Music Magazine's Annotated

Annotating MUSIC MAGAZINE'S

I will be annotating music magazines, this will allow me to find out the features and contents a magazine uses, By doing this I will get a few idea's on what my music magazine cover should have.

Annotating of Magazine 1

The cover lines are on the left of the 'BASS' magazine and have a space in between for the next cover line, however there are 2 cover lines that include no space  but are in 2 different colors  BLOC PARTY' and 'MADE ME INTERNATIONAL', the size of the font vary and the typography is in block capitals which suggests seriousness as if someone is shouting however in this context it suggests party as music is loud, so caps lock is used to portray  music as loud as possible.  

I will be annotating 'Q' magazine as the second magazine to annotate as I want to see the difference between a big branded magazine to the difference of a magazine cover produced by a person who doesn't work under a bring brand of 'Q' magazine, so I chose to annotate various magazine covers that are made by big brands and some students.

Annotating of Magazine 2

The masthead of 'Q' is found on the left hand side corner and at the same time it's above the main image of Cheryl Cole. The 'Q' magazine is the main view of the brand's identity, so it's placed on the front page.

The website creates synergy of the magazine front cover. There is a range of cover stories that are in different fonts and sizes but the color scheme is the same of red and white. The use of different sizes of typography  suggests that there will be many articles in the magazine that will suit everyone, so they aim for an wider audience.

There is a common color scheme of red, black and white, the use of three colors makes the magazine recognizable to the audience. The colors are used constantly through the magazine, so makes it look professional. 

The main cover story is on 'CHERYL COLE ROCKS' as it's the biggest typography that attracts mass audiences with her image on, the magazine will be brought by male's as its a female's image on the cover and is a seductive image that aims for a male to buy it. The image of Cheryl initiates the male gaze theory however the pose looks childish, suggests she needs saving and it suggests read how she 'ROCKS' . Women are as used as an object in a magazine, so Cheryl is used to attract the younger teens of the age of 20 as 'Q' magazine attracts a wide range of different music genres, so use images of people who are famous and around the age of the mass audience, Photoshop makes the image look more attractive to the younger audience.

The 'Q' magazine focuses on one image as the younger generation of teens don't like to read as much as they have a shorter attention span, on the other hand magazines that have  one image are considered to have more  of an quality element.

The typography is restrained and the text gives the magazine a modern look, the typography is in capitals and appeals to an audience who wants to read and links to the magazines main demographic.

The bar code is in white and it's clearer then most magazines, the bar code is needed to make a transaction,however the bar code is usually placed in the corner in a discreet area, so it doesn't attract attention to the audience, but in this magazine it attracts the audience to the white colored box as it stands against the grey background.

Buzz words like 'ROCKS' is used to promote an area of excitement, they are short words that draw attention to the audience.

The use of the banner at the top 'THE UK'S BIGGEST MUSIC MAGAZINE' attracts audiences to buy it as it's quality of being the 'best'. Banners usually consist of names of some bands and artists that are going to be in the magazine, a preview of what's inside, there is additional offers in the banner such as posters and free gifts that attracts some.

Annotating of Magazine 3

Like the 'Q' magazine 'NME' also has the logo at the top left of the corner. The logo of 'NME' is bright as it's white, a color that has connotations of innocence and purity, also a color that symbolizes a wedding. The title is in capital letters, so it makes the title stand out and makes the magazine more appealing.

Florence's red hair ties in with the color scheme of the magazine, her hair color brands NME for this magazine cover. She is looking directly in to the camera and she gives direct address, this allows the audience to interact and creates synthetic personalisation ( a fake relationship with the audience), this is done so they purchase it. The price is on the magazine front cover for those who don't usually purchase the magazine and the issue number is helpful to  regular people who read the magazine. The use of the close up shot gives a personal feel, you only see a person close up when your face to face with them, this then suggests it is aimed at the male audience and adheres to the male gaze theory.

The image of Florence makes her look hard core as she hasn't been represented in a sexual way because no flesh or body parts are shown. Her face is only shown, it's unusual as women are usually seen through the male gaze theory and are usually portrayed sexually, therefore the magazine doesn't follow the code and convention of an magazine front cover. 

A ped up of  her face is used, her looks and mascara used is visible and part of the mise en scene. The main image is a close up Florence and you wouldn't see a close up of a woman on a magazine cover as men are stereotyped to be patriarchal, but Florence dominates the floor here, therefore this challenges the conventions of a magazine front cover.

The cover story fits in with the main image as the main story is 'FLORENCE' as it's the biggest typography there. The title is the only black writing on the page, so the title has its own special appearance. The slogan after 'NME' tells the reader what the initials stand for, this is important to those who have never read NME before.

The bar code is at the bottom and at the right hand side of the corner and follows the convention of a magazine, it's coded so the audience identify it's a magazine to be brought. 

The stories are on the right hand side and they go down in a column, the fonts are a different style and size, the size of the cover lines is small, so the main image and the title Florence stands out.

The color scheme of the magazine is navy blue, white and red in the hair, the 3 colors of NME is traditionally white, black and red.They have used the colors to fit the artist, represents her in a patriotic way as the colors are those from the Union Jack, Union Jack is a boy band, so it suggests Florence is like a boy.

The main cover line is'I would never', this tags the readers to view the cover and read, the audience automatically think that the main story relates to the cover star. The cover lines are sued as a advertisement to preview the audience what will be in the magazine, by doing this it encourages the audience to buy the magazine. The white text is used to contrast with the red background, this allows it to be read easily.

The cover line tells the audience that they are looking at the 'special edition' and of the second one, by doing this as a cover line it makes the audience feel special and wanting to pick it up. It also tells the reader NME has changes so it'' make the audience pick it up to see what has changed.

Annotating of Magazine 4

'Tiny Tempah' is the center of attention as his image is really big and he covers the title. His image will be seen from far and will catch the attention of many people who like him, his a celebrity and his big image suggests his higher status. His image is shown three times, it shows his importance and the angles of his face, perhaps to attract female's who like him. His title 'TINY' will attract many from a far distance.

Tiny Tempah is wearing glasses, it gives him a cool look as he has been represented in the media as a rapper and is an inspiration to many.

The page has been ripped as this is shown by Tiny Tempah tearing the page off, the ripping suggests that you will find out something that you didn't know previously if you read this magazine. The 2 image's that are shown to be ripped look more whiter than the picture that stands first, Photoshop has clearly been used to attract wider audiences.   

The list of Artists names 'ELIZA', 'CHIPMUNK' suggests the magazine will be packed with fun knowledge and news. The typography is in capitals and the Artists names  are written in black and an different font is used for each section on the magazine front cover. Different fonts are used to show that the magazine will contain different topics, so it then attracts a mass audience to read.

Questions in the blue circle are asked to get the readers thinking, 'Subscribe' is used as a deal to show it's cheaper and that they are getting an offer, this deal attracts some to read it for further discounts and deals. 

Blue has been used as it's a stereotypical male's color, supposedly makes him look more masculine with the color blue.

Annotating of Magazine 5

The margin is on the left of the page and is in L layout. The L layout allows you to read from left to right, this allows you to recognize the cover lines. The colours used in the magazine are white for the typography and black for the background, red for Rihanna's hair and one of the 'b' letters where the 

inside of the 'b' is filled with red, red has connotations of it being a deal, however in this context red suggests seductiveness, the colours used are appealing and for a mature mass audience.

The main image is aimed at the male and aims at the male gaze theory. However at the same time the audience could be women as some aspire Rihanna as a role model. The mise en scene is Rihanna wears a white/ cream top, white has connotations of innocence and at the same time suggests her purity. But it can contrast to purity as her top is revealing and her gun tattoo suggests violence. We don't know Rihanna personally, we know news through the media and how the media represents celebrities, we then build our assumption through the news shown to us. Her red bright hair represents possession and red can also stand for lust, it could suggest the way she feels for her career i.e music.

It's a magazine from 'Billboard' as the masthead states and Rihanna overlaps the masthead, the overlapping suggests it's a successful magazine that is recognizablezx\, however the letters b,i,l,l,b and d are shown visibly while the r is shown to be sticking out. The magazine on the whole is aimed at teenagers and it uses gender neutral colours such as red and yellow in the title to fill in the circles of the letter 'b', so the magazine appeals to both genders. Yellow is a colour of joy and suggests you'll be happy once you read it.

The word 'Billboard' itself tells the audience that the magazine is a form of the media, so it suggests it'll be current stories as the media is always some sort of news on celebrities that portrays them in a negative way, So the news on Chris Brown hitting Rihanna, portrayed Chris in a negative way, suggesting he is a womanizer. The header above the magazine cover starts with small white writing and the uses yellow as it's a bright colour against a dark background, which makes it stand out, 'MUSIC CONFERENCE' suggests it's a form of advertising and part of the media.

There's a price and date on the magazine, it's a common convention used on a magazine. The price is relatively small and it suggests they don't want the price to put their audience off, so it's kept small. It's aimed at a middle class audience to purchase this magazine.

Rihanna is used on 'Billboard' as the magazine doesn't publish for a particular genre and it's appropriate  for Rihanna to be on the cover as she does pop. The audience is for people who are interested in the charts, so Rihanna is on the front cover as she is in the chart music and is a young adult.

The quote attracts the audience to read as it says 'MY FANS DON'T REALLY KNOW WHO I AM', this quote will attract many viewers to read so they find out who she is as they don't know her personally as she is a well known celebrity and only get to know her as the media represents her to be. The heading 'RIHANNA' is fading again suggesting we don't actually know her, the title is spread over the width of the magazine and it's bigger then the masthead which suggests Rihanna is a big star compared to the magazine that is portrayed to be inferior, she is the main aim of the magazine, so it gets sold.

The heading 'Rihanna' stands out against the dark colour purple and links in with her image, as she wears white. The image is similar to Rihanna's loud album as she has bright red lips and hair, it could be as a advertisement to pick it up as people would have seen her album and recognize it from the front cover. The image is similar to her picture that she did on the perfume Reb fleur.