The document analyzes and compares the front covers and contents pages of four different music magazines - Classic FM, Kerrang!, Vibe, and NME. Classic FM targets an older audience and uses formal fonts, minimal colors, and photos relating to classical music. Kerrang! aims for younger rock fans, with scratches/cracks in the masthead and rebellious colors and fonts. Vibe's hip hop coverage uses relaxed photos and casual fonts and colors. NME lists many bands for readers to find, combining informal styles with stamped fonts for visual interest. Across magazines, design elements are tailored to each publication's genre and intended readership.

1. Analysing music magazine cover, content, and double page spreads James Christmas

2. Front cover The masthead is in large serif font at the top of the page to stand out to it’s readers. It is in serif font because it makes it look formal to the readers’ who are usually elder and enjoy classical music. As the magazine is based on the radio station “Classic FM” the f in the masthead is thick and red and in italic which has a musical reference to playing a piece in “Forte” (which means to play the music louder). The large dominant image on the cover is the group, medium long shot of a girl group called “All Angels”. They are smiling at the camera and are dressed in formal white clothing to make them look “angelic” or “heavenly” to relate to their name. Also underneath their faces is their large name “All Angels” which is in serif font with bright gold lettering, again to make relate to their name as “heavenly”, perhaps to relate to the golden gates of heaven or a golden halo that sits on top of an angel’s head. The tallest “Angel” at the back of the groupshot is covering part of the masthead to make them seem more dominant on the cover, but despite this the reader still knows that the magazine is “Classic FM” due to the majority of the letters still being visible. The majority of the font on the front cover is in serif font to look formal to it’s readers which is aimed for elderly people and those who enjoy classical music. The background is white to suit the “angelic” mode for the dominant photo/feature “All Angels”, but the font the cover uses minimal amount of colour, white, gold, black and red. The red is used to make some parts stand out and grab the reader’s attention such as the box which holds the text “2 FREE CDs!”, “THE UK’S FAVOURITE CLASSICAL MUSIC MAGAZINE” and “THE NEW VOICES OF CHRISTMAS!” as well as the cover lines. Part of the dominant image is also another group-shot of three young boys called “The Choirboys” who are dressed in black suits to look formal and are smiling and posing casually to show their adolescence and friendship to each other. The photo is smaller and positioned towards the corner to be more “out of the way” so the reader can instantly focus on “All Angels” who are probably featured more in the issue.

3. The masthead is in large capital sans-serif font at the top of the page to stand out to it’s readers. It also has scratches and cracks through it to show rebellion and dangerous like what rock can be related to. It is in sans - serif font to look casual and informal, like it’s readers who enjoy rock music and are more likely to be younger than older. The name “Kerrang!” (again, based on it’s radio station) is a made up word to sound sharp and catchy and the exclamation mark at the end implies that it s a loud dynamic word, perhaps onomatopoeic. The dominant image is of a medium shot of an artist who represents “Foo Fighters” as he stands in a casual red shirt with longish hair and a beard and posing with a straight face to make him look like a typical rocker. His head also covers part of the Kerrang! masthead, but again, the rest of the letters and the style of the font are still recognizable to the reader so they can tell it is Kerrang! minus two letters. The cover line “FOO FIGHTERS" sits underneath his chest and is in bold white text to stand out with a drop shadow to make the white appear clear enough on different surfaces. It is also surrounded by strap lines in yellow boxes (UK TOUR EXCLUSIVE!) and yellow text (BACK TO BLOW YOUR MIND) to give you an idea of what the feature is about of them. The cover also uses minimal amount of colour. black, white and yellow. All of the text is in sans serif font and in capitals to make it look “dangerous” or “rebellious” to the reader as well as eye-catching. Front cover

4. The masthead “VIBE” is positioned at the top of the cover in bold sans-serif font. It is in orange and has a lower-case “e” on the end in contrast to the capital “VIB” to stand out and look informal and casual to it’s audience who are probably in their 20’s and 30’s and enjoy pop/hip hop music. The dominant photo of Janet Jackson is a medium shot and takes up the whole page that her head covers the masthead “Vibe” which can still be recognised. She is posing wearing casual clothes and holding a camera against her eye and looking happy to make her look casual and relaxed. Once again, this cover only uses a small amount of colours for the font which are orange blue, black and white which are colours that aren’t as “angry” or rebellious as the Kerrang! Colours but are more calm to suit the genre of pop/hip hop. However all text on the cover is in capitals to attract the reader’s attention to the coverlines and strap lines. Front cover

5. Contents page Once again, the masthead of Classic FM is included in it’s content’s pages, but this time smaller, to remind the reader of what they are reading and also of the month the issue is released. On the content’s page for Classic FM, the small amount of colours (red, white and black) are used like for the text like they were on the front cover. The majority of the text is in serif-font to look more formal to it’s (perhaps) elder target audience. The contents pages headlines are larger in red font while a little bit more detail about the page is given in smaller black writing underneath like “Cover lines and Strap lines”. The content pages also indicate some of the features that appeared on the cover of the issue (i.e.) a feature on “All Angels” and “The Choirboys” as well as an interview with Magdalena Kozena and “Discovering Bach” which are assisted with smaller photos to provide more information.

6. The main colours on this content page of “Kerrang!” are the same as the front cover black, white and yellow to once again express “Danger” or “Anger” or “rebellion” as well as the font still being capitals and sans serif. The font for the masthead of the page “Contents” and “This week” looked damaged and wrecked to suit it’s audience who are “rebellious”. Also there are photos of who to expect to see in the magazine in different positions and mood to relate to it’s audience. The main image however shows someone in a black shirt and jeans and white spiky hair who is on the floor, possibly to represent someone who is typically drunk at a club or a rock gig. Contents page

7. For “NME” the main colours used are black white and mostly red to connote attention and to be eye-catching to it’s readers, but isn’t as “rebellious” looking as Kerrang! as the genre of music is pop/hip hop which is more calmer. This contents page include a long list of which bands are featured in this issue so it is easier for the reader to find a band they are interested in to flick through to the page they are featured on. Some of the font, however, is in serif, despite the target audience being more casual and informal. This is because it looks like it has been stamped or printed to make it aesthetic, especially when the text is mostly made up of straight lines rather than curves to look like it has been typed from a typewriter. Contents page

8. Double page spread

9. Double page spread

10. Double page spread