Analyse of a magazines cover, content and double page spread (NME)

 The music magazine I will be looking at is NME music magazine. The magazine genre is indie rock bands and appeals to the people who enjoy that style of music

The title of NME is written in sans font. This style of font is very simple but has a big effect as the text is written in capital letters it suggests its being loud or being shouted. This appeals to the style of magazine as indie rock music is meant to be loud and heard by everyone. The sans font is simple and has the connotations of being bold, strong and powerful. This links in with the indie rock genre of the magazine as the music is not widely popular and so needs to emanate the power and strength to be different to other genres such as pop music. The white text suggests being pure. This suggests to the audience that the music is not fake or made by a computer but is raw talent of groups or solo artists.

The colour of the text is white which stands out against the background colour of the red hair. This makes the text really bold and eye catchy. However the artists name is written in black which also stands out against the white back ground of her clothes but also signifies the main story and who is featuring in the magazine. This also creates an sense of individuality whereas instead of having smart and the same colour to make it all tie in it create an identity for the artist that appeals to the audience for the artists real identity. This would also appeal to the audience as the black suggests secretive and so that would suggest to the audience that secrets may be revealed in the article and would entice its reader to buy the magazine.

By having the title as the boldest part and at the top left stands out within the cover page. By putting  The title at the top left means that it’s the first thing that people will see because everyone reads from left to right starting at the top of a page and so  it stands out and is eye catchy. The text that is quoting the artists words gives the audience a tester of what they can find inside which draws them into to find out why they have said and what else they have said about it. The text is also written in sans serif, this gives the readers an idea of who is saying the quote. The serif part of the font gives the quote are more feminine touch to tie in with the artistes article but by having the sans part of the text will like to the rest of the magazine style but shows some of the characteristics of masculinity such as power and strength.

The features I would expect to find in this magazine are article or interviews on artists that would entice readers who are fans of the magazine and wish to know everything about the artist. This would create a connection between the artist and the audience as they feel they have a personal connection between themselves and the star without them actually knowing them. I would also expect to find articles on new and under the radar bands. This would be a way of introducing people to new music and recommending new bands with reviews and information on them. This would appeal to the audience as they would be willing to try new music and support them on their journey.

The magazine addresses its audience by using the words you, your or we. This creates a bond between the magazine and the reader as that person now feels involved with the magazine and is addressing them directly.  The language of the magazine is simple to understand and straight to the point.  This would appeal to the audience and potential buyer as the cover lines are short and catchy to get straight to the point in what is inside. Some superlative would be used to make the article or the magazine more desirable to buy as the readers are persuaded to buy the magazine or read it. However they may not need to use a superlative as by placing the name of a very popular artist may be just enough to persuade the audience to buy it as that person is idolised.

The cover model of this particular magazine has had close up image taken of them. This will work well for some artists as different people are known for having a certain style. For example the magazine cover I am looking at has Florence on the cover, she known for her music style and red hair so they have only used her face. The image is very simple as it has no background visible and no props but the direct gaze which makes people look directly at her and creates a connection between the magazine and the audience.

The content page is laid out by having the title at the top of the page to show the audience what they are looking at. There is also a large image in the centre to signify there main story and what it’s about written in a larger text. This will draw the attention to the main story as it will be the main selling point of the magazine to the audience. The rest of the content is split into categories down the right hand side of the image. This will allow the audience to find specific article when looking back through for something specific or wishing to pass it on to other readers. Down the left hand side there is a band index; this will give the audience an idea of who is in the magazine and give them a name to refer to when looking at artists they are interested in.

This particular article is about the artist Florence and the machine concerning America. This is key to the image as the artist is representing that by sitting on American flag to support the idea of the article. The artist is wearing black clothing. The connotation of black in that image suggest that the artist has some secretes and are going to reveal them in the article written about them. The text uses a drop capital in serif font is a design feature to make the text look more sophisticated and appeal to its audience by making the article appear serious and so would interest the reader as to why it’s so formal. Also the serif font used makes the article seem more feminine which is the opposite to the sans font that USA is written in. To me this suggests that the USA is more masculine but is being concurred by the femininity suggesting that women are more powerful than men.

The artists name is written in blue compared to the black writing through the text. This draws attention to the artists name so that if anyone did not recognise the artists image then they should recognise the name.