Analysis of magazine front coversCover 1.NME Sept 2009

Dizzee Rascal Edition

The masthead – It is the same on every edition of the magazine so that it is easily recognisable to regular buyers. Also it is in bright red and so clearly stands out at the top of the page although it only takes up about a tenth of the page.

Header – This gives information about music tours as this is a music magazine and it suits the season as it is obviously an Autumn edition.

Selling lines/Cover lines – These inform potential buyers of the music artists and bands featuring in this edition and so will attract and relate to the target audience as they fit in with the genre of the magazine which is in fact Rock/Indie but sometimes varied like this issue is R&B/Hip Hop.

Main image – as Dizzee Rascal is a well known icon, especially to people who relate to this magazine and his music style, it will attract a niche audience or those who don’t usually buy it. Also this is a long shot of Dizzee Rascal crouching and as he is slanting the top half of his body and has his arms spread out it gives the connotations of welcome to buyers and it fits in with the whole feel of the magazine, the wackiness for example.

Main Cover line – it tells everyone who is on the front cover and is in Big capital bright letters with a drop shadow to stand out. Also the words ‘Dizzee’ and ‘Rascal’ slant to fit in with the slanting image and again the whole theme of the magazine.

Barcode/date/issue/price – it is important on all magazines but is placed on the bottom right away from the main copy as it is not as important to the genre of the magazine.

The footer – this gives the information of other (mainly rock) music artists relating to the genre of the magazine, featuring in this issue & so gives the impression there is a lot going on in this magazine & that it is varied which then attracts more buyers.

Flasher – this draws readers attention to this particular exciting extra feature of the magazine, intriguing them to what is going on inside the magazine.

Use of a pull quote – This intrigues the niche audience to buy the magazine if they want to find out more about or what Dizzee Rascal says.

House style – the house style is consistent and uses big square writing. It also uses the colours Red, White and Black which is quite serious as the magazine was originally meant to be more like a news paper called The New Musical Express. The colour red has connotations of love for music, in particular this genre of music.

Background – although NME is generally a Rock/Indie magazine the background is of graffiti & so suits the genre of this magazine & its target audience of R&B/ Hip Hop because of the icon Dizzee Rascal & his clothes tie in with the style of the background & the magazine.

Rule of thirds – is the traditional layout of a magazine as it adds interest to the target audience and the cluttered layout shows that the magazine is filled with content and also relates to the wacky feel of R&B/Hip Hop .

THE TARGET AUDIENCE OF THIS MAGAZINE The target audience of this magazine are both male and female but mainly those who are interested in Rock/Punk but for this issue mainly those who are interested in R & B/ Hip Hop style music and rock music and some of these, if not all, music artists and perhaps more similar to these artists listed on this magazine. The main age group that are likely to be interested in this magazine could be varied in age as Rock related artists vary in age so may have varied fans and the age group for this issue are younger people, possibly teenagers, as R & B/Hip Hop relates more to youth and the R & B artists like Dizzee Rascal are also younger so are unlikely to attract middle aged people. The majority of the target audience may be students and on little or no wage so, although the NME magazine is £2.40 suggesting it may be young adults on a small wage purchasing it, it is not too expensive like the average alternate magazine.

The methods used to attract the target audience are:

Dizzee Rascal’s facial expression relates to the whole theme/feel of the magazine relating to the genre of R&B which then relates to the target audience and there interests.

Dizzee Rascal himself and the clothes that he wears may attract a niche audience who aspire to be like him as they also like R&B. Also he may attract people who are not always weekly buyers of the magazine for example it may usually be people interested in Rock who buy it but just for this issue those interested in R&B, on top of those who are, just because non NME buyers are fans of his.

Also the general House Style of the magazine, the bold big eye catching writing and colours, will automatically attract the target audience as they will straight away know it is an NME magazine but it may also attract non frequent buyers of the magazine.

Analysis of magazine contents pagesContents 1.NME Sept 2009

Dizzee Rascal Edition

The masthead - is again the same on the title page; this shows a consistent house style which then reinforces the brand identity.

The main image - it is the focus of the page suggesting the contents is mainly image led and it is the same size and shape of a CD cover; therefore, it relates to music and the images relates to the writing below it. It has also been edited to look like a photograph which makes it seem more informal and so relates to the target audience more. Also what she is wearing is informal & relates to the genre of this issue and magazine (R&B/Rock).

House style - the band names are listed in red with the page number in black and on a white background showing a consistent house style in the use of colour.

Lure - this text engages the niche audience to what they relate to.

Editorial - this sets the tone. For example the text says “Thank god the sun as disappeared, eh?” This connotes an informal mode of address making the audience feel more involved and related to the magazine.

Subscription - this shows past issues that the readers may have also read and so if they enjoyed and related to those they may feel they will relate to and enjoy this issue, and the future issues displayed, as well and so it will encourage them to buy it. There are also details of the phone number and website and price listed to again engage the target audience to feel involved with the NME magazines.

Subheading & Summaries - There is a subheading, always in block white capitals on a black background, splitting pages into sections to make it easier for readers to follow. There is also a summary of the pages under a brief heading to intrigue the audience to read more. It is also always in black with the page numbers in red on a white background; therefore all of the colours used stick to the house style.

Layout - this again uses the rule of thirds like the front cover so sticking to the house style. Also the layout is still quite formal relating to the fact it was originally a newspaper but it has toned down a bit to suit the genre of music it conveys and for the niche audience it is conveyed to.

Banner & Date - consistent banner saying “NME contents”, at the top, like on all NME contents pages and the date is consistently featured. Plus they are in the house style colours.

Analysis of magazine double page spreadsD.P.Spread 1.NME Sept 2009

Dizzee Rascal Edition

Background - this creates mise-en-scene because of the graffiti on the wall. The graffiti on the wall also fits in with the genre of this issue (R&B) and Dizzee rascal himself.

Main Image – In this image Dizzee rascal is wearing a red jacket and that is one of the colours of the house style of this magazine. Also the expression on his face is a sneaky/guilty look that may relate to the target audience of this magazine or draw them in as it looks interesting.

Main headline/Lure - this is in black block capitals on a white-ish background and so again suits the house style. Also it could be a lure because it uses a catchy slogan type phrase that intrigues the target audience to want to read more but also as the writing gets bigger as it goes down the page that could also be a lure by getting readers to follow it and believing as it is bigger it is more important/interesting.

Caption reference to Dizzee - this could be to emphasize how important Dizzee is to this magazine and to make more people aware that he is featuring in this issue.

By line - this is a credit for who the double page spread is by e.g. Who the photographer of the image is and who the author of the article is. This could again be just to advertise their magazine but in an effective way so that if people know who the writers are it may intrigue them to buy other issues with those writer in.

Stand first - this is an introduction bit of information about the artist being interviewed so that if people read this they may be interested enough to read further on in the article.

Columns - there are 4 columns of equal width so sticking to a consistent house style. However, they wrap around the image of the radio connoting that the page is mainly image led (images are more important) perhaps because they know their target audience prefers more images than text.

Drop Capital - the drop capital is 6 lines down; therefore sticking to the house style. Also it could lure you in as it is black and bold so stands out and will attract attention.

House style- here it shows the NME title and the date and page number which is important on a magazine and shows a consistent house style.

Second Image - this is of a radio and bottles of beer which could be because this is associated with the R&B type genre of this page. This also suggests that the target audience is young adults as they stereotypically drink the most and bottles of beer would not be displayed on a page for younger audiences as it may encourage them to drink and so be harmful/uninteresting.

ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN ARTICLE: The article itself is basically about Dizzee Rascal and the year that he claims ‘was his’ which is 2009 and so the article covers the awards Dizzee won in 2009 and his great achievements so far in a short life story of himself. The style of the article is written and displayed to suit Dizzee Rascal and his style e.g. R&B. For example in the article there is some slang used “man” which suits his style but also suggests the target audience of this magazine would be young adults/teenagers as this type of language would most appeal to them as they may understand it more. It is written in 4 short columns consisting of approximately 75 – 100 words. This could be again to stick to the house style but also to ensure the text is not too long to put off their target audience. The main headline is dramatic as it uses almost play on words to entice and engage its target audience to buy the magazine so that they can read more. It could also interest those who do not normally buy the magazine just because it is catchy and the font relates to youth.

MORE INFO ON NME MAGAZINE

New Musical Express has been published in the UK, weekly, since March 1952 and is the most popular music magazine in the UK to date.

It was originally a newspaper but moved to magazine format during the 1980’s.

An online version of NME was launched in 1996 and now has 5 million users per month. -http://www.nme.com/

In the first half of 2010 it was stated that the magazine's circulation was 33,875 which is 53% down on a 2003 figure of 72,442.

Krissi Murison was named eleventh editor of the magazine on 29th July 2009 and became, the first female, editor of the magazine in September 2009. The magazine is currently edited by Luke Lewis

The genre of this magazine, during the period 1972 to 1976, was associated with gonzo journalism, it then became and is currently associated with Rock/Punk due to the writing of Tony Parsons and Julie Burchill. Although artists from other genres, such as pop and R&B, can be occasionally featured in NME.

NME’s target audience is uni-sex although it could be argued that it is mainly aimed at males as Rock/Punk is generally more associated with males. The age group is mainly young adults ranging from 16 – 20 but people who are in there late 20’s have been known to purchase the magazine and have an interest in it.