Analysing magazine front covers

Analysing magazine front covers

• 1.
  ANALYSING MAGAZINE FRONT COVERS SELLING LINE MASTHEAD LEFTTHIRD MAIN IMAGE MAIN COVER LINE COVER LINES KICKER
• 2.
  The masthead isfound underneath the selling line, in this issue. It is the name of the magazine, “Rolling Stone”. For this magazine, the masthead is so recognisable that they do not even need to put the whole thing, they have cut the majority of it out with the image of Jay-z. The masthead can be what sells the magazine, along with selling lines and other things, the masthead is what defines the magazine and what everyone sees the magazine as. MASTHEAD ANALYSIS
• 3.
  The left thirdis used for the main cover lines and the unique selling points of the magazine. They are used on the left third of the front cover because that is what the consumer will see when they are stacked in a shop. For example, “50 GREAEST HIP-HOP SONGS OF ALL TIME”, which is the main cover line, is on the left third of the front cover because that is what will appeal to the reader and it is what will make the viewer buy the magazine. LEFT THIRD ANALYSIS
• 4.
  The magazine’s mainimage of Hip-Hop rap artist Jay-Z, looking very serious, sells the magazine. It tells the consumer straight away that this is who is going to be inside the magazine. The use of the close up on Jay- Z’s face shows the reader that he’s a very serious artist. Also the fact that they use such a drastically big image but then nothing on the cover to say what is inside makes the reader want to buy it to find out what is inside about him. MAIN IMAGE ANALYSIS
• 5.
  Selling Line Masthead Left Third MainImage Main Cover Line Cover Lines Flash Kicker ANALYSING MAGAZINE FRONT COVERS
• 6.
  The main coverline, usually found on the left third of the front cover, is used to display the main selling point of the magazine. For example, in this issue of Uncut magazine, the anthemic rock band “Oasis”, is displayed as the key feature of the magazine, so is big, bold letters, they have “OASIS”, to catch your eye and appeal to you so that you buy the magazine. This is very effective. MAIN COVER LINE ANALYSIS
• 7.
  The kicker, isa sentence underneath a head line, or cover line to describe what the article, or feature is about. As you can see, underneath the main cover line “OASIS”, there is a sentence “The inside story of their road to glory”. This is the kicker. It gives the consumer an idea of what they will be reading about if they bought the magazine. It is used to intrigue the viewer into buying the magazine. It’s usually quite snappy and very informative. KICKER ANALYSIS
• 8.
  Masthead House Style Main Image Subheadings CoverStory Font type Kicker ANALYSING CONTENTS PAGES
• 9.
  The house styleis the specific usage and editing conventions followed by writers and editors to ensure stylistic consistency. In the magazine “MOJO”, the house style is that they are always trying to look stylish and new. They do this by the use of the gold and black colour scheme, the slick look, and the image of a upper class man looking very fashionable and stylish. HOUSE STYLE ANALYSIS
• 10.
  The cover story,is the story on the front cover, usually the most important feature in the magazine. In this case the cover story is on Progressive Rock band “Pink Floyd”. The magazine has given this feature its own section to show how important it is, and how it is such a big deal. On the front cover, the cover story can be a feature that sells the magazine. If you like “Pink Floyd” a lot, then you will buy the magazine if it has a big spread on “Pink Floyd”. COVER STORY ANALYSIS
• 11.
  ANALYSING CONTENTS PAGES Masthead House Style MainImage Subheadings Cover Story Band Index Flash Subscription Advertisement
• 12.
  BAND INDEX ANALYSIS The bandindex is something in some music magazines that allow you to search for the name of a band. For example, if you liked Eric Clapton and you wanted to see if the issue you were buying had anything to do with him in it, you could go to the band index, look up E and find out if he was in the issue. If he was, the band index would tell you what page Eric Clapton is on. This comes in very useful if your audience is very wide, it means if they like a variety of different music, then it is easily accessible for them to find the artists they like.
• 13.
  SUBSCRIPTION ADVERTISEMENT ANALYSIS The subscriptionadvertisement is used by magazines and newspapers as a way of rewarding loyal customers and presenting readers with a cheaper way to keep reading the magazine. A bargain offer that will sway the reader into buying the magazine more often. For this subscription, they offer a discount from the next issues. They try and draw the reader in by offering good values, and they hope by doing this, that the consumer will carry on buying their product. It is a very effective way to get more readers buying every issue.