Rejected images

These are the first images I took for the front cover of my magazine, unfortunately these photos were too blury and so I decided to not use any of them but instead I will add take new photos of my model.

Front cover analysis

This front cover is off the XXL magazine. XXL specialises in the genre of Hip Hop. Like the other XXL magazine of Fabolous and The Dream from this magazine you can see that the target audience young people in the age range of 16-26 that have an interest in this genre. Sell lines include stories of other mainstream artists like Eminem and Trey Songz. This reinforces that the magazines targets a mainstream audience. Following the typical convention of a music magazine this front cover successfully makes use of 2 colours (black&red) which makes it simple and easy for the reader to follow. The layout of the magazine is also conventional with a key image of one of the figureheads in the music industry let alone the genre of Hip Hop, Jay Z. This artists importance is highlighted from the main sell line which states 'IS JAY Z BIGGER THAN HIP HOP' from this sell line you can see that this artist has a dominant role in the Hip Hop genre. The use of a low angle shot further reinforces the dominance of this artist. The use of skyscrapers in the background is again used to show his status and the heights that he has reached in his career as he is as tall as these buildings. This could also indicate that he is out of the reach of the artists from this genre. The mise-en-scene used also shows his power. The use of all black attire and the long black coat connotes his power as people of power wear black. The sunglasses also which is a typical feature for most artists shows his status. Like most other issues from XXL this magazine doesn't offer any incentives for readers of this magazine which could be an indication of the demand of this magazine as they don't need to offer anything extra for readers. The synchronising motif of 'HIP-HOP ON A HIGHER LEVEL' uses alliteration which eases the reading for the reader. Like almost all XXL magazines this issue also adhers to the typical conventions of music magazines through the use of limited font colours, sell lines and stereotypical representation of the artist on the front cover.

textual analysis of Double page spread

This double page spread is from NME magazine, it is an interview featuring Lilly Allen. This magazine both follows the typical conventions of a music magazine double page spread but also subverts these conventions. The main image in the article is a stereotypical representation of a pop/rock artist as Lilly Allen is presented with her hands on her hips which implies that she is laid back and is not fazed by anything which is the image that most Rock/Pop stars try to portray. Also her choice of costume is also conventional of a rock star as she is wearing a checkered shirt with her sleeves rolled up and the top buttons undone which is what most artists of this genre chose to wear. So we could use this choice of costume as an indication of her belonging to the rock/pop genre. Her choice of make-up for example black eye-liner also presents her as a typical female pop/rock artist this is also presented through her jet black short hair. Furthermore her facial expression presents her as emotionless and not bothered which is also typical of artists from this genre.The size of the image could emphasise her importance as a star as she takes up one side of the double page spread which could suggest that she is a very important star. The size of the image makes the article pleasing to the eye as it is a Mid-Shot and this allows the image to persuade the reader to go on and read the full article. The use of one image in the article is subverts the typical conventions of a double page spread as most magazines including NME use many smaller sized images in their articles.

The layout of the article is conventional as the text is presented in columns which is a convention of articles. The length of the article could indicate that it continues on to the next page as most magazines take up more than two pages in their articles. This article applies direct mode of address which is convenient for the targeted audience of NME so that they can relate to the text. This is a key feature to magazine articles as the readers must be able to associate themselves with what is said in the text because you wouldn't expect rock artists to speak formally as this would be a turn off for their targeted audience. NME also make use of a floating quote which is a typical convention of music magazine articles where they take out a quote from the artist which is appropriate and has most emphasis in the article. The floating quote used 'People think I'm an attention seeker, but I'm just honest' this quote is intentionally extracted from the article and highlighted to put emphasis on this quote this is because the targeted audience who aspire to live her lifestyle can read this quote and immediately relate this quote to themselves especially teenage audiences as they are mostly represented in this way. The size of the quote however is also unconventional as it consumes a lot of space on the page which is not usually done in music magazines. This article also has no heading which is again a typical feature of a music magazine article.

The use of colours in the article is also unconventional as it looks like a newspaper layout where the font is black and white. The use of colours is something that most magazines particularly rock magazines make use of. The plain layout of the text in this double page spread is intentionally done to draw the reader's attention to the main image of Lilly Allen as many magazines make use of many images and colours.

In conclusion I would say that this magazine mostly subverts the typical conventions of a music magazine despite also following some of the conventions of a magazine. As there is no main heading and the limited use of colours. However I still believe that this magazine is successful in appealing to their main targeted audience. This is done particularly through the main image and floating quotes which allows the audience to relate themselves to. I also believe that audiences that read this article for personal and social integrative needs in relation to the uses and gratifications theory. I say this because audiences that read this do this in order to talk about with their friends and also to boost their status and morale as the targeted audience associate themselves with this artist and may want to emulate their lifestyle.

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From these results I can conclude that the majority of the people that completed the questionnaire prefered the R&B and Hip Hop genre to any other this is the reason why I have chosen to base my magazine on these two genres as I believe it would appeal more to the audience I have targetted. Also people said that they would like to have freebies with their magazines and of these freebies most would like to have CD's. So I have taken this into account and decided to include a free CD in my magazine. I have also decided to make my magazine cost £2.49 this is because most people said that they would like to spend between £2-3 on a new magazine. And finally I have decided to make my magazine monthly as most people have decided that they would prefer a monthly magazine to a weekly one.

Contents page analysis

This is a contents page off Vibe magazine. This contents page follows the typical conventions of a contents page as it provides a limited amount of information for readers where they could find the page numbers of the main parts of the magazine. The purpose of a contents page is to allow readers to know where to find the information they are looking for.

The use of several images supported with relevent text is again a convention of a music magazine as it provides the essential information needed. This magazine also subverts the typical conventions of a music magazine because there is not use of an editorial which is a feature typical to contents pages. I believe that this is a fashion based edition as all the artists in the images are presented in different outfits and the captions indicate what these outfits are. That again is another convention as most music magazines use captions along with the main images to attract the reader. The images used are of different male artists in differing attire the purpose is to attract the targeted audience and to put emphasis on the choice of costume of these artists and prompt the reader to emulate them. I believe that the targeted audience is people aged 16-25 who have an interest in the Hip Hop/R&B genre and particularly also with an interest in fashion. This contents page relies more on images backed up with bits of information to attract their target audience which is another convention of acontents page.

The layout of this magazine is conventional to music magazine contents page and is also a layout that Vibe have made use of in several magazines. The masthead is a synchronising motif used by Vibe where they use that typography to appeal to their audience. The way the information is presented is standard as well as the audience can see the relevant texts they need to.

I believe that this contents page makes use of surveillance from the uses and gratifications theory, I say this because the reader will find out information from this contents page on fashion and try to imitate the dress sense of these artists for their own personal gain. Also personal relationships as the reader could speak with their friends/family about the latest fashion trends.

I also beleive that the proucers make use of direct mode of address on most of the images where the reader is directly targeted and expected to be influenced by the models costume.

Front cover analysis

This Magazine is XXL and similar to Vibe this magazine specialises in the genres of Hip Hop and R&B. From the front cover of the magazine you can see that the target audience of this magazine is young people aged about 16-26 with an interest in Hip Hop. The sell lines consist of different stories about mainstream artists such as Mary J. Blige and Ludacris. This highlights that the magazine is targetting a mainstream audience. The typography of the magazine is basic consisting of mainly three colours (white, blue and red). This is a typical convention of a music magazine. The layout of the magazine is also typical with a large key image with the main headline in the largest font. Similar to Vibe the size of the font varies with the importance of the text. For example in this magazine the most important story is on Fabolous and The-Dream so that is positioned in the centre of the front cover and is in large font and also written in upper-case. The mode of address is direct. This is shown through the key image as the artists are looking directly at the audience engaging them. The main image of this magazine is an image of two mainstream aritists Fabolous and The-Dream. This image follows stereotypes as you see the jewellery worn by these artists and the tattoos which is associated with artists of these genres. The choice of costume for the artists is also typical of artists in this genre like the Cap and the sunglasses. Also the champioship belt worn by The-Dream connotes that he views himself as the champion of R&B. The tattoos and jewellery represents the luxurious life that these artists live. The serious facial expression by the artists similar to Plies on the cover of Vibe is another typical feature associated with artists of these genres. The colour scheme of the front cover is red, white and blue this may have been done to associate these characters with the USA as that is also the colour scheme of the USA flag. In contrast to the Vibe magazine this magazine doesn't have any offers for readers and this is a theme in most editions of this magazine. 'Hip Hop on a higher level' is a synchronising motif used in every XXL magazine and the use of alliteration makes it more memorable. The front cover of this magazine adhers to the typical conventions of a music magazine. Male artists of the Hip Hop and R&B genre are represented stereotypically as living a luxurious lifestyle signified through their jewellery and tattoos. This magazine is published by Harris Publications who also publish 'Scratch' magazine.