Analysis of music magazine front covers

Centre of Visual Interest(CVI) –

The main image is of Florence which

is what would catch a potential

customers eye. It is a big close up of

her face which implies that she is the

main story within the magazine too.

Secondary stories - The types of artists used

as well as Florence include a wide range of

artists within different genres e.g. Rihanna is

Pop/R&B whereas Foals is Indie/Elecrto/rock.

This could be to attract more than one

audience to buy/read the magazine.

Masthead - Although the name of the

magazine „NME‟ is on top of the main image

it does not take away from the importance of

her as her image is much more larger and

attracts the most attention regardless. Also

Usually the colour of the „NME‟ logo is also

a shade of red but would not have made

sense on this front cover as Florence‟s hair is

also red – this name of the magazine would

have not stood out amongst her hair.

Pull quote – This quote is extracted from an

interview with Florence inside the magazine.

The reason this quote is used on the front

cover is because it implies that she auditioned

for The expect -Factor which people would

not know or from her, it may even be taken

out of context just to attract attention.

Strapline – Tells us what „NME‟ stands

for „New Musical Express‟.

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This being the second of 10 special

edition covers means that people

would be more interested in buying the

previous and later editions, almost like

a collection. It would make them feel

like they‟ve achieved something.

Centre of Visual Interest (CVI) – The CVI is

Adele who may appeal to the younger audiences of

the magazine, although her target audience is a very

wide range of ages, younger people may be more

interested in Adele rather than Paul McCartney for

example.

Secondary Stories – These stories may

interest people who may not be a huge

fan of Adele but could be tempted to buy

the magazine due to the other artists

listed on the side; in this case it is other

„Q ICONS‟ that have been interviewed

for this issue.

Masthead – The masthead for this

magazine is the same in each of its issues

which makes it easier for their

readers/target audience to recognise them

easier when on the shelf in the shops.

Pull Quote – This pull quote states that

Adele has said at some point in the interview

that “If you‟ve got it, flaunt it…”. This

denotes that she is proud of the way she is

and isn‟t afraid to be herself, she also

encourages her audiences so be the same.

Also the fact that her hair appears to be

blowing in the wind emphasises that she‟s

proud of the way she looks and this

encourages her fans to be too.

Splash/Puff – This splash displays „THE 300th

ISSUE‟ which would appeal to the more regular

buyers of the magazine as they may have been

following to magazine for a long period of time.

This would make them feel part of something –

almost reminiscing.

Image in front of the masthead – This suggests

to anyone glancing at the magazine that the CVI

is most definitely Adele. Even thought the

masthead is also important, the magazine is

established enough for people to know that the

name of the magazine is „Q‟.

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Consistent colour scheme – The consistent

colour scheme makes the reader feel more

familiar wit the magazine if it is used consistently

within each of the magazines front covers. Also

the consistent black, white and red colour scheme

allows the front cover to flow visually without

looking unprofessional amateur.

Masthead – „Billboard‟ is the

magazines masthead and it is in

its usual typography, in every

issue the counter in the 2nd „b‟,

the „o‟, the „a‟ and the „d‟ and

coloured in with their respective

colour as shown in the image

below.

Secondary Stories - The artists

named in these secondary stories

are of a similar genre and if not

are the type of artists that would

be listened to along with Katy

Perry. They are all mainstream

artists.

Extra Secondary Stories -

These secondary stories are

not exactly music related

but the magazine is known

for covering other stories,

not only music.

Centre of Visual Interest (CVI) -

The magazine is popular and known to

many people even if they do not

directly read the magazine. Likewise

Katy Perry (CVI) is also very

established as an artist, if not more

than the magazine. This is denoted by

the fact that she is positioned in front

of the masthead

Negative Space – This is usually left to allow

the front cover to look less over crowded and

makes it look more professional and

sophisticated, it adheres to the saying „less is

more‟.

Splash/Puff – The splash/puff has been

placed in an orange ellipsis, this colour has

not been used in any other part of the

magazine. Although some may argue that

this goes against the colour scheme it is

actually used as tool to attract the attention

of people that give magazines one glance

before they pick one up.

Tagline – The words „Court‟ and „Queen‟

have positive connotations of royalty.

This emphasises the fact that she is of a

higher class than everybody else because

she has more money and power.

Masthead – The masthead is the name of a very

popular music based TV show and has been

running since it was first aired in 1964 on the

BBC. The typography used adheres to the theme

of the whole magazine as the pink glitter has

feminine connotations.

Centre of Visual Interest (CVI) – The CVI is

an image of Jessie J who is the star of the

magazines main article for this issue. As this

magazine publishes more than just about artists

music, it is acceptable for all the other stories to

be positioned on top of the CVI because this is a

common feature of this type of magazine gossip

based as well as music based.

Splash/Puff - The splash is in a big red circle to

attract attention amongst all the other copy on

the cover. The shape of it also fits in with the

CVI‟s shoulder. The word „now‟ is added onto

the end which puts the reader under a certain

type of pressure which persuades them to buy the

magazine.

Secondary Story – Although this story is not

necessarily about music, it is about a music

artist who is notorious for her outrageous

dress sense. The teaser clearly denotes that

the magazine has got hold of photos of her in

her younger years when she wore a more

natural look.

Secondary Story – This story is

about one member of a popular girl

group and how women can aspire

to look like her, mostly women and

young girls as this is the target

audience for their music.

Extra Secondary Story - It is not clear if this

story is music related but is acceptable to be on the

front cover as this magazine is as much gossip as

music related. Magazines giving the public an

insight into a celebrities scandalous lifestyle are

called tabloids and this particular type is definitely

aimed at women. This is denoted by the amount of

pink, red and purple used as these colours have

feminine connotations.

Lead Article/Pull Quote – The quote is

meant to be an inspirational message to all

he fans to tell them that they have to stick to

what they know and not worry about people

that put you down because she got through

it; her fans are meant to be able to relate to

her.

Sky line – The sky line is the part of the front

cover that can feature another aspect of what to

expect inside of the magazine, in this case it is a

quiz, This is a very popular feature to include in

a magazine which is aimed at the female

population as it a common stereotype that young

girls enjoy carrying out these quizzes with their

friends. The sky line also includes the

broadcaster which airs the program on TV – the

BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)

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