Research: Music Magazine Analysis

Research into Music Magazine Institutions:

For this task you will need to analyse:

• 5 genre specific music magazine Front Covers
• 5 genre specific music magazine Contents Pages
• 5 genre specific music magazine Double Page Spreads

Throughout all of this analysis you should be considering the following details:

• Conventions:
• What are the conventions found on this magazine? 

• Representation:
• How is the cover band/artist being represented?
• How is the magazine representing itself? 

• Ideologies:
• What are the ideologies being sold?
• What kind of lifestyle is being sold? 

• Audience:
• Who is the audience for this magazine? (be specific) 

• Genre:
• What genre is the magazine?
• How is this shown?
• Image
• Mode of address
• Typography
• Content
• What iconography and generic conventions are evident?

To ensure your research contains the correct amount of detail make sure you answer the following questions when looking into your Music Magazines:

• Background & Ownership of company/institution:

·         Date of first publication?   

·         Is it still in print? 

·         Does it have a website?   

·         Who owns it?

• Style:

·         How is the magazine positioning itself? 

·         Is it stylish/chic/fun? 

·         What is its USP? 

·         What kind of personality does the magazine reflect?

• Brand/house style:

·         Marketing term for a company or product name or logo that evokes certain values' or reactions in customers that encourage them to buy other products bearing the name. 

·         What kind of products are advertised in the magazine?

·         How does this reflect the brand?

• Layout:

·         What is the integrating illustration and text? 

·         Analyse the page layout?

• Content:

·         What sort of stories/features are in the magazine?

·         What does this tell you about the audience?

• Main Image and Background image:

·         How has the shot been framed? 

·         What shot types and distances have been used?

·         Analyse and consider:

• Mise-en-scene
• Colour
• Lighting
• Objects/Props
• Setting

• Typography:
• What is the mode of address?
• How does the typography reflect the genre?
• What is the variety in font and text size?
• Is this used to good effect and purpose?

• Iconography:
• What messages do the pictures give?
• What are the connotations given by the choice and positioning of these images? 

• Masthead:
• What does this say about the brand?
• How does it reflect the genre?

• Colour:
• What colours are being used?
• What are the connotations of these colours?
• What do they say about the genre?
• What does this say about the Mode of address? 

 Examples of good analysis of Existing Music Magazines can be seen below: