Analysis of music magazine contents pages

Negative space – This is used by certain

magazines such as this one to make the

magazine look more sophisticated and

simple yet includes just about everything

the reader needs to know.

Centre of Visual Interest (CVI) – Katy Perry

being on the contents page indicates that she

was probably on the front cover too. This makes

readers want to read on to her spread/interview

because they maybe fans of hers so want to

know more about her so they can relate. Or they

just like her music and wan to know if she has

any up and coming music planned. Also the

mushroom she is holding overlaps the word

‘contents’, this makes the reader indirectly

understand that her long shot (LS) the most

important part of the page and possibly this

issue of the magazine.

Masthead – The word ‘contents’ is

the biggest and boldest typography on

the whole of the page, this is because

it indicates to the reader the purpose

of the page. However the CVI is

positioned in front of it, the word is

still legible but this implies that its is

less important than the CVI.

Pull quote – The quote that has been

taken out of her interview makes readers

want to read on to her spread/interview to

understand what she’s talking about. It is

also a slightly witty comment which

displays her humorous side, this makes

her more of a likeable person.

Features With Page Numbers - This part of the

contents page tells the reader what is on certain

pages so it is easier for readers to find what they

are most interested in. However it has not been

mentioned what is on every page because then

all the pages in between would not be looked at

because readers would simply only flick to what

they want to read. The word features is the only

typography on this page that is in the colour

pink, this colour has very feminine connotations

and so suggests that this issue of Blender is

aimed at women/young girls.

Edition – This is an important part of

the contents page because it is how

regular readers can keep up to date with

each issue. It is also a technique that can

be used by the magazine to make readers

feel part something if they buy and

collect each issue.

This is the page number and website for the

magazine, the website is where followers of the

magazine can read things such as extra articles,

pictures of celebrities, reviews of albums etc.

Colour Coordination – The colours red,

white and black are reoccurring colours in this

contents page. The fact that there is a colour

scheme adds to the feeling of the page flowing

smoothly without ant harsh lines or colours.

Masthead - The masthead is not the word

‘contents’ but the name of the magazine, Spin.

This is unusual but may imply that the

magazine has regular readers who would know

what to expect on the contents page. This only

emphasises the flexibility of a magazine, they

have the power allow change in how a

conventional magazine is laid out. Also the red

in the masthead is the only red on the whole

page so makes it stand out.

Centre of Visual Interest (CVI) – The CVI is

Duffy who is a soul/pop/soft rock act. When

analysing the mise-en-scene her pose is very

playful and she looks like she is having fun; her

hand leaning towards the camera is out of focus

and her face is not, this makes he face stand out

more. The camera shot used for her is a medium

shot (MS).

Negative Space – This part of the

magazine is important so that the page

does not look too overcrowded but still

contains everything that is necessary of a

contents page.

Features With Page Numbers - Not all

pages in the magazine are referenced on the

contents page, but that may be for obvious

reason that there won’t be any space so only

the most important articles have been

mentioned. The colour scheme is followed

through with the black writing and the navy

numbers and underlining. This helps the whole

thing flow with out anything seeming out of

place with not harsh colours or lines.

Colour – The fact that she has a pink ukulele in her

hand implies that she is a young girl at heart, pink

also has very feminine connotations so her music

may be also mainly aimed at the female population.

Photo and Other Credits – This tells the

readers the name of the photographer who

took the photo of Duffy and also then goes

to mention all the people that worked on

her hair, make up etc.

Pull Quote - The pull quote denotes that

she does not make music for any other

reason other than the fact that she loves

music, this connotes that she is genuine

and this is a notoriously rare quality to

find in a music artist in todays society. It

also emphasises that she honestly does

love what she does and does it for that

right reasons. This would help her

audience relate to her because then the

lyrics of her music would actually mean

something as apposed to just putting out a

song to solely just make money.

Lighting - The lighting on her face almost

makes it look as if she is glowing, which

connotes youthfulness which is what her fans

would also aspire to like.

Masthead – The name of the magazine has been

incorporated into the masthead of the contents

page by replacing ‘pop’ with ‘this’, the effect of

this is that there is a sense of fluidity as the

readers would clearly be able to tell which

magazine this contents page belongs to. The ‘o’ in

the word love is filled in which helps it look

different and stand out against the rest of the copy

on the page.

Centre of Visual Interest (CVI) – Although

it may be argued that this is not the only CVI

but it is the largest image and therefore the

CVI. The photo is of Kelly Rowland and

Tulisa Contostavlos, were both on the panel of judges on The X Factor in 2011. People who watch the TV programme would be interested in what they have to say in case they reveal any backstage gossip that they would not of otherwise heard of.

Website – It is important for a magazine

to provide a website address so that

people can access their content outside

of when a new issue is yet to be in the

shops to buy.

Name of Magazine - The name of the magazine

is ‘WE POP.’, the pink heart used as a

substitute for the word love has feminine

connotations, this implies that the magazine is

targeted at the female population.

Editorial – This part of the magazine is a

common feature in some magazines, it

consists of a small paragraph written by the

editor. He/she talks briefly about the big

stories reported about in this issue of the

magazine. Also it give the reader a point of

view from someone who actually had a part

in putting together the magazine.

Additionally it gives the magazine the

chance to tell the readers what to look

forward to in the magazine.

‘Inside This Month’ – This part of the

‘contents’ is an addition to the larger

stories along the right hand side of the

page. For the people who aren’t too

interested on the bigger stories or want

to know what's going to being in

between, it gives them an idea of what to

expect.

Pull Quotes – This contents page is very different to

that of the previous contents pages that have been

analysed because it consists of many pull quotes,

stories and images. This type of magazine is mostly

aimed at young girls as it is very gossip based and

gives tips on how to ‘steal’ a celebrities’ style. These

kind of features are usually aimed at the female

audience, so one would assume that the target

audience for the magazine is the female population.

The pull quotes on this page are positioned in a

manner that a caption would usually be positioned

under an image, this makes it easier for the reader to

understand about each story clearly. It also gives the

reader a lot of choice in terms of what to read.