Research into Different Music Magazine Genres

I have looked into different Music Magazines and their different genres. This is so when it comes to  deciding on a genre for my magazine the choice will be easier as I will know, how each genre is presented and looks in real media products. It will also help me know what magazine conventions go where, and how they should be presented.

Q magazine covers different areas of pop and rock genres, they variety between the two as the mainly go for the main artist/band of the month; as the magazine is published monthly. The masthead of the magazine is a bright bold red box, with a white 'Q' on the inside so it stands out from the rest of the magazine and draws the audience in, and allows the magazine to spotted easily on the shelf. Underneath the 'Q' in the red box it includes the slogan of the magazine which is 'Discover Great Music', the slogan has been put in a smaller font, and is less bold than the other writing; this is because its not the main focus of the magazine and other things are the main focus. The anchorage text is above the main image of Florence, it states who it is that she is the 'women on the edge' and that she said ''I feel so alone''. The anchorage text is in a bold white font to stand out and show the reader that it is the main article in the magazine and about the artist on the front cover.   The main image shows the artist Florence from 'Florence and the Machines', her image has taken up the whole of the front page, with no background showing. It shows only her face and hands; her nails have been painted a dark red to match her hair. Florence's face make up has been simple so it doesn't over power her hair, however her eye make up has different shades of blue; the blue match's the puff on the right. The price of the magazine, issue number, date and the bar code are both in the left bottom corner; the price of the magazine is £3.99, which is an average price for a music magazine. The sell lines along the side are all in the same white font, so it matches the rest of the magazine and stands out. The sell lines tell the reader what will be inside the magazine, for example the '16-page gig blow out'. As I stated earlier the puff colour matches the colour of Florence's blue eye shadow; the puff includes the information that Zane Lowe said ''Where've all the guitars gone?'', and on the outer edge it says 'new column'. The puff includes special information about the magazine 'special' articles. The colour scheme is red, white and blue; the only bit of red it the masthead, this is the company's logo which stands out to attract the audience. The white has been used for the font so it can stand out against the main artists hair; so it is visible and easy to read. The blue has been used for minor details, such as bullet points, lines and the outline of the puff; they've done this to make the magazine more bold and attracting to the target audience.

 

Top of the Pops magazine is released monthly, and is published by Immediate Media Company; it was originally used to add to the TV show Top of the Pops, until the show was cancelled in 2006. The features inside the magazine include star gossip, chart information, quizzes, song lyrics, posters, fashion and beauty advice. The masthead of the magazine has been made to look like an old move theatre sign, with the stars going across the top and bottom of the title. The title has been made in a bold white font that stands out from the orange background, the words 'of the' has been put into the circle in between the words 'Top' and 'Pops'; this makes the main words stand out in comparison.  The BBC logo has been placed in the top left corner; this shows that the owners/producers of this magazine is BBC. The skyline tells the reader how there is 'Quiz - Are you too truthful?' inside the magazine, for them to complete and find out if they are too truthful or not. The main image shows a mid shot picture of Justin Bieber; he is facing forward, this allows the audience/readers to engage with him, and feel drawn to the magazine more. The anchorage text shows what the main picture is about; on this magazine its about Justin Bieber's quote ''I can really shock my parents!'' But will Justin's confessions shock you?'. By putting the anchorage text next to the main image it shows the readers what the main article is about in this magazine, and what the main image is about. This also will attract the audience to buy and read the magazine so they know what the full story is. The price of the magazine is shown at the bottom next to the bar code and terms and conditions of the magazine; the price is £2.99 for this magazine. The price of this magazine is not in the bottom left or right corner like any other magazine; this one has been placed in the middle next to the bar code not underneath. The bar code is also not in one of the bottom corners it has also been placed in the centre of the magazine; this is unusual as most magazine use the 'Z' rule to attract their readers more. The sell lines of this magazine include different images and information about the other articles inside the magazine; including 'Buff Boys - 11 lads who dare to bare!' and 'Amelia Lily - Fail proof friendship fixes!'. As the readers can see some of the main articles that are going to be inside of the magazine this attracts them more to buy and read the magazine. The puff has been placed in the middle of the magazine in a bright red circle to attract the attentions of the audience; it says 'Amazing dating secrets boys never reveal!'. By putting the text inside the puff the audience what to read it more, and more interested in that article, as it has been put into the bright red circle, that attracts their attention. The layout of the magazine is very busy, it shows loads of different sell lines to attract the audiences attention. It also shows a variety of different adverts to give attention to competitions and articles inside the magazine. The layout includes loads of different text boxes, a puff and images; this shows the audience that there is a lot to read inside the magazine. The colour scheme is represented mainly for girls as there aren't any dark colours; its a bright vibrant magazine using oranges, reds, yellows, black and white. This make the magazine bright and stand out from all the other magazines; so this will attract their target audience of girls aged around 11-14.

NME stands for New Musical Express, created by Theodore Ingham. NME is a UK weekly pop/rock music journalism magazine; it first started being published in March 1952. It originally started as a music newspaper, and eventually moved towards a magazine format in the 1980's/1990's. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, in November 1952. It was also named the best selling British paper in the 1970's.  The mast head of this magazine is 'NME' in bright bold red letters with a white outline, so it stands out from the black background. Although half of the mast head has been cut out by the main image, however this doesn't matter as this magazine is very well known, and the audience will know that it is 'NME's' magazine with out having to see the full mast head. The skyline on this magazine states how there are 15 new bands to get excited about; this shows the readers that inside the magazine it will state the new bands. Underneath the main skyline '15 New Bands To Get Excited About' it lists five out of the fifteen bands that are new and exciting. The main image shows the Arctic Monkeys; they are all facing directly towards the camera, this allows the audience to engage with them. Also the background is black, this makes the band stand out against it, they've used a mid shot to show all the artists; they have also used studio lighting to show the expressions on each of the artists faces. The anchorage text states what the main image is about; 'Life after 'HumBug' Arctic Monkeys ''We can't worry about what other people think'', this lets the audience know what the main article in the magazine is about. The bar code and price is in the bottom right corner, sideways; this allows more information and sell lines to be put on the front cover. The price has been written in a small font, above the bar code, this means that the magazine is expensive, and they want to attract their readers to the magazine before they see the price. This magazine has two puff's, one is a white circle with the information of a exclusive Christmas single, the others a peach circle with the information about the band that changed Noel Gallagher's life. Both puff's have been put in bright bold colours to stand out against the dark black background, so it attracts the readers attentions. The sell lines in this magazine have been kept minimal, and are only included at the bottom of the magazine, so the main image and anchorage text are the main part of this magazine. The layout of this magazine is very simple and organised; by using this simple method the magazine, seems less crowded and easier to read. By keeping the magazine layout simple it's easier to see all the sell lines, puffs and different parts of information; this will attract to the audience because they'll be able to find out whats inside the magazine easier. The colour scheme of this magazine is black, white, peach and red; the red was used for the mast head to stand out against the rest of the magazine. The white and peach has been used for the text, puffs and adverts to stand out against the black background. This allows the information to be read easily and faster; this will attract the audience as this is helpful for the readers to get the information they need.