Monday, 2 February 2009

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.

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