1)
The forms and conventions of a music magazine
Firstly, music magazines usually inform the reader of
new albums that have been released in the previous week or month. These will
often come with reviews and ratings from editors. Similarly live convert
reviews are also written along with ratings and sometimes even opinions from
readers who saw the concert. This gives other readers an opinion from normal
people who they can relate to. A list of upcoming gigs are sometimes included, in
a similar style to TV guides, in that, it gives the venues, artists performing,
and times of concerts next week. There may also be recommendations for the best
concerts. Lists of the best tracks or albums can be given, for example, '140
songs you must download now!' recommending readers on the best music at the
moment. In almost every music magazine, there will be a feature article on a
popular artist. This is mainly because the artist has recently produced an
album or product that they want to promote. They usually appear on the front
cover, advertising the story or interview inside the issue. Several double page
spreads are used for this article, to make it the main feature of the magazine.
Also, in each issue of a magazine, there may often be
free posters that can be pulled out of the magazine and used by the reader. These
artists depend on the genre of music the magazine focuses on. For example,
'Kerrang' could feature bands like 'Green Day' and 'Paramore'. Magazines will
often advertise competitions or giveaways for readers to win products or
sometimes the opportunity to 'jam' with a particular band, for example, 'WIN!
Jam with Funeral For a Friend' featured in Kerrang. This would include terms
and conditions, pictures of the band or products and is also advertised on the
front cover, to encourage readers to enter. Adverts promoting albums,
downloads, radios, music festivals and band t-shirts usually appear in music
magazines, advertising music that falls under the genre of the magazine, as the
readers are likely to be interested in these products and events.
‘Music News' is always included in music magazines,
giving the latest stories in the music world, such as artists, tours, and
concerts. Sometimes a page is used for letters, emails, tweets, art and photos
sent in from readers, asking questions or giving their opinions on articles,
bands, albums and songs, which attract the target audience, as it allows them
to interact with the magazine and have their say in the world of music. Lastly, a music magazine may provide a free
gift with the magazine, such as a CD or T-shirt. This is used to entice people, interested in
that genre of music, to buy the magazine.
2) Codes/conventions
of front page music magazines
Firstly,
all music magazines have a masthead, which is the name of the magazine, for
example, 'Q', 'Kerrang' or 'NME'. This is usually the largest word on the page,
so the reader knows clearly what the magazine is. It sometimes is positioned in
front of the photograph of the cover, or sometimes positioned behind. This is
usually because the magazine may be so well known that readers may recognise
it, even if it is partly covered. The artist's name is usually the second
largest piece of text on the page, telling the reader that they are they will
have several pages of coverage inside the magazine. There is then, underneath,
a hint on the sort of the things the artist will be talking about in the
magazine, for example, 'FLORENCE on ghosts, Amy Winehouse and her fear of
messing up'. Or a quote from the artist may be included, such as, the quote
from Matt Bellamy from Muse, "I bought 50 tins of beans and an axe".
This makes the reader want to know more, persuading them to buy the magazine.
Often phrases like 'World exclusive comeback interview' suggests there is new
gossip directly from a famous artist and the reader will be intrigued to find
out what they said in the interview. Often free gifts with the magazine and
competitions are advertised on the front cover. There may also be lots of hints
on other stories, for example, 'the greatest track of the last 15 years
revealed!’ encouraging readers to buy the issue to find out what the song is.
Interesting
descriptive words can also be used to attract readers, making stories sound
more exciting, such as 'Living Things cook up album #2'. Often, music magazine
will write 'Plus!' or 'Featuring' and then list the other artist that are featured
in the magazine, so readers can see other what other famous artist they will
read about, if they buy the magazine. In the main photograph on the front
cover, the background is usually plain, allowing more focus to be on the
artist. However sometimes, there may be a background that links with the artist
or the artists face may take up the whole page. Often the artist will use body
language and facial expression to depict their personality or attitude and
their clothing and makeup to appeal to the audience. For example, in the shot
of Matt Bellamy from Muse, he is using his guitar to smash the 'Q' masthead,
connoting his fierce, out of control behaviour and personality, appealing to
readers who like rock or metal genre of music. Lastly, there is sometimes a
line at the top of the page, or underneath the masthead, saying 'The UK's
biggest music magazine', telling the reader how popular it is, therefore, must
be good and worth buying.
3) Detailed Analysis of two specific music magazines.
I have chosen to analyse Kerrang magazine and Q magazine.
Firstly, Kerrang magazine includes a large masthead, which is positioned behind
the main image of the featured band, Good Charlotte. The second largest piece
of text is the text in the middle reading ‘Good Charlotte’, telling the reader
who the magazine issue is focusing on. One member of the band’s fist is overlapping
the text, which gives a sense that his fist is almost coming out of the page,
conveying his attitude. The main font style is quite rough and dirty looking,
reflecting the tough rebellious feel of the rock, metal genre of music magazine.
There are several smaller pieces of text around the edges, such as ‘Paramore –
back to where it all began…’ which gives an insight into the article inside. With
these, there are some smaller images, such as in the top, right hand corner, to
show a small aspect of the article. The main colours used are black, red, white
and yellow, which are colours associated with rock and metal music and give a
feeling of edge and rebellion. The composition of the main photo of Good
Charlotte is layed out so all members are showed, but at different lengths, so
the image doesn’t look so flat. Their facial expressions, body language and
clothing connote their tough, yet lively nature.
However, on the Q magazine front page, the main
picture of Lana del day has a white background and she is wearing a white dress
and crown. This perhaps helps to make the blood on her head stand out. The
blood could maybe confuse the reader, as to why it is there, therefore wanting
to read the article to find out. The red Q masthead or logo is the only red object
on the page, so it the first thing the reader notices. The rest of the pages
colour consists of black, white, yellow and pink. These are more girly colours
than what is used in Kerrang, suggesting the magazine focuses more on pop music
and also because the main artist is a female. This perhaps shows the target
audience are music lovers who listen to pop music; music in the charts. Names
such as, Jay Z, Kanye West and Kings of Leon are written on the page,
suggesting it focuses on pop music. ‘Lana Del Ray’ is written in large font
that looks a bit like a thick marker pen. This connotes a sense that her music
breaks rules and is different.
The contents page of Kerrang only takes up one page,
mainly because the text is quite small, only taking up half the page. The content
is organized into different topic, such as, ‘Feedback’, ‘Features’ and ‘News’.
This makes it easier for reader to find the page number for a specific article.
Some article have a ‘Cover Story’ text beside them, so a reader who wants to
read the article about Good Charlotte, can find it quickly. Beside the contents
is a paragraph, written by the deputy editor, giving a short introduction and
comment about the articles included is the issue. There are also small images
to go with some of the articles and also a small advert for Kerrang
subscriptions. The other half of the page focuses on the free posters included
in the magazine, with a large image of green day to catch the reader eye.
Q magazine contents page is layed out a lot
differently to Kerrang. It is organized onto two pages, as more images are used
and the magazine is bigger than Kerrang, so has more articles. On each of the
photos, there is a page number, so the reader just has to look at the picture
and know which page to turn to. The
biggest articles are for the articles likely to be most popular, such as the
Lana Del Ray story. The contents is also organized into two areas: ‘Features’,
usually advertised on the front cover; and ‘Regulars’, which are articles that
occur in every issue of Q. Underneath each article title, there is brief
summery of the stories. Similarly to Kerrang, there is a small advert for Q
subscription.
The double pages within Kerrang magazine are about
Good Charlotte. This includes large pictures, some studio shots, and some more
natural, which take up a lot of the space, to attract the audience into reading
the article. Sometimes there are smaller images around the pages, of the band
talking or socializing. Also, quotations are taken from the main text,
enlarged, in a more eye-catching font with speech marks to give the reader a
snippet of the article and what the main focus is. For example, the quotes
"I have no regrets about anything I've bought. You only live once..."
and "You never forget what its like to be poor...” These tell the reader
that the main focus is the bands experience with money and wealth before and
after they became famous. However, the main body of text is in a small, simple
font, in order for more room to be taken up by photos. The title is very big
and follows the colour scheme of blue and white. The phrase ‘Lifestyles of the
rich and famous’ entices the reader, as they know they will be reading about
the bands experience of being famous.
In the double pages of Q magazine, several whole pages
are taken up with pictures of Lana Del Ray, almost like posters. These large
images catch the eye of the reader and put all of the focus onto the artist.
These images are quite dark and almost haunting, reflecting the style of Lana
Del Ray’s music. The title of the article also takes up a whole page, to make
sure that the reader cannot miss it. Similarly to Kerrang, not much room is
left for the text; therefore it is in a very small font. The style of this
article is an interview, with the questions in bold and the artist’s responses
in regular text. This makes it easy to see the conversation during the
interview. Also a quote from Lana is enlarged and in red, so it stands out
among the black and white text.
