Music Magazine AnalysisTom Goodyear

Front Pages

(Kanye West ‘I AM RAP’) will attract readers because Kanye West is a big star in the industry, and such an outrageous quote will attract a lot of attention from people interested in the industry. It’s use of the media users need for Surveillance. This is reinforced by the fact that he is the main image, which without even using the plug, would have pulled the reader in.It has a very vibrant colour scheme which would catch the eye, as well as well as a lot of bold writing. There is barely any text that isn’t in capitals either which makes it seem important to the reader pulling them in to read it. At the top of the page it uses a few buzz words which makes this issue of the magazine seem more attractive. It makes it seem that it can offer things that other magazines can’t.On the middle right of the pages it simply names a lot of musicians in the industry, and what this will do is instantly attract the attention of anyone interested in that music genre. If someone see’s a collection of their favourite artists in abundance they’re likely to be enticed. This may play on the readers need for self identity.Above the magazines name it has a coverline, with some buzz words which will be a big selling point for the magazine.

The masthead has a fun format to it and a colours in the middle of the letters, which shows it’s trying to appeal to a young and informal audience. The entire colour scheme, especially what Soulja Boy is wearing, targets the hip-hop audience. The fact that they have an icon such as Soulja Boy as the central image will drag in readers interested in that type of music. Also he is the coverline, so fans of his are the main audience for this specific image. They’re using him to represent the general feel of the magazine.It also includes the name of many other music artists of one common genre, which is a convention of these types of magazines. The magazine is advertising itself in the bottom left corner with its own website name. Maybe if people are just browsing the magazine but can’t buy it at the time, will go on the website and this will generate long term loyal customers eventually.Another thing this magazine is doing, is that it’s trying to sell the gangsta lifestyle to the audience. This is typical or magazines of this genre.Just the whole feel of the magazine is ‘cool’ and is trying to pull in readers on it’s style factor. It reflects the personality and represents people that want this kind of lifestyle and buy into the gangsta ideology. Another example of this is what it says under ‘Soulja Boy’. Words such as ‘Cranks’ just show what this magazine is all about.

The front cover has next to nothing on it, apart from a huge central image of Jay-Z and the coverline at the bottom. This will put all the spotlight on Jay-Z and his article. The reason they do this is because he is a superstar and it is a huge article, so instead of bringing attention to all their little articles, they simply focus on him. They want to bring in all their viewers based on this. They then have the two smaller articles also trying to attract readers, although not the focus. One of these articles is about Paul McCartney which is obviously a big story so will pull in a lot of readers. It fulfils their need for surveillance as ‘McCartney & Yoko Speak!’ means they’ll get the latest news in their celebrities lives.You then have the golden colour scheme so make the magazine attractive.The barcode isn’t in the generic place, the layout of this magazine is quite unorthodox, and having a style like this may be an attempt to bring in readers.They use a lot puff such as ‘WORLD’S BIGGEST’, ‘REVEALS ALL!’ and at the top ‘SPECIAL’.

The same as the ‘Clash’ Magazine I just looked at, this XXL magazine simply focuses on one image and a coverline that goes with it. It dominates the page and is the one thing that the magazine is relying on to pull in readers.The magazine has gone with quite a sinister theme, with the aggressive look from Eminem, the coverline ‘VENGANGE IS EMINEM’ and also the black background. This will pull in readers because of their need for Personal Identity. The story may relate.In the top right it says ‘XXCLUSIVE’, which is a way of addressing it’s target audience specifically and at the same time using puff. Then under ‘XXL’ it says special collectors edition, which will be a huge reason to buy it for many readers.The magazines slogan is ‘Hip Hop on a higher level which is a is a great slogan as all readers interested in hip hop will see that and be intrigued. It again specifically targets their target audience.

Above the masthead this magazine has 4 things that should interest people, interested in this genre of music. But 3 of the 4 things aren’t music related, they’re things that ‘The Source’ think will also attract this type of audience. This is a good use of convergence, and knowing the target audience.Again the central image is linked to the coverline, and is a superstar. This is a convention all hip-hop magazines seem to use.On the right it has a lot of teasers and plugs. This is good as having a lot of things related to one similar topic should be highly interesting to the target audience. The page is quite packed, it’s trying to advertise to the reader that it has a lot of interesting content.At the bottom of the page it has it’s website address, which is the same tactic that billboard used, but this magazine does it better. It has it in loud, clear font and says ‘VISIT’. If you like the looked of this magazine you would more than likely click out the website, especially if you weren’t sure about buying it.

Contents Pages

Double Page Spread