Analyzing music magazines

Colours: Similar to Q magazine NME uses the colours red and black as well as white. These colours give the impression of an indie music genre, the dark colours in the main image also add to this feel of indie. The masthead of the magazine is on a black background with red writing making the title of the magazine stand out and attract the audience. The puff in the top hand corner has a yellow background and grabs the readers attention, this signifies the importance of the information within the puff.

Design: The image is the top half of the magazine and the large text takes up the rest of the cover situated at the bottom of the front cover. The larger writing shows the important story lines the magazine has inside. NME also has a strapline across the top of the magazine advertising their most exciting story they have in this issue. The title is on the left side third, the simple font indicates it is not a up market magazine.

Images: There is lots of artists and bands bundled together to make one large image. The image of artist are all of the same genre 'Indie' targeting an audience who listen to this genre of music. The puff in the top right hand corner advertises well know festivals which links in with the target audience as this is the kind of genre that play at the festivals.

Pose, hair style, make-up: The pose's of the artist are very casual and don't look like they have been made to stand in a certain way which is the style the audience follow. The dark clothing and minimal make-up give the impressions of the laid back style. The artists hair styles look natural showing its all about the music, the pictures of the guitars also show this.

How are the words used on the cover?: The title is on the left hand third with the strapline running across the top. By reading the strapline the audience knows the contents of the magazine. The large eye catching text located at the bottom of the magazine is hard to miss and shows even more of the contents of the magazine. The text is easily read from a distance drawing the reader to see what is inside to influence them to purchase the magazine.

Language: The 2010 text indicates its latest issue of the NME magazine. It addresses the reader by telling them what is featured and the list of artists is a quick effective way to do this. The simple language is quick and easy to read and gets the point across without taking up the whole of the cover with text. The dramatic writing that reads '2010' is the main text that is focused on for a reason. The reason being this is the main story of this issue and by writing it so large it shows how important it is.

Overall impression - how effective is the front cover?: The overall impression is a detailed magazine cover and is effective by creating a cover that attracts its target audience. A wide range of indie bands is used on the front cover with text to show stories about them and other bands inside. The cover is effective as it appeals to anyone who enjoys indie music and this is clearly shown in the image and text. My having the plugs and puffs on the front of the magazine is shows phrases that will grab the attention of customers that attend festivals and thus creating a wider audience and boosting the magazines status.