Contents Analysis 2 (Q Magazine)

The contents, again features all of the basic, such as a mast head of the magazine (Q magazine), This much like the splash, allows us to identify the intuition of the magazine. In this case Q magazine.

At the left hand-side of the magazine, there is a index of what the magazine contains. The colour are quite bold e.g, red black and white. The also are colours which quite commonly go together. The red heading stands out and gives the impression (much like the contents of NME) of been new and up to date, i.e been red hot information given straight to the readers. Below the index there is text box giving the reader information on a special feature within the magazine, the colours of black and silver give us the impression of the article been special and important. We also can see a date in the far right side of the magazine on the masthead.

The are two images on the contents page, the first of which is a image of the featured band in the magazine (The Courteeners). The image is placed directly in the centre of the magazine and shows all the band members is an dominant position as the camera is looking up at them. The text box in he lower left corner of the image, gives the reader more information on the band and shows us the page number of the article. Again the main colour if the text is black, which allows it to stand out to the reader. The second image is another artist, however instead of being a article its a small review at the bottom of the page. Here that artist is seen as laid back as he is using the pedestal to support himself, this also makes him seen more relaxed. The text is again black which works well with the grey colour of the text box.

At the far bottom of the left side of the page there is a small text box, showing the different aspects of how the reader can get in touch with the magazine, such as; e-mail, letter and subscription. This again shows the institution of the magazine. Within this section we also get a list of things which are always in the magazine such as crosswords and competitions.

Contents Analysis 1 (NME Magazine)

The contents is used to show the reader the contents of the magazine, things such as, interviews, reviews and articles. The listings in a contents are usually numbered. Or have headings such as the one pictured.

The contents features a mast head, allowing the reader to see what is in the issue if the magazine. The colours chosen are the magazines logo colour and also white which can be seen to stand out on a black background.

The main image is of the main article of the magazine, and has a large article title which stands out so the reader can go directly to it. The photo itself stands out from the rest of the page, one reason is because its one of the only photos on the page.

The subheadings for each topic also stand out as they are black boxes with white wording, on the other hand the layout of the boxes makes them stand out more as they are all in a vertical line down the right hand side of the page. The numbers of the pages are also quite bright meaning the stand out (as they are in a red font), at the bottom of the article there is a red arrow, this gives us the image of fresh new gigs and acts to be featured in the near future. Next to the arrow we also have a subscription alert, this is presented using the effect of bright colours on a dark background, again giving the impact of standing out. On the other hand the use of the magazine images in the section also help to draw attention to this section.

On the far left had of the contents there, is a list of band featured in the magazines, this allows the reader to instantly turn to the page with the band/artists of there choice, this would also feature more information of the band for the reader to look at. The band index stands out quite well, as it in red font. This symbolises the new type of acts that are featured within the magazine, it also shows the type of feel the audience has towards the band, an example of this might be the 'Hotness' of the band.

Magazine Cover Analysis (Rolling Stone Magazine)

The Cover again has all the typical conventions of a magazine such as; Mast head, Cover line and so on. We can also see again that the mast head is covered from the audience again allowing us to know it is a well know institution. Giving us the impression of the popularity of the magazine. However this also lets us know that the institution probably have more consumer items, such as a website for there audience to enhance their experience.

The main image of the magazine (Lady Gaga) is in the centre of the magazine making the model look dominate to the audience, but also giving a sexual image of the artist. This appeals to the audience, which in this case maybe mostly male, because of the genre of the magazine.

The magazine is covered, in cover lines giving the impression of the magazine been full of information. The magazine itself is a more rock and roll type magazine, again showing us the type of audience of which the magazine would be aimed at. However has crossed genres by having a dance/electro artist on the font cover and featuring an article about her within. The cover lines on the magazine stand out quite well as the background is pink and they are white, giving a powerful effect on the front cover. On the other hand the size of the fonts and fonts type varies on the magazine, from large to small. The image of Lady Gaga gives us a look at her along with the main cover line we can tell that the article will be about her and her rise to fame. The date and price differ on this cover rather then the others, they are above the masthead instead of been in the far right hand of the splash. This shows the main focus of the magazine is the detail within it and not the price, on the other hand this may also suggest that the institution of the magazine is well know to there audience whom may distinctively know the price of the magazine when they buy it. The pink colouring of the magazine suggests, a bubbly and fun type of artist of the cove of that magazine and gives us a representation of how people expect Lady Gaga to act.

Music Magazine Cover analaysis (NME)

The magazine has all the basic conventions such as, a masthead which identifies the theme of the issue, we also have a the main logo of the magazine (in this case NME). The main logo also lets us identify the institution if the magazine. As we know NME is popular we will also find that they have a TV channel and a website to boost their popularity. Again identifying the institution of the magazine and its media products.

The main image of the magazine is a image of an artist (La Roux). This is trying to drag the audience in to reading the magazine. The model has been made to look like she is looking directly as us, the audience, giving us a sense of curiosity.

The magazine features cover lines, again trying to drag us into reading the magazine. These cover lines are written in bright, vibrant colours to make them more appealing. We can also see a bar code and a date issue. The main cover line informs us further of the issue.

The audience of this magazine are the consumers, these people need to be identified as a target audience. A magazine can do this by looking at the audiences ideology and their culture and genre of music they enjoy. By doing this the magazine will be successful. In the case of NME, they mainly focus on more indie type music, which is appealing to many people.

The representation of the magazine, means we get our views and ideas (Cultural) given back to us. Is shown through the use of the main image and cover lines, the main image (La Roux) represents the type of artist the target audience like to listen to, we know this as the artist has had a number one, therefore its a positive hing having her on the cover. On the hand the coverlines, 'The Future 50' allows use to find out about up and coming artists, of the music genre the audience enjoy. The magazine also features a barcode and date of issue which is a basic feature of a magazine.

Music Magazine Cover analysis (Q Magazine)

The magazine cover has the basics, A mast head to show the name of the magazine however as Q magazine is a well know magazine, the mast head doesn't need to be fully displayed therefore a section is covered by the model (Madonna). Here we get a sense of the magazines institution (Q magazine), which again is a very well know magazine and people instinctively know what it is.

It also features cover lines, these are used to attract the reading in the magazine, however with out drawing to much attention from the main image. On the other hand it also features a main cover line, this is mainly along the bottom section of the magazine and covers most of the area, the font is different for each layer and word of the main cover line. The main font (Artists name) is bright and bold the same colour as the magazines logo. On the other hand the it also stands out as it is on a black background.

The main image is a image of the singer Madonna, the image is quite big. Therefore making it appealing to the audience as it stands out boldly. She is looking directly at the reader again appealing more to the reader and dragging them into the magazine. With the image we get a sense of confidence and power from the way she looking directly at the audience.

The selling line on the magazine again is slightly covered up by the main model, also again due to the popularity of the magazine people know what the magazine is about. The selling line on the other hand allows the audience to pick up on the genre of magazine, and go straight to the main marketing point of the magazine. "Britain's Biggest Music Magazine".

The magazine also features a bar code, with has the price and when the issue goes out (date and year). We also get a model credit, said by the model. Here we get Madonna saying "Stupid Question ! Next!" making it seem like the model in being personal towards the magazine.

The Ideology of the magazine is the culture of a variety of music genres, it doesn't look at one genre but focuses on many. We can see this with the selling line "Britain's Biggest Music Magazine" we can see that the address music as a whole again making it seem like the look at many different styles of music. When we look closer at the ideology of the magazine it becomes easier to identify the audience, in the case of Q magazine they would reach a wide range of music fans, because of the different genres it features.

L.I.I.A.R (Music Magazine)

For our magazine we must use the five key concepts of L.I.I.A.R, which are;

• Language- The terminology we use for our product, an example of this could be the media terms for our magazine like mast head, cover line and sell line.
• Institution- An organization, such as a media company like the BBC. A example of magazine institution would be a well kown magazine like Q or NME.
• Ideology- This is the ideas, values and morals of our target audience. In other words reflecting their ideas and views through our product.
• Audience- These are the consumers of media, this means its in the producers interest to appeal to them. For our magazines we must decide on a genre to appeal to our audience.
• Representation-Representing society back to the audience through our produce.

Music Magazine Brief

The main task:

Our main task is to create; The front cover, Contents and Double page spread of a music magazine. All our images and text used must be original, produced ourselves and we must use a minimum of four images.The magazine must be created using DTP (Desk Top Publisher) an image manipulation programme