Music Magazine Analysis - Front Covers

Front Covers

Kerrang:

The cover is very image dominated. The main image is very “in your face” and is the main focus of the page. This picture also shows what the main article of the magazine will be like; meaning that fan fan of the band will be inclined to pick it up.

The colour scheme is subtle but this makes it slightly more readable through the chaotic pictures and edgy writing. The pose of the band shows very clearly who the front man is. He is standing in the centre and also giving off an air of arrogance as he holds the sides of jacket and intimidates reader as he stares directly into the lens.

The pictures are at different angles possibly displays that this magazine is edgy and different and not “straight edge”. The colours of the test are simple and eye catching. Black white and red is a classic colour scheme and works well for this genre of magazine as it is typically associated with a darker angrier type of music. It displays some of the text in a spikey box showing that this magazine is sharp and unique.

Q:

The first things that strike you about the front cover are the logo colour scheme and title. The logo is very dominant on the front cover but doesn’t stretch across the entire top third which is unique.

The main image gives off a very relaxed friendly vibe making the article more likable and people will be more inclined to read it. They have cleverly incorporated take that lyrics for the name of the article “back for good?”

The layout of the front cover is very simple and organised. Everything is straight and in line contrasting with the messy poses of the image. The pose could also show a sense of equality as they are all central and together no one is standing out as the front man of the band.

 Again the classic colour scheme is being used here but black isn’t as dominant as the Kerrang cover showing that this genre may be brighter and more positive as they use purer colours. They also use gold which isn’t a very common colour but stands out and the gold is incorporated with an article or the q awards drawing your eye to it and making you read it.

Mojo:

The cover is very eye catching and the green is very unique to this genre of magazine. It works well as it is complimented with classic subtler colour of black and white.

The main image shows who the front man is by placing him slightly in front of the rest of him giving him a higher status and power. Maybe they have all been ordered because of their role or importance of the band. The cover is organised but has elements of quirkiness and edge like the title font and the tilt on exclusive! But all of these things are subtle they aren’t trying to make them prominent features. The poses of the band are very subdued and cool. They look relaxed and at ease like they have done this before. The caption says world’s biggest rock band yet they are not giving off an arrogant pose of expression.

The font is straight and blocky making the whole cover look neater. All of the text is like this except from the title; this makes it stand out, also the fact that it dominates the top third of the picture making it follow the typical magazine layout (Kerrang).  The pictures at the top are traditionally place at the bottom of the page but on this magazine they are placed at the top and seem more insignificant compared to the main image making the world’s biggest rock band phrase go hand in hand with the image.

NME:

The front cover is very bold and the colour scheme enhances that. The font is unique as it changes half way through the title to highlight the word insane and the font style may be a connotation for the word.

This magazine also had a small gold element which highlights an important part of information. The main image is intriguing as the band has been dressed in black and white the main colour scheme of the magazine. It may also be showing two sides of their new album? Light and dark? But it works well with the rest of the red on the page.

The pose of the band is sophisticated and collected showing they take this album seriously and that it is the way forward for them. A lot of shadowing is used on the picture giving it a sense of mystery intriguing the reader to read it. The fist of the man coming literally out of the picture could be him reaching out to the reader. There are no other images on the page showing the importance of this bands return that no other band is worthy of sharing the page with it. The title of the magazine is similar to Q as it takes up only a small part of the page in the top left hand corner. This could be showing that the band is more important than the name of the magazine and should have more space on the cover.

Rolling Stone:

The magazine has a very dominant image. A lot of the magazines title is covered by the band suggesting that this magazine is so well known you don’t even need to see the whole title. This is itself makes the magazine seem arrogant.

The colour scheme is predominantly red black and white again but has one section of purple which stands out but doesn’t work in the scheme as it clashes with the red making it eye catching but not in an appealing way. The band themselves as posed in a different way. In this case the front man is not the man at the front of the picture but someone who didn’t recognise the band would think he was. The fact that he isn’t wearing a shirt could be a sign of rebellion? It gives of a sense that he doesn’t go with the norm. The pose of the band doesn’t show much friendliness between them it shows that they are focused but the shirtless member cancels that out, making it seem less serious. 

The font is very recognisable and is curved and sharp which is unique for a magazine maybe suggesting that what to expect from the articles and general feel for the magazine. The rest of the fonts are sharp and take up a lot of the page which again is different as it combines an image dominated background with a text dominated foreground which has been done well as it doesn’t look cluttered.