Music Magazines Analysis

NME music magazine.

The main focus point of this magazine is the image of Pete Doherty. The picture is the entire background image and is not separated from any writing. The way Pete is sat is casual which suggests the interview on him is going to be relaxed and informal. He is wearing his every day clothes and looks gormless which represents his personality and again, the casual effect. The colour theme is yellow and red. This is repeated across the splash so it becomes recognisable as a magazine. The masthead is the same as how it is on every other NME magazine this is the magazines identity so with it been the same font size and colour it becomes popular and people become aware of it. The headline is also in red. 'Pete' is a bigger and bolder font than 'Solo Album' this tells the audience who the article is going to be about and with the word exclusive spread across it, this makes the magazine seem official and important and it invites the reader to read on as the article may be something exquisit and no one else has read it. The quote underneath is written by Pete himself which makes it more realistic and interesting and involves the reader more, it makes the reader seem closer to Pete. The plug at the top of the page is advertising what else is in the magazine and with it been a music magazine it is advertising different and new albums this year. The font is red which makes it seem more appealing and catches the readers attention. The other 2 advertisements on the page at the top are placed in white circles. This is unique and attractive. The information is quite small but with it been in a circle which stands out from the background and any other advert on the page, this makes it more of a focus point. At the bottom of the page the writing is identical to the rest of the font on the page. This is a convention of magazines. The writing is white in contrast to the red background which also makes it more noticeable. Also with the writing been on either side of a glass of red juice which Pete is drinking in the image this relates. This music magazine has a variety of different images and writing and looks jam packed and not very tidy and sophisticated which targets the audience. The target audience and typical readers for this magazine is under 25's. The language is also very informal and clumsy and relaxed which would attract more to a younger person than a upper class, educated adult. The magazine is aimed at males and females but more on the male genre because not many females read music magazines, and more males relate more to information about certain artists and bands and a lot of the bands published in the NME magazine are male up and coming or old classic bands. Gigs are very important with the NME magazine and males tend to want to know more about where certain bands are playing more than females.

Smash hits magazine is aimed at females usually below the age of 16. This is because the magazine includes lots of celebrity gossip, tv programmes and has good looking and the 'in' boys in it.
The front page of this magazine is pink. This automatically suggests female audience. The font is very casual and pop artish. This shows the relaxed humour and suggests this been a cheap magazine. The main image is of Preston. This will appeal to the younger female generation because he is good looking and the interview shows exclusive images and information so this will make the reader want to read more. Their is a quote what he has said which involves the reader. Their is lots of pictures on the front splash most of them been well known celebrities and pop stars which suggests the music genre which will be advertised and written about. On the left hand side of the page their is a box sectioned up into four with pictures of pop stars and tv programmes and at the bottom their is a picture of Chantalle from big brother and a lot of youngsters find her attractive and an idol so this could be why she is on the front page to attract the target audience. The theme colours is pink, their is pink everywhere on the page which appeals to girls. Also Preston and Chantalle had a relationship so having them both on the front page links. The splash is filled with pictures and patterns and writing which makes the page look interesting and full of information which will make the reader want to buy it. Their is no proper headline but the Preston writing is the biggest and his image is the main one so you could argue that this is the headline. The masthead is identical to other smash hit magazines which tells the audience what they are reading and it is pink in this addition which links to the rest of the colour theme.

The Kerrang magazine always has a black masthead. This relates to the music genre of the magazine with it been rock/metal. The font looks as though it has been torn which gives a rebellious look to the image and with it been black makes it look slightly Gothic. The plug above the masthead tells the reader what bands are inside. This involves the audience and introduces them to what the issue is going to be about. Sectioning the bands names their is a red star. A star is linked with this type of music and with it been red it gives a danger look on it.

The main focus point is the band. They are all wearing black and white which links to the masthead and they all look smart and meaningful which suggests the article on them maybe be serious. Also they look like they mean business which suggests they are dedicated to what they do. The headline is the title of the band and this is in bold white font and the Panic has an explanation mark next to it which is the same with every article on this band because the explanation is their trade mark so straight away the audience recognises them. The writing underneath is in red and quote formal scriptive writing this could also add to the Gothic effect. All the other advertisements are at the bottom of the page which separates from the main image and also makes the article look neater. The writing again is red and white and all the images are of bands in action which shows they are serious about their music and a shot in action adds more of a hardcore effect instead of the band posing for a photo. They all look like their screaming which relates to music genre again.

Q magazine looks more formal than the previous magazines and looks more expensive because it looks more organized and so the institutor's would of been more of an older generation. The front page is very simple. The main focus point is the masthead because it is so large. It is just one letter and it is in a scriptive type font. The masthead is exactly the same for every Q magazine. With the background been red it makes it look more important and effective. The only image on the page is of Kate Bush. The image is a close up which makes the reader seem more involved in her life. She is wearing all black which gives an evil and mysterious side to her but in contrast she also looks sophisticated and serious. This issue i feel will attract more to the male audience because of the main image been a female and a good looking one. The jumper she is wearing is black/grey and her face is pure white which is similar to the black background and the white writing. Most of the colours used are black and white with two extracts of red. With the colours used and the beige effect used for the plug at the top these are all neutral which therefore are aimed at both sexes. The masthead background is red and the information at the bottom is red. Their is a lot of writing on the right hand side of the splash and it is all capital letters and bold and in a white font. This looks effective and important and because they is so much writing it looks more classic and expensive. The writing giving to inform the reader is very simple and snappy this attracts the target audience been more for working class who don't mind paying a little more for a decent magazine. The pages are probably made out of a lot thicker paper which also boosts up the price.