Front Covers of Magazines

Compare the front covers of two music magazines

 

                ‘Total Guitar’ magazine is a magazine aimed at teenagers/young adults, who mostly listen to rock/alternative music. ‘Classic Pop’ is a magazine aimed at adults over 30 years old.

                On the cover of ‘Total Guitar’ magazine, the background colours are dull, either black or grey, which links to the genre of magazine, however use bright colours, like pink or yellow to draw your eye to the main parts of the magazine, like the cover story. ‘Classic Pop’ also uses a similar technique, that the main colours are black and white. However the main picture on the cover (which links to the main article) is in colour, to show you what the main article will be about. Both magazine cover use yellow to draw your eye to that point. In ‘Total Guitar’ the guitar is yellow, which links to the masthead. In ‘Classic Pop’ the background for the words ‘New Magazine!’ are in yellow, to attracts new readers and to advertise the magazine.

                Another similarity that the covers share is the way that the pictures are used. On both covers, the main focus is the picture. On the cover for ‘Total guitar’, the picture is of someone from Greenday (main article), in the centre of the magazine, in black and white, however with bright pink lettering over and he is holding the yellow guitar. On the cover of ‘Classic Pop’ the picture is in colour compared to the plain background so it stands out. On both covers, there are also at least two other pictures of musicians, both are smaller to show they are sub-articles, and are both either down the sides or in the corners, and in colour. These pictures are different to the main pictures because they are mostly either taken of the band/musician in action, and are smaller. Both covers also have little pictures/icons. On the ‘Total Guitar’ magazine, there is a small picture of a guitar, down the right hand side, about halfway up the magazine, this links to the genre and masthead of the magazine. On the cover for ‘classic pop’, there are two little badges which might link to eighties bands, which is what the magazine is based upon.

 

                However, the magazine covers differ in many ways also. On the cover for ‘Total Guitar’ the main picture is placed over the title of the magazine. This may be because the magazine is already recognisable to the public, however it could make it unrecognisable to a consumer that has not brought it before. On the cover of ‘Classic Pop’, the masthead is clear and is in white against either a red or black background which makes it easy to read and instantly recognisable as that magazine.

 

                Both magazines use a cluster of three. The ‘total guitar’ cover uses band names as their cluster of three, which says “Mumford and sons, The Guess Who, Artic Monkeys”. The cluster of three is used a persuasive technique to show that there is a lot in the magazine, also the band names might appeal to their target audience. ‘Classis Pop’ also used the cluster of thee. “Eighties, electronic, electric”. Alliteration is also used. This could be so that the reader understands that the magazine is about eighties/electric music, and it could also be their slogan which could be easy to remember.

 

From looking at the magazine covers, I have picked out the main features of a music magazine cover and decided what appeals to me as a consumer, and what I will include in my music magazine cover. I like the idea that the colours used link to the genre of music, for example, dull colours link to rock music, and bright colours might link to a pop magazine. I will include this in my magazine to reflect the type of music that will be discussed in the magazine. I also think that the cluster of three is a good way to get your magazine recognised and remembers, and I will try to include this in my cover. I will also put the main story/picture in the centre of the magazine (almost as the background for the cover) and have sub-articles around the sides. When creating my cover however, I will not have the main picture covering the masthead of the magazine, as shown on the cover for ‘Total Guitar’.