FRONT COVER ANALYSIS
1) NME
The New Musical Express (better known as the NME) is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, in the 14 November 1952 edition. In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. (Source=Wikipedia)
The front cover of this particular edition is very centred around Amy Winehouse, a recently deceased singer, which shows that the issue may be highly focused around her with a large article, as the picture of her is very large and strong as it's a mid-close up. The way she is staring out straight to the audience gives a sort of connection to readers, bringing them in. The fact that it only says 'AMY' without her surname anywhere on the front cover shows that the audience is very familiar with her and will know who she is. The colour scheme is mainly red and white, with some black from the picture of Amy Winehouse. The colours are complementary rather than clashing which shows that this is a more serious issue than usual glossy magazines. It says 'World exclusive' above the main cover line showing that readers cannot read about this in any other magazine. The masthead is a simple 'NME' in block, sans-serif capitals. The majority of text on the front cover is sans-serif apart from the italic text which is differentiated with serif letters. The strapline at the top of the page shows some band names such as Kasabian and The Vaccines. It is made clear that it's a competition by the 'Vs' and 'NME awards voting is go!' It also makes it easy for readers to find it without even having to go to the contents by having the page number next to it. The way it says 'have your say' also relates to readers making them feel involved. The cover lines are the summaries of the most important features in the issue and they are located near the top down the right side of the front cover. The names mentioned shows that its an indie/rock styled magazine, as well as including some mainstream artists such as example. A lure is used in these cover lines to give the audience an insight into what they could be reading, hopefully persuading them to open the magazine. There is also a very noticeable 'FREE' sing, letting readers know that they can have some free classic 'Amy' posters if they buy that particular issue. The date of the issue and price is printed very small under the masthead. The price is £2.40, and usually people like to know the price fairly quickly when they look to purchase magazines, so this may be difficult for them to see. The mode of address doesn't seem very formal, so this colloquial style might appeal to the target audience of fairly young music fans.
2) Q
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. The founders Mark Ellen and David HepworthQ was first published in October 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing. In the early years, the magazine was sub-titled "The modern guide to music and more". Originally it was to be called Cue (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in Q's 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would be more prominent on newsstands.
(Source=Wikipedia)
The colours for Q are quite typical for music magazines, with complementary colours being used just like in NME. The majority of the page is black, with some bright red text that stands out especially for the word 'MADONNA' which again, just like NME, a last name is not required because the issue is focused on a mainstream pop singer. The mid-shot of Madonna doesn't show a lot of her, so shows further how she is well-known by the magazine's readers. The quotation from her underneath the title says "Stupid Question! Next!" portraying her to be a bit of a diva which invites the audience to open the magazine to carry on reading the exciting interview. The masthead is the simple letter 'Q' which is memorable and the square red background and white font is as said before, complimentary, and the colours are very typical of music themed magazines. The cover lines on the top, right hand side of the page shows the names of some bands such as the Rolling Stones and Arctic Monkeys. This gives an indication of the type of music that is included in this certain magazine, at first glance on the front cover. The banner located at the bottom of the page tells readers that they receive a 70-page special of 'women in music' 'FREE INSIDE'. The word 'free' will automatically appeal to readers, encouraging them to purchase the magazine on the 'spur of the moment'. The other list of band and celebrity names are written in white, sans-serif capitals. Under them it says '...ALL INTERVIEW' showing that readers will get an insight into the celebrities lives.
3) Record Collector
3) Record Collector The first standalone issue of Record Collector was published in March 1980, though its history stretches back further. In 1963, publisher Sean O’Mahony (alias Johnny Dean) had launched an official Beatles magazine, The Beatles Book. Although it shut down in 1969, The Beatles Book reappeared in 1976 due to popular demand.
(Source=Wikipedia)
This is an obvious christmas special with the red colour scheme and white snow flakes. The 'Christmas Issue' banner is less easily noticable and but the colours and fonts show readers its a christmas edition at first galnce. A mix of serif and sans-serif font is used, but mainly serif with the larger headings using this font. The masthead and 'Led Zeppelin' title are both use serif font. The masthead 'Record Collector' shows that its an old fashioned, rock style of magazine, and of course Led Zeppelin being the focus of the issue shows this sytle of music. It is common for magazines to have one mid close-up image of a person, but music magazines tend to differ in the way where bands are usually shown and this particular image shows them in black and white at different levels to eachother. In a way they stand out from the red background and white font, focuses readers onto them. The christmas season is linked with the music topic with a cover line 'Excellent Xmas Songs'. Also included in the front cover is a 'PLUS!' banner at the bottom naming different bands to reinforce the style of music, encouraging readers to open the magazine if they enjoy that syle of music.
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