Textual Analysis: Vibe Music Magazine Front Cover 3

In my analysis I have tried to talk about the target audience and tried to analyse the vibe magazine.

This magazine has a coloured photograph of a man looking directly at the camera. It is in a medium close-up showing his head, hand and chest. He is leaning on a building and his arms are not visible in the shot. The background is of him leaning on a part of a building but his photograph covers the whole magazine so you can’t see the background that much. Behind the man’s head is the Vibe masthead, and in front of him are 5 separate cover lines in black, yellow, light blue and dark blue. The photographed man’s name is in a black sans serif font and there is a repeat of the font in another cover line. There is a barcode visible in the bottom left hand corner.

Vibe’s masthead is very unique. The masthead font is blue with a sans serif font. The whole font is in capital letters and they don’t join together. The font used is similar to the famous ‘bench’ brand to represent the young teen culture. The word ‘Vibe’ means to move rapidly which suggests that this magazine is for younger viewers. So the connotations with the word Vibe would be shake and energy. All the musicians who have used the word vibe show that they are from the younger generation or representing them through the music they produce. This makes the magazine more youthful. The name Vibe tells the audience that it’s a music magazine.

The artist who is on the magazine is the most famous singer ‘Usher’. He is posing in a cool position leaning on a building; his head slanted looking directly at the camera and then showing the back of his hand at the camera while sticking up his ring finger. This is shown to be the cool ‘gangster’ styled position. His pose, body language, clothing are very ‘swagger’ and laid back.

His clothing is a white t-shirt with a grey jacket. The costume was chosen specifically to match the watch and ring he is wearing on his hand and wrist. This clothing was chosen to appeal to the target audience of the magazine who are more likely to be male teenagers. The clothing worn is similar to the costume he wears in one of the music videos. The sunglass completes his look.

Usher’s non-verbal communication is very powerful. His mouth is closed which suggest he is too cool to talk or that he can’t be bothered to while looking directly at the camera. This gives us the relaxed vibe. The lighting is in a high key as the photograph is meant to display daytime. The simple setting shows the ‘gangster’ theme by leaning on a building.

The main cover line that relates to the photograph is “usher the king is back, he’s no.1 and married with a vengeance”. This is relating to one of his songs that went no.1 a few years back. The different cover lines shows that this magazine doesn’t just concentrate on one genre of music or one musician but in fact has a range of musicians from different genres.

The artists mentioned on the other cover lines are Usher, 50cent, Keri Hilson, Nelly, Webbie, Tina, D.Woods, Ashanti, Ryan Leslie, The Knux and Wale. The cover lines are written in a way that reveals what the main issue in society is. This then gives readers that they can be open with the uncomfortable subjects and will encourage readers to buy the magazine more.

The target audience of this magazine would be males and teenage boys between the ages of 14-25. They would have a good knowledge of the celebrity’s life styles and current topics going on. They would have a fine interest in Vibe’s musical styles. They are also likely to be cool, relaxed educated people who love the swagger theme.

I would like to conclude that Vibe magazine appeals to its target audience and that colour is important for a magazine to get its audience.

Textual Analysis: Rolling Stone Music Magazine Front Cover 2

In my analysis I have written about a music magazine called Rolling Stone. I have tried to analyse it through denotation, masthead, character, composition, costume, NVC, lighting, setting, cover lines and target audience.

This magazine shows a bright coloured photograph of a women looking directly at the camera. Her image is in a medium long shot showing her head, shoulders, arms, waist and bum. She is standing and leaning her hands on the balcony. Her bum and a bit of her legs are showing in the shot. The background of the photograph is of the view she sees from the balcony. The background view is blurred which suggests that she is the main image. Behind the females head is the rolling stone masthead, and in front of her are seven separate cover lines in black and red. The females name is in sans serif font in bold black letters. The sans serif font in black letters is repeated through some of the other cover lines. There is no barcode.

Rolling stone’s masthead is very stimulating through the red with white outline and the black drop shadow. The font shown is in a serif font, and after the first letters of each word the rest are in lowercase and they link with each other. The font used is similar to the font of the ‘cars’ film which gives connotations of the American styled life. The word ‘Rolling Stone’ means a person who travels aimlessly which suggests that American style is relaxing and comfortable. Rolling Stone is also a long time running band which also suggests that Rolling Stone magazine has experience and knows how to appeal to its target audience. The name Rolling Stone alerts the audience that this magazine is based on music.

The main photograph is of the famous R&B singer Rihanna. She is seen to be posing by turning her face to the right shoulder and looking at the camera. Her pose, clothing, and body language suggest that she is being flirtatious and seductive.

Rihanna’s top is tight and has holes; her shorts are very small in a ripped style and in a shiny metal material. This costume has been chosen specifically to show a lot of cleavage and to appeal to the target audience of the magazine who are most likely to be males. The clothing she wears is very revealing and relates with the cover line of her ‘striking back’. Her cut up trousers suggest she is going to strike back.

Rihanna’s non-verbal communication is shown to be profoundly attractive. Her mouth is half open displaying her soft pink lips and white teeth while looking directly at the camera. The lighting is in a high key as the photograph is meant to display the morning time. There is a simple setting to show the trees and the morning sky which is therefore keeping with the theme of the morning. She is shown to be leaning on the balcony.

The main cover line that relates to her photograph says “Rihanna strikes back”. This is referring to her past about how she dated bad boys and how she has an attraction to the dark side. This therefore represents the main photograph because of her clothing, when wearing the ripped shorts, it shows her dating bad boys. Her hair colour is bright red which represents the attraction she had to the dark side. The colour red has connotations of danger and power. Her clothing is revealing and tight which also signifies the pain she went through. The quote “Rihanna strikes back” represents that she doesn’t want her past anymore, she wants to change, and this also shows that she wasn’t comfortable before. The quote “pop queen” is used to display that she is powerful in the music industry. The different cover lines tell us that the magazine doesn’t just concentrate on one genre of music but is contrasting on what it chooses to write about. The artists mentioned on the cover lines are Rihanna, Britney Spears, Elizabeth Taylor and Robbie Robertson. These are all American artists which emphasize the American culture. The only person which is mentioned and is not an American artist would be Ricky Gervais who is a British comedian. The cover lines are written in ways that represent other current news e.g. “U.S soldiers in Afghanistan murdered innocent civilians for sport”. All the other cover lines are in sans serif font.

Looking through all these all these points I think the target audience would male and females but mostly males from the ages of 25-55. This age group has a good knowledge of the music industry and knows what’s happening around the world today. They are likely to be interested in the American culture.

In conclusion I think the music magazine has a lot of effort and work done to actually make it a magazines and to make it appeal to its target audience.

Textual Analysis: Blender Music Magazine Front Cover 1

In my textual analysis I have written about a music magazine called blender. I have tried to analyse the front cover clearly.

This magazine has a colour scheme to make it stand out; the colour scheme is bright and contrasting. The main figure is of a women looking directly at the camera in a medium long shot from head to waist. She is standing up looking back at the camera by turning her head over her shoulder. She is posing and showing her back, shoulder, arm, bum etc. The background of the photograph is white and the female is enlarged on the front cover to take up the space. Behind the females head is the blender masthead and on the sides are separate cover lines in the colour theme of black and pink. The female’s name is in black and pink and heavily enlarged. There is no barcode.

Blender’s masthead is very visible by the bold black letters in a large font. The font is a sans serif font and the whole word is in capital letters. This font is bold and clear and has connotations with other music magazines. The words “blender” comes from a manufactured machine which makes fruit into juices, giving us suggestions that this magazine has every music story in it and it combines with the songs. Also the word “blend” from “blender” has connotations of merge, combine, and match which suggest that there are connotations of information in the magazine. All of the people that have used or said the word blender have represented this magazine by mixing. This suggests that this magazine is risky and not scared to mix. This therefore shows the word “blender” is associated with a music magazine.

The female character which is the front cover is the successful, Californian singer Katy Perry. The composition that Katy Perry is posing suggests that she is trying to be flirtatious. This is shown through her body language, clothing and the way she turns to see the camera.

Her costume is a pattern styled bikini which is made of fabric that shows a lot of cleavage also, she wears really small shorts. The costume has been chosen deliberately to appeal to the target audience which are mostly males or young teenage boys. The clothing she wears represents her new song kiss ‘n’ tell. Her bikini is representing the new generation of 2008 which suggests what young girls should dress up like. She wears a bow styled headband, watch, and bracelet which shows that it appeals to the younger generation and makes her look young and playful. She uses non-verbal communication to be seductive and powerless. She is looking directly at the camera and posing which suggests she wants to be playful. The lighting is put in a particular position to show all the tones in her body. There is no setting which suggests that she is alone and gives connotations that she is being seductive.

The main cover line that relates with the image is “Katy Perry: kiss ‘n’ tell with pop’s bi-curious babe.” This quote is referencing her song kiss ‘n’ tell. She is shown to be advertising what she did with bi-curious babe. The different cover lines suggests that the magazines don’t just talk about genres of music or main musical songs but in fact it “blends” with what celebrities get up to in the music industry. The other artists mentioned on the cover lines are T-Pain and David Cook. The only person mentioned who is not a musician is T-Pains wife. The way that cover lines are written suggests that the magazines focus on celebrity lives. All the cover lines are in bold fonts which are going with the masthead fonts. This suggests that blender is combining the stories and following the masthead and blending. This suggests to the readers that the stories are true.

The main target audience “blender” appeals to is young teenage boys and girls but mostly boys between the ages of 14- 21. They would have knowledge of the music culture and the interest of wide range musical styles in the music industry. They are also likely to be interested in the newest artists out.

Overall I have found out about what makes a music magazine appeal to its target audience and that magazine have to have a colour scheme or they have to have a relationship with each other through the fonts, styles and sizes.

College Magazine Front Cover & Contents Page

Introduction

Hello I am opening my first blog so that I have a step by step on my magazine and what my outcome is like also so i can see your comments and see what needs to be improved or whats good about it.