technique when the magazines are placed on the shelves and is conventional among many magazines regardless of their genre. They have also placed some of the items on the ‘hotspots’ (cover story, Beyoncé herself and the cover story about Beyoncé) which are the places our eyes tend to stop and look at when we look at something.

Colour

The mid-shot of Beyoncé used as the main image on the cover and is coloured black and white. Black and white connotes sophistication and that the magazine could be quite informative, a bit like a newspaper. However, they also use elements of colour to make the magazine appeal to the younger part of their niche audience as it makes it appear more fun and cheerful. A majority of the masthead is coloured black which makes it clear and stand out from the image of the magazine and also connotes that it has a classic and contemporary feel. This is also contrasted with pops of colour within the masthead – the hints of colour connote that the magazine is up-to-date and is quite conversant with the current news and music trends. Using colour also helps attract the magazines target audience. The cover story, ‘Beyoncé’ is coloured white which contrasts with the duller colours in the background. The main image is of a well-known celebrity who has a good reputation from others and toward her fans. The colour white signifies purity which colour also be reflected from Beyoncé’s persona. Finally, all of the coverlines are coloured red which contrasts with the rest of the magazine. The colour red draws attention and when used can immediately focus your attention on a particular part of the magazine. The use of red also connotes energy and excitement so helps appeal to the younger target audience this magazine has.

Images inc. Mise-en-scène

There is one central, main image on the magazine of ‘Beyoncé’ taken from a medium close-up. The use of a medium close-up displays Beyoncé facial expression and body language. Taking a photo from a medium close up can also show their significance and their importance and is a convention amid many music magazine. Using a medium close up of Beyoncé as the main image could help attract to those who like Beyoncé etc. However, this magazine cover is quite unconventional as it only has one image on it whereas typically there would be quite a few to make it more interesting and appeal to a wider range of people. Nevertheless, having just one image on the front cover makes it appeal to the smaller niche audience this magazine is aiming for.

Lighting – This image is taken with high-key lighting. By using high-key lighting and setting the colours to darker, black and white colours allows the image to define Beyoncé’s beauty. This may attract more people to pick up the magazine as the people who read this magazine may have Beyoncé as a role model and want to read the stories within.

Editing – There is not too much editing within this main image. The photograph has probably been through several layers of Photoshop beforehand, however, only the tone and contrast have been edited on this main image.

Setting – The setting of this photograph is not displayed through the imagery as we see just a black background with Beyoncé placed in front of it. This connotes that the magazine wants all attention to be focused on her and her interview within the magazine.

Costume – In this image it isn’t clear what Beyoncé is wearing as the image is taken from a medium-close-up. Despite this, we can see that she’s wearing some sort of black mess dress with some jewellery around her wrist which signifies she is quite classy and quite elegant. This may appeal to others who fall into that category or who are inspired by the way Beyoncé dresses as there may be some more photos of her inside the magazine.

Language

The language used on this magazine cover clearly portrays this as a music magazine. It is all written in formal English which connotes that this magazine is aimed at older people and is quite sophisticated. They use pull quotes from Beyoncé’s interview to intrigue the readers and make them want to buy the magazine. For example, the use the quote ‘I want to be an icon’ which signifies that there could be some sort of exclusive interview with Beyoncé within the magazine. It also signs a light on Beyoncé’s persona as it connotes that she is a quite strong willed person who wants to be recognised for her work and influence her fans.

Conventions

This magazine cover is very conventional. It follows the typical form of a magazine including route of the eye and the rule of thirds and conventional features like placing the masthead at the top and using the left third for placing the coverlines on. It is also conventional to have the main image of a famous celebrity or significant person so that the magazines can use endorsement to help sell their magazines.

Contents Page

Typography

The typography on the contents page has a mixture of both serif and sans serif fonts this is conventional because a mixture of fonts helps the magazine appeal to a male and female audience. Having a mixture of fonts opens up the gap wider for a target audience. Serif font is seen as a more feminine style font and appeals more to women as opposed to men. However, this is balanced out with the sans serif fonts which are conventionally seen as a more masculine font. Appealing to both male and female readers. The size of the font is a lot smaller on the contents page to allow more information to be printed on the page making the magazine more informative and an interesting read this is conventional because the magazine uses effective use of their print space. This is interesting because Billboard specifically choose to list the top albums and songs of different genres on the left of the third page.

Layout

The layout on the contents page is fairly ordered which is conventional for an older target audience. It shows what’s in the charts and what page each song/album information is on this is conventional because it allows easy navigation throughout the magazine. It also uses the rule of thirds as the contents is almost split into three different section this is conventional because splitting the information up across the page allows the magazine to be more accessible so that people can guide their way through the magazine. The main articles are shown under their own individual headings

this is conventional as it makes them easily portrayed as a significant part of that issue. You could also say that the layout on the contents page follow follows the route of the eye. Along the primary optical area you see images of famous celebrities featured in this issue, you then see the main stories placed in the centre of the page. Finally when you reach the terminal area, you see the online and exclusive events section which inform people of what’s currently going on. This layout is conventional as it is the route that our eyes tend to take when we look at something.

Colour

The range of colours on the contents page are quite masculine which will appeal to the male target audience. The colours are also quite plain and neutral which connotes the style of magazine is quite laidback and relaxed. This is fairly unconventional for a music magazine as they tend to have a bright colour scheme that stands out and catches your eye.

Images

The images on the contents page shows that it’s aimed at a broader target audience as they use a mixture of celebrities including both male and female. The first image looks like an album cover which is conventional for a music magazine as they may be informing the readers of a new release/upcoming band that is coming out soon. The second and third images along the top of the page show some more famous artists that feature within the magazine. This may appeal to the target audience as they like the artists and/or are interested in interviews they may have within the magazine. The last image on the page shows a female celebrity, taken from a long-shot. Long shots are conventional as it can display what the celebrity is wearing. The long shot also displays her relaxed and casual body language and the fact that she is smiling and reflects the personality of the magazine.

Language

The language on the contents page is quite colloquial as the word Brooklyn is abbreviated to ‘BKLYN ROCKS’. This shows that the language is quite informal and appeals to the younger target audience. It is also quite short and snappy making it quick and easy to read. Contractions and ‘text language’ i.e. missing out vowels is quite common with younger people as they tend to adapt to talking and writing like that during their younger, teenage years.

Conventions

The contents page is very conventional with extra features added in also. For a magazine to have a contents page is very typical as it helps the reader to navigate their way through the issue and pick out something if they specifically want to read something in particular. It has the different sections highlighted and put under headings to make it even easier to find what you’re looking for.

Double Page Spread

Typography

The typography of the double page spread is written in a serif style font. This is because serif font is said to be easier to read than sans serif font is when reading a big chunk of text. The typography is also very conventional for a magazine. It contains a standfirst which is sized bigger than everything else; this is conventional because it acts as a ‘pull quote’ hinting more information about what the article is about and to intrigue people to read the entire article. Midway through the article there is also a ‘kicker’. A kicker is a conventional way to start off an article, it also makes the text look a bit more unique and interesting as well as drawing attention to itself.

Layout

The layout of the double page spread is very basic, yet typical for a music style magazine. The left page contains all of the text and the information about the interview or whatever it may be that’s written about the artist. Then the right hand page contains a full page, flattering photo of the artist/celebrity. The text is set into vertical columns to make full use of the page and break up the text. It also makes the text look less overwhelming when people want to read quickly.

Colour

The colour on this make comes from the image. Because the block of text is quite a vast chunk, the full page photo makes the magazine look a bit more balanced. The photo is taken in high key lighting making it appear a lot brighter and fun, also reflecting Katy Perry’s persona this is conventional as it imitates the artist and our opinion of her.

Images

The images on this magazine double page spread is a full page photo of Katy Perry. She is wearing tight fitting and very revealing clothes which shows of her body language and makes her look attractive and sensual this is both conventional and unconventional as some artists don’t mind being portrayed like that for attention, however, some artists prefer to be more modest and keep themselves to themselves.

Language

The language used in the article is quite colloquial and aimed at a younger target audience this is conventional as chatty language is common with younger people. The fact that Katy Perry says ‘I took mushrooms at a daft punk show’ shows that she was a bit irresponsible and careless, like the stereotypical teenager is shown to be. This will help reach out to the teenage gap in the niche target audience Billboard has as stereotypically teenagers are seen as mischievous and ill-behaved by people older than them. They also use the pull quote ‘I took mushrooms at a daft punk show’ to attract people to read the article as it’s not something that we would expect from a pop singer who has a lot of younger fans.

Conventions

This double page spread is very typical for an interview style article. It shows all the story and information on the left hand page. Whereas on the right hand page we see a full scale, full page photo of the celebrity looking quite attractive. This is because if it’s setup like this, it is easier to determine what or who the article is all about and makes it conventional to the readers as the layout is more familiar.