Analysing Indie Magazine Covers

Analysing Indie Magazine Covers

In this analysis I shall be analysing three magazine covers from the genre of indie rock. I need to be able to show my audience that my magazine is from the same genre as the professional ones that I shall be analysing throughout this text. The audience needs to recognise products from a similar media language conventions. This means as Bentley stated in 1997 “The creative process is the rearranging of the old to create new.” I shall be analysing every aspect of its codes and conventions. These include media language, masthead, layout, colour pallet, images, typography and lexis. I shall also look at the connotations and denotations.

The target audience of my indie magazine is males and females of middle class and below aged between 15-35 of all ethnicities, sexualitites and nationilties. This is the same as indie rock genres as my magazines are aimed for indie rock fans so therefore I will need to match the target audience in order to know the right sort of people for my magazine.  I shall also be looking at representation theory and how it supports my points and opinions.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/feb/13/nme-sales-falling-off-charts-music-magazine-circulation

NME magazine is published by IPC media and its first issue was published on the 7^th March 1952. Its circulation figures showed that 18,184 copies were purchased in the second half of the year. NME is edited by Mike Williams.

NME’s target audience is mainly men aged between 17 -30 of classes C1, C2 and D. This mainly indicates that this magazine is mainly aimed at middle class, working class and lower class individuals.

Masthead:

NME’s masthead only takes a very small space up on the top of the front cover. The typography style of this masthead is very bold and has red and black on it. This represents the target audience as indie music has a rebellious side and red and black connote danger and passion, so by having a small red and black title you are therefore highlighting its indie and disruptive meaning but at the same time keeping it small so that you can highlight the main image more. The masthead fits Stanley Halls theory that “ All young people are depressed, criminals and extremeists” because the colour scheme connotes danger.

Layout:

The general layout is quite sophisticated but at the same time has a big main image as well as a bold yellow title. This shows that indie has some level of class but is middle class enough to represent its criminality side to it. The layout only features 1 main image with several sub stories around the outside. In total there is 1 main story as well as 4 sub stories surrounding the outside of the main image. I feel that there is a mainly a unisex feel about this magazine cover, however it feels like it could be slightly swayed towards men rather than women. I feel that this magazines layout would represent the theory of Sarita Malik because it has a white background meaning that all magazines of this genre should have bold white background with black being a secondary colour. This supports Malik’s theory as it isn’t a black background.

Colour Pallet:

The main background of NME magazine is white which connotes that the main image is a studio one rather than an action shot. The text colour features a mixture of Red, Black, Yellow and White. This mixture of colour gives you a feel of an entertaining yet sophisticated magazine. Its mise-en-scene shows you that the colour pallet has been carefully selected so that it says to you that the magazine has actually been thought about rather than producers and editors who don’t care about the magazine. These represent the target audience because Indie magazine readers want to see their style of magazines to have been made with care, rather than throwing some random images and photos together. I feel that this magazines colour pallet would represent the theory of Stanley Hall as in ways all 4 of these colours are associated with being depressed, a criminal or an extremist. Therefore this has been done because all these colours appeal to youth and the magazine is aimed at teenagers and young adults.

Imagery:

The main image on NME magazine is a close up on the Arctic Monkeys. This has been purposefully done because Arctic Monkeys are one of the most popular Indie Rock artists and a have a worldwide fan base. Because of their large fan base, thousands of people will want to read about the band so by placing a larger, close-up image on the front cover of them then more people will be interested about them. The Arctic Monkeys are positioned in such a way which shows their frontman (Alex Turner) at the front of the image. Because he is the one that is most commonly known individually, big fans and admirers of Alex Turner will especially read to find out exclusives about him. If you put the Bass Player (Nick O’Malley) then less people would read this as he is not as popular as Alex Turner. Props have not been used as Arctic Monkeys are already very popular so their popularity doesn’t need increasing. This links to the theory of Sarita Malik as they are very popular but are all white English. The majority of Indie musicians are of this race and they are publicised more within this genre.   

Q Magazine

Masthead:

Q’s masthead is a very bold and takes a large amount of space in the top left corner. Its typography style is also very bold which displays a bold ‘Q’ on a square red background. This represents the target audience as red connotes danger, indie rock has an edgy ethos so by using red as a bold format you are able to highlight its genre simply by backgrounds. The masthead fits Stanley Halls theory that “All young people are depressed, criminals and extremists” as its colour scheme connotes danger.

Layout:

The general layout is very un-sophisticated as it features writing all over the front cover and diagonally across the image. This shows that indie has a ragged style and has ways against mainstream society. The only image on the cover is the main image so at the same time it still shows a level of decorum rather having half a dozen images being scattered around the front cover. I feel that this magazine has a unisex feel about it because the quotes on the front cover have areas which would attract both sexes. I feel that this magazine has representation theory’s which support Laura Mulveys theory that “Woman are only used as sex symbols.” This is because Chris Martin is used and not in a sexual way, whereas if you had someone such as Pixie Lott on the front, then the cover would like completely different. 

Colour Pallet:

The main background of Q magazine is beige which connotes that the main image is in a studio rather a street or set scenery. The text colour features a mixture of White, Black and Red which connotes that it is a British magazine as well as Red and Black connoting danger and that it speaks oud volumes. The mixture of colour gives you a sense of passion and organisation in one magazine cover. Its colour pallet has been specifically chosen to represent both youth culture and indie rocks rebellious side. They represent it target audience because readers want to see colour pallets that will specifically appeal to them because they will realise that the magazine was meant for them. I feel that this supports Stanley Halls theory as this magazine has been purposefully designed for “Criminals, extremists and depressants”.

Imagery:

The main image on Q magazine is a large image is a close up on Chris Martin. This has been primarily done because Coldplay are one of the top artists worldwide. Because of their large fan base, Coldplay will appeal to thousands of fans across the country. Chris Martin is a very well-known figure worldwide with a lot of controversy surrounding his life so fans of his music will want to learn what is behind the man with the music. The 3 other members of Coldplay are not featured on the cover of Q magazine. This is done because the other 3 are not known that well at all and are only associated via the band and Chris Martin. If you put the other 3 members of the band on their own are on the front, the magazine would lose his appeal. Props have not been used because Chris Martin doesn’t need a popularity increase because he is already a world-wide figure. This would be associated with Laura Mulveys theory because Chris Martin is not use as a sexual figure where as a female pop star would be.