1. Front Cover Analysis

2. VIBE magazine the cover, October/November 2011 issue. The music category that I have chosen is hip-hop/R&B. Vibe is a music and entertainment magazine founded by producer Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip-hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production in summer 2009, Vibe was purchased by the private equity investment fund InterMedia Partners and is now issued quarterly with double covers, with a larger online presence, aided by the Vibe Lifestyle Network, a group of entertainment/music websites under the Vibe brand. The magazine's target demographic is predominantly young, urban followers of hip-hop culture. Just by looking at the magazine cover I can see that the ideology is represented through language, layout, colour and images (colours). The magazine is probably aimed at teenagers and young adults because of the way it is well written and formatted. The colours used are very vivid and strong again showing that it’s aimed at the teenage ages. Colours such as pink and baby blue are not presented because the magazine is not for children. The main targeted audience are hip-hop/R&B music fans; vibe magazine states “redefining hip-hop”. For the October/November 2011 issue VIBE wanted to “explore the heart of an artist and the mind of the man who knows how to do nothing but defend and protect his craftsmanship”. The language used is also informal “with 20 years in the game, 365 days in jail, and millions sold off the shelf, Weezy F Baby is still winning” again showing that this magazine is for teenagers. The magazine front cover appeals to its target audience by the use of colour. The colours white, grey, black, red and gold are used, these colours are very strong and eye catching especially when put together on the same page. The fact that Lil Wayne issues this magazine contrast with the colour of his jacket (red), this is because he is of the blood gang in New Orleans and people interested in him will know this. The gold that is also used in the jacket symbolises how rich and powerful he is, it also represents the album by Jay Z and Kayne West, as the whole cover of the album is gold and consists of patterns just like his jacket. The Carter IV sold millions more copies than there is again this appeal to the audience because people like to know the rivals and friends of the music business. On the cover of the magazine it shows what is going to be featured in the magazine, for example; Weezy still hip-hops leading man?, Tupac menace to Hollywood and Chris Rock “hip-hops glory days have passed”. This appeals to the audience because it gives a variety of stories and artists to choose from as not everybody will be interested in the same topics and artists. The image of Lil Wayne on the cover of the magazine is very eye catching due to the fierce look he has on his face and the fact that it’s a mid-shot so there is a lot of detail involved within the image which makes the image stand out remarkably. The colours he is wearing are very mighty (red and gold) which make the image of him stand out even more. The masthead I’d very bold and its only 4 letters long giving it a lot of space on the cover to make it stand out. The layout is the same as a typical magazine cover layout; with the masthead big and bold positioned at the top centre of the page, the image big and strong capturing the cover and the sub-beadings across coming down of the two sides of the magazine cover page. These appeals to the targeted audience because a teenager would want to know what they are buying straight away and the magazine cover make that very clear. Also a teenager would want to what will be in the magazine without having to look through it first again the magazine makes it very clear.