NME Music Magazine Analysis

 The New Musical Express, popularly known by the initials NME, created by Theodore Lloyd-Jones, it is a music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952.

It is a popular music magazine within the industry with it up to date music knowledge and chart feel. It target audience is young adults but can appeal to a variety of music lovers. Its statement house style; 'NME' mast head in large bold lettering always allows it to be clearly seen and stand out among the other hundreds of magazines for purchase. The NME masthead is always in front of the model. The models are always up and coming musicians that are in the public eye; drawing in their music fans. There use of font is mainly bold and clear all resulting in a strong, edgy statement magazine.
This edition of NME magazine feature's Florence and the Machine as their close up model shot. It is a bold, statement image which featured her name in black capitals as the main headline beneath her. The colour style is black and white contrasting perfectly with her red hair. The puffs include music information and knowledge about the contents pages; 'the state of music today' and 'I would never have got through the X-factor auditions'. These puffs draw in the audience as the want to read and find out more. 







This NME cover continuous the bold statement house style and NME masthead placed in the left hand corner. This article feature's Mia a popular musician. He pose portrays her f**k yeah attitude through her baggy denim jacket, messy hair, laid back pose and smocking. The red on her top links with the red NME mast head and also her name which is in the same large bold font as the NME logo. This easily attracts Mia's music fans. The colour themes of this article is the American colours of red, white and blue which is made clear through the American flag design on her top. 'Lady Gaga sounds more like me than I f**king do', this puff captures Mia's attitude and an idea of what an inside scope is based on. 

Billboard Magazine: Music Magazine Research

'Billboard magazine is the world's most influential music media brands; reaching key executives and taste makers in and around the music business through Billboard Magazine. The Billboard brand is built on its exclusive charts and unrivalled reporting on the latest news, issues and trends across all genres of music.'

Billboard magazine target audience is intended for music professionals, such as record label executives, artists, music retailers, and radio DJs. It is generally considered a business-to-business magazine however, it can be found at many consumer book stores and magazine stands, especially in cities with a large music industry presence such as New York, Los Angeles,  and Miami

This magazine is extremely successful within the magazine industry today due to its up to date music related news and contents. The house style always include's the 'Billboard' masthead which is normally placed behind a popular musician which is in the eye of the media due to their hit singles. The use of colour and font is effectively used depending on the issue to help attract the right target audience as seen in the example Billboard covers below. 

This billboard magazine cover shows the ‘Billboard’ masthead placed behind the model drawing your eye to her. The model is Rihanna; a hugely iconic celebrity known for her individual style and chart music. The cover attracts the male gaze as Rihanna is wearing limited clothing revealing her stomach and arms. Her eyes are directly staring in to the camera which gives the impression that she is staring at you. The main head line; ‘the world is hers’ is in large capitals and italic font drawing the readers eye

This billboard masthead immediately stands out in this issue. The model, Beyoncé, is placed behind the masthead, again attracting the male gaze due to her subtly seductive posing. Her eyes again seem to be looking into the camera to give the readers the impression that she is starring at you. The picture captures Beyoncé’s iconic look which is her big lioness-look hair. The magazine uses very neutral colour which draws the reader’s attention to the mast head which uses a variety of bright colours including green, yellow, red and blue. Beyoncé’s name is in the main headline beneath her face drawing you to her name which would appeal to any Beyonce fans.  

 

 This billboard magazine cover continues the housestyle with the Billboard masthead behind Usher whom is modelling. Usher is a popular artist; this issue would attract many of his fans. He is wearing a blue jacket which contrasts with the black writing. Blue is also a male colour attracting a target audience of boys. 'Dirty Dancing with the hit man', this puff instantly draws audience in through the use of alliteration and it leaves them wanting to read more on the article. 

Rolling Stones: Music Magazine Research

‘Rolling Stone magazine is a cultural icon, the number one pop culture reference point for young Australians. With an eye to every genre and every scene, we report and comment on the music that matters like no other magazine. Our cover stories, features and reviews are benchmarks for readers and industry alike, featuring unrivalled access to and analysis of the biggest names, hottest bands, and coolest happenings. The magazine's founder, Jann Wenner, once explained, "Rolling Stone is not just about the music, but about the things and attitudes that music embraces," and this is the de facto motto of the magazine. In addition to our authoritative position on music, Rolling Stone's influence touches all facets of popular culture, from politcs and social issues to television, film, gaming and fashion.’

Rolling Stones magazine has a target audience of 11,899 in which 60% are male and 40% are female.
They target an age of 18+, and 27% of the readers are between 18-24. Another 27% are aged from 25-34, 20% from 35-44, 14% from 45-54 and a small 13% from the age of 55 and above. Rolling Stones magazine is extremely successful with their target audience as although they target the younger generation from 18-34 there magazine also appeals to the older generation who are interested in music. The magazine is extremely passionate and truly captures the heart of music.

 The house style in this magazine is the Rolling Stones logo. It is always the same style and font normally placed behind the model but still visable to the audiences eye, making it easy to identify. Rolling Stone magazines are normally simplistic and straight to the point. Each article stars different celebrities but there contents is always about new up and coming music. This magazine article stars Taylor Lautner who would appeal to the magazines target audeince as he stars in the popular Twilight movies. The main head line 'teen wolf' is in capitals making it bold and catching the audiences eye. It is in the same font and style as the Rolling Stones logo instantly linking the image together. The cover lines are brown and in the same font, giving the magazine a simplistic but effective feel.

 This is another Rolling Stones magazine cover staring Amy Winehouse. Continueing the house style; the mast head is behind Amy Winehouse but audiences can identify the magazine. The model is easily identified as her name is below in blue, making her and her name stand out. This again, draws in the target audience as her music appealed to the younger generation. Although her name is clearly stated on the magazine, this photoshoot has clearly captured Amy Winehouses's iconic image. You can see her many tattoos and she is also wearing her hair and eye-liner in the way that she is famous for.

 This issue features Adele. The Rolling Stones logo is clear to see above the head shot of Adele. Adele is a popoular artist in the industry yet again, targeting the right audience. This issue is certainly simplistic but it has an extremely effective overall image. I think that simplicity is a very effictive attribute within magazine covers as it can often make the audience drawn to the magazine with the intentions of wanting to know more rather than giving it away through the front cover. To do this you need a strong, bold cover which Rolling Stone's magazine seems to capture everytime.

 This issue shows the Rolling Stones logo behing a picture of Christina Agulera. Christina Agulera is portrayed here as a 1950's sailor/pin-up girl. This magazine attracts the male gaze as the model is dressed in limited clothing showing lots of flesh. Her pose will also attract the male gaze.

This issue is starring another popular artist Jay-Z; which would instantly attract many of his fans. The Rolling Stones masthead has been placed behind the main image, but the readers can still easily see the well known name. Jay-Z's pose is simple yet effective. His face has a slight confused/not impressed expression. His clothes portray him as wealthy and materialistic. The main features are all in grey which creates a colour theme of black and grey.

Target Audience Analysis

Marie Claire magazine and Sugar magazine both contrast through their target audience. Marie-Claire is aimed at professional business women; the colour schemes are more mature and plain. The blue in this example represents Depth and stability which is the colour of the sky and sea. It is the symbol of freedom; associated with tranquility, wisdom and loyalty. The colors instantly attract the right target audience. The model used in this magazine is slightly older giving the idea that she is wiser this allows the audience to empathize and connect with the magazines image.

Sugar magazine uses pinks and purples which automatically attracts the younger generation. Pink is associated with romance and love. It is a Female colour. The model is Kristine Stewart who stars in the movie ‘Twilight.’ She is very popular among a younger target audience and therefor attracts the majority of teenagers.

Marie Claire’s headlines are very classy and sophisticated. They contrast is colours from white, blue and black. The writing is bold and clear. In sugar magazine there are many advertisements made telling its audience they can win pieces of clothing whereas in Marie Claire magazine no advertising is made suggesting that the women of this target audience are wealthier and winning items of clothing would not appeal to them in the way it would to a teenager.

Sugar Magazine uses different fonts to draw your eye to the different deals and offers available. It overall image is bold and striking with the use of stars to make the masthead and offers stand out the magazine would instantly stand out to a younger generation.

To conclude both magazines are very clear in what target audience they want to attract. Marie Claire wants to attract older women and Sugar Magazine wants to attract teenagers. Through the use of colour, font and advertising they both have achieved effectively the attention of the right target audience.

Seventeen Magazine & Sugar Magazine Comparison

The top image on the left is a magazine cover by Seventeen magazine, and below, a magazine cover by Sugar. Both magazines portray the correct conventions for their target audience. Both of their target audiences are girls ranging from 12-16 years old. Their target audience is immediately made clear to an individual mainly through the colours used as well as the main image; which for both magazines is a girl smiling on the front cover. Both models used are popular to the target audience within their own reasons for being famous. Seventeen magazine uses a lot of pink throughout its colour theme which is immediately associated with romance and love. Pink is also associated with feelings of calmness. It is a definite Female colour. Sugar magazine has no examples of pink within this issue’s cover. However, the model as well as the colour yellow which is quickly associated with sunshine it Indicates energy, optimism, joy, hope and warmth. It is the symbol of spontaneity and impulsiveness. Therefore this article is clearly identified as a girl’s magazine too.

Both magazines vary in composition. Seventeen magazine is easy to identify as it uses the same style mast head within every issue. As already stated, Seventeen has used bright and girly colours and its layout is more simply in comparison to Sugar. Seventeen magazine uses many strap lines to entice there audience, but still keeping the overall effect simply and easy to read. ‘Hot Summer Deals’ is the main strap line; it is in a bold, large font immediately catching the reader’s eye. ‘100 summer Fun things to do’, this is another strap used; its large clear font makes it stand out. The word ‘fun’ is in yellow contrasting with the other words which are in blue. This makes the word ‘fun’ stand out individually.  The strap lines are all blue, yellow or red; which all tie in too the girly, beach colour theme and give the magazine a clear, professional image.

Sugar on the other hand, has a slightly different composition in comparison to Seventeen. It is a lot busier within the strap lines and colouring. Like Seventeen, it used the same mast head every issue so loyal readers can identify the magazine quickly and easily. Its colouring, also already covered is mainly pink and purples which make the target audience clear to identify. The main image is a close up of a celebrity which would appeal to the target audience age range. She is smiling, giving the impression she is having a great time and automatically associating the magazine with positive emotions. The strap lines on the Sugar cover are mainly questions, which foreshadow to the reader what the articles inside will be based on. It entices them and makes them want to purchase the magazine. The magazine also has pictures of clothing on the cover to show it has a fashion contents within it. ‘Top 20 summer hairstyles’ this strap line reveals more of the inner contents and engages the target audience. The 20 is in yellow and in a larger font making it stand out within the statement; this draws the reader eye towards it.

In conclusion I think Seventeen magazine is the better magazine personally because its layout is more effective through its simplistic image and entices the audience through its strap lines which all draw the reader in for different reasons. Sugar magazine is busier and could be considered to be confusing at first glance.