The actual magazine name ‘NME’ makes the magazine sound young and modern as the title has been abbreviated from ‘New Musical Express’ to ‘NME’, most company names and group organisations these days have abbreviated names to make it more manageable to remember for the public. In NME magazines case, it is used not only for their readers to remember the name but also makes it seem rebellious and youthful. This is due to the shortened name sounding like the word ‘enemy’ which can be associated with youth and violence, more so to the male population than female. The red used in the title makes in bold and stand out and contrasts with the white background. It also makes the title again link in with connotations of youth and anger and rebellion. This would make it more appealing to young males as they find violence and confrontation appealing.The main picture is of Oasis’s Liam and Noel Gallagher. The image of the 2 iconic members of one of the biggest bands in Britain again backs up the idea that the magazine is aimed at young males rather than females as Oasis have a larger male following due to their type of music, lifestyle and image. The fact that Liam is wearing a red jacket and Noel is wearing a red one, gives off the idea of two different teams or more likely two different tribes against one another. Most NME readers would probably know about the history and ‘artistic differences’ between the 2 brothers and therefore putting them in 2 different colours reinforces this idea to the readers of NME. The image is a medium long shot and shows Liam’s body language to give the impression that he is stuck up and in a way quite a dangerous character compared to Noel who is looking over at him, but looks a little friendlier compared to Liam. Noel looking over at Liam rather than the other way round shows the story of the two brothers visually straight away as it makes it seem as if Noel is looking over in a disappointed manner at Liam and again makes Liam seem more authoritive as Liam isn’t looking at Noel. This again may represent how is doesn’t want to face Noel after what he has done and how he ruined Oasis’s career. However the image of him seems to reflect his male bravado and aggressive ways which is what the target audience would be pulled into wanting to read about.
The cover lines are all in the iconic rock red, white and black. This again links in with youth and anger and rebellion. Red, white and black also seem to be the staple colours of rock music and are associated with men rather than women. Red is normally associated with anger, violence and blood. Black is normally represented with shadows, death and bleakness, white represents purity, clarity and angelic ness. The 3 colours seem to contradict themselves but together create an appealing and layered meaning of youth, angst, radical behaviour and revolt against the rest of the world. The black and red font breaks up the white background and makes the magazine interesting, however also sophisticated and mature compared to other music magazines such as ‘Kerrang’.
The language used on the front cover of the magazine again reflects its target audience of young males. For example such words and phrases as ‘DUUDE!’, ‘Smashed Guitars’ and ‘Messiest Bust-ups’ are all associated with a younger generation rather than older. Slang words such as ‘dude’ indicate youth. Also other strap lines on the cover like ‘Carl’s tell-all new book’ makes the magazine seem as though it has new and exclusive information on bands and singers that no other magazine contains. This makes it more appealing to the target audience as if their favourite band is the ‘Libertines’, then their going to want to buy NME to read about one of the member’s new books than another music magazine covering ACDC. Also the massive title that is larger than the magazine title, ‘Oasis’ would draw in a lot of readers as Oasis were one of the biggest bands and therefore have a larger cult following compared to a band such as ‘The Feeling’. The title ‘also starring The Smiths, Pixies, Blur, The Clash, Guns N’ Roses, The Fall and the verve’ draws in even more readers as it is full of all sorts of info on a range of different bands. By statmenting on the front cover that the magazine has information on other bands it covers a range of fans and their musical tastes and therefore brings in a wider target audience.
The overall layout of the magazine is mainly shaped around the 2 Oasis members and therefore makes it look more clear and sophisticated and finished off. All of the words are in capitals which again links in with the idea of youth and rebellion which again shows a male following rather than female.
All of the text is in white and caps lock rather than lower case to make it stand out and seem more exciting. There are only 2 different font’s used. One is big bold and thick and normal is the Artists name or one of the main titles. The other is an older looking font which is thinner and smaller than the other text and is used to give additional information to the title. It is also placed in front of a red box to make it stand out as it is smaller than the other font. NME is not only the name of the magazine but also its logo. This edition of NME does not take the usual form of its normal red logo, instead it is white with no outlines or shadowing. This makes it stand out in a way to the background which is a picture taken at Glastonbury. It also matches the colour scheme that is used for the rest of the text on the front cover which is white and red. It is the largest piece of text on the cover and therefore stands out compared to the other text.
Apart from the main picture which takes up the whole of the magazine front cover there are 4 other pictures of artists. Top left is Mumford and Sons with Florence and the Machine directly below and Muse and the Edge from U2 on the left with Radiohead below. All four pictures are from Glastonbury and are slightly tipped which makes them seem more interesting rather than being straight. The artists featured on the cover are quite popular and therefore would pull in the consumer.
The main picture on the magazine is a shot of Matt Bellamy from the rock band Muse, who headlined Glastonbury in 2010. The long shot of the back of Bellamy means that the consumer can see the audience which makes the consumer feel as if they are part of it as they are seeing the concert almost from the artist s point of view. It also makes Bellamy seem as though he has some sort of god like status due to the position he is in and the fact that the consumer can see the millions of fans with their arms up, listening to the band. It also make the festival look more interesting and exciting and therefore makes the consumer want to buy it and read about the reviews on Glastonbury.
The language used is basic, short and appropriate for the target audience. The title in the middle of the page ‘Supermassive review of the hottest Glastonbury ever’ has meanings behind the wording. Since Muse was the headlining act, they are featured more in the magazine and ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ is one of their most famous songs which NME have used in their title. Also Hottest Glastonbury Ever at first as though the acts were really good, but it literally was the hottest Glastonbury every, temperature wise. Language such as ‘Surprise’ , ‘Storm’ and ‘Wild’ make the festival seem really exciting and that the reviews are going to be really good which attracts consumers to buy the magazine.
There are several pugs used on the front cover such as the red plus sign which joins one of the sub headings with some other text containing information about what is inside the cover. Other pugs include the red rectangles that are placed behind some of the white text; this makes it stand out more and also makes the front cover generally look more interesting. The red contrast with the white writing and makes it more attractive and appealing.
ROLLING STONES - TAYLOR SWIFT ANALYSIS:
The front cover is mainly taken up with Taylor Swift’s face which is the focal selling point of the magazine. The magazine name ‘Rolling Stones’ is practically hidden behind the pop stars head. This shows that the editors are confident that either Taylor Swift’s face covering most of the cover will sell the magazine or the fact that the iconic title, which also acts as its logo, will be recognised and sell itself.The fact that the cover not only features Taylor Swifts face but also her guitar creates another interest point. It symbolises to the consumer that she is not just a pretty faced, country/pop singer that happened to hit it big time, but that she is a recording artist who is an actual musician that can sell her own work successfully. The way in which her hair is slightly blowing across her face makes her look more interesting and therefore the overall magazine cover looks more appealing. It also shows her femininity as hair is always a big feature to a girl. Her make-up is natural but striking as her eyes are outlined in black liner and therefore emphasis the blue coloured irises. It also makes her look strong and independent as well as pretty and nice. The colours and textures used display connotations of country music. This is due to the straw coloured hair, brown toned guitar and whites used to again show clarity, innocence and a natural atmosphere. The type of shot being a close up shows how the editors wanted to draw the consumer in using only Taylors face rather than seeing a long shot of her. It makes it seem more close and personal and brings the consumer in as they are attracted to the interview as the image is warm and inviting as well as interesting and striking.
The background is toned greyish white with a very slight washed yellow tinge to it also. The blank looking background contrasts with Taylor Swifts hair and guitar to make her stand out even more, and the blowing hair makes her seem more animated. The eye is drawn mainly to Taylor Swift’s eyes and face as well as the logo and sub title which reads ‘Taylor Swift’. The white lettering outlined with a very slight almost undetectable black shadow makes it stand out and contrast with the browny, orangey tones behind it. It is also the largest font on the page and therefore stands out. Instead of using caps lock the editors have used lower case lettering to again make it seem inviting and welcoming rather than big bold and heavy in the consumers face. This reflects the sort of person and style of music that Taylor Swift is famous for, it also links in with the sub title ‘Secrets of a good girl’ which is in the same style as the artists name except for the fact that it is slightly smaller and not bold so the lettering is slimmer. The position of this text is bottom/middle left which shows that it is an important feature in the magazine as the artist’s name is normally featured in the middle.The other text on the left hand side is also in the same font as the font that states the artist’s name. This makes the front cover look clear and neat rather than loud and packed, this again reflects what kind of artist Taylor Swift is and makes the magazine look interesting to read as it is different to the usual rock/indie looking magazines such as Kerrang and NME.
A pug is used also to highlight a piece of information. The use of the rectangle makes that specific piece of information stand out more and catch’s the consumer’s eye. The column of titles and sub headings informing the consumer about what else is being featured in the latest edition of the rolling stones magazine, is pushed to the left hand side of the cover which again emphasis's the fact that Taylor Swift is the more important feature in the magazine. There is a sub heading about Greenday which are seen as more of a punk/alternative rock band which fits in with the fonts and colours used in the layout of the cover. This again links in with the idea that Taylor Swift is more important in the issue as Greenday's genre of music and styling completely clash with the front cover's neutral, countrified look due to Taylor Swift's style of music.
Q Magazine - Kings of Leon Analysis:
The magazine name ‘Q’ also acts as it’s logo which is the same for many music magazines. The white Q, highlighted by the red background makes it contrast and therefore stand out. The fact also that it is the largest piece of text on the front cover also makes it stand out to the consumer. In correlation to the front cover, it makes it seem formal and to the point compared to the kerrang logo/name as it is more jaggered and rebellious. The main focus of the magazine is The Kings of Leon who are the main featured artist in this particular edition of Q. Their pose and picture backs up the article on them in Q and makes them look rebellious and confident especially with the broken glass that they are breaking through which again links in with the article about them. The fact that they are all wearing similar clothing and colours shows their unity as a band. The dark clothing and background makes them seem, grungy and fits in with the style of music that they produce. The sharp bits of glass also link in with the hard, rock edge look that the Kings of Leon have. The fact that it looks like the pieces of glass are shattering towards the consumer makes it look more dangerous and exciting. The determined look on the band members faces also makes them look hard and determined. This also applies to their music as after 4 albums they have finally broken through so they must obviously be determined and hard working to want to keep producing music. The positioning of the band members with the main two members in the front shows perhaps a status in the group. They also look as though they are about to jump out of the magazine which is different to the usual magazine front cover picture, which is of the band or artist stand still.
The main text stating the artists name and the theme of the artist is all in the same font and caps lock. ‘Kings of Leon’ is slightly larger than the ‘Breakthrough’ title as this is the more important piece of information. The text is in a white rectangular box which makes it stand out. The ‘Kings of Leon’ title is black to make it stand out and match the bands dark coloured look, the ‘Breakthrough’ is in red to make it seem punchy, rebellious.
The main text stating the artists name and the theme of the artist is all in the same font and caps lock. ‘Kings of Leon’ is slightly larger than the ‘Breakthrough’ title as this is the more important piece of information. The text is in a white rectangular box which makes it stand out. The ‘Kings of Leon’ title is black to make it stand out and match the bands dark coloured look, the ‘Breakthrough’ is in red to make it seem punchy, rebellious.
