Analysis of magazine front covers: Cover 1- NME Sept 2009

Dizzee Rascal Edition

USE OF A FLASHER-

The flasher shows that the magazine offers extra things and seems more special which attracts the audience

FRONT COVER ANALYSISTHE MASTHEAD-

The masthead is at the top of the page and is large, bold and uses strong colour- red which makes it stand out and creates an identity for the magazine

THE HEADER-

The header summarises what the magazine is about and attracts the reader

THE SELL LINES/COVER LINES-

The sell lines gives the reader a brief idea of what and who is featured in the magazine. There is not a lot of cover lines and offers on this cover which suggests that it is a very popular magazine and sells it self

THE MAIN IMAGE-

The main image is a long shot of the famous rapper Dizzee Rascal (which is clearly shown by the large caption placed on the middle of the image) who is crouching down and dominates the page. He is looking straight at the camera with a happy expression which makes cover friendly. In the background there is graffiti which relates to rappers genre of music. Also on the cover there is use of mostly red, white and black which are colours that usually targets the older audience as it is more sophisticated

THE MAIN COVER LINE-

The main cover line is situated in the middle of the page, it anchors the main image down, it shows the reader who the man is, and that he is the main feature. The font used is large, bold and has a drop shadow effect which makes it stand out. The same font has been used for some of the other cover lines

BARCODE-DATE/ISSUE/PRICE-

These are important when selling magazines and tend to be quite small in the corner so it is out of the way of the copy

THE FOOTER-

Other artists featured in magazine. The plus sign suggests there is lots more going on in the magazine

USE OF A PULL QUOTE-

This pull quote is in a large bold font same as the main cover line and it shows something that Dizzee Rascal has said and gives a good impression of him

RULE OF THIRDS-

This has not been used properly as the image dominates the page which suggests rebellion like Rap

Target Audience of this MagazineMETHODS USED TO ATTRACT THE TARGET AUDIENCE ARE:

The use of the flasher and header (‘16 page autumn tour special’) which creates the sense that this magazine is special and offers extra things.

The use of a image of Dizzee Rascal who is a popular and well-known UK rapper and is the same age as the NME average age and gender which means the target audience can really relate to him.

The use of a large bold red masthead with a black outline ensures that it will standout when people walk past it in shops, and it ensures that the target audience can recognise the NME identity.

The use of a big bold cover line which contrasts with Dizzee making it eye-catching, and it establishes who he is for the people who do not know.

The use of cover lines and footer which show some of the other artists featured in the magazine. This is important because the majority of the people who buy NME magazines listen to indie/guitar band music in particular however this cover shows a rapper, so by showing the other artists/bands that are featured in the magazine it ensures that the target audience are not put off from buying it.

FACTS AND FIGURES

-Price: £2.20-Frequency: Weekly-Circulation: 56,284-Readership 411,000-Launch Date: 1952-Male/Female: 73%/27%-Average age: 25-Target Market: Men 17-30-80% of NME readers feel that music is an important part of their lives-79% of NME readers like to listen to new bands-63% specially choose to listen to indie/guitar bands-49% specially choose to listen to live bands in studio-52% are interested in taking a musical course/qualification-36% are thinking of buying a musical instrument in the next year-72% have a broadband Internet connection at home-59% agree they like to keep up with the latest technologies-34% are working full time, 18% are working part time and 26% are full time students-62% read at least 3 out of 4 issues-Almost half (49%) have been reading NME for at least 3 years-Total number of pages viewed per month (NME.com): 21,983,377-Number of individual people who visit the website: 3,326,979-Total number of times anyone visited the website: 5,223,502-Weekly Newsletter sent: 33,000

These are the type of imagery, layout, and text that the target audience look for in a NME magazine (large images of popular rock artists/bands, extras/exclusives, mostly music

orientated, etc