My music genre

After researching and looking at several different magazines which have different music genres, I have decided what genre my music magazine will be. I have chosen for my magazine to be based around R&B and dance music, however its main music genre will be popular music. A lot of music magazine that are out at the moment are mainly based around either indie or rock music. Therefore I decided that my magazine would have a different music genre that I feel would have a large audience.

The audience for my magazine will be 16-24 both males and females; anyone who is interested in that music genre. My magazine will include interviews with different artists, reviews on different albums and singles, latest music events and the charts. Popular and R&B music such as, Girls Aloud, Sugababes, Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo and The Pussycat Dolls etc are all artists that are widely listened to and have top 40 singles. All of the artists mentioned before would fall into the genre of my magazine; therefore I know it would have a large audience.

My magazine will feature a new girl band that have a number one single so will be well recognised by the audience. It will include photos from a photo shoot with the girls and the main article will be an interview with them. My magazine will be light-hearted and fun which will help make it appeal to a larger audience and be an enjoyable read. I think the most suitable publisher for my magazine would be E-map as they publish a wide variety of magazines and have published magazines of a similar genre to mine, such as Smash Hits and Mixmag.

Music Magazines- Double page spread

This double page is taken from Rock Sound magazine. Most double page spreads have similar layouts. There is normally only one main image; however the picture is usually on either one page or spread across both. When someone buys a magazine they might not read every page and instead just flick through, glancing at the photographs. Therefore it is important to make sure the images used are eye-catching, if an image is eye-catching then the readers are more likely to read the article that accompanies the photograph. Articles that appear in music magazines are usually interviews with the artists or information about them and their music. Music magazines do not tend to have gossip about artists like magazines such as “heat”.

This double page is typical of most double page spreads in music magazines. The main image is covering one and a half pages, it is in colour and features the band “Leathermouth”. The photograph is very eye catching as three out of the five band members are wearing rabbit masks. The masks hide their identities and makes the band more interesting as people will want to discover more about the people behind the masks. It is a very tactful way of getting people to read the article instead of just flicking through and looking at the images. They are all stood in a line and the man at the front isn’t wearing a mask; maybe he is the lead singer as his identity is known and he is stood at the front. Also there are American flags in the background which suggests the band are from America.

Down the left hand side of the page is an article which talks about the band, how they started and how they became successful. The text is in a small, simple, black font, there is a fair amount of writing but not too much; if there was too much text audiences would not want to read it as too much text can look daunting. There is a pull quote which talks about "My Chemical Romance", who are a successful band and if readers see the name they might be intrigued to read the article to find more information about the band.

The main headline says the bands name in a black font. The font is quite a different, unique style which links in with the band themselves. The headline could have been a lot larger and spread across the double page but instead it is placed just to the side of the picture, above the text. Also at the top of the page in both corners it says “Exposure, the best new music” this shows that the band are new on the scene and the magazine have a lot to tell the readers about them.





This double page spread is from Rolling Stone magazine. It is very different from the double page spread I analysed from rock sound. Like most double page spreads the image is the main focus; however there is very little text on the page so the image is defiantly the main focus. The image is of the band “The Killers” and covers the full double page. The shot used is a very simple shot; it is a medium close up. It allows you to see every member of the band very clearly. The picture is in black and white which makes the page look very minimalistic.

The headline is very large and is placed down the left hand side of the page. Even though it is not in the centre it still stands out. “The killers inside” suggests to me that maybe on the pages to follow it has more articles on the killers which allows you inside their lives. There is such little text on the page, apart from the headline there is a sub headline which suggests what is coming up in the article. However there is no article, therefore it must continue over the page.

Even thought there isn’t much content on this double page spread it still draws the attention of the audience. It drew my attention because it is so different from any other double page spreads I have previously looked at.

Music magazines - Contents pages

This contents page is from NME magazine of which I previously analysed the front cover. This page is just as busy and vibrant as the front cover was. There are lots of different parts to the contents page so it is difficult to know where to look first, maybe this suggests to the reader that there is a lot going on inside the magazine with many different stories and articles. Along the top is the NME logo which was also on the front cover; however it is slightly smaller than on the front cover. Next to it is written “This week” so readers know that it is the contents page. Even though lots of things jump out at you from the page the most noticeable thing is the advertisement in the middle of the page telling you about “10 acts for the New Year” this will make readers want to read on inside to find out who the magazine is supporting.

Down the left hand side of the page is a band index, with a list of bands and artists and what page number you can find them on. There is a long list with lots of different artists; this shows the audience that there is a lot inside the magazine and not just one style of artist but several different music genres all in one magazine; however the majority of them are indie style bands and singers. Down the right hand side of the page is a piece about Tom Clarke from The Enemy and who he is voting for in the NME awards. Underneath his votes it says “Vote now” and then the NME web address; this will entice readers to go onto the website to cast their vote.

Also on the contents page it has a “Plus” section which tells readers of other articles coming up in the magazine that wouldn’t be under the “Band index”. There are not that many pictures on the contents page, only a couple of small shots, the majority of the page is text most of which is quite small enabling them to fit a lot of information onto one page. There is also an advertisement at the bottom of the page telling readers about subscription to NME magazine, this will tempt readers to subscribe in order to get money off. The contents page of NME magazine has lots of enticements to encourage people to use other NME commodities such as the website and subscription service.

I have looked at another contents page from a previously analysed front cover but this time it is from Hip Hop Connection magazine. Compared to NME contents, HHC’s contents page is very bare, more minimalistic; this reflects the cover style of HHC. The contents page has a white background which adds to the minimalistic feel. Down the right hand side of the page it says “features” and then lists some of the things coming up in the magazine along with the page numbers. The text isn’t particularly large and is in plain black font, keeping it all looking very smart and neat. The page numbers are in red, meaning the colour theme from the front cover (black, white and red) has been kept running through into the contents page. Whereas on the NME magazine there was not a colour theme, a large variation of colours where used. A lot of the features in the magazine are very diverse, from the Prodigy to Ice Cube. As well as articles about artists other articles are featured such as “Hate it or love it” and “Quotes of the year”.

Down the left hand side of the page there is a picture of 50 Cent, it is a medium/long shot. The photograph takes up a half of the page therefore making the page appear simple and uncluttered. He is wearing dark clothes so the picture fits in with the colour scheme that has run throughout the pages. Like the picture of Lil Wayne on the front cover, 50 Cent is staring straight into the camera giving an air of confidence and also portraying the bad boy/rapper image. I much prefer this layout to the one of the NME contents page, I think it looks much more professional as it is not overcrowded and just tells the audience what they need to know about where to find the articles they want.