TOP of the POPS Magazine Analysis (Pop Genre)
Top of the Pops is a music magazine all about pop music, the type of music found in the Top 40 Charts, which is reflected by the title, so it focuses on artists and music that is currently topping the charts.
The main colour that can be seen on the magazine is pink, which suggests that the magazine is aimed at young girls, as stereotypically in media, pink is a colour associated with females. Baby blue is also a prominent colour, this colour also tends to be associated with girls, with the darker tones of blue reserved for males. Yellow, evokes emotions of happiness and the magazine's choice of using this colour on the magazine may be a way of subliminally making the reader feel happy as they read it.
Featured on the front of the magazine are X Factor's boy groups Union J and District 3. As this magazine is aimed at the "tween" girls, they are highly appropriate as girls this age are often infatuated with good looking boys in groups, proved by the overwhelming success of One Direction, JLS and older groups such as N Sync and Take That. The boys are stood back to back to correspond with the headline "Battle of the Fittest" which is a pun that refers to their rivalry in the X Factor, but also in terms of their looks, as "fit" is also a slang term mainly used by teens to describe an attractive person. With big hair swept to the side and wearing stereotypical teenage attire i.e. hoodies, both boys are projecting a good boy, well groomed image that many tween girls fawn over.
Surrounding the main photo , are several other artists known for their popular tracks. At the top, teen heartthrob, Justin Bieber can be seen, as his fan base consists mainly of tween girls, his picture on the cover will attract the same girls that the magazine hopes to also lure. One Direction, Little Mix and Girls Aloud, are all also featured on the front cover with captions next to each, promising juicy gossip. Although this is music magazine, it also offers fashion advice. The preview of items seen at the top, are again to draw in the attention of the target audience i.e. baby pink lipgloss and printed jumpers, as these are fashion items they normally wear.
Speech bubbles coming from the celebrities mouths are also used, they feature captions that address the reader directly and make it appear as though the celebrity is talking to them, this technique is effective as it makes the reader feel a part of the magazine. The speech bubbles also imitate text messages or internet chat messaging, tween girls would appreciate this as it is something they spend a lot of time doing.
Classic Rock Magazine Analysis (Rock Genre)
Classic Rock is a magazine dedicated to early rock music, which the magazine felt was in danger of being forgotten as mainstream rock magazines like Q and NME focused on modern/upcoming rock music. The title is very simple, and the reader knows straightaway that the magazine is about classic rock music.
Black is used for the entire background of the magazine, in the rock genre black is known worldwide as a colour associated with it, so it is appropriate for this magazine. Red is also a colour associated with rock music, red symbolizes passion, which could be the magazine showing it's passion to classic rock music.
On the cover is Jimmy Page from the band Led Zeppelin who are considered rock legends. The image is black and white, which may be to represent how old the band are and how prestigious their are in their genre. "Led Zeppelin" is also scrawled across the front of the magazine, in a signature style, this makes it appear as though Led Zeppelin themselves have signed the magazine, so readers will feel as though they are purchasing something special when they buy it. The magazine also offers a free CD inside, which will make readers feel as though they getting more out of their money when they purchase it.
VIBE Magazine Analysis (R&B Genre)
Vibe is a popular R&B/HipHop magazine that ran it's first issue in 1993. The layout is often the same, with the celebrity on the front, usually covering a part of the magazine title, this technique shows the importance of the magazine and how it is so well known and recognized, that it can afford to have the name partly covered, as everyone will know what magazine it is.
The colour scheme is red/white/black which is seems to be a colour scheme that is favoured in the magazine industry as seen in the "Classic Rock" magazine above. The caption next to Eminem's head explains how he "literally almost died" so the red theme may represent the blood shed when a person dies. "The Roots" is also written in red, although they are a soul band, the way the name is presented in this magazine implies that "roots" are underground which is normally where people are buried so it could be in reference to Eminem almost dying. Names of drugs, beginning with V are written in the "V" in Vibe, this is alliteration and looks effective on the page as it looks as though they are shadows of the "V" in Vibe.
Stood arms crossed and straight faced is Eminem, wearing a black tank top, he fits in with the colour scheme and his black tattoos also fit in. His facial expression, is somber and serious which is appropriate as it correlates positively with the caption around him, which is a serious topic. The stance in which he is stood, makes him appear as though is ready to confront something or somebody and exudes confidence, the fact that he is now clean shows that Eminem has beat his demons and can now take on anything. We can see his most well known tattoo of his daughter Hallie as he folds his arms and among all the seriousness of the cover, it stands as a reminder of the most important person of his life and the person he probably wanted to come off drugs for.
The background of the magazine is a plain grey/white colour, which contrasts against the black of Eminem's tank top to make him stand out more and make him the main focus of the magazine.
In the bottom corner, the question "Who is the best rapper ever?" is posed to the reader, for hardcore rap fans, this question is one that often sparks major debate within the various fan bases, so readers will be intrigued to see whom the magazines rates the "best rapper". Around the image of Eminem, various other well known rappers are also mentioned showing that the magazine has a lot of content to offer so readers will purchase it. On the opposite side of the page another controversial questioned is posed asking whether "The Roots are too black for Jimmy Fallon?" Jimmy Fallon is a very well known talk show host who regularly has A listers on his show, so this question will interest many readers to purchase the magazine to find out the full story.
Primarily, I think this magazine is aimed at men, the colour scheme suggests this and rap is mainly dominated by men, with a few women such as Nicki Minaj and Lil Kim involved, which also leads me to believe this issue is aimed at males.
No comments:
Post a Comment