Primary Research - Magazine Analysis

NME

NME uses a colour scheme of red, black and white throughout, with added accents on the front cover which tie in with the main image. The use of such highly contrasting colours creates a sense of drama around the magazine, and also connotes passion, suggesting that the magazine is very passionate about its content (which would make sense). It is also incredibly eyecatching, which makes it stand out in places such as supermarkets, and is a constant throughout most issues of the magazine, and stayed with them through their redesign (which is advertised on the front cover). The fact that the main image is behind all of the text and the masthead suggests that the magazine relies heavily on its brand to sell, but the fact that the top of the main image is also bleeding into the masthead also suggests that they are relying on the content of their main feature in this issue to sell copies, which would make sense as the featured artist on the front cover is David Bowie, who is widely considered an icon within the music industry. All fonts used within the magazine are sans serif, which creates a clean look and suggests that it is up-to-date and modern, as sans serif fonts are often used in conjunction with modern aesthetics and have connotations of modernity. The pose and style of the featured artist on the front cover is quite jarring and odd, which fits in with most people’s expectations of David Bowie as he is known for being rather eccentric in his work. This adds to his icon status and makes people be more likely to buy the magazine if they are a fan of him. It is easy to identify the contents of this magazine from a glance because there is a large image of Bowie combined with a large heading with his name on it.

On the double page spread they have continued their use of sans serif fonts for all but the main body of text. This is because when the font size is smaller, serif fonts are easier for the human brain to read, which makes the article scan better for the reader. They’ve used a drop capital at the beginning of the body of text, which draws attention to the beginning of the article and indicates to the reader where they should begin to read the article. They’ve also used a pull quote which gives the article substance if the reader is just skimming through the magazine, which helps them to decide whether or not they want to read the article. The heading of the article is in a large, bold, font, which draws attention to the article. Its placement in the middle of the photograph gives the photograph a clear context and easily signifies it as part of that article. The article also has added context because they have included a review of the featured artist’s best two tracks off their new album, which helps someone who may not be familiar with their work to decide whether or not they should listen to the artist after reading the article, and it provides an opinion on their new releases which will be of interest to people who are already fans of the artist.

My overall impression of NME is that it knows who its target audience are and how to appeal to them which makes it quite effective when put together as a whole package. The front cover and cover lines give a good impression of what’s inside in terms of the feature article, but you have to go to the contents page to get an impression of the other content in the magazine, but that’s not an uncommon feature of magazines. It is designed to appeal to music fans who are interested in current and up to date music trends and artists, with a predominantly male audience but it does not exclude women through largely gender neutral content and style. Female readers of the magazine are not addressed specifically because this may alienate the large male readership NME has. NME is published by IPC Media who also publish magazines aimed at a wide variety of audiences through their three business divisions, Connect, Southbank, and Inspire. Connect targets the mass market for women, publishing magazines like Chat and Pick Me Up, alongside things like What’s on TV. Southbank targets more upmarket women, publishing things like Marie Claire, InStyle and Ideal Home. NME comes under the Inspire division of IPC Media which caters to men’s interest, published alongside things like Nuts and Shooting Gazette. 

Q

The main colours used in Q are the same as that of NME, bold red, black, and white, with the occasional blue (or purple) accent. This choice of colour scheme is eye-catching and bold, which will draw attention to the magazine when it is displayed in a retailer. They use a slightly more subdued red than NME, which suggests that their target audience is older than that of NME. The use of red throughout their magazine connotes passion and drama, suggesting both that they are passionate about their content, that the magazine is for people who are passionate about music, and that their magazine is exciting to read and contains drama and interesting articles. The image they have chosen to use on the front cover of the featured artist in their magazine is quite dramatically lit, which supports the connotations of the red motif. In general, they use sans serif fonts, but a harsher typeface than that of NME, with some serif fonts on the front cover and for the subheadings on the contents page, and along with giving the magazine a harsh look, this suggests that they aren’t as concerned with being current and up to date as NME, which backs up the hypothesis that their target audience is older than that of NME. On the front cover, in addition to having the image of the featured artist bleed over into the masthead, they have also positioned the featured artist in front of their logo, which suggests that they are relying heavily on the featured artist to sell copies of their magazine, and can’t rely as heavily on their brand as NME. Again on the contents page the images of the featured artist the largest images on the page, and the cropping of one of the images means that they are actually on top of the heading of the page, which again suggests that they are the most exciting thing about the issue and that they rely heavily on the artists they feature to sell the magazine. They don’t title any of their content aside from the name of the artist it features, which is another clue that Q relies heavily on the artists it contains as opposed to its brand. The pose and style of the featured artists in the main image is very sleek and suave, which will appeal to a more sophisticated audience perhaps than that of NME. This creates the impression that Q is aimed at people who are perhaps quite affluent and well off, or at least put an amount of effort into their appearance.  It’s easy to identify the contents of the magazine at a glance which lets prospective readers to make a quick decision about whether or not to pick up and read Q. It offers a broad sense of what’s in the magazine without requiring you to open it and look at the contents page, which again enables prospective readers to make a quick decision about the magazine. 

On the double page spread, they almost abandon the use of sans serif fonts aside from the title and pull quote, which both use the same font which helps to tie them together, and it is also the same font as the cover lines on the front cover of the magazine, which gives the article a sense of importance. They have a lot of images of the artist they’re talking about in the article which will appeal to people who like visual articles as opposed to ones with large bodies of text, but suggests a compromise may have been made when it comes to the content of the article. Again the name of the featured artist is highlighted to draw attention to the article, which may draw in readers who were previously disinterested in the article. They have used a drop capital to guide the reader to the beginning of the body of text, and a serif font on the main body, possibly to aid with easier reading, but more likely because it fits with the general style and feel of the magazine. They’ve used effects on the images they’ve used with the article to make them seem ‘rough’ and ‘battered’, which almost creates a kind of scrapbook effect, and also offers the reader a look at the content they’re writing about, which is a film created by a famous musical artist. They have a connected article to the right in a vertical banner which explores other films created by musical artists, which will be of interest to the reader of the article, which they also use as an opportunity to talk about more big artists. It also serves as a way for someone who might not be interested in the main article to ‘test the water’ so to speak, because if they’re interested or invested in an artist mentioned to the right they will be more likely to want to read the article. The article is very image based, which ties in with the subject of the article and also suggests that it’s lighter reading material than may be contained in a text heavy article because it requires less in-depth discussion.

My overall impression of Q is that it’s not as secure in its branding as NME and perhaps relies a little too heavily on the featured artists to sell copies of the magazine. The overall effect of the magazine is quite effective but still a little cluttered and confusing, and there isn’t necessarily a clear target audience as some of the content inside conflicts heavily with the impression given by the front cover, for example images of people dressed sharply on the front cover and then people dressed down in jumpers and more casual clothes on the contents page gives a confusing message about the intention of the magazine. It is designed to appeal to people who are interested in music and popular culture, but isn’t as concerned with appealing to a younger audience as some magazines, hence the implications of the average reader being affluent. The magazine is intended to appeal to men. I know this because it almost exclusively features men, and the colour scheme is commonly associated with a male audience. It also seems to feature people who would be aspirational figures for men. Q is published by Bauer Media Group which also publishes KERRANG!, a music magazine aimed at a considerably younger audience than Q. This magazine is distributed solely in the United Kingdom, despite Bauer Media Group being based in Germany.

KERRANG!

KERRANG! use a bright, heavily contrasting colour scheme consisting of black, yellow, white, and red. The use of yellow, red, and black, together connotes warning and danger, suggesting that the content in the magazine isn’t for everyone and reflects a more ‘hardcore’ genre of music than that of NME and Q. The general style of the front cover is very rough and deliberately offset to give the magazine the impression of being something exciting which might have been put together very quickly. The use of all caps cover lines gives the magazine an air of excitement and urgency, which works to make the reader want to read the magazine and find out what’s so exciting and urgent about the stories inside. On the contents page they have continued the use of all caps to the categories and article titles which again contributes to a general feeling of urgency. The contents page is quite dense and information heavy, suggesting that most people won’t skim the magazine before reading all the way through, or if they did so they would find it quite difficult. This suggests that they have a dedicated readership or a brand which is prominent enough in society for readers to know what to expect within the magazine, which is true because they have their own TV channel and most people have at least heard of the magazine and know the kind of content they have in their magazines and show on their TV channel. On their contents page they have a letter from the editor which fosters an almost personal relationship between the magazine and the reader, which will help to create and maintain the kind of dedicated fanbase I spoke about earlier.

On their double page spread they continue the use of all caps in their titles and subheadings throughout the article. This creates a sense of consistency throughout the magazine, and also works to maintain the sense of urgency and excitement you get from their excessive use of capitals through the magazine. It also uses words like ‘PSST’ to give the article a sense of exclusivity, a more subtle way of doing what Q does simply by using the word ‘exclusive’. This exclusivity is backed up by the use of the word ‘revealed’ in the article title. Like both of the other magazines I’ve looked at, KERRANG! uses a drop capital at the beginning of the body of text to draw in the eye of the reader and make the article easier to read. Unlike the other magazines I’ve looked at, they have decided not to use a serif font for the main body of text, sacrificing readability for a more modern and up to date look which will appeal strongly to a young audience. The pose of the artists featured in the article is that of a ‘typical band’, a pose which is instantly recognisable to anyone who is familiar with traditional music journalism for a younger audience, probably used to create a sense of familiarity between the reader and the article, and make it seem as unthreatening as possible to appeal to a younger audience. There is a particular ‘band aesthetic’ which a lot of teenagers find appealing, and I think that they are trying to aspire to that with this article. The combination of an unthreatening pose and obscene slogan on a band-member’s shirt, tattoos and general ‘ruggedness’ creates an atmosphere of safety but also introduces elements of the risqué, something which is both useful and common among teenagers and which has traditionally given them an opportunity to explore their sexuality in a safe environment, usually through a crush on one of the members of a band such as this.

My overall impression of the magazine is that it wants to create a sense of urgency and excitement through its articles through the excessive use of all caps and exclamation marks. It appeals to a younger audience than both of the magazines I’ve looked at previously by featuring artists who are often the subject of teenage crushes, and again unlike the magazines I’ve looked at previously it is intended to appeal to a female audience, as well as, if not more than a male audience. It may not be obvious because of the lack of feminine colours and fashion, but it appeals to a large sect of female teenagers who deliberately do not ascribe to the societal conventions of caring about fashion and make-up and who instead care about bands and music. I think it is very effective in appealing to this target audience. It does not directly address anyone who is past their teenage years and excludes the majority of them through the simplified and subtle language choices made and general aesthetic of excessive excitement and exclamation marks which is often associated with teenagers, especially teenagers who are more technologically literate and focused than their elders. KERRANG! is published by Bauer Media Group alongside Q.