Music magazine contents page analysis

Music magazine contents page analysis

The annotations are:

- All of the colours go together well and don't clash. The colours are feminine colours which implies that the magazine is for females. Only five colours are used on this contents page, yellow, white, black, light pink and dark pink, plus the colours included in the picture.
- A website adress has been added to get people to visit it. The website is for extra information about the magazine.

- A big picture is in the centre to get peoples attention and to get them to read it. It is also a celebrity which would get peoples attention straight away. If people are fans of the celebrity they would want to read the article and because the celebrity is a really famous celebrity as he is a actor from Twilight, fans of Twilight would also want to read it.
- A catchy title and slogan is used to get peoples attention and to get them too read it, plus it is about the celebrity so they would want to go to the page that it is on and read all about it. 'Tender or Tough?' is a rhetorical question which needs no answer but readers would want to find out the answer so they would read the article.
- There is a brief introduction about what the article is about and has the celebrities name in bold to tell people who the article is about and to get them to read it if they like him.

- A few pictures are included of the celebrity which shows the article is about him.
- Another web adress is included on this page.
- There is a picture of a male's naked torso and this would get readers to look at page nine because you would be intrigued and would want to see it as you would be attracted to it. Mainly females only though. Females are usually attracted to naked mens torso's as they think of them as the ideal type if the torso has a six pack etc. 

- The background is pink. Pink represents females as it is a feminine colour, hence why this is a girly magazine.
- There is a picture of a famous actor who is also a teen sweetheart who people love and adore. They have specifically used these teen sweetheart so it attracts young teenage females who love him and who are fans of the film he is in.
- 'Gossip2Go' - the main heading for all top of the pops magazines (for the contents page). It is bold and bright and tells you exactly what you are going to get in the magazine, 'Gossip'. The 'Go' and '2' is in pink whereas the other letters are in black. I think this is because the contents page usually tells you where to go in the magazines and if you read the words together it says 'Go 2'.
- All writing is clear and easy to read. There are a few fonts used here. I think that there are only a few fonts used because it keeps it simple but effective. If too many fonts were used then it would look too busy.  

Music magazine double page spread analysis

Music magazine double page spread analysis

The annotations are:

This double page spread is about the latest summer clothing, what works well together and how to get 'the celebrity look' and where to get the clothes from.

- The title 'WALKING ON SUNSHINE' attracts attention to the reader as it is an unique title and it makes the reader become interested. The title instantly informs us that the clothes are summer clothes and the letters are in summery colours such as orange and pink. The letters are also in capslock and the SUNSHINE is in bold to show the reader that the double page spread is to do with summer clothing.
- In the corner of the page is says 'EVERYTHING UNDER £15' and underneathe that is says 'ESSENTIAL BUYS'. Everything under £15 is in capslock because it draws the readers attention to the price, the fact that £15 is in bold draws even more attention to the price because your eyes instantly go to the bold writing. Essential buys is in a pink banner which also draws attention as pink is a bright, bold colour and becasue the writing is white it makes it stand out. Essential means absolutely necessary and extremely important. The use of essential makes the reader think that they must have that piece of clothing.
- The part underneath the title 'Take a summer stroll in these cool combos with mix 'n' match sunnies and sandals...' adresses the reader directly as it is giving the readers a command kind of or a suggestion.
- There are pictures of outfits to show what goes well together and they have also matched celebrities with the outfits to show the reader how they can get that celebrities look. Next to one outfit is a picture of Miley Cyrus and there is also a caption saying 'MILEY does comfy chic in cute cream shorts. They have done this with other celebrities too. Above the outfits are the places where you can purchase them for example Primark, New Look and Next. The prices are also shown next to the items of clothing.
- The sunglasses and sandals are seperate to the outfits but there is a similar layout and they still use celebrities to show how you can get their style and what they wear. There is a caption for the sunglasses saying 'Buy them bright for immediate star style' then there is an example of a bright pair of glasses and a caption near them saying 'Just like Demi's'. This is a unique way of selling becasue it promotes the glasses saying that they are the same as Demi's, so fans of Demi Lavato will want to buy them and just be like her. Again the prices are near all of the products and the places where you can purchase them from.
- Three main colours are used, pink and orange because they are summery colours and black and white which both are bold and stand out. I think the colour scheme is kept simple because the clothing/shoes/sunglasses are so bright, so they used a simple colour scheme to let the items stand out.
- The same font is used througout the two pages maybe to keep it simple but effective.
- The layout is very clear and organised, there is also a little website at the bottom which readers can visit to get more fashion and beauty.

What's included in Pop magazines

What's included in Pop magazines

Pop magazines include many different articles about different celebrities, new fashion trends, new makeup etc.

Certain magazines include free posters of celebrities. For example this magazine includes four giant fold-out posters and it clearly says that they are Free!. This magazine is clearly about the celebrity Justin Bieber because there are twelve cute posters of him, an article and the title is 'OMG! His secret hangouts revealed' and another article an the title is 'PHWOAR! exclusive pics & interviews' and there is a little circle that says 'LOVE PREDICTOR! COULD YOU BE MRS B?'. This magazine also includes two cool door hangers that are free. Twelve quizzes and puzzles are included too, so the magazine isn't just information, its fun. 

This is an example of an article from a Pop magazine. It is about two members of the boy band, One Direction and it is about them specifically and their lives. The titles draw people in and get One Direction fans attention. 'I put my girlfriend before my grades' and 'I felt like i didn't fit in', both of these titles would make people wonder about the members of the boy band. 

This is an example of what type of quizzes you can get in Pop magazines. Most quizzes ask you if you have something to do with a celebrity or celebrities. For example this one says, 'Do you have OJD' and OJD is obsessive JONAS disorder. Nearly all Pop magazines include these and puzzles such as word searches. 

Competitions are also included in Pop magazines. They do competitions where you can win items signed by celebrities. For example in one magazine I have looked at you have the opportunity to win a camera signed by Justin Bieber. In some magazines you can also win dates with celebrities or to just meet them. 

You can get OOPS! pages which are usually double page spreads that show the bad side of celebrities, for example they show celebrities looking bad or sweating too much etc. On these pages they also get you as a reader involved because they make it possible for you to write your own quotes that match with the picture they have chosen. There is also an OOPS! page for the readers where they can send in there own embarrasing stories. 

There are advertisements like in every magazines, but in Pop magazines they are usually of makeup, clothes, perfume etc. There are also vouchers for some things for example, 10% off at Claire's Accessories. At the back of some magazines there are advertisements for phone ringtones, games, wallpapers etc and it shows how you can purchase them and get them on your phone. There are sometimes advertisements for new TV programmes for example on Nickelodeon there is a new programme called Victorius. There is an advert that shows that the magazine is particularly for young teenage girls because it's an advert for sanitary towels.

Font testing: Pop style

Font testing: Pop style

Pop magazines are usually aimed at young teenage girls. I suppose what type of font that is used doesn't really matter as you can't really categorise fonts to do with gender. The use of font is to just make the magazine clear and easy to read. However you can get some fonts that look feminine such as 'Georgia', I feel it looks feminine because of the flicks on some letters.

This magazine front cover includes about three types of font. The reason why I like the fact that there are only three fonts used is that because the font is used more than once it looks nice, simple and clear. 

I think for my magazine I will keep it simple like this magazine and will use only about three or four fonts. I will then use the fonts that I have chosen more than once. I could mix fonts together as well just to make titles more interesting, for example on this magazine is says 'Miley's CRAZY family album!' and the CRAZY is in capitals and the other words are not and the it is also a different font. I could also experiment with the sizes of the fonts and whether I want them to be BOLD or not and in CAPS LOCK or not.

Arial: I like this style of writing because it seems modern and it is very clear and easy to read. I prefer it when it isn't bold though. This is what it looks like when it is bold. I think i'd use this font quite a lot in my magazine because it is simple but effective and like this magazine I can use it more than once. 

Georgia: I like this font. It is very clear and easy to read because it has the little flicks on some letters such as 'S', 'R' and 'A' it makes it look fancy and formal. I could use this font for the titles of articles and for quotes and things like this. 

Verdana: I like this font it is similar to Arial. It is bold, easy to read and clear. I could use this for titles and quotes for example on this magazine their is a title that says 'SPECIAL REPORT!' and this would be what i would use this font for.

Times: This font is very similar to the font called Georgia. I really like this one and could use it for many different things. I think I will only use it once or twice because it is similar to a font that I have already chosen.


I think the main two fonts that I will use are Arial and Georgia. I will use Times and Verdana but not as much as the other fonts. 

Colour testing: Pop style

Colour testing: Pop style

Pop magazines are usually aimed at young teenage girls. Feminine colours are colours such as, pink, purple, red, bright bold colours and some pastel colours such as pale pink and mint green. 

I am basing all of my colours and styles around this magazine front cover. I am not copying it exactly but I am using similar colours and styles. Most of the colours I am using are yellow, pink, blue, white, black, red or another shade of pink and I am adding in green. 

White: White is a calm neutral colour. White can be used for anything, the background, the font, shapes etc. 

Green: Green is an earthy colour. When I think of green I think of nature and things such as leaves, trees, grass etc. Green symbolizes freshness, harmony and fertility. Dark green is commonly associated with money. I could use green for some writing on my front cover, i'd only use a little bit though maybe for a title of an article.

Yellow: Yellow is the colour of sunshine. It is associated with joy, happiness and energy. When i think of the colour yellow I think of the sun and smiley faces which are sometimes yellow. Gold is a kind of yellowy colour and this reminds me of jewellery. I think i'd use yellow for my main font title. I'd use yellow on a pink background because it would stand out a lot.

Black: Black reminds me of darkness and death. The colour black is associated with formality, death, evil and mystery. Black is used for a lot of different types of texts and backgrounds. I think i'd use black for a lot of the text on my magazine front cover and maybe some text boxes could be filled with black. 

Pink: Pink is a very bold colour. It is also very feminine and is nice in all sorts of shades. Pink is said to be a colour just for girls but this is not true, this is just a stereotype. When babies are born they say that blue is for boys and pink is for girls, this wasn't always the case because pink comes from red and red means blood and violence and boys were to be seen as powerful and violent. Blue was the colour that the Virgin Mary wore and they said that girls should be innocent but somehow the colour’s swapped around. When i think of pink i think of girly things such a hearts, love, flowers etc. I will probably use a lot of pink on my front cover. I think pink will be the main background colour. I will use different shades of pink too, mainly light pink and dark pink. 

Blue is a calm, neutral colour. The stereotype is that blue is for boys, this is not true because blue can be for both boys and girls. The colour blue reminds me of water. Blue is usually associated with water but it is also the colour of the sky and it symbolizes faith, truth and heaven. Blue will be another colour for my font. I will only use a little bit just so it doesn't stand out too much. 

Red usually represents love but it has other meanings such as blood, fear, fire, passion etc. When i think of red i do usually think of love. Red is associated with energy, war and danger. I will use red for font again and maybe for some shapes added in for example shapes such as lips. lips could be used to show gossip or love. 

My chosen genre and research about that genre

Pop

I have chosen to do the genre Pop because it is a popular genre and there is a massive market it. I am also interested in some Pop artists such as Rihanna, Chris Brown and Rita Ora. Pop is also very, very popular and there are loads of artists that fit into this category.

 

There is no particular style of music that can be clearly identified as pop. This is because pop music is always changing. It can be identified as the most popular mainstream music of the time. Since the 1950's, this has been the music that has evolved in the wake of the rock and roll revolution of the 1950's.

The most consistent component of pop music has been the concept of the pop song. Most pop songs range in length from approximately 2 minutes to 5 minutes, and they frequently include a verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus structure or some close variant. Longer compositions are rare in pop music. 

There are many Pop magazines that already exist. Most pop magazines are aimed at young females such as Top of the Pops and Sugar.

Here is a list of some examples:

- Vibe

- Top of the Pops

- Sugar

- Q

- WE LOVE POP.

- Billboard

Some of these magazines not only focus on one genre though. Some focus on a collection of genres such as Vibe. You can tell that vibe is a magazine that focuses on a collection of genres because on different front covers of the magazine are different celebrities that are in different genres. Such as T.I, he is a Rap artist and Rihanna, she is more RnB and kind of Reggae but she can also be classes as a Pop singer. Pop sometimes comes up in different magazines. 

Rihanna has been on a NME front cover before and NME usually focuses on the genre Rock and music that isn't really mainstream. NME kind of changed its house style to suit Rihanna. Some artists don't really fit into only one genre, some fit into more than one and Rihanna is an example of this.

 

The writing is pink and makes the magazine looks feminine. Most Pop magazines have bright colours and are feminine and aimed at young females.

This is a logo from Top of the Pops. Top of the Pops is a Pop magazine that is mainy aimed at young females. You cannot only tell this by the style of the magazine but by what comes with the magazine when you buy it. The freebies that come with Top of the Pops are thyings such as makeup sets, nail sets and just mainly things that girls would use.

 

As you can see three main colours are used. Pink, white and yellow. Pink is a feminine colour. White is just a neutral colour that can be feminine and masculine. The pink stands out on the yellow background and it becomes aware that this magazine is targeted at young females.

 

This is an example of a type of freebie that would come with Top of the Pops magazine. Females only use nail varnish, sometimes men use it but mainly women use it. So this portays that the magazine is for females.

 

Music genres show up in many shows and films. Step Up is an example of this. Step Up has a soundtrack of the film and the soundtrack includes many famous artists. Pop artists' songs are also sung in the TV programme Glee, because Pop is shown on TV it makes Pop more popular and it is shown to a wider range of people.

Top of the Pops: Case Study

Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops is a monthly publication published by BBC magazines. It features chart information, star gossip, fashion and beauty, quizzes, song lyrics and posters. It is a supplementary magazine for the TV show Top of the Pops. 

The magazine was launched in February 1995. It is still in publication despite the cancellation of the TV show. 

Some features of the magazine are:

- Oops, Shameful Celeb Slip Ups: Which is where the magazine picks the funniest celebrity pictures and associates them with a witty quote.

- Gossip 2 Go: Is the month's hottest celebrity gossip.

- Top of the Shops: Which is where the magazine picks out some of the hottest bargains, where you can buy them, and the prices.

Style of the magazine:

The front cover usually has a large image of a celebrity. For example this magazine front cover has Zac Efron on it. Most of the time the logo is behind the image of the celebrity. 

This is the logo that is mainly used on the front cover of Top of the Pops magazine. The colour of the logo varies. This one is yellow and pink but on some issues of the magazine the logo has been pink and white, on the older issues the logo was just white. Usually the logo is pink and white.

This is an older issue of the magazine. As you can see the logo is just plain white. Back in 1995 the magazine was famous for giving the girl group, The Spice Girls their nicknames. The style of magazine has changed over the years due to new celebrities and because it has 

now become modernised.

Celebrities that have featured in the magazine:

Loads of different celebrities have featured in the Top of the Pops magazine. Justin Bieber has been on a few covers, Zac Efron has, The Wanted have and so has Cher Lloyd. There have also been many articles that feature celebrities too. Such as Lady Gaga, JLS, The Saturdays and many more. 

Editors of the magazine:

The magazine has had several editors over the years, including Peter Lorraine, Corinna Schaffer and Rosalie Snaith, and contributing editors including Adam Tanswell. The magazines current editor is Peter Hart.

The amount of issues of Top of the Pops magazine:

I don't know exactly how many issues of Top of the Pops there are, but what i do know is issue number 224 features One Direction and they're quite new as they were on the XFactor. So i would say that there are less than 300 issues that have been produced.

Music magazine front cover analysis

Music magazine front cover analysis

The annotations are:

- The use of 'OMG!' draws the audience in because they would be intrigued and would want to read it.
- The 'Win A Date With JLS' part on the cover will draw in fans of JLS instantly. The group are teenage hearthrobs and some people love them. This draws attention to a direct audience who love JLS and would want to win a date with them.
- The use of the word 'ECLIPSE' relates to readers who know what Eclipse means and what it is. It adresses Twilight fans directly because Eclipse is a part of the Twilight Saga.
- On the cover it says from Aston "I'll kiss you!" this would make fans go wild and they would instantly  want to enter the competition.
- A big picture of Aston is the main focus of this magazine cover. Again it mainly draws attention to JLS fans.
- A direct quote ia used from Diana Vickers so we as the audience can relate to her and peopple who like her would want to read it.
- A rhetorical question is used to not make the audience answer it but to make them wonder on the part about Justin Bieber.
- The Justin Bieber article draws in a certain audience, Justin Bieber fans.
- A speech bubble is used on the part about Lady Gaga so it looks like it is something she has says. 'Her untold story' makes readers wonder what it is about because it is untold so they know nothing about it.
- The colours don't clash. They go well together and stand out. They're bold and bright and yellow is used because it is bold and bright and it draws attention.
- The page numbers are included on some articles so it shows the audience where to go and what page the article is on.
- Another competition is at the top of the page but it is quite small this could be because of limited space of because at this time The Saturdays were not as famous as JLS.
- Certain parts are only directed at certain audiences e.g. an article on JLS would draw attention to JLS fans.
- Loads of pictures are used ro show what celebrities are included in the articles and magazine.
- This magazine looks like it is for girls. Pink is used and it is a feminine colour and only girls would really want to win a date with JLS.
- 'You Can Be Famous!' adressing the audience directly because it is using 'You'. It would attract readers because certain readers would want to see if they could become famous.
- P24: tells you directly what page to go to so you know where to go.
- Speech bubbles are coming out of celebrities mouths - might be something that they have said and it is interesting to look at.
- Advertising - used to advertise clothes, accesories etc. It is a technique to make people want to buy them and also to show what the latest trends are.