THE MASTHEAD is big and bold so that it stands out.

THE HEADER is simple and clearly visible to audience in black and white

THE SELL LINES/COVER LINES

THE MAIN IMAGE is of a famous rapper who the audience might admire or aspire to be like

THE MAIN COVER LINE

Barcode-date/issue/price

THE FOOTER

USE OF A PULL QUOTE

BACKGROUND is colourful and graffiti which reflects what sort of people this is for.

USE OF A FLASH-(offering something extra to T.A)

RULE OF THIRDS/THE LEFT THIRD

Analysis of magazine front coversCover 1.NME Sept 2009 Dizzie Rascal Edition

TARGET AUDIENCE OF THIS MAGAZINEMETHODS USED TO ATTRACT THIS TARGET AUDIENCE ARE:

NME is a music magazine that focuses on genres such as rock, indie, alternative and

pop-rock. The magazine is published by IPC Media and Time Warner. The average age of the NME readers is 25 years old, and it’s

audience is 70% male and 30% female. The target audience is people interested in particular types of music. The magazine

currently costs around £2.50 – which is quite average for a magazine but this is more than what other magazines cost so the

target audience will be lower/mid middle class as they earn enough money to

purchase several issues and be a full time reader.

NME tend to ignore particular ‘rules’ when it comes to layout and design. For

instance, most issues of the magazine ignore the rule of thirds on cover; they feature unjustified lines and there is a

strong similarity in layout and design of covers. Every week the contents page conforms to a very similar layout and is

always on the right face. They use these fonts and colours to create a unity

throughout the magazine so that it sticks together well – this is known as the house

style.Possible example of a target audience^

The statistics for readers of NME are:•Male - 73%•Female - 27%

•Average Age - 25•ABC1 73%

•Target Market Men 17-30•They are entertainment

enthusiasts with 80% of NME readers feel that music is an important part of their

lives.•49% specially choose to

listen to live bands in studio and 52% are interested in

taking a musical course/qualification.•Almost half (49%) have

been reading NME for at least 3 years with 84% think the magazine gives them what they want, spending an average of 46 minutes

reading each issue.•They are good with

technology 93% own a computer with 96% have

access to the Internet.

CHALLENGEWHO PUBLISHES THE MAGAZINE? - IPC Media (Time Inc.)

HOW MANY SALES DOES IT MAKE? – NME has made millions of sales however sales were dropping, and by the mid 1980s.The first issue was published on 7 March 1952 – so this magazine has been published for a long time, 60 years. Circulation of the magazine has fallen continuously since 2003. At its peak in the 1960s, NME sold 230,000 copies per week.

NME is a music magazine that focuses on genres such as rock, indie, alternative and pop-rock. The typical contents in this magazine are to inform people about what's going on in the music world and behind the curtains. The bands/artists that it currently features are bands such as: Rihanna, dizzie rascal, lady gaga and many more. The target audience is usually focused on people interested in indie/rock and also people who can afford it so anyone above lower middle class.

The New Musical Express, popularly known by the initialism NME, is

a 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. During the period 1972 to

1976 it was particularly associated with gonz journalism, then became closely associated with punk rock.

An online version of NME - NME.COM, was launched in 1996. It is now the

world's biggest standalone music site, with over 7 million users per month.

Analysis of magazine front covers -Cover 2. BILLBOARD - Lana Del Rey Edition

(Special issue) – 21st January 2012. On the masthead of the magazine it states that this is a “special issue” which makes the reader more eager to buy it as it isn’t just an ordinary copy of the magazine.The masthead is large and can be seen from a distance. It is also of a white colour which stands out perfectly on the dark background. Even though 4 of the letters of the name of the magazine aren’t completely visible the reader can still know what magazine this is as it is very popular worldwide.The reason why the models head is in front of the mast head and not behind is because all the attention needs to be focused on her and the name of the magazine is as important but people will know which magazine this is anyway.

The floral jacket that she’s wearing tells us the readers that she is a very feminine character and flowers also represent flirtatiousness. Her jacket is rather unusual and its not something the general public would wear which says that she is unique and she has her own personalised style.

She is revealing quite a bit of skin with those shorts and her body language is rather romantic and she wants people to find her attractive and sexy, many might even aspire to look like her and see her as an idol because of her good looks and great personality + confidence.

Billboard is an international news weekly magazine devoted to music and the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis. The two most notable charts are the Billboard Hot 100, which ranks the top 100 songs regardless of genre and is based on digital sales, radio airplay, and internet streaming data; and the Billboard 200, the corresponding chart for album sales. Billboard is intended for music professionals, such as record label executives, artists, music retailers, and radio DJs. Although it is generally considered a business-to-business magazine, it can be found at many consumer bookstores and magazine stands, particularly in cities with a large music industry presence such as New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Billboard was founded on November 1, 1894 – which makes this an extremely old magazine – one of the oldest in fact. Originally titled Billboard Advertising it was a trade paper for the bill posting industry, hence the magazine's name. Within a few years of its founding, it began to carry news of outdoor amusements, a major consumer of billboard space. Eventually Billboard became the paper of record for circuses, carnivals, amusement parks, fairs, whale shows and other live entertainment. The magazine began coverage of motion pictures in 1909 and of radio in the 1920s. At the start of 1961, The Billboard was renamed Billboard Music Week. Billboard magazine is published weekly. Published by the American entertainment publishing company Prometheus Global Media, it attracts more than 4 million visitors each month in more than 100 countries. Billboard.com's readers rely on the site for music news, videos, charts and more. Magazine is of a high price at £5.50 in the UK, however this high price maybe due to the magazine been imported from the U.S. and quality features.

The one irregularity about this magazine is that it doesn’t stick to the rules of thirds – in fact in most issues the rule of thirds is completely ignored which is quite unusual for most magazines although maybe this magazine just wants to keep its individuality.

Analysis of magazine front covers -Cover 3. VIBE – Drake edition – 2010.

• Header – this highlights the artists included in this issue of the magazine which helps buyers to decide weather they would like the contents.

• The masthead –is of white colour which stands out form the background allowing buyers to notice if from the magazine stand.

• Background – plain with a blend of two colours. The plain background doesn’t distract the audience from the main focus of the front cover which is the celebrity.

• Barcode/date/issue/price – this is important as it allows vibe to know how many they have sold and also tells the audience the price of the magazine so that they can decide weather they can afford it or not.

• Sell lines/Cover lines – are placed around the main image to make sure that the attention isn’t drawn away from the main article. There is a consistent house style throughout.

• Main image – is of Drake in a medium close up shot which is close enough to see his facial expression. He looks like he has more attitude and he’s aggressive. He is also putting on an artificial pout to look more attractive.

• Main cover line – its in bold and has a drop shadow as it is the main article.

• The rule of thirds – are all neatly planned out and the more important cover lines tend to be closer to the centre of the magazine.

Vibe magazine is a popular magazine in the United States but not a lot of people know when it was started. Some of its readers thought that it started in 2006 while others believed that it started in the late '90s - it started in early '90s. It was musician Quincy Jones who started Vibe, a magazine about music and entertainment. He partnered with Time Inc. to ensure that they would be able to launch the magazine in 1993. For three years, the magazine was owned both by Jones and Time, Inc. until it was sold to Miller Publishing. In a short span of time, Vibe was then sold by Miller Publishing to Spin magazine. Vibe was owned by Spin for several years until it was bought by Wicks Group of Companies IN 2006. So now you know when did Vibe magazine start - it started in 1993, launched by Jone and Time, Inc.There are probably people who even think that Vibe would just be starting to be launched in 2009. The reason for this is the fact that InterMedia Partners, LP has been exerting effort in launching the magazine as soon as possible. What not a lot of people know is that it will just be a relaunch. InterMedia Partners was the one who bought Vibe from Wicks Group.Knowing who were the featured artists or musicians in Vibe will allow us to know when did Vibe magazine really start. Among those musicians are the late Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Eminem, Li'l Wayne, Keyshia Cole, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, TLC, and Brandy. Some, if not all, of these musicians were already popular in the early '90s.We can get an even clearer idea about the beginnings of this magazine by concentrating on its competitors. Vibe focuses more on hip hop music and R&B than any other types of music. In this regard, the closest of its competitors may be XXL and The Source, which focus on rap music. Rolling Stone may also be considered a competitor.So, now, it is probably clear as to when did Vibe magazine start. While some of us thought that Vibe was somewhat new in the magazine industry, some of us would probably be surprised to know that it has been operating for over ten years now.

• The masthead is in white which stands out perfectly from the black background making it perfect for the reader to notice easily.

• Drake is wearing all black clothing to reflect his seriousness and his mood.