Magazine Analysis

I have chosen to evaluate and analyse the connotations of a popular music magazine (NME) front cover, in order to help me to distinguish the differences and similarities between a student/college magazine and a popular music magazine. This will also give me valuable information and idea’s when making my college magazine front cover.

The masthead is the name of the magazine, it indicates what style or type of magazine it is, it also distinguishes itself from other named brands of magazine.

This magazine is a weekly magazine because a new version of the brand of magazine is produced each week, even though it changes every week, the masthead is kept in relatively the same place which gives the reader a sense of familiarity. However the font’s and colours may change from week to week depending on the aim of the editor, this allows the editor to make the magazine accessible and interesting for different people. The banner will change positions in accordance with what is put in the magazine weekly, for example, some weeks there will be special editions like this one. The magazine uses a female who is attractive in order to target females and males in the adolescene – adult bracket, also the female smoking connotes a sense of danger and of un- responsibility. The shot type is a mid close up, this connotes that the female is on the audiences level which adopts a feeling of familiarity, the female is also at an eye level shot type which connotes that she is an individual and has no higher status than the reader.

Magazines will usually include on the front page, the date the issue was published

For which week commencing, a price and a tag line, this magazine has a slightly different set up from the magazine norm, as it’s price, barcode and it’s date issued is in the bottom right hand corner of the magazine.

Magazines will usually have a main image which is the main attraction to it, this will usually be a central image as shown in this magazine, the female takes up most of the background which is a lure men and females interested in music, the magazine will usually have somebody featured who is high in the media music interest at that moment in time, therefore the image has been cleverly selected in order to grab the audiences attention. This magazine uses a lot of bright colour on the front page, in order to attract the audience, the masthead is the same colour as the females top which allows the audience to see a visual connection between the image and the brand which connotes that the female will be used in the edition.