Close up, front cover layout for music magazine.

I am unsure on whether I would like a close up of my magazine or more a mid shot for my front cover. So I am going to do two layouts for my front cover one being for a close up and then one for more of a mid shot. This is my layout for the close up, I would like to the picture to be a close up of the person who is modeling for me face. And I would like the text to simply surround it. I like the colse up because it is busy with just the picture being there.

Here I have looked at double page spreads for my music magazine, so then I can see what I like about certain pages and create my own.

I really the seperate page for a main picture to introduce artist, so everyone knows who the article is about and then followed on by 3 collumns of writing neatly set out. One of the main things I like is the top part is written in from the centre. And how Rihanna is the spaced out. I really like the way the article starts with a large R, not only for the first world of the article but for R-Rihanna the artist the article is about.

This is one of my favourites of all the double page spread I chose to look at. I really like the main picture, how it looks very urban and again old and washed out kind of look. I really like that some text has been added halth way across the picture, and the large text is relevent and spaced out to make it stand out more. I also really like the middle bit of text which is larger and a different colour to the rest of the text some also being bold. I lke again the larger letter at the beginning and how it ties into the orange white and black colour theme.

In this double page spread I really like the greys used, I like everything is basically a couple shades lighter or darker, like the text and background. But then the picture stands out so much due to the bold bright colours used. I really like the tie into the USA background text and how it sits behind her, and then she is sitting on a american flag. I like the classy joint up writing used to show how she is femine. And they are her lyrics.

I love this double page, this is one of my favourites because it is very different to the rest. I really like how the main heading looks sort of jumbled looking, and the text is the same colour and style but it has different size text, the 'of' is smaller and 'Adele' is slightly bigger. I really like that the main picture takes up more than half of the page and the lighting of the picture. I really like the black and white theme to this picture, I think it makes it very classy.

Here I have researched magazine covers, to give me more of an idea of how I would like my front cover to be like.

I really like the washed out kind of look to this magazine, and how it looks old and rough looking, but with the way artists is stlyed it looks classy. I really like the white text and the bold writing for the heading. But I don't like how jumbled all the text is on the sides, it looks random and un organised and I don't like that.

I really like this magazine cover it is one of my favourites, I love the bold white text and i really like the organisation of the magazine. I like how her face takes up the whole magazine cover because her hair is red and ties into the black red and white theme. I love the style of text. I like that it is not too busy aswell.

I mainly like the urban look to this magazine, how she looks unclassy, mainly her modelling and the styling of her. I love how the red on her dress and lipstick all ties in with the random red on the cover. And how her name is in a different colour.

I love how different this magazine is, how she is standing up and there are other things in the picture. Her hair and bottom hair of her ties into the exclusive, important black part i.e text, and animals, and herself. The main thing I like about this magazine, is the way it is a full length picture and then 'LILY ALLEN' is written across. And the different colours in her first and surname.

I really like the lighting of the camera in this picture, it creates a nice effect in the colours of her hair, And also I really like the being able to see the shadowing off her face, i.e cheekbones, and under her chin. I really like the colours used. However looking at this made me realise I don't think I would want a heading going straight across the screen at the top. And also it made me realise that I do not want all my text on one side.




This is a collage of the main article I would like to do for my music magazine.

I chose all these pictures because this is the kind of style I want my want my magazine set, this is because I love this genre of music. The genre of music is indie/rock.What I love about the style is that it is edgy but laid back, so it would make taking pictures and styling easier for myself, but the editing would be a challenge because of the special effects they use for these type of pictures. I would like to focus my magazine on the indie/rock not only because of the style but also because I am knowledgeable in this genre and comfortable to write a double page on it. At the moment I really like the idea of focusing it on a more bands magazine, however I do really like the idea of my magazine being focused on a women. So I was thinking  having some thing like Florence and the machine. As it is sort of a band but Florence is the main attraction and that is what I would have. 

Comparison of Total Guitar and Q

Compare the covers of two music magazines

I have looked at and analysed two magazines. I am going to compare the two magazines, Total Guitar and Q. The two magazines vary in different ways although they are focused on similar music.

The magazine Total Guitar is aimed at late teens- early 20’s, who are into rock music, it is based on various different types of rock e.g. heavy, soft, metal etc. Whereas the magazine Q seems to be targeted at ages between 18 onwards, as it has a more sophisticated look to the magazine, you can tell this because it is all purely based on black, white, and red font against a white/grey background. It shows the simple and sophisticated look of the magazine. The music genre used in the magazine is more of a softer type of rock, rather than heavy metal. This attracts the audience who are interested in softer rock. Also Noel Gallagher is the main picture of the magazine and was in an older bad called ‘Oasis’. Therefore this proves the magazine is aimed at an older generation than ‘total guitar’.

Both of the magazines have a main picture. Both are of a full length picture of a lead singer, standing next to it is a musical instrument. Total guitar is of the lead singer from Green Day and he is holding a guitar, it is yellow therefore it stands out and reflects back to the title of the magazine. In Q Noel is leaning against an amp, again the instrument is rather big and has quotes from Noel in the amp. This again attracts the reader to the music side of the magazine, which shows it is actually a music magazine (represents the genre). Another presentational device would be the main title. In the magazine Total guitar it is behind all the rest of the features, i.e. the main picture of the band member from Green Day. It also doesn’t stand out against the magazine, as it is simply only grey and the rest of the text on the front cover is either grey of black. This represents the lack of interest in the magazine, and emphasis more on the picture, as the picture will be the device attracting the reader to the article. However on the over hand in the magazine Q, the name of the magazine ‘Q’ is it stands out a lot from the rest of the magazine, as it is very big in the corner of the magazine, in red and white. As the majority of the rest of the magazine is black and white and occasionally red. This emphasises the fact that the name of the magazine is well known and the name is what attracts the reader, because underneath the name is clearly says ‘THE WORLDS GREATEST MUSIC MAGAZINE’ this shows the emphasis of how famous the magazine actually is.  

Overall I have learnt that the main picture of the magazine really depends on what you want to attact the reader too. The main article is usually the main picture and the picture usually is what attracts the reader in the first place. Also the effect in how the colour of the magazine is used, for example using a dull coloured background and text, like black and white. And then using bright colours to pull the reader in and show the audience what is important about the magazine. The bright colours can also reflect the genre of the magazine. 

Analyzing content pages

Mix mag is targeted at 18 years old up to 26 years old who are interested in clubbing and club music. Young adults who are interested in just to have a good time and that go out regularly; but because of work may not be able to go and party on a weekday, read this magazine to fill their suspense.  
Looking at both of the pages for this magazine, there are a number of pictures on the magazine. Both clearly having a main picture in the centre of the page. In both pages, altogether they have 6 pictures. The picture on the left here, the main picture is of a pool party. As this magazine is a worldwide magazine, it is showing cultures. Presenting the young ambitious audience what it is like to be somewhere else. This advertises and encourages the young adults to a holiday and spending more on more adventurous clubs abroad. The colours vary from most of them having a lot of bright colours in and then contrasted with black. This represents what it would be like in a club with all the club like colours, black to show the darkness of most 

clubs in most cities. The bright colours representing what the party is going to be like. The black and bright colours also represent the rebelliousness of young adults fulfilling there last years of youth and having to go out and work hard. Because black is such a sophisticated colour (emphasizing work clothes and representing the dullness of day to day jobs), this was contrasted with the bright colours as they represent the rebelliousness of young adults enjoying their youth. There is a picture of a CD next to the advertisement of getting a free CD. This draws the attention to the party/club music lovers as it can feel like they're out partying with the music blaring out as if they were in a club but they could actually be at home doing some work. Some of the pictures have a caption on them where to find the article. If they see something they're interested in they are more likely to want to read the page, which then leads to reading on into the magazine.
The layout of the content page is very organised, as the pages of the magazine are categorized into features, fashion, tunes, don't stay in, and VIP. As young adults are used to the fast paced world of work and most probably either impatient or very busy, this then makes it a lot easier for them to access what they want as quickly as possible. So a nice easy way is to have everything set out nicely for them. All of the pages are set up around the pictures. This allows the reader to first be drawn in by the pictures and as they look around the articles may then catch their eye. Also the pictures relate to the articles such as on the page with the main picture being the girl with a pink jumper on, comes under fashion, this is right next to the picture and it is easy for the reader to access. 
Each article has the number of the page and then the main heading for the article in a bright bold white, and then next to it font which is not bold a little hint on what the article will include. This leaves suspense and in encourages the reader to want to read on. Also they have used slang in the article to fit the urban, modern theme. Using 'tunes' rather that music. This is so that the magazine can relate to the lifestyle and language of the audience.
The logo is used on both pages, saying 'mixmag' so if you are new to the magazine, you are simply reminded repeatedly what the magazine is actually called so you know for future reference. 

WElovePOP audience is aimed at young teenagers from about 11-16 years old. Who are interested in pop mainstream music, usually chart music. and are very interested into the mainstream media. For example TV programs such as X Factor. It is mainly targeted at girls, who have a interest for boy bands, inspirational girl bands and women artists.
There are 6 main pictures used on the magazine content page, then a collage of a sneak peak of the posters included in the magazine. As the magazine is targeted at young girls, they usually fan girl over boy bands, so the collage at the bottom of the page is mainly of male artist, and has two captions clearly shown in bright colours saying 'HOT POSTERS' and '1D POSTER SPECIAL', as the teen band One Direction are a big hit at the moment for this group of audience, the magazine has used it to its advantage as they know girls of this age will want posters of them around their bedroom walls. The other pictures are of gossip from celebrities which have a main story everyone wants to know at the moment. All the rest of the pictures are the main stories of all the favourite celebrities at the moment, therefore they are most intrigued to find out what is going on. And all of them pictures have a quote from the celebrity which then convinces the innocent, naive, young teens, that the article/gossip is reliable. Most of the pictures are professional photo shoot pictures, which continues the idea of the celebrities perfect lives. And then some look like they have been  taken by the public i.e the 'Marvelle' couple. This creates the illusion that they could be part of the magazine, and meet the celebrities.
The magazine doesn't really have any particular structure, apart from the page is practically made up of pictures, and then all the articles in the magazine are neatly in a different box. As the audience is young they are probably more interested in the pictures rather than the text and this is why the magazine does this.
The main headings are written in bold black fonts. And the quotes are written in pink and blues all in the lower case. The extra writing is all in lower case, various parts are bold and others are normal black text. The logo is used at the top right corner, to represent what the magazine is actually about.
The is not a lot of detail used to describe each article, this is because the audience is such a young age, they don't want to be reader pages and pages of irrelevant gossip, they want it short and sweet with as much pictures as possible. The hints, exaggerated quotes and extra writing fools the naive young children to expect a lot from the articles and buy the magazine. 

Q magazine audience is aimed at rock/indie lovers. The age could range from 16 years old right up to late 20's. People who are interested purely in just the music side, rather than all the 'latest gossip' on celebrities lives. The only gossip would be when's the new album coming out?
There are a lot of picture over the 2 page spread for the content page, over all having 9 pictures. They are scattered and not really organised in any specific way. This could represent the chaotic life of a rock artist and also in a way in a whole shows there style, as most rock artist look rough looking and not very 'clean cut' therefore the magazine is representing the style of them altogether. The pictures all have a number and head title in capital case, all in red and bold text. This shows the importance of the title. And then they add a humorous or normal comment to give a brief description on what the article would be about. The pictures are also very varied in size, and the pictures do not relate to how important the articles are really. They are all of artists.

The theme is all based on gigs, festivals, all purely music or music related. No sign of celebrity's who have nothing to do with music in or what there shoes are etc. 
It includes quite a lot of persuasive language in it, to read the articles. The text is a lot more sophisticated, mature and knowledgeable this represents the audience it is set out to achieve, whereas magazines like We Love Pop has more simplistic words and a lot more persuasive language is used as the audience are very naive and young. The artists names are clearly stated so people who know who is who. The quotes which are used are very specific on what type of audience they are setting out to draw in, this is shown by the 'private jokes' about the bands/artists; this could be used for either the weekly readers, or readers who have a passion for that genre of music. The magazine is very on going and most things are carried on from the last magazine which almost represents Q as a 'family'.
There isn't really a a logo for this magazine, that is used in the content page. But on the title 'CONTENT' there are little animations, this creates a more funny side to the magazine, which fits into the care free rock and roll life.

NME is aimed at 16 year old to late 20's. It is a lot like Q magazine, i recently just analysed. It is a alternative, rock, indie focused magazine. People who are interested in gigs, and festivals read this magazine to keep up to date with the latest news.
7 pictures are used on the content page, this content page is mainly used up of pictures, with captions and the page number. At the bottom right hand corner, they do have a advertisement and all the previous NME magazines allowing the audience to subscribe before the even know what the other magazines will be on, this shows us as an audience how much of a good magazine company they are. The pictures vary and they are either pictures live from a gig, or a professional picture, and are all of artists, they are scattered  around the page representing the random life style the young adults may leave. 
Also the contents of the magazine are on certain music artists or venue's that are out at the minute that teenagers who are very interested in music would enjoy reading more and possibly understand more. 
Also the style of the magazine, it's very informal and looks as though it's made for younger people, this allows the context to become a lot more readable for the audience, as it contains dialect of their age. Big bold texts are used and bright colours that make it stand out and make teenagers want to buy it, to people a bit older is doesn't matter as much what the magazine looks like more the stories that are published in it. Red text is used to show the number of the pages, making it easy to access, which happily suits the lazy, impatient lifestyles of teenagers/ young adults.

Comparison of double page spread essay

The we love pop magazine is targeted at 11-16 year old girls who have a very big interest in the mainstream music, like chart music. They would also be very interested in gossip and latest news of the main stream industry in music, celebrities and tv program. However the Q magazine is aimed at ages between 16-25 years old male and females, who have a big interest in rock music, old rock and new rock. And usually focused on bands but occasionally solo artists. It is also aimed at people who are interested gigs and festivals. The double page for WeLovePop is about Tulisa, a ex band member on a mainstream RnB/pop band called 'Ndubz'. And now part of he big well known UK show called X factor, who is a judge. She is currently releasing her new album  and the magazine is mainly advertising her new album and X factor. Letting all the audience know the behind scenes gossip of X factor. The Q magazine's double page spread however is about Biffy Clyro, a rock band. This double page spread is mainly showing the audience the rock and roll life they live, as they drink daily and play concerts. Using more complex words rude words such as 'pornography' this shows that it is not suppose to be for people under 16 to read, because not only is it not suitable but they would simply not understand the context.This represents the rebellious life they live. It is not so much music related, and more just humorous friendly 'banter'.

The structure for welovepop is very bright and bold. The colours bright blue and a hot pink and yellow is used as extra colours to make certain parts of the text stand out more than other, for example the questions are in a bold hot pink, so you think about whether you want to read the answer to the question. The have a set style as they go from a page of mainly text then just a big picture then to another page of mainly text then the last page again being a big main picture. This is used to break the magazine up a bit. As it is aimed at younger teenagers they don't want to be reading purely just text and for it to look boring, other wise they would be put off and not want to read it. The text surrounds the pictures, and the pictures have added captions. Which are usually highlighted with a bright colour. Quotes are plotted around the magazine also to break it up a bit to get the reader a 'sneak peak' of what is going to be involved in the article. In the Q magazine it is very basic on the first page. As one page is purely based on just text and this is where the interview takes place. There are no quotes added and all text is used. It looked like a lot of writing on the page. But is not off putting because it is aimed at such a older audience.The top writing of the magazine (heading and subheading) is all centered  it is almost like the opening of the magazine and is easy to see. Biffy Clyro is the biggest text on the whole magazine this clearly shows who the article is about, and this goes with the simple look to the magazine, the heading and subheading are both in black. The actual interview is set out in two columns and each questions is asked and a then a space between each question and answer. On the other page it is mainly just a large picture taking up the whole A4 page and has awards Biffy Clyro have been given in a star, and then a quote which doesn't really relate to the picture.

The pictures used in the double page spread for We love pop is quite varied. As the first page is simply a picture which everyone is probably most familiar with as it is Tulisa and Nicole Scherzinger as they are judges on a worldwide mainstream TV program. It is simply just a Mid shot picture of them with a bright blue border to go with the colour theme of the magazine. It is centered in the middle of the page with all the text around it. This is because the context around it is mainly about the X Factor and as it is very popular it draws the attention of the young audience to see what gossip about the show it will reveal about the inspirational women. On the following page it is a Mid shot close up of Tulisa laughing creating a very positive impression of Tulisa and to represent the positive article, she is laughing, it is very plain with a plain white back ground. It is also very feminine, as she is wearing baby pink lipstick and a hot pink dress/top. This fits in with the girly theme as they would be a lot more interested in it rather than if she looked all gothy. Her well known tattoo on her right arm which says 'The Female Boss' is shown very clearly to show the female power of the article. This makes her very inspirational for the young girl teens as she is seen as independent and free. Which the magazine wants  to show from this picture for young girls to be proud and independent. On the following page a collage which takes up about 2/3 of the page and it is Tulisa with her celeb friends, they all have humours captions to explain the picture, this makes it funny and quirky for the teens to read, which makes them want to read more. The fact that they put other celebrities with Tulisa gives more to look at for the audience and makes it a lot more interesting as you can see who Tulisa is getting close with. All of the picture apart from one have a white border round it, but the one with Tulisa and a very famous band member from JLS (who took part in the X factor a couple of years ago) Aston having a hug, and the caption says ' Tulisa's Aston's latest squeeze, which isn't giving too much away but dropping a little hint that something could be happening. They did this because the audience reading this magazine would be very interested in the band JLS. The yellow border to this picture attracts the audience to the picture they want the audience to see the most.On the last page is a long shot of Tulisa, it is a lot different to the other pages and makes it like a finale of the article for the audience. The camera is slightly looking up to her to bring a conclusion to how she is a positive artist in the media right now and is very inspirational in what she does. Also the last picture is a small picture of her and a band member from One Directions, (again took part in the competition on x factor) this relates to the x factor theme of the magazine. And also again the band are a big hit with the exact same audience as the magazine is trying to attract. 
On the Q magazine there is a lot less pictures, actually only having one picture. On the first page it is simply just text to appeal to the more mature reader compared to We Love Pop. On the other page however the is a full A4 picture of the band Biffy Clyro. But even then, it is a picture of them drinking alcohol. It slightly contrasts as they are older and the audience set out to attract a a lot more older and mature reader, however the band are spitting the drink out with their feet on the chairs etc. This contrasts with the adult like audience, as they are older but want to have fun. This fits in with the teen/ young adult audience, as they want to have fun and go partying but are a lot more mature. They also have a humorous side to the picture as one of the band members are wearing pink socks and bunny slippers, whilst holding a can of beer. This contrasts aswell to set a adult life like theme but in a humorous and fun way. It fits in with the context as it isnt very sensible as the questions that are asked are all very random. 

In We Love Pop magazine, the language used is very gossipy. As the interviewer is trying to to get gossip out of the person the main article is about. For example they asked Tulisa what she thought of Caroline Flack and Harry Styles relationship, finding out a little extra, but however they do it in a positive way making sure that it is not making the other person look bad. So it is what the young audience need, extra gossip the audience is craving but to negatively to teach them the positive way of life. Also it mainly about Tulisa, X factor, friends, and career. It doesn't have any sort of too personal questions like 'what's your favourite food?' This magazine is all very gossip orientated. The language is quite basic, and not a 'lot of complex words are used. They also highlighted in yellow the important parts of the answers, this attracts the reader to read that question and answer, seeing that is is something interesting and want to read the one before and after. The questions do follow on from one another, so you need to read the question before to understand the one after, and the question you read makes you want to read the next question. This attracts the naive teenagers but in a positive and right way.    
However in the music magazine Q there are a lot more complex and sophisticated words used throughout the text. This makes it a lot more easier for the older audience to read because it's in there comfort zone not boring and too easy but not too challenging, which then makes them more willing to read the article. As We Love Pop was more about whats going on now, so the audience keeps up with the gossip, Q is more about present information. Asking things about what life was like before they were famous. They have a more humorous touch, they try to make the audience laugh a lot more, as well show the band they are interviewing are having fun.  The context is a lot more mature as the magazine begins with 'Its Q's round? What are you having?'...'Just a vodka, please'. It involves a lot of things like alcohol, sex (pornography), and drugs, which is a lot like the typical rock stars lifestyle. This magazine is based on a stereotypical life but in a humorous way, almost making fun out of them selves.

On We Love Pop magazine, everything is very girly as there are a lot of hearts in places. Ending the whole article with a little pink heart on the end. And on every page there is 'Tulisa' on the corner of the page along with the logo on top of it saying We (heart) Pop. Where as Q magazine doesn't really have anything like that it is mainly just promoting that they are a an award winning magazine. And the end of this article is ended with the logo Q at the ends. The Q is placed in number of places on the page of the article to show the proud winner on best magazine. And the following page is a star with 'WINNER BEST LIVE ACT' in bold this shows that the magazine is high up and doing well because they can get a winning band. 

Over all the difference in these magazine are a very good example of the extremes of different types of genres. A rock/indie genre contrasted with a young pop magazine. The difference has been represented in the way that they would like to present their magazine to their set audience. Q using a more simplistic, bold, plain look, with humorous  mature context which fits the older/more sophisticated audience and We Love Pop using a very bold, bright, busy look with more of a fun, catchy, gossipy context, fitting the younger audience who are in to a more of a fun/ gossipy .