Draft of Front Cover for my Music Magazine

This is a rough draft of how I am going to layout my front cover for my Music Magazine. I have decided that I want just a single photograph with a masthead for a story about the photo overlaying it. I also want the photo to overlay the title slightly to give a good effect like it does on NME magazines. I have decided to put a bar code at the bottom right hand corner with the price and issue number at the top under the title. This is how I first thought of it however, I may possible change it slightly later on.

Analysis of Double Page Spread (Rolling Stone)

This is the double page spread of Rolling Stone magazine. The layout of this double page spread is quite unusual because the photo nearly takes us both pages, with only a limited bit of space for the text.

This double page spread is about Brad Pitt and his new movie. The photo is of Brad is quite an unusual photo for a music magazine as it's not really a straight shot of just him standing there. The photo gives huge impact to the double page spread as it nearly fills both pages. The photo is of Brad topless sat on a table with plaster on him. This could represent the character he is playing in his new movie as. The use of Brad topless could attract female readers to buy the magazine possibly to cut the pages out and stick them to their walls. The colour of the photo is quite dark which is very effective and gives a big impact to the reader. The use of this photo of Brad could also represent the age of Rolling Stone magazine as it looks quite an old effected photo.

The amount of text used is very limited as it looks like the text ends then follows on to the next double page spread. On this it gives a quick insight into the story behind the interview with Brad in bold black letter making it stand out and effective. Then this is followed by an introduction into the interview in black letter on a white background, this is very suitable as it is very easy to read for the reader. The use of little text and the big photo suggests that these pages are trying to be made effective through the photo because that is what takes up most of the space.

This double page spread is very effective and it is also quite unique in the way that the photo nearly covers both pages showing that Rolling Stone is popular enough to do what they like and limit the amount of text you or how big the photo is. All the font used is black on white background which is a good choice to make it stand out however, the readers may get bored of seeing black and white constantly.

Analysis of Contents Page (Rolling Stone)

This is the contents page of Rolling Stone magazine. It is quite an unusual contents page with a big photo being used which nearly fills the full page and then the text on the right hand side.

The photo used is of Kanye West and it is a photo taken from a gig he has done. So this represent him in the music industry as an recording artist, with Rolling Stone magazine covering his return to music. The text used on this photo has 'Kanye's Big Return' in a bigger font size as the rest of the text which shows what the photo is being used for, under the sub-headline is a breif insight into what the story of the photo is about. The use of this photo of Kanye at a gig is different to the other magazines I have analyised as none of them used live photo's so the used of this shows the story behing the photo is true which reassured the readers. The photo is the main focus on the page as even the photo overlays the main title on the page showing that they care more about the presentation over the text as it has more of an attractive impact.

The text used on the right hand side is of specific pages within the magazine and what is on those pages. At the top of these short paragraphs is the 'Cover Story' which tells you why Brad Pitt is used and why he has given an interview to Rolling Stone. The text gives you a little insight into why he has given an interview. The rest of the text also gives insights into the pages, with some of the pages being best 100 singles, the 50 best albums and all the main titles of these are in a bold black font making them stand out and then the reader can read the rest of the text. All of the text stands out well the on the background it is put on for instance the black text on the white background stands out making it easy to read.

Analysis of Front Cover (Rolling Stone)

This is the front cover of Rolling Stone magazine, the magazine is based in New York City and has been published every two weeks since 1967. The magazine specifised around pop music however, it also has actor/actress interviews within the magzine.

On this front cover the layout is the photo is mainly on the right hand side of the cover with the text on the left. The photo is of Brad Pitt who has nothing to do with the music industry and his photo overlaps the title of the magazine but this won't affect the readers as it is a popular magazine and they will recognise it instantly without even seeing the title. The photo is a professional shot of Brad which is represented through the magazine showing he has given an interview to them. On the photo he is looking serious and he looks quite aged this could be used to represent the age of the magazine as it has been publisher for over 30 years now. Also Brad Pitt was born before the first issue of the magazine so he could be used because he was around when the first issue was publisher making him in the era of the music genre.

The title of the magazine is in bright blue text which stands out instantly for the regular buyers of the magazine so they always know the logo without even having to see the full thing, this is why the photo is allowed to overlap it. The text of 'Brad Pitt' is the only part of the text in white this is probably because the magazine is specifically trying to make the interview with Brad stand out as he is a very popular actor. The rest of the text is black and differs in font sizes, this text stands out very well on the magazine making it attractive for the reader. The use of different font sizes and font colours is that it makes it less boring and increases it's attractivness.

The language used on this front page of the magazine is how the layout is structured with several sections of text and how it's all been parted from one another, the picture of Brad Putt and how he represents the use of actor interviews within the magazine. Also the headlines and sub-headlines.

The institution of the magazine is Jann Wenner who publishes the magazine within her company Wenner Media LLC.

The ideology for the magazine is that it's all about music so the idea's behind the text what is in the magazine will have come from the latest happenings in the music industry.

The audience for this magazine is for the young age groups, possibly late teens and over. Also people who are specifically interested in the pop genre and like the often actor interview.

The representation shown in the picture of Brad Pitt is how the photo of him is taken with him looking serious as an actor showing he is focused on his interview what he gave to the magazine.

Analysis of Double Page Spread (Rock Sound)

This is the double page spread in the magazine (Rock Sound). The layout of these pages are very unusual. In many magazines it is just a big photo on one side and text on the other whereas this double page spread is totally different. It has a main photo of a singer and his dog which stretches over both pages, also it has several other photo's. The use of this makes it very unique and effective for the readers. The photo's are represented as very smug and unusual. The story is about a singer taking a new appraoch to recording a new album and it says in a quote 'have you ever seen the world through a dogs eyes?' this shows why the dogs on the page have been used. It is all very unusual and unique which is constisten for this issue as the other pages are the same.

All the colours used as black and white which is also consistent because they're used very frequently on the other pages to. The text on the page is all spread out very well making it easy to read for the readers. The whole page looks very professional because it is unusual with the use of the singer and a dog which makes it all very attractive, this also suggests that it has took a lot of work to design and produce to the readers are getting their moneys worth by buying the magazine.

The quantity of the text is quite low as not a lot is used this allows other space to be used with the photo's. Different fonts and font sizes are used throughout the double page spread and this stops it from being boring. It makes it more attractive for the reader and also it all stands out very well making it easy to read. The whole page is well presented and the aim of trying to market the singers new albums works very well. It gives the readers the singers myspace and tell them when the new album is released which is seen as a good source of information which the magazine is giving out.

Analysis of Rock Sound Contents Page

This is the contents page of Rock Sound magazine. This contents page is quite unusual as it shows a big photo at the bottom and only shows the main features in the magazine. The unusual layout of the contents page has a big impact on the magazine as it makes it unique and attractive for the readers. It is also consistent on how it is all different to the usual boring magazine.

The photo used at the bottom is of the 'Gallows' which follows on from the front cover. The photo is a professional shot and includes all member of the band whereas the front cover only featured the lead singer. The photo is black and white which represents the rock genre. The photo is represented as a serious image as the band all have serious faces so they're trying to come across as serious to their music. The quote at the top left hand side is about the band which is pretty much making the full contents page about them which is also the same on the front cover so the magazine is trying to market the band as an upcoming band to the rock genre.

Only three colours are used on this contents page which are black,white, and blue however it is mainly black and white. This doesn't really make the page very attractive but it does appeal to the magazines audience because it does look like a rock magazine because the colours are dark. The use of the blue for the page number could be to make it a bit more attractive and to add a bit more colour to the overall page. The use of only the main features being use is that is allows space for the photo at the bottom and the text for the quote making it unique and attractive as other magazines don't usually use this technique. The title of the magazine is used again at the bottom right hand corner and is in bold white font again like the front cover title showing consistency and it also stands out on top of the photo. There is an effect in the background of the page with blue text being put behind the white text in the quote with is being all scraggly, this gives a huge effect making it unusual and attractive for the reader.

Analysis of Rock Sound Front Cover

This is the front cover of Rock Sound magazine. This is quite a dark magazine, however very effective for it's audience. The use of the black background backs up the genre of the magazine which is rock because it gives an instant impact and is deep like the music. The title of the magazine 'Rock Sound' is in big bold white letters which stands out very well for the readers on the black background. The magazine can be seen as popular because the main photograph overlays onto the title suggesting that people could instantly recognise the magazine without even reading the full title. Everything on the front cover isn't really positioned anywhere specifically, it is all bundled up and put anywhere which could suggest that with the genre of the magazine being rock that the readers won't really care how it's laid out.

The main photograph is of the lead singer of 'Gallows' and it probably gives the most impact on the full front cover. This is because of his stance and the way he is looking which is like he doesn't care about anything, which represents the magazine of rock. As well as his stance the singer is sticking to fingers up along with the sub-headline 'we're putting the boll*cks back in rock' which is also a rock thing to say. The readers of the magazine won't see anything wrong with this because it is for that kind of audience however, other people would see this as wrong. The title of the band 'Gallows' next to the photo is in a very irregular font than normal magazine, it's very effective and stands out very well for the readers. This is also the same with the band names next to the photo. All of the colours used white,yellow,and red all suit the black background very well making it catch the eye of the reader. The other photo's used are of another singer and the advertisement of free posters, all these photo's are quite dark but very appealing to the audience of this genre. The band names on the side are useful for the readers as they give them an insight into what bands are in this months issue.

The language used on this front page of the magazine is how the layout is structured with several sections of text and how it's all been parted from one another, the picture of the singer and how he represents the genre of the magazine, the boxed sections and the main photograph which is bigger than the others. Along with all the headlines and sub-headlines.

The institution of the magazine is Editions Freeway who publish the magazine who are a french publisher.

The ideology for the magazine is that it's all about music so the idea's behind the text what is in the magazine will have come from the latest happenings in the music industry.

The audience for this magazine could be seen for an age of 16-19 however, it's mainly for anyone who is interested in the rock genre of music.

The representation shown in the pictures is the lead singer of 'Gallows' and how his photo represents the rock genre with the way he is putting two finers up and the way he is stood.