textual analysis - covers

I will next analyise music magazine covers. Front covers are used to attract the target audience and are the first thing the audience will see; therefore it is the front cover that will grab their attention. The aim of a front cover is also to keep loyal readers, who buy all the magazines, and to grab the attention of new readers and attract to them. A front cover needs to stand out amongst all the competators on the shelf.

The kerrang front cover is targeted at a hard rock and metal audience. Everything within the cover is targeted at this audience and draws this audience in. For example, the logo (looks like shattered glass from a guitar sound) and the large picture is of avenged sevenfold, a very popular metal band. This picture portrays the band as being cool and this may make some of the audience buy into their ‘cool’ in the picture. The front cover is also very busy. This may attract to the target audience and may represent the busy in metal songs. (Metal songs are very busy). It also mentions lots of bands around the cover. This may be to attract to as many people as possible (there are many different kinds or rock and metal, the magazine may be trying to attract to as many as possible). For example, Iron Maiden, trivium, machine head and red hot chilli peppers and panic at the disco. It targets people of all different genres within metal and rock. It also says ‘free’ poster. Therefore the audience feel like they’re getting more than their money’s worth. The way it mentions lots of bands also suggests to the readers that their getting their money’s worth. It also uses hard edged words such as headbangers, dangerous, intense, violence, loud, sex, drugs to attract the target audience. The slogan also attracts the target audience. ‘Life is loud’ suggests to the reader that their lifestyle is all about metal etc. And the readers may buy into this.

The name, kerrang, represents the thrashing of a guitar. This represents right from the start, the genre of the magazine and who it will relate to. The capital letters and explanation mark also make the magazine stand out. The name is also shattered, to represent a smashed window from the sheer sound of the ‘kerrang’ from the guitar. This shows the rock stereotype, being loud and noisy. The purpose of this being that it represents the style of the magazine and will attract the target audience.

The NME front cover is used to attract the target audience and is the first thing the audience will see; therefore it is the front cover that will grab their attention. On this front cover, the main picture is of Morrissey. Morrissey is an influential person for the target audience, therefore when they see him on the cover; it will attract their attention (especially since he is not in magazines very much anymore). It also uses sell lines, such as the free posters (of band members that target audience will like) and by saying ‘free’ in big writing, it makes the reader feel they got more than their money’s worth, or that they will get more than their money’s worth by buying the magazine. It also has band names scattered about the magazine, some of these bands are targeted at the indie audience, and others are into more pop or pop rock cultures, to perhaps try and attract a larger audience and sell more magazines. It has live reports for panic! At the disco and fallout boy, this means that anybody going to see them live will be attracted to the magazine as they will perhaps want to know what to expect or know how good they are live. It also has an ‘exclusive’ interview with the Kaisers. The use of the word ‘exclusive’ tells the audience that they can’t read it anywhere else; therefore they will be more attracted to the magazine and may think it’s more worth buying. The band is also liked by many different types of people. This front cover also shows morrisey (an iconic figure of the genre of music of the magazine) on a personal level by saying 'when in rome get drunk with morrissey' this is typical of indie music by not showing the band as being superior, as opposed to metal where the band is almost seen as more superior than the reader. The nme logo is also used to stand out to the target audience; the target audience for this magazine is for people into indie, pop rock etc. And is the prime magazine for many popular musical genres today. The logo is very simple. This is very much to represent to the indie audience. For example, indie music is very simple and what they wear is very simple etc. It also uses a bright colour to stand out to the audience and that is also something else that appeals to indie audience (it stands out) and everybody loves the smiths. Underneath it also says ‘new musical express’ which is what NME stands for. This also attracts to the indie audience because it says ‘new’ and suggests underground, unknown bands etc. This is also another thing indie people are into, underground bands.

The metal hammer cover attracts to the metal and hard metal audience. It also sticks to the metal audience and is not as varied. This is to perhaps keep all of the metal readers interested as if it was more mainstream they would go off the magazine. The main picture is of Phil Anselmo, the lead vocalists of pantera, which is a very big and popular band within the metal genre. This will attract the target audience. It also says world exclusive, which suggests that they can’t read about Phil Anselmo's view on Dimebag Darrel’s death anywhere else. Everybody in the metal scene was also distraught by his death and probably wanted to read about Phil Anselmo’s view and feelings about it. The cover is also very busy and represents the music, as metal music is very busy. The magazine also comes with a free cd with many popular bands within the musical genre this is targeted at. This means that the reader will feel they’re getting a great deal and are defiantly getting their money’s worth (the cd is also exclusive to metal hammer). They even get free stickers and posters. All of the little pictures etc. Within the cover also attract the target audience. For example, guitar picks swords, guitars and guitar knobs etc. Where it says ‘the big four tour, is it one?’ it also suggests that the answer is within the pages and the audience needs to buy the magazine to find out. This will also be very affective towards people that are anxious to find out whether that tour is on. It also uses quotes to draw the reader in and make them want to read the articles and buy the magazine. For example, “I was a wounded animal striking out at everybody’ (Phil anselmo presumably talking about the death of his former band member and friend being shot). This creates anxiety and makes the reader want to read the whole article. The metal hammer logo is designed to attract the target audience because of its use of typical metal, weird shapes and sharp edges etc. It may also suggest the same look of a guitar used frequently in metal music (flying v guitars for example). I can conclude from these front covers that the front covers are all about grabbing the attention of potential readers. It does this by using sell lines, large pictures (of popular bands to the potential audience) and free gifts etc. How busy the cover is also seems to depend on the kind of music of the magazine. For example, the metal/rock magazines are very busy and it represents the kind of music. Wheras the indie magazine has quite a laid back, simple design and this also represents indie music. I have also concluded that in all of these, the picture of an artist is the main attraction of a front cover and takes up a large proportion of it. I can also see that most of the magazines have picutres of the whole band.

New Musical Express (NME) is called that due to the fact that it is bring us new music and it wants to make that clear. The fact that it is presenting their target audience with new music appeals to their target audience of 15-20 year old males want to hear about the latest bands. The word ‘Express’ holds connotations that the NME is unstoppable like a train and everyone should 'be on board'.

NME targets predominantly male, 15-22 year old, indie, rock and possibly slightly emo fans.

The main image of the magazine is of the band ‘The Last Shadow Puppets’. Both members are dressed similarly and have a similar wide-eyed expression to entice the audience. There is a direct mode of address to further allure the viewer as they are instantaneously involved in the magazine. They are dressed similarly to signify the fact that they are in the same band which interests the reader. They are also wearing black which contrasts with the simple white background, making them stand out more. The black also represents darkness and that the band arent 'pure'. The band shown

‘The Last Shadow Puppets’ are an indie band which instantly shows the type of audience they are trying to appeal to. They are both male which further denotes which demographic they are trying to appeal to. They are also trying to relate to a younger audience and we can see this because they are a new band and both of the members are young.

Sell lines are also prominent features of the front cover as the reader is informed and enticed by what is in the magazine. One of the sell lines in particular appeals to their demographic: “SXSW Special – 12 brilliant new bands we’ve found for you.” As the target audience is desperate to be the first in the know about new bands, this sell line creates a sense of urgency for the target audience. The masthead, NME, is obscured by Alex Turner’s head. This is because the name of the magazine is already very popular and established, and because they want to promote the fact that Alex turner (also in arctic monkeys) is on the cover, therefore aiming to gain more than the loyal readers. This decision is not only aesthetically pleasing but also establishes their prominent reputation.

Primarily, the colours used on the front cover are red and white.This makes the band stand out as it is generally colours that dont stand out. The red also represents the magazines passion for music and it makes the name of the magazine stand out aswell as the cover stars, so people can see NME on the shelf. The colour scheme is also simple; this means that their target audience is not confused by the clutter and the cover lines, masthead and main image stand out. To further convey this simple yet effective image, there is a simple font style which helps the reader focus on the stories and the image clearly.