MAGAZINE ANALYSIS
MAGAZINE OF SUCCESSFUL MUSIC MAGAZINE:
Denotation: This magazine cover’s main image involves a coloured photograph of Beyoncé looking straight at the camera. It is a medium long shot showing her head down to her upper thigh. Her body is positioned in a way where her backside is pushed against the wall and her chest is also pushed out. The background of the photograph is a white tiled wall and the photograph covers the whole of the magazine cover. Behind the main image is the Masthead and on both sides of the image are separate cover-lines in red, black and orangeish red. A barcode is visible on the bottom right corner of the magazine. There is also a website link on the bottom left of the magazine.
Connotation: There is no use of props in the main image, but it is just one image of Beyoncé and she is an ‘important prop’ if I can use this term because she makes the magazine front cover. The colours used for the masthead and sub-lines are the same colours used in the colothes she is wearing. She is wearing very short black shorts and a see through top that is very low cut at the front, these clothes cannotes sex, lust and power. There is no exact setting but the background of the magazine cover looks like tiles from a bathroom and this cannotes dirt because Beyoncé also looks like she is wet and this could cannote that she herself is dirty. The NVC used also links with the connotation of the rest of the magazine cover, Beyoncé’s face is strong because her eyes are looking directly into the camera and her mouth is open slightly which is also seductive. The lighting is high key. The selling line is promoting different artist name so we automatically know it’s a music magazine. The main coverline “Beyoncé strips down for summer” this reflects the main image seeing as her tops half way down it could also indicate that we are going to be seeing more of these outfits during summer, other coverlines such as: “10+ pages of be like you’ve have never seen her” promoting more sexual images of her to make the audience buy the magazine. “all city summer guide New York, Atlanta Miami and more….” This is telling us what type of activities are going to be happening during summer, which is relevant to the main image.
Typography: The masthead this magazine cover is distinctive because the size covers the magazine cover from left to right, so it’s big enough for the audience to see and also the colour used-red- is also striking. All the other sub-lines and writing on the front cover is also written in either red or black and in the same font used for the masthead. The colour red usually connotes love or danger but in the magazine cover the red used connotes ‘sexiness’, power and boldness.
Target Audience: Considering all these points, it is likely that the target audience would be both male and female but mostly for men from the ages 23-35. They would have to be interested in Beyoncé and also be interested in her style which can be hood and both classy.
ANALYSIS OF UNSUCCESSFUL MUSIC MAGAZINE:
Magazines rise and fall. They lose relevance, their founders move on, or get revamped or shut down by new owners. Some speak for their generation, then the next generation finds a way to speak for themselves. The internet has shaped how current generations speak about music. Before the internet, when people bought records, tapes, and CDs, they found new music from professional music critics, record store clerks, MTV, and word of mouth. This meant that record labels needed magazines to advertise their newest offerings. Labels hung big promotional posters in record stores, and chains like Tower and Virgin had sizeable magazines racks. As music critic Simon Reynolds described that era: “All music and most information were things you literally got your hands on: they came only an analogue form, as tangible objects like records or magazines.” If you wanted to discover records by the loud scuzzy garage bands that mainstream media ignored, like Nights and Days, you read a zine like Jay Hinman’s Superdope. If you wanted to know if the mainstream albums that just came out were good, you read Option, which ran hundreds of reviews.
The internet freed information from specialists. Why do you need a magazine to tell you what Wikipedia and blogs can for free? “An interview with your favorite artist used to be sacred but now it’s mundane,” Brian DiGenti, the cofounder of Wax Poetics, said: “The idea of people being excited about finding out the tracklist of an upcoming album is now absurd. As is waiting months for a new album to drop.” Amy Linden, who wrote prolifically about hip-hop during the ’90s, recognized similar issues with readers’ desires and attention spans. “I don’t think people are curious they way that they used to be,” Linden told Pitchfork in an epic piece about hip-hop journalism. “How can we expect thoughtfulness when we’re interested in hashtags and tweets and fast thoughts?”
Back when we needed specialists, music magazines provided part of readers’ identities. We find our people and identify with a group, and music provides a particular plumage to advertise our tastes and tribal affiliation — be it punk or pop or hip-hop. When you’re young, you need to be in the know to earn cred. Jonah Weiner captured this well: “Picture that mythical orange-haired girl walking around a nowheresville suburb in 1994 with a rolled-up Spin in her back pocket — it’s not just a magazine but a badge, an amulet, a pipeline to a world far removed from her local food court.” Journalist and Longreads editor Danielle Jackson was one of those teenagers.
ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS PAGE:
A single column is used for displaying the contents of the magazine and with the help of two to three lines the description of what the said article contains is provided to the audience. This certain layout outlines the simplicity of the magazine’s contents and the very issues that they talk about too, which allows the audience to remain relaxed and easily turn to the article they want to read.
The front image is of a world recognized band which due to the low lighted background are more visible. The band is seen in their natural characteristic as they are more comfortable in that form; due to them being in their own form, the audience get captured to buy and read the magazine.
The colour scheme includes white, black, red and yellow colours which represents the funk and craziness of musicians, which is the true nature of the musicians and bands.
This contents page follows the codes and conventions properly as it has the title of the magazine written as well as a heading, issue date and a subheading but the issue number cannot be seen.
Small captions are written to give a sneak peek into their respective articles and to put emphasis on the content they carry the captions are all written in capital letters. On the right of all the captions their page numbers are given to make locating them easy for the audience.
ANALYSIS OF DOUBLE SPREAD:
Colour: Because this double spread is black and white it gives the impression of seriousness, this use (of lack of) colour suggests that the writer didn’t want bold colours to distract the reader from the content of the article. It creates a professional mood, a large contrast from the bold reds of the front cover and contents page.
Despite this, the large title placed alongside the image and the small body of text makes the spread aesthetically pleasing. The bold lettering of the title suggests that although the spread is lacking in colour to make it stand out, this article is no less important or eye-catching.
Images: The main (and only) image on the double page spread is a black and white close up of Adele, this is directly related to who the article itself is about. It may also represent something for the readers to aspire to as the article is about her success, the image itself may represent a beauty aspiration.
A close up of her face we cannot see what pose her body is in. However her face is positioned towards the camera and her eyes are looking to the side, the image shows her full profile and accentuates her bone structure, the lighting places one half of her face slightly in the shade. Her make-up is simple; black, winged eyeliner and no evidence of lipstick due to the fact that the image is black abd white. Her hair is down, slightly tousled and styled so her fringe rests against the shaded side of her face. This creates a dramatic impression for the reader, the image makes her look strong and successful, further representing the content of the article.
How words are used-dps: The contents of this double page spread are easily identifiable because of the bold title; it suggests that the readers are interested in celebrity achievement/success stories and would be willing to read a main article on one. However in contrast to the large title, the main body of text is written in very small font, this may also affect the readers interest in it as they might not want to buy a magazine that would be difficult to read.
Elaborate and detailed, this suggests that the target audience of this magazine is of average/above average intelligence. The sub-heading offers more detail than the title but still not as much as the main text, this again captures the reader’s attention.
Overall Impression-how effective is dps?: Overall the double page spread gives a professional yet interesting impression, it captures the audience’s attention without using bold colours or comedic language. This is obviously aimed at an intelligent audience that has an interest in the live and achievements of celebrities. However, it may not appeal to people who are looking for a fun, interesting or colourful article due to the fact it is black and white and full of information. Despite this it does represent the target audience to this magazine well.