Media Coursework AS
VOLUME MUSIC MAGAZINE
FRONT COVER RESEARCH
The masthead used on the magazine front cover is very effective as the font of the masthead is quite formal and stands out to the audience. The contrast of the colours in the masthead are also effective as the colours have a formal look to them which best suites the target audience.
The feature article used on the magazine front cover is very effective as the photo uses direct address to intrigue the audience and entice the audience into buying the magazine. The feature article also has a filter on the photo which gives the photo a mysterious and intriguing look to the audience.
The main cover line on the magazine front cover stands out a lot which immediately makes the audience understand that the main story is about Ciara.
The secondary lead used on the magazine draws the audience in as this headline stands out because of the banner behind the story which makes the story appear more vibrant and appealing for the audience.
The colour blue is not used a lot on this front cover but it is used. This is done so the most important parts of the text on the front cover stand out from the rest.
The strapline is an important part of this magazine front cover as the reader will subconsciously want to read from the top to bottom therefore the most important names or information should be at the top, this is why the bands / artists that feature in this article / magazine are big names that would attract the reader to want to read the rest of the magazine.
This magazine front cover uses the 'Lure' feature very well as there are key words that immediately attract the audience towards buying the magazine, for example the words 'Win' and Free Inside' would attract any audience as this appeals to them.
The masthead used on this magazine front cover is obviously quite a well-known and popular logo / name therefore the magazine is confident and comfortable in covering the name with the feature article.
This magazine front cover uses a bold quote which would immediately entice the audience to reading the magazine. There is no declaration of who said the quote which is clever as it makes the audience wonder who said the quote and would make them buy the magazine and read the magazine to find out who said it.
The feature article is quite affective on this magazine front cover as the image uses direct address to engage the reader and the build the empathy with the audience. Also the image of Tyler, The Creator is quite a 'quirky' photo which, if in keeping with the style of the magazine, is very effective.
The magazine has used a change of colour very effectively as the colour red stands out quite profusely especially on the big artists names like Kanye West and Adele.
The typeface used on this magazine front cover is consistent which allows the audience to feel like the magazine is professional and also it makes the audience feel like nothing is standing out and getting forced on them.
The feature article used on this magazine front cover is used to engage the audience of both male and female in different ways. For example the feature article is used to engage the male audience because of the attractiveness of the girl which would entice the male audience into buying the magazine. The main feature article is used to attract the female audience because to females, Katy Perry looks good and is the picture of what they should look like and this engages the female audience into buying the magazine.
The cover lines on the magazine uses a lot of punctuation like quotation marks and exclamation marks. The exclamation marks are used to make the cover lines sound like they are getting shouted out and are standing out from everything else. The quotation marks are used to show that there is a real quote from somebody famous on the magazine which would intrigue the reader.
The cover lines used on this magazine front cover all have names of artists in them which are used to catch the reader’s attention and entice them into finding out more about these artists.
The lead article on this magazine front cover is about Katy Perry which is understandable as she is the main feature article that is used on the magazine. The lead article is in a large font with the same colours as the overall colours of the magazine. The Name 'Katy' is in black and the name 'Perry' is in pink which stands out more than if the text was just one colour.
The masthead used on this magazine must also be a well-known name as the main feature article is covering up the name of the magazine, which shows off the confidence that the magazine has in itself.
On the front covers of the magazines Georgia Music, there is always a feature article of a main artist / band using direct address to engage the reader to buy the magazine. On the examples that I have found, there is definitely image manipulation being used to make the artists stand out more on the front cover, airbrushing is an example of image manipulation that is being used on the artists to make their skin seem smoother and clearer as well as enhancement of shading and lighting on the artists skin. On all of the examples that I found for Georgia Music, there is a strapline on the bottom of the magazine indicating how many new releases that have been reviewed by the magazine that week, which is appealing to the audience as it indicates to the audience that there is a variety of new reviews each week and the magazine is not boring and dull but fresh and up to date with all the new artists breaking through. On all of the front cover examples that I found, I also noticed that there is a main cover line with an artist or bands name, which is one of the main articles in the magazine. This is effective because it immediately identifies who the artist is on the front of the magazine and it also indicates that the main story is going to be about them, which can be a very effective advantage to the magazine, because if it is a very popular artist or band then this will attract a larger audience into buying the magazine.
On the front covers of the magazines NME there is always a main feature article who is usually covering the title of the magazine (NME). This shows the audience that the magazine is quite confident and comfortable in covering the title, mainly because they are such a popular magazine and the audience already knows who they are therefore they can cover the title without feeling pressured that nobody will remember the name of the magazine. On a few of the examples that I found, the main feature article is shot on a white screen which gives off the impression to the readers that artist is a 'pure' with a 'what you see is what you get' representation. Also the white screen makes the main feature article stand out more by making the image appear more clearly as the only image on the magazine front cover. On the front cover of the magazine with Tyler the Creator on the front, there is a consistent colour choice for the typeface of red. This links in with the crown that he has on his head which subconsciously to the reader gives off the impression of evenness and professionalism without anything standing out or jumping off the magazine, forcing the reader to see it. The colour of the typeface (red) is consistently used on all of the magazine examples that I found. This looks like the overall house colour of the magazine making the magazine be represented as professional because of the consistency in the magazine front covers. On all of the examples of the NME magazine, there are various cover lines of artists dotted around the front cover. These are usually in different colours to the colour of the masthead which makes them stand our more on the magazine front cover. This is an affective technique used by the magazine because it makes the artists names eye catching and if there is an artist that the audience likes then they will see their name and would want to read the magazine to see what is said about them.
On the front covers of the blender magazines that I found, there is an artist used as the main feature article of the magazine. They are usually female and are posing to try to entice both the male and female audience into buying the magazine by the technique of lust for men and inspiration / desire for women. On all of the examples that I found, the masthead is being covered by the main feature article which really highlights the confidence that the magazine has in itself. Also the fact that the masthead is covered up, intrigues the audience into guessing / wanting to know what the magazine is called and instill's this in the back of the audiences mind. The magazine examples also have two colours which they stick to on each magazine, for example on the magazine with Leona Lewis on the front; the two main colours are black and orange. For the magazine with Taylor Swift on the front, there is the colour blue and black used etc. Also on the examples that I found, the layout of the magazine front cover is the same, with the main feature article in the centre of the magazine, with the masthead across the top and with the cover lines based down the sides of the magazine around the main feature article. Also on the examples that I found, there are bold numbers that stand out on the magazine which catch the reader’s eyes and are linked to stories in the magazine. Also the feature articles are shot on a white screen which makes the image stand out more clearly as the only image on the front cover. Overall the magazine Blender looks like it is aimed at the female audience mostly, mainly teenage girls to low 20's as the colours used on the front covers are vibrant and vivid which you would subconsciously assume are the younger generation type of colours. Also the artists that are used as the feature articles are artists which base their music around the younger generation like teenagers therefore because of this I believe this magazine is aimed at the younger generation who listened to these artists rather than the older generation who do not.
The skyline on the magazine uses the Lure technique to try to engage the reader into buying the magazine. The sentence 'FREE DOWNLOADS!' is used to stand out off the page and to grab the reader’s attention. Also the skyline is split into two different colours of pink and black to again fit in with the overall colour the magazine is going for.
This magazine is very effective in aiming towards the correct target audience as the main feature article, cover lines, layout and style of the magazine indicates that this magazine is aimed towards more sophisticated 20-30 year olds both male and female as the layout is organised and structured and the content used is there to engage the reader into wanting to find out more about the story instead of the story lines immediately attracting the readers eyes and making them find out more about the story.
This magazine is very effective in aiming towards the correct target audience as the main cover line is very large and the audience is immediately engaged by this. Also the main feature article is very effective in making the magazine aim towards the correct target audience as the photo is quite 'quirky' with the jewellery and flowers and therefore meets the 'quirky' characteristics of the type of genre. This magazines content and photos indicate to me that this magazine is aimed at 18-25 year olds both male and female.
This magazine is very effective in aiming towards the correct target audience as the main feature articles colours and content indicate that this magazine is aimed towards female teenagers to early twenties. The colours of pink and black immediately show that the target audience is females and also the main feature article is placed in a certain way so the target audience, females, can see their model as an inspiration to what they 'should look like.'
