Research- NME magazine

The Front Cover



L-The front cover on NME uses many of the conventions of a magazine. It has the name of the magazine, the masthead, in big writing at the top of the cover. The main picture is a medium close-up shot of the band, which over-laps the masthead and takes up the full page. The image is set out so that the singer of the band is at the front, showing that she is important and also indicates the main article is about her.The main headline links to the main picture and is also in big writing, but is based in the centre of the page into the lower-half of the cover. It is also written in pink which could be because the band has a female lead and pink is the colour usually linked to women. The other cover lines surround the main one and are written in much smaller writing, showing that they are not as important features. There is a bar code and price of £2.30 on the bottom right of the magazine cover, going up the side. The main colours used in this issue are black, pink, red and white and this continues on through to the main article. Black is used as it it associated with rock music because of what it represents. It is usually seen as the colour linked to moodiness and negativity. This links to rock music as a lot of their songs and image convey this. Also red is used which often symbolises anger and pain. these emotions are reflected in the lyrics of rock/ alternative music.

I-The NME magazine is published by the IPC media and is produced weekly for £2.50.

I- The ideology of the magazine is to publish all the latest in contemporary music, give live reviews and the latest releases. It is also to provide young people with a magazine all about rock music, for those who prefer it to mainstream music. Another impression you get from the magazine is that it wants to go against all the conventions of chart music by using darker colours, giving it a moody look and by featuring bands that produce rock/ alternative music instead of the current more popular music.

A- The audience is mainly male and from the age group 16-24. This can be seen through the lay out of the magazine as it is not overly organised such as a newspaper would be that is aimed at adults. So by setting it up in this way it already implies its target audience. Also because of the colours used, using bright red and pink against black, shows that it is aimed at a younger audience because this would not appeal to someone older. The bands and headlines it features appeal to the 16-24 age group as it is about the music and artists they line in the rock/ alternative genre. The main image on the front cover would appeal to teenagers as they are a young, current band that is doing well at the minute and has been linked to the 'Twilight Saga', which has been a major success especially among this age group.

R- NME magazine is representing Paramore in a conventional way for an alternative rock band with the way that they are all wearing black clothing, and do not look made-up as a pop star would.

Double Page Spread

L-The double page spread is half used for a close-up shot of the lead singer of the band showing that she is the main focus of the band and the article. The other half is used for the article about them. The main of this page is used by the title which takes up more than half and is done in bold, capitals. The colours used for the main headline from the cover are reflected in the article, using pink, black and white. Black is usually seen as a negative colour, but as it is used with the bright pink, they're meanings contradict each other, giving the implication that although they are still an alternative rock band, they are also a little bit more mainstream than most other rock artists. The word that stands out the most in the title is 'smile' which links to the picture as she is smiling. The word is also linked to the image by making her wear the same coloured lipstick as the colour pink which is used for the font, making the smile from the image match to the word 'smile' in the headline.

I- The double page spread is produced by IPC media

I- The ideology of the image is to draw the reader in as she is looking straight into the camera and as the shot is a close-up, the eyes are the main focus. It is also done of the lead singer of the band which is most likely the most recognised member, meaning that the reader will be more interested.The title is done in capitals and the use of bright pink with black again grabs the readers attention.

A- The article is obviously aimed at Paramore fans, but also to anyone who is interested in this genre of music as magazines are a good way of advertising the bands to bring in more fans and support. As she is female, it will appeal to most of the readers as it is a mainly male audience. For females she may be a role model to them for being in one of the only current well known bands that is lead by a female singer. Because she is smiling in the image, it makes her look more friendly, which may appeal to people who don't normally like to listen to this type of music. It is also aimed at the same audience as the front cover.

R- It represents alternative rock music in a unique way as it uses the colour pink which most people would not associate with rock music. She is also smiling which is different from the conventional moody look. However, I think it is representing the music genre in a good way as it creates a more positive image.

Contents Page

L- The colour scheme has continued on through to the contents page using the magazines colours of red, black and white. There is one main font used on the contents page for the main heading, the sub-headings and the articles. It has different sections of the magazine which make it easy to find the articles you want to read and also make the lay out look better as it doesnt look disorganised or cluttered.There is a main headline which is made to stand out by using big writing and capital letters, and also gives a line on what the article will be about. There is only one picture used, apart from the advertising banner at the bottom of the page and this is a long shot of a building which links to the main article. It is also split up into boxes, so the headings in one, the contents in another, the main headline and picture in another one, and the band index is also in one.
I- The magazine is produced by IPC media.
I- The ideology of the contents page is to keep the reader interested as it is the first page seen after the front cover, so by using the bold font and the red against the white and black, it helps do this. Also, having a picture of the main feature and s hort caption, it will make them want to read further on in the magazine to find out more.
A- By the colour scheme used it is mainly aimed at men. Also, the font used is quite blocky which seems more manly. The age the magazine is aimed at is 16-24, however, the contents page is set up almost like a page from a newspaper would look, which would attract an older audience, however, by using the bright red i the contents and yellow on the advertisement, it nakes it more younger looking.
R- Unless you really know music, you would not know why a picture of a building is on the contents page, without having the line saying what it is underneath, so I do not think the picture really represents music. Also, the colour scheme does not indicate what type of music magazine it is as although it uses black, which is associated with rock and heavy metal, it also uses red which is quite a vibrant colour that we might associate more with Indie music.