Music Magazine Analyses

Front covers:

This first magazine is 'ADWEEK', featuring the stunning RuPaul as their cover girl. On this cover, there are many conventions used, such as a large title, a skyline and a feature story etc., and also many independent devices used, too. For example, using RuPaul as the cover girl was a very smart move as she very widely known and is idolised all around the world and so anyone who admires her will probably want to buy this magazine. Also, the main feature story title having 'The Queen' in bold can be seen as a pun on her being a 'Drag Queen' and anyone who doesn't know her will see that she is seen as a queen and could want to read about her to find out who she is.

I really like how the editor has matched the line "Of Product Placement"'s colour to Ru's lips and blush as it really pulls everything together and makes it all sync together nicely. The fact that they have used Ru's 'product placement' shtick as a main story also adds a comedy theme to the magazine as everyone who knows RuPaul knows that she'll plug every chance she gets (and it works.) which would also make Ru herself laugh, too.

Because this magazine has a world famous drag queen on their front cover it represents their target audience as not only those who like/adore drag, but those who want acceptance and love, as that's what Ru's all about - accepting everyone for who they are. This will let people know that this magazine is accepting of everybody and that everyone is welcome to read their magazine and so will make readers feel like they really belong in society.

On this cover of 'Billboard' there is the same as always, but the main part of this magazine that pulls people in seems to be the beautiful editing of the photo. The flare/glow coming from behind XTina adds the effect that she is a goddess onstage, drenched in bright sunlight. This draws people into looking at the magazine, even if you don't know who she is and creates a sense that we should be looking at her.

In my opinion, whoever edited this magazine did an amazing job because the lighting is perfect, the tone of her skin has been edited perfectly, and made her makeup look flawless. Also, "The Resurrection of Christina" has been put behind her arm, which shows that Christina herself is more important than the story and makes it feel like she's coming off of the page.

The theme of the magazine has really been presented well through the splash, as for example, the title of "The Resurrection of Christina" with the image of Christina coming away from the light, adds the theme of power and breakthrough, which portrays the thought that this magazine can help improve the readers' self perception and take back the feeling of empowerment that everyone deserves to have.

This issue of 'Rolling Stone' is an amazing cover of Lady Gaga, featuring the elegant colour scheme of white, red w/ pink tones, and white. The filter that has been put over the top of the whole magazine (the worn lines) adds a sense of passed time and makes it seem like a classic magazine which portrays that it will be around for a long time and that it will last.

Gaga's overall look seems very appropriate for this magazine as she is wearing a bra has two large guns attached to it while she's looking into the distance, which portrays that she is powerful but very relaxed about it and is simply enjoying being on top, just like all of the musicians act that are featured on the magazine.

The way that Gaga is posed for this cover portrays that this magazine is about power, in the way that she has a device for killing upon her item of clothing perceived as an undergarment that shouldn't be shown, and so shows her as breaking the original roles and owning the movement.

What do these have in common?

On these front covers, there are many similarities between them, for example, they all have a main photo of someone extremely important and well-known to attract people into picking their magazine up. They also all feature this cover model's name largely on the page (though, not as large as the title, as this would deter them from the name of their magazine. 

They also have the name of their magazine at the top of the magazine as the largest piece of text on the page and a sneak-peak into what is inside the magazine. This is put on by describing minutely who or what the story is about to entice readers.

Contents Pages:

This contents page for 'Q' magazine features all of the basic conventions that would usually be expected to have been used, as labelled above, for example every contents page seems to have the title of 'contents' on the page (even though we can probably gather that without it being there), which lets the reader know that it is a general magazine and that it will have the basics throughout of which are usually used in music magazines.

The main story here is of Lana Del Ray, which is clearly shown by the extreme close up of her face and as her's is the largest image on display. This indicates that this is the story that has been worked on the most and will probably be the best read, whereas the others are smaller and so probably won't be as known to the readers and therefore aren't quite as important as the others.

These contents also have their website on the bottom of the page, which advertises where more information on their magazine is and gathers their audience to their website. On this page, the same colour scheme is used as their front cover and as their logo, which allows the readers to recognise what magazine they're reading and keeps the magazine looking sleek and classy.

This contents page from 'Kerrang' is set out a little like the one above, only it has a lot more visual aid, showing that their magazine is for a younger audience than the magazine above. This helps show what age group they want to target their sales to and helps people clearly see what they have on offer to them to read within the pages.

The colour scheme used is very "them", which makes it very easily recognisable and easy to identify what magazine this belongs to - and even if you can't tell, they have actually put an image of the front cover on the page next to the editor's notes and again to advertise their option to subscribe. This is effective because it is an advertisement of something they're already familiar with and probably have - or can get - an opinion on and therefore have the option to keep getting their magazine and therefore getting more profit.

In the top right corner, just below the title 'Contents', there is a quote from "Robb Flynn", whom is in the bottom left corner, which shows that the magazine is about lightheartedness and that it will be funny throughout, as well as giving the necessary information that will inform the readers.

On this contents page it shows, once again, the most important feature's interviewee largely on the page, with the largest page number, name and notes. This is used widely in the editing industry to show who the main story is about and so that we know exactly who they are and what they look like, allowing the audience to put the information together and want to read the piece on them.

This page has a lot less visual aid than the others do and is much cleaner, indicating that it is for a different audience. The font used for 'In The Mix', however, shows that it still involves a little buzz of fun and kind of brings it back to being for a wider audience and that it relates to classy, down-to-earth people.

Also, on this page there is a border around the page, which adds dimension to it and makes 50 Cent more 3D. This adjusts the view on the page, making it more pleasing to the eye and making it feel more real.

What do these have in common?

In these magazine contents pages, there are many features that are shown constantly throughout them all. For example, there is a title stating what the page is on them all, in different ways saying "contents", which shows readers what the page contains. They also include who the main story is about as a large(r) photo on the page to add visual support to the memory to help see who the article is about.

Also, they all feature the most important pages in the contents and add their page number so that it is easy to find something if you didn't want to read the whole magazine at that moment. This is used in all magazines, not just music magazines, and so this is a necessity for my magazine.

They also all have the date of the magazine and its issue number on the page, which informs people when the magazine is from and if it's the one they wanted.

Double Page Spreads:

On this double page spread, there is a full page of who the article is about with a black and white and sepia with opacity to the image, which adds a sense of nostalgia to the page, connecting the pages to the overall aesthetic of the magazine. On the second page of the spread, the title is written uniquely as the first half of her name in lower case lettering and the second half in capitals. This makes it clear who the article is about and adds a sense of understanding to her name.

Gaga's first initial is printed on the second page in red all across the text, which adds an individual element to the magazine, connecting it back to the main page and therefore connecting it to the overall design presented consistently throughout 'Q'. This (the colour scheme and design) is a widely recognised trait for 'Q Magazine' and therefore allows it to be seen from afar on the shelves among other magazines.

This double page spread has not actually included David's name as a title, but has only written his name in the subtitle speech, which presents him as being so well known that the reader can already tell who he is just by the photo of him. Also, just like the photo of Lady Gaga above, it has the same double filter editing - making it have a nostalgic feature to the overall design.

On this spread, there is also a quote from the article by Bowie written above the actual article which reads ""It keeps dragging me back"", which not only gives reader's a taste of the article, but entices them into wondering what the article is about and what "keeps dragging [him] back". This will pull the reader in and make them want to read the whole page.

On this double page spread on the amazingly talented Jeffree Star there is once again a page dedicated to a photo of him, but this time in colour. This photo is probably in colour because Jeffree is an amazing makeup artist with bright pink hair and so to put it in black and white would not show his work as well and have as big of an impact. Although, there is a black and white photo of him on the opposite page, with the same background colour as the title at the top of his name, pulling the colour scheme together.

The right-hand page is an interview between the interviewer and Jeffree, which is clearly shown by the way that the questions are a different colour to the answers and therefore helps the readers see clearly what's what.

Also, at the bottom of each page, the title of the magazine and it's service (Runway Entertainment) is printed to make it clear what magazine you are reading and, if like above, you took a picture of the magazine, no-one would have to ask what the magazine was called as it is already in the photograph.

What do these have in common?

There are many things that all of these magazine have in common with each other to have a clear view of what is needed in a magazine. For example, they all have the full left page dedicated to an image of who the article is about, which clearly presents who the story is about and gives visual aid to those who need reminding of which name belongs to which face (plus some people are just so good to look at).