Analysis of the music magazine

NME
Katie cook

The genre is music which you are

able to tell due to the main image
being a celebrity, the tagline, the
puff, the cover lines are music
related, the different artists that are
mentioned and the bright colour
scheme, which is also important as it
represents the target audience.

I think the target audience is for 16+ because

the artists are for a younger generation but
the colour scheme isn't bold and brighter
enough to suggest it is for under 16s, this
suggests that the information in the magazine
is more sophisticated. I think it is for the
working class with standard jobs with the
hobby of music and enjoy reading up on the
latest articles about artists and tours.

A long shot image , this is when the whole of

the models body is in the shot, meaning you
can see all of him. The image is in the centre
and is the biggest aspect of the cover,
therefore this is the aspect which is the most
important as it will instantly draw the
audience to the magazine. The image is not
serious and it is quite fun looking which is
what many people see music as therefore
the image of a music artist and his facial
expressions enables us to tell that it is a
music genre. The image is using direct
address, meaning he is looking directly into
the camera. This is effective because it
enables the reader to connect with the main
image as it feels he is looking directly at you,
this links to the audience because it will
interest the reader further.
This magazine uses representation, this is the
way the media constructs aspects of real life.
This magazine does this by including Dizzie
Rascal because this re-presents reality by
showing the reality of a real music artist. Also,
culture is used as rap/pop music is a type of
culture for people who listen to this type of
music and the background of the graffiti
represents the culture this fits into as a
connotation.

The masthead is the title of the

magazine, this is bold and bright
and fits in with the colour
scheme. This is effective because
the masthead instantly grabs your
attention.
A puff has been used to help draw
attention and promote something
on the magazine. It is in a big red
circle advertising a reunion. This is
effective as the red circle stands
out to the audience against the
colour schemed background.

The main cover line is anchored to Dizzee Rascals name,

which means it is connected to the image, with a quote
that he has said. This has been presented in big bold letters
so that it catches the readers attention before the other
cover lines. The use a quotation enables the reader
connect to the readers as a quote is more personal like he
is saying it to us. It is positioned under the main image so
that we can see who the main image is of if the readers
arent aware. Also, it makes it clearer that there will be an
article about him, which will be the main feature of the
magazines context. Dizzee Rascal is a pop artist, therefore
using this image it tells us that this magazine is based on
pop music, which wold be a positive representation for the
magazine because they need people to be aware of what
they are trying to sell.
The layout uses rule of thirds, which is a 3x3 grid which
shows us where our eyes are drawn to instantly. I can tell
that this has been used as the main image, masthead and
cover lines are in the areas we are instantly drawn to but
the barcode, which is the least important feature but
follows the codes and conventions needed in a magazine,
which is at the bottom where we wouldnt automatically
look to we would have to shift our eyes first. This is
appropriate to the audience because what they see first is
what the magazine wants them too see first and this may
be what the reader is interested to.
The front cover also includes a tagline. This is something
catchy near the masthead along the top of the front cover.
For example, for this magazine is 16 page Autumn tour
special. I think that this tagline is short and snappy and has
a rhythm to it. Therefore it is memorable for the readers
as they will remember seeing that and will want to go back
and look at its content.

The content page has a main heading/masthead

saying NME content this automatically tells the
reader which page it is so they are able to read
what the magazine consists of before they start
to read the magazine or before they buy it they
might want to know if it includes anything
interesting for them to read. Also, it includes subheadings like news, radar, reviews, live and
feature above the content information, giving
different category's for each section of the
magazine. Furthermore, there is a title saying
Touring special with a short article underneath.
This may be here as it is a short piece of
information to interest the readers so that the
content page isn't plain and boring.

Next to each page they have included the page

number, this is so that when the reader is looking
through the content page they know which page is
which. Therefore, if the reader only wanted to read
a certain article at that time they would know
which page to go to straight away instead of having
to search through the magazine to find it.

The title touring special is anchored to the image

above. Anchoring is used to create a solid meaning
behind the magazine. Therefore, the image is
related to the title as the word touring relates the
bus in the background and you can tour on a coach.
This content page also aims at a certain target
audience of 16+, working class with standard jobs
with the hobby of music who enjoy reading up on
the latest articles about artists and tours.
This is shown in the main image which is of a
young girl dressed in casual clothing and dark
eyed makeup. She also looks like shes having fun
which relates to the topic of music. It is a medium
long shot as the image is above the waist.
The contents page has used columns, there is a
column on the left side for the index page and a
column on the right side for the contents. Columns
are essential tools to standardize your layout. They
help get the order and structure of the magazine,
and resist to imprison your thinking into standard
format because rigidity dulls the creativity.

For the layout they have

used 3 columns, an index
column, a column with a
small article with page
numbers anchored to
certain pages named and a
contents column. They
have done this so it is clear
to the audience. The layout
is important because if it is
all over the place people
wont be interested in
reading. They use rule of
thirds as they know which
areas eyes look at first.

Under the masthead there is a date,

this is the date which the magazine
was published. This is useful so that
the reader knows if the magazine is
up to date, so they know if they are
reading the latest information or not.

The colours that have been used still follow the colour scheme
as the masthead , index and page numbers are still red and
there is black and white on the page. The only colour which
doesnt fit the colour scheme is the yellow, however this has
been used to separate this section because they want it to
stand out a lot because it is a promotion to subscribe to their
own magazines.
A border is used around the main image, this is the white
outline of the image and it is on a tilted angle. This may have
been used to create an effective on a photo that has been
stuck in to a book like a diary or a photo album. I think this has
been done as a connotation because when people go touring
they tend to do this as it is a special memory they want to
keep. Therefore it connects with headline Touring special.
Furthermore, there then is a border around the whole of that
column I believe that this has been done to look like a billboard
because when people want to advertise a tour they will
sometimes stick advertisements up around towns/ citys on
billboards to attract peoples attention to go to the
concerts/gigs. Therefore they may have wanted to create this
effect.
The articles titles are clearly given in the contents. This is
important as they want to reader to understand clearly what
the magazine contains because they need to reader to be
able to tell the genre straight away as they might only be
looking for certain genre. The magazine contents includes
many featured artists and information about tours which is
what we would expect for a music magazine

There are 4 columns all with the same width but not the same length are there are images at the bottom which overlap the
columns. The columns are on the right page as the main image of the page takes over the whole left side. The size of the
text is much smaller compared to the size of the mage. They did this as the image would be the main thing that catch's the
readers sees when reading through the magazine. They do this so that you see this image and see that it relates to the main
mage on the front cover ,therefore you recognise that this is the main article as it is the main feature of the weeks issue.
Then once you have seen the image it will interest the reader to read the article. Another reason why they do this is
because most people are more interested at visual features because if the pages were just full on lines of text it would bore
the reader and would be less interested to read the text. The title is placed at the same vertical and horizontal position as
the image on the other page. This creates a imaginary line that connects the image with the text.
The main heading From tags to
riches is the biggest font on the
page and is bold writing. The
magazine does this with the
main heading because they
want this feature to stand out to
give the reader an insight to
what the article is about. The
main headline needs to grab you
attention by using a short and
snappy sentence, here it is like a
very short summary. This is very
affective because it instantly
makes you wonder about Dizzie
Rascals early days so it therefore
interests you to reader further,
which is its main aim. Also, the
tilted words match the graffiti
background of the main image,
which sets the semantic field of
the streets in this article.

The target audience is the same

throughout the magazine this does not
change on any other page. Therefore, this
page still uses the same colour scheme and
jj
uses the same features they used to aim at
their specific target audience.

The bright white background behind the

text represents him going from tags to
riches, therefore the white now represents
him as being successful, pure and innocent
because the white is opposite to black
because black usually connotes with danger
and darkness. therefor, it connotes that he is
now a better person. The house colours on
this magazine are black, white and red.
These colours are bold, which will attract
the audience. When black is used over the
top of white it gives a strong contrast to the
page.
Drop caps is used on the first letter of
the article. They are a effective way of
grabbing readers attention because they
add personality and visual strength to
the page. Drop caps drop are below the
baseline and are much bigger than the
body text. The size of the drop caps
should fit with the headline and the rest
of the text.

The main focus of this double page spread is the main

image. This is very large which suggests the person in
the image is obviously of high significance as he takes
up the majority of the page. It is a medium-long shot of
the artist wearing red which is an extremely bold colour
and signifies passion and fire. This could connote the
artists passion for his music. The background of the
image is graffiti which would stereotypically represents
the streets and criminals, therefore It links to the fact
he use to be on tag. This suggests he often use to get
into the trouble with the police and could have got I to
a bad crowd but escaped and lived his dream of being
an artist. This is a inspirational article which would
easily connect with a lo of people. The artist looks as if
he doesnt now that the image is being taken as he isnt
make direct address with the camera. This is
representing his younger days when he was getting
himself into the trouble as this image is of him graffiting
and looking around to see if anyone is looking. This is
effective because it shows him doing I know as we now
him which looks strange to us because we dont see
him as the man getting into trouble with the police, we
know him as an artist. Furthermore, the use of the
secondary images show empty bottles and a mess of
cups lay on the floor and an old record player which
may be used to anchor to the article as these may be
mentioned when you read the text to show his younger
days. This will attract the readers attention because the
will become interested to read his story. This will appeal
to the target audience for youngers or people who have
grew up listening to his music as it could be aspirational
for the audience like I previously mentioned.

Representation is used by the medias text to portray a person,

group of people or a place. The average age range for this
magazine is about 16+ therefore the artist theyve used music is
suited for that age range and they usually seem to listen to his
music or music genre. By doing this it makes it more realistic for
the audience. The clothing that Dizzie Rascal is wearing has been
selected to appeal to the target audience as people may seen his
as a fashion inspiration. Social groups may be represented in this
article because the article may relate to his life which could
involves issues about his past relationships, big events in his life or
personal issues. Therefore, these could be classed as social issues

In the left corner, the page number is labelled. This is used to

remind the reader which page they are reading. However, it is really
small as it is not a main feature of the page and isnt that important
it is just so the reader can relate back to the contents page.
The layout is the way the pages and features are set out. For this
double page spread is has a simple design, with one page
dedicated to the main image and the other page dedicated to the
article. They would of used the rule of thirds grid on the image.

Space is important when looking at the magazine

because if the spacing is very squeezed together then it
wont look professional and not very clear so the
audience are more likely to no bother reading the
article. The main image is very spaced as the main
image takes up a whole page on its on, therefore, giving
it the most importance. However, the second page is
very close together as there is no space between the
main heading, sub-title and article they are straight
underneath each other. Also the font is quiet small but
it is easier enough to read and in columns so nobody
would decide not to read it for this reason.
In the article there is a use of a quotation. A quote is the written form of the words which people have spoken. The quotation
is used to quote what he said a few years ago. This shows the truth of the magazine as they are quoting something he
actually instead of just constantly telling a story and if you repeat the exact words which people themselves have said will
reduce the risk of misreporting what they said. This make the article more realistic, enabling the audience to make a
connection with it. Additionally, when a quote is used the readers can see both the ideas and the way they were presented.
Overall impression- overall. I think that the double page spread is very good because is successfully uses multiple features
to attract a large audience and to make people curious to read what the article is about. i like the use of the drop cap
because the drop cap is very effective as it easily intrigues people. I think that the layout is of the text and the overlapping
of the pictures as this looks very professional and the use of the columns make the article easier to read as it is a clear
layout and flows well. Also, I am very impressed with the main image because it looks interesting and stands out. It works
very well with the dominant colour scheme and the use the connotations work well. I think that the large section of the
images position on the far left of the double page spread because it makes the page stand out more and attractive to the
audience as it fills the whole page. Furthermore, I like how the house style is kept the same throughout successful. I think
that this double page spread looks very interesting and professional, and would attract me to read this.

Task 2d- Identify the elements that connect

the 3 different parts of the magazine.

One element that connect these 3 different parts of the magazine is the colour scheme used
on all 3 pages. Colour is used to create effect. Some magazines will alter all the colour
schemes from edition to edition, while others will alter some colours to coordinate with the
central image. In this image I think they have altered the colours to coordinate with the
image because all the colours used have also been used in the image and the text and main
parts of the pages. The bright colours have been used to appeal to the audience as they
represent the happiness of this music genre as pop is connoted with fun and dance sort of
music that most people like to listen to. The house colours on the magazine are red, white
and black , these colours are bold, which will attract the audience. These 3 colours contrast
with each other, therefore using them in different sections enable each part to stand out
well.
Another element that connects the 3 different part of h magazine together is that they all
use a medium long shot main image. The use of a main image on these 3 pages is so it
attracts an audience that likes looking at visual images, which most people are more
attracted to. The main image is the most important part of these 3 pages as it catches' the
readers eye before they look at the printed text. The image is relevant to the magazines
purpose and audience and is strongly related to the features and articles in the magazine.
Lastly, they all use mise-en-scene in some way. This refers to everything that is put into the
scene. they mainly use mise-en-scene in the main images so that it will immediately attract
the target audience they want to aim at. For example, the facial expressions, the angle shot,
props, hair, makeup and clothing all are mediated in a way to attract a specific audience that
people who listen to the genre of music will be interested in. this is mainly stereotyped to
represent a group of people.