TASK 1NME Magazine Analysis

Austen Mahon

NME• NME was first published on the 7th March 1952, and was originally a

newspaper. It moved to a magazine format in the 1980s. At the start of its life, the Beatles and The Rolling Stones were dominant in the magazine. In 1972, NME was almost shut down. So, they changed radically to a more smarter, hipper, more cynical and funnier magazine. In 1985, NME was close to closing again! The editors were split between what genre should be in NME. Some said hip-hop (which was fairly new to the UK at this point), and rock.

• During the 1990s, NME mainly had American bands, but they still covered the indie scene. Sales of the magazine increased due to Britpop, which was dominant after Kurt Cobains death. During the 2000s, the magazine was mainly focused on new British bands such as Franz Ferdinand and the Kaiser Chiefs. “Indie” grew.

• NME is published by IPC Media, and its target audience is 16-19 year olds, who are mainly interested in rock/indie.

MastheadThe masthead for NME Magazine uses a red, white and black colour scheme. The letter is

blocked and bold, and the letters ‘lock’ together, to create a single, unified shape. The

masthead is situated in the top left, and layered below the cover image.

Use of flashThe flash is situated just below the masthead,

but layered above it. This makes the flash jump out at the viewer, and makes it seem more

important. It also makes it more noticeable, and would more likely make someone buy the

magazine.Background

The background of the cover image reflects upon the subject of the cover image. The cover image is Dizzee Rascal, and the graffiti covered

wall connotes the sort of lifestyle stereotypically associated with someone who

likes the sort of music Dizzee Rascal creates. It also links in with the ‘Express’ in NME (New

Music Express), as people see graffiti as a way to express yourself.

Use of pull quoteThe pull quote is taken directly from the article

about Dizzee Rascal. The use of the word “man” makes it obvious that it is Dizzee Rascal, as that

is the type of way people who are stereotypically linked with the type of music

Dizzee Rascal creates, speak. Furthermore, the actual quote has quite an evangelic quality to it.

“I’m spreading joy around the world” makes him seem like he has the power to spread the joy. He seems to say it as if he can spread the

joy.

The headerThe header which runs across the top, gives more information to the audience, about what the magazine contains. The header, along with the footer, gives the magazine a more ‘jam packed’ feel. It makes it seem more busy.The coverlinesThere are a variety of coverlines on this front cover. Starting from the top, there is a “starring” list, to the left of the Masthead. It tells the audience who else is in the issue. The use of the word “starring” makes it seem a bit more film like. Starring is a word commonly associated with films, so this can give it a more cinematic, blockbuster feel to it. The cover line on the right hand side, uses a bold, block text, followed by some small text in a different, serif font.

Cover ImageThe cover image is a medium-long shot, and it shows Dizzee Rascal, the subject, in a kneeling pose, with his arms coming at the camera. This create a sense of the image jumping out at the viewer, and this effect is further enhanced by the fact that the image is layered above the masthead. The subject is wearing clothes that stereotypically reflect the audience of the type of music that he makes. He is also standing in front of a graffiti covered wall, which, again, links in with the type of music that he creates.

Main Cover lineThe main cover line which says “DIZZEE RASCAL”, is written in a large, bold font. It placed on the page in a very un-uniformed manner, which reflects the subject. It’s as if they are just placed on the page in a way to make it seem like they are not quite ‘inline’ with everything else on the page, which are straight and uniformed.

Rule of thirdsOn this front cover, the cover lines are arranged in a ‘C’ shape. They start in the top right hand corner, curve around the top, down the left hand side, and across the bottom. This is done to allow the eye to flow across the page, because this ‘C’ shape is traditionally what someone looks at first when they pick up a magazine.

Front Cover

MastheadThe NME Masthead is present on the contents

page, and keeps the same colour scheme of that of the one on the front cover.

ArticleThis contents page has an article, describing what this particular issue is based around. In

this case, tours. The article is placed on a musical instrument carrying case, which is

commonly used by musicians on tours. The image shows a tour bus. These three things

create a uniformed look, and helps throw the meaning at the audience.

Band indexOn the left hand side of the contents, there is a

‘Band Index’ which alphabetically lists the artists which are present in this magazine, and

gives a page number for each.

The contentsThe contents is split into five sections: News, Radar, Reviews, Live!, and Feature. Each subtitle is blocked out, which create a sense of structure and organisation. Then, the individual articles use a single number for its page number. There is also a ‘Plus’ section at the bottom, which basically shows a bit more of what's inside.

Subscriber panelA subscriber panel is in the bottom left, and gives the audience a deal if they subscribe to the magazine.

Contents

Date

Double Page SpreadImage

The image is of Dizzee Rascal spray paint a wall. It is a

medium-long shot, and it portray a rather stereotypical

image of someone who him, and someone who would listen to

his music. The background, like the front cover, is of a graffiti

covered wall. This could portray the expressive nature of graffiti,

as the ‘E’ in ‘NME’ does stand for Express (which may not

necessarily mean quick). The mise en scene of the image is a

clothing that is stereotypical and a spray paint, which is also

stereotypical, but could also link in with the expressive nature of

the background.

Page Number, NME logo and date

CopyThe text uses a serif font, and a drop cap, which drops down six lines of text.

Main HeadingThe heading ‘From Tags to Riches’ is placed on the page in a very disjointed manner. It is placed at an angle, and even some of the letter are not in line with the rest of its word. This could reflect into a ‘breaking the rules’ type behaviour that Dizzee Rascal goes for. The heading is also a play on word, with the popular phrase “From rags to riches” being changed to use the word ‘tags’. This helps to further stereotype Dizzee Rascal.

ColumnsThe text is organised in a four column structure.

Text wrap

BylineWords and pictures