1. AS Media Research Assignment For Music Magazines. By: Farzana Begum.

3. Masthead (VIBE) – Bold, catchy, short They use big capital letters to catch the readers eye. Chris Brown’s head is covering half of the word but the audience still know what it says because the company/ brand is so popular . Main image – Chris brown posing with an orange top to stand out and look bright. It’s a mid shot because the picture is taken up to his waist.. You can tell what genre the magazine is by looking at the main image and how the person is dressed. Strap line - Some magazines don’t have strap lines but most music magazine.. It’s a introduction about what the magazine is about. So its must be short, direct and something that every age group can understand and read. Tag – Doesn’t always be on the front cover but it makes the cover efficient as the word or phrase is used to engage a reader’s interest in a story by categorising it this showing that the magazine has high compliments. Cover lines – The cover line helps the audience know what the magazine and what it is about and they will know what inside the magazine just by looking at the cover line. Barcode/Dateline & Price – A dateline in which the date of publish and the price are shown so the readers knows how much the magazine cost, the barcode is just the importance of the retailer. Colour scheme – The colour scheme is usually 3 colour to make the magazine stand out but not too colourful, in this magazine the colours are white, green and red. They represent hip-hop and easy for the audience to remember, and so when its on the shelf its catches the readers eye easily. Music Magazine Front Cover - 1

4. Music Magazine Contents Page - 1 Topics – The use of topics puts each piece of content into easier and clearer categories, making the magazine make sense and clearer. The images used on the contents page feature a band and gives and idea of what genre the magazine is. The colours used on the topic has a good combination of black and red which goes with the music genre. Background, Colour & Font – The font, colours are all the same type but used in a different unique way in the subheading there is a much bolder font to make it stand out. On the topics the use of colour is red and black which gives the magazine a bold, but effective way of presenting their pieces. The layout is also simple, it give a clear understanding to the readers.

5. Music Magazine Double Page Spread - 1 The double paged spread - On the first page of the double page spread, at the top there is many pictures in the effect of black and white of a leading artist this is to let the readers know who they are reading about. There is also of a story about the latest gossip or information in columns about the leading artist underneath the images. The second page of the double page spread has the story of the main feature. The big writing captures the eye of the audience, as well as the crafty phrasing, they have written the heading in big, blue and grey writing so bringing familiarity to the audience reading. The copy is laid out in four to five columns. At the bottom of the second page they have also included pictures of objects in relation to the style of the magazine.

6. Masthead (NME) – Always red and in capitals letters for the audience to remember and stand for New Musical Express. By the company name the audience can tell that what genre the music magazine is. NME normally do same type which is rock but different bands. Main image – Attracts the readers attention on as he is holding a guitar and it is a mid shot which is taken from the waist. The main image helps and encourages the reader to buy and look at the magazine. Left third – The left third contains the main feature article (Exclusive interview or ‘Puff Piece’), as this is the core part of what may be inside the magazine. It also includes the main artist or band situated within. Layout – The overall layout stands out and is bright to catch the audiences eye. Its works better with dark backgrounds and bold writing to make the whole front cover look successful. The overlapping layers adds to the results of encouraging people to buy the magazine. Colour scheme – The colour red, white & black Represents the genre of rock music; With the colour red & white, They have Made the masthead and heading bold To make it stand out and easier to read. Background; is black with a light coming from a window, this shows the person is on the stage performing, which is also to do with music. Cover line – The essential articles inside the magazine. Such as ‘the enemy come home’ This shows the main topic is about the rivalry between two music bands, and this is used to grab the audience is attention. Music Magazine Front Cover - 2

7. Music Magazine Contents Page - 2 Masthead – The use of the ‘NME’ logo in big bold red text on the right hand corner. The gives the reader constant reminders of the company leading the magazine and the resource to research the company on the internet, Font & Colour – The font, colours and house style are all the same type which gives the magazine a bold, but effective way of presenting their pieces. The layout is also very similar which gives the magazine structure and the reader’s a clear understanding of where to find what article or piece. Topics – The use of topics puts each piece of content into easier and clearer categories, making the magazine make sense and clearer. The images used on the contents page feature a band making the magazine an even greater prospect as the audience will feel more engaged and want to read the magazine more with music bands like Oasis on the contents. Target Audience - The audience targeted for this magazine is very clear and obviously doesn’t relate to social groups who like gardening or ‘UK garage’ for example. It has specifically targeted people who enjoy rock and indie music through the use of an Oasis member and features on bands, such as, Arctic Monkeys. Structure – The basic magazine structure consists of a ‘taster article’ on the contents page giving prospective buyers an insight into the content on the magazine. The sub-headings are clear and precise and show you very easily where you can access that content in the magazine. The band index gives the reader and precise showing of what bands will be in the magazine. This may give the readers more purpose to buy the magazine as maybe there could be a feature on their favorite band.

8. Music Magazine Double Paged Spread - 2 One of the double page spread is filled with an image showing the band with a natural pose sitting down quiet cheerful which reflects the mood of the article. The heading is bold in capital letters in black with blue background to make it standout. The main article is in two columns about the main artist and the band and their music, on the right hand side there's another column will lots of information.

9. Overall layout – the overall layout suggests that the magazine is about rock, also Cheryl Cole is wearing dark gothic clothes and is says “3 words . Cheryl Cole ROCKS". this helps promote her song “3 Words" in one simple sentence and therefore more people will buy the magazine and listen to the song. Colour scheme – the main colour schemes are red, white and black, these colours are repeated and used in every “Q” Magazine, this repetition of the colours helps the reader recognise when the magazine is in the shelf. Masthead (Q) - Big, one word letter. Very short but very powerful. It big capital letters to catch the readers eye. Red background in white letters to make it stand out. Main Image & Background – Big, close up/mid shot of the image of Cheryl Cole because you can only see up to her shoulders. Attracts the reader attention directly of how the picture is taken. The background helps the picture stand out more because it looks like raindrops falling on her. Which is very effective to use of a music front cover

10. Music Magazine Contents Page - 3 This contents page is spread across one page. Again it consists with the house style used in Q . And the red colour also gains the readers attention. Unlike NME, this magazine has one image of main band or artists. This is used to interest the reader even more and allows them to know what the article is about without even reading it. The largest image covers half the contents page, this is to let the readers know the importance, however the smaller images are the cover lines of the contents page. There's a page number and description below every topic on the left hand side of the page the numbers are in large red font relevant to the style of the Q logo below the features section is a small section labelled in “every month” which has the same layout as the “features” with black font and red numbers . The Q review is also present in this content page but this time its a light blue background which fits well with the text which is a change from the red colour from the previous also features are white header on black background with the logo.