CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF

A POP MUSIC MAGAZINE

MASTHEAD• The masthead is one of the main conventions

of a pop music magazine as it stands out the most. The masthead is used to draw the audiences attention to the page. The masthead is usually big, colourful, and bold to attract the most amount of attention and to stand out.

• The masthead should also have links to what the magazine is about, so for a pop music magazine the masthead should have links to music. This makes it obvious to the audience what the magazine is about. An example of this is the ‘Top of the Pop’s’ magazine. The masthead has the word pop in it would tells the audience the magazine is about POP music.

COVER LINES Cover lines on the front cover of the magazine shows the audience what they will find in the magazine. They attract the audience by encouraging them to read the magazine. They usually stand out from the page because they are trying to attract as much attention as possible.

DOMINANT IMAGE The dominant image is the background image on the front cover, or any other page of the magazine. It is the most important image on each page of the magazine. It is important in pop music magazines because the audience are interested in the artist and their music so the dominant image will attract the audience using a big photo of the artist they want to read about. The dominant image usually fills up the whole page, or the majority of the page so it is clear to see and attract attention.

COLOUR SCHEMEThe colour scheme of a pop music magazine is an important code and convention. It attracts a certain type of audience, so the editor of the magazine would have to pick the colour scheme of the magazine based on its target audience for that issue. The colour scheme depicts whether the target audience is male or female for that particular issue. The colour scheme is shown throughout the magazine including the front cover, which also links the pages together and makes it more appealing to the audience.The colour scheme for magazines vary depending on target audience, but usually contain at least one bright colour to attract the audience.

Dark colour scheme to attract the male audience.

CONTENTS PAGE

A POP music magazine must contain a contents page to let the readers know where each article is. It often shows the readers clearly where the feature article is in the magazine whilst also encouraging them to read the other articles in the magazine.

PAGE NUMBERS

Each page of the magazine usually has the page numbers written on the bottom corner of the page. This is to make it easy for the readers to find a page from the contents page. This is a very common convention as it makes the magazine easier to read and understand, making it more enjoyable to read.

SUB HEADINGS

Sub Headings are used throughout a POP music magazine to make it clear to the readers what information is where. It puts context into the information on the page by putting it under a heading which provides more information on the topic. It makes finding certain bits of information easier for the readers, and also attracts the audiences attentions. Sub headings are used on the cover page, contents page, and article pages throughout the magazine.

COLLOQUIAL LANGUAGE Colloquial language, colloquial dialect, or informal language is a variety of language commonly employed in conversation or other communication in informal situations. This type of language is commonly used in POP music magazines because POP music and its audience are recent and modern. POP music creates a slang language of its own because in a lot of songs informal language is created and used so the modernized audience understands what the artist means. This same language is used in POP magazines to fit with the music they are writing about and to allow their target audience to understand the contents of the magazine. This language attracts younger audiences which is usually the target audience for POP music magazines.

BOLD FONTS Bold fonts are a typical code and convention in POP music magazines because it attracts the audience. The bold fonts stand out on the page and attract the audience to the information on the page. The bold fonts make it clear to the readers which writing is more important than other bits of writing on the page. The bold fonts give character to the page as well as making it stand out. Bold fonts are used throughout the POP genre on album covers and for song titles etc., so using bold fonts also links back to the genre making the magazine fit more.

AN ARTICLE An article is a code and convention of a POP music magazine. The article provides information on a certain artist or artists. Articles are featured throughout the magazine, on the cover, contents page, and on other pages of the magazine. The article is what grabs people to buy the magazine, as the readers will buy the magazine for the informative content, and not for the images they can easily access online for free. The article is usually well written and informative to make the audience read that page of the magazine, and the rest of the magazine. The article will feature an artist that is popular at that time to increase their audience number. The article is usually put over two pages, with images on the page linking to the article to make it more interesting and to provide a visual aspect. The article will use a range of different sizes of text, fonts, boldness, and italics to let the readers know which parts are more important than others.

BARCODE, DATE, AND ISSUE NUMBERThe barcode, date, and issue number are usually seen close together on a POP music magazine, as although they are key points of information, they will not attract the audience. They are included on the front or back of the magazine as they are essential bits of information for the audience, however they usually detract from the cover and make it look less appealing. The barcode, date, and issue number may also cover parts of the dominant image which would then change the affect of the magazine and will attract less audience members. These codes and conventions must be included on the magazine for the audience to be able to purchase the magazine, and buy the right issue.

STYLE

The style and layout of POP music magazines are usually informal. The layout is often made out of shapes to attract the audience and give them something to focus on. There is always a mix between text and images to keep the magazine interesting yet informative. The fonts are changed to represent the chosen target audience for that magazine issue, but are usually bold and stand out to attract attention.

PUFF AND PUGSPuffs and pugs are often used on the POP magazines targeted at the younger audience because they are seen as tacky, and unprofessional. They aim to attract the audience to the page using bright colours and shapes, often offering a freebie or a deal. They will sometimes offer information on the content of the magazine and often use buzz words like ‘exclusive’ and ‘brand new’. Puffs usually offer the information on the content where as the pug gives information such as the price, date, and issue number. Puffs are used to entice the audience before they see the price so they are persuaded to buy the magazine no matter the cost.