Analysis 2 Of Front Cover: Rolling Stone

Rolling Stones magazine is typically known as a rock magazine; however, occasionally they do introduce other genres. Some may argue that ‘Rolling Stones’ isn’t a rock magazine but a hybrid. The uses and gratifications of this magazine is personal identity, the demographic will connect and identify themselves with particular artists/genres. The aspect is even greater within this issue, ’20 years on Nirvana’, the cover contains a very nostalgic type atmosphere; original fans of Nirvana will look at this cover and will personally relate back to the days when Nirvana were the height of the rock/music industry, starting a revolution where original fans would have been included . This gives us an idea to the age range of this issues particular demographic. At the time Nirvana’s fan base would have been teens of maybe 15 onwards; so ’20 years on’ concludes that this issue’s target audience is 35 years of age and onwards. While the secondary audience will be younger, newer fans; to add the secondary audience may consist of people whom are interested in Amy Winehouse, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and so forth. This links to the pick and mix theory; feeding the demographic a variety of topics in which they can choose or not choose to read producing a wider and more diverse target market.

The masthead is in the form of the traditional typography used for Rolling Stones house style. The masthead is coloured red, yes this is their house style but using the colour red makes the masthead stand out since, of course, red is the most notable colour to the human eye. Especially contrasting this with a black and white back ground, adds to the intensity of the colour; further making the masthead more noticeable to Rolling Stones demographic. The mastheads house style includes a drop shadow of the colour black, this gives the effect that the masthead has been embossed; this strengthens the masthead. Some may agree that the use of red and black has connotations to the sub culture of ‘Goth’, stereotypically the colours favoured by ‘Goths’ are black and red, to add they are known to listen to rock/dark music; linking back to the rock magazine Rolling Stones. Lastly, there is superimposition within this cover; this is typical of successful and well known magazines such as Rolling stones. Even though the masthead is partly covered; Rolling Stones demographic will instantly know what magazine it is.

The cover models/main image is of Nirvana, an old image taken back in their glory days. I don’t know whether tis photo was originally taken in black and white or if the editor made it this way. But the black and white effect adds to this nostalgic atmosphere. While looking at this, the feeling of nostalgia arises; this is only made even more possible from the use of black and white. This feeling makes the cover/issue more relatable to the demographic. The ideology of a ‘rock star’ is very apparent in this photo, from there long wild hair to the ‘I don’t give a damn’ fashion sense, the iconography links very well to a classic rock and Nirvana’s sub-genre of grunge. Again fans of this style will easily and personally relate to this style. As for direct address, Kurt Cobain is looking directly at the camera/audience; instantly stealing away the attention from the other 2 band members but after all he was the lead singer, it’s only normal for this to happen.

The tagline line is simply ‘Nirvana’; they don’t need an introduction because they’re still such a huge and iconic band across the globe. The font size is large and bold to grab the attention of the demographic while creating anchorage between the picture and text; using Nirvana’s house style for their band logo. While looking at the cover it’s odd to see that the tagline appears to be slightly larger than the masthead, yes the tagline is important but the masthead is the most important factor of a magazine. It isn’t too good if the tagline stills away attention from the masthead. Along with the tagline is information here to draw even more attention from the audience using language such as; ‘Inside their legendary Aussie tour’. Using the word ‘inside’ gives the idea that this story is exclusive, it’s on a need to know basis. Fans of Nirvana will want to read about their ‘legendary’ tour and the word ‘legendary’, the word itself has a high status; why was their tour so ‘legendary’? W            ell read and you’ll find out. The way to use language can make or break an issue, using the right words will fully grab the demographics attention. On the right hand side, the cover features cover lines, designed to lure the audience in, giving them a variety to read from. Unlike most magazines this cover doesn’t use direct address when it comes to language e.g. ‘you’ or ‘your’; instead the magazine is talking specifically about the artist themselves such as ‘Red Hot Chilli Peppers, their unstoppable groove’. Some may argue that this has been done because the reader wants to personally relate to the artist not the other way round, so the lack of direct address doesn’t make a difference to how effective the cover lines are.

Unlike Kerrang, the structure of this cover is simple, neat and tidy using formal typography. From this that Rolling Stones are aiming to reach more of an older but more mature audience juxtapose to Kerrang aiming for a teen based demographic. To add the structure of the magazine follows the natural eye guide line, invisibly forming the shape of a Z; this makes the magazine as a whole easier to read and more aesthetically pleasing. Lastly, the cover includes a skyline; extra information is added to give further details to the demographic to what they might find inside this magazine.

I know it is rather hard to analysis an issue covering a topic from 20 years ago along using an image from that time period but I have chosen this particular issue because over the decades the Rolling Stones have become more and more about pop and hip pop. At the end I want to produce a rock magazine that is more relatable to the classics while also having the modern twist added. I know it’s best to research modern day rock magazines but also to find issues that relate to the classics so I can find that balance.

Analysis 1 Of Front Cover: Kerrang

The uses and gratifications of this magazine is personal and entertainment, the cover links to the style of the demographic and fans within the genre of rock. Kerrang is a well-known rock magazine across the United Kingdom, strictly only featuring artists/bands from the genre of rock. Featuring artists/bands such as; Bring Me The Horizon, Don Broco, Muse ETC… and in this case Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance. Gerard Way; the cover model is represented in some ideologies of a rock/punk star such as the roughly styled, dyed red hair. Some may argue that red is a rather expressive colour this suggests that the dyed red hair connotes rather well with rock which is usually known as a rather expressive genre. On the other hand, Gerard seems to be wearing a racer jacket and leather gloves, yes the leather gloves may follow the ideology of a rock star whilst the racer jacket does not. A possibility to why this has been done; is to celebrate another aspect of ‘rock’; individuality. Individuality is a crucial factor within the music industry, especially rock. The cover may suggest that Gerard is just expressing his own style. This appeals to the demographic because the audience o0f modern rock is typically seen as individuals whom express themselves through things as dyed hair. Gerard is looking directly at the camera, this creates a sense of direct address towards the target market, and his facial expression is rather ‘laid back’ some may say that this is unusually for a genre that is known to be more sinister in a sense but another aspect of rock is rather care free. Do his ‘laid back’ facial expression relates to the care free or ‘I don’t care’ attitude that the genre of rock contains.

The masthead follows the same house style Kerrang always use, like any other magazine. From time to time, Kerrang change the colour of the masthead depending on the background. In this case, the colour is white upon black; the use of a black and white contrast here makes the masthead stand out/eye catching The masthead appears to be broken like shattered glass this links to the sterotype/idea that rock is an aggressive/expressive genre.. The mast head is behind Gerard, this follows the same codes and conventions of other big magazines; since Kerrang is a well-known magazine with a rather large following they don’t need to make the masthead apparent for their audience to know that it is Kerrang. The colour scheme used throughout the cover is read, white, black and yellow. This has been done because these colours are very contrasting, clashing together; again this use of the colour scheme makes the cover as a whole stand out, whilst highlighting text so the demographics eye’s would be instantly drawn to the main stories. The use of the colour red may suggest anchorage between the highlighted text and Gerard’s hair; this neatens up the overall aesthetic appeal of the front cover.

The name of the band (My Chemical Romance) is dominate across this cover, allowing the demographic to know what band this month’s issue is all about, the text also contains anchorage; within the ‘O’ there appears to be a black widow, this symbolises death a rather dark topic which can be associated with rock. The anchorage of the black widow relates to the band, they’re called ‘My Chemical Romance’, the black widow is poisoners which relates to ‘chemical’ such as chemical reactions. The black widow is also known for devouring their mate which is associated with a rather abstract idea of romance, giving the idea that ‘My Chemical Romance’ is a deadly one. This also links into Richards Dyer’s ‘star’ theory; the use of big acts such as My Chemical Romance is more likely to raise attention and sales of this issue rather than using a small, not well-known act. The pull quote on the top “we found a new world” and the text above naming this “EXCLUSIVE” creates the sense of importance surrounding the pull quote this in itself creates more attraction to the article. The idea is that fans will wonder why this article is exclusive and will want to read on into the magazine to find out. The cover line below “danger days: the inside story” again creates an atmosphere of importance, the word “danger” has adventurous connotations towards it. “The inside story” emits an aura of secrecy, subconsciously manipulating the audience, tempting them to find out ‘the inside story’. Whilst finishing off with an explanation mark, adding to this importance.

Sell lines along the right hand side of the cover features other bands of interest; Bring Me The Horizon and Limp Bizkit again this applies to the ‘Star’ theory, using other big acts attracts a wider audience whom are interested in them, in some cases certain factions of the demographic maybe more interested in the sell line acts rather than the main. This creates a wider appeal thus raising issue sales.

The over uses secondary images, this gives the audience an indication of what to expect/find in this magazine. In this case, below the secondary images is text saying “hall of fame poster special”, including freebies will furthermore attract the audience. Using secondary images to inform the demographic to what posters they’ll find inside, fans within the demographic will see that there is a poster of their favourite artist e.g. Ozzy Osbourne, yes they’ll pick up the magazine for the articles but also for the posters inside. The other use of secondary images informs the target market that this cover is one of four collective’s covers. This creates the sense that this cover is special compared to others, this will attract members of the target market to buy and keep this “collectors cover”.

There are flash buttons, one containing the text “the UK’s biggest gig guide”, this will in turn attract gig lovers creating the idea that you should purchase this magazine, if you want to know everything you need to know about gigs hence the statement “UK’s biggest gig guide”.  The second flash button is long the strapline; “PLUS” is loud and proud informing the audience that there is even more within this magazine and this is detailed along the strapline so you know exactly what is contained within. Lastly the banner, this again gives even more details of what you can expect inside, using well known bands which will further attract their fans within the demographic.

All together this cover follows the same codes and conventions as other magazines as well as using ideologies to connect with their demographic and the genre of music. Every technique used has been designed to create the most attention and interest that it could possible do within it’s demographic.

Evaluation Of My Finshed Product

Now that I have finished my school magazine ‘Next Step’, I believe that the piece of material I have produced fits my chosen demographic, 6^th formers. I have made suitable and exceptional front cover that suits my target audience, 6^th formers from the ages of 16 – 18. Had saying this; I do believe that my contents page lacks some codes and conventions of school magazines. My magazine is based on the transition from Secondary to 6^th form to add to this, my magazine focuses on the near future of all 6^th formers, hence the name ‘Next Step’.  The magazine I have produced is here to help A level students survive the chaos known as 6^th form; this includes topics such as; exams, coursework and the ‘next step’ in life, university or career possibilities.

As my demographic will be young adults, I have made my cover and contents page rather basic in terms of language. I have kept the language very colloquial. Even though my demographic aren’t young kids anymore, I feel that it is inappropriate to have language that is considered ‘formal’. I believe that the language chosen best suits my demographic because at the end of the day, they’re still ‘young’ adults. Some may argue that un-formal text is far more relatable to my target audience than formal text is. I have kept my cover lines short and sweet; obviously I wouldn’t want to bore my demographic. My cover lines include linguistic techniques such as rhetorical questions and imperatives like; ‘want to improve your cv?, the rhetorical question is designed to drag the demographic in using a very relatable topic. I’ve also highlighted ‘your cv?’ in a different colour from the rest of the cover line, because of this it stands out more and strengthens the direct address.  I could have made improvements to one cover line: ‘want to know where your prom will be held’, if I changed it to: ‘choose where your prom will be held, read inside for full details’. This cover line would have been so much more effective for the fact that I have chosen a likeable subject that students could have their say on. This again, strengths the direct address, giving students the option and improving the chances of them reading on.

Therefore, since my chosen target audience is from the ages of 16-18 and go to 6^th form. I have chosen my cover model to be around the same age group, wearing her normal clothes. Clearly this relates to A level students, my demographic will know straight away from seeing this that this magazine is for them. The mise en scene or background in the front cover was an image taken within the school, of course my background directly relates to school magazines. I feel have been successful producing a front cover relatable to my demographic but yet, still there are some improvements that could have been made such as; if I took a photo of my cover model in the 6^th form area then it would have directly related to 6^th form. If I had props included like a university handbook then this would have created anchorage between the main image and the tagline ‘uni’s that want you’. To also add to this, if I took an image of my cover model on the stairs then this would have created anchorage between the main image and the masthead ‘Next Step’.

To add, I have made sure that my magazine fits all of the codes and conventions a magazine should have. I have included all the basics a magazine includes while in some aspects adding my own twist, such as my masthead ‘Next Step’ the ‘Step’ is slightly lifted to represent stairs. I have added a footer that includes extra information giving details to the demographic of what they’ll find inside.  I have included various taglines detailing the main stories, I believe I’ve added a nice balance; the tag lines do not over-crowded the front cover. Compared to over school magazines, my front cover is rather toned down but I believe this works since my target audience is of an older generation, a childish over-crowded front cover wouldn’t be suitable for them. A matured toned down cover is much more relatable. The colour scheme chosen works very nicely, I choose a mixture of red, orange and white because these colours contrastingly work together. I choose red as my main colour, purely for the fact that red is the most eye-catching colour of them all; this makes my front cover far more noticeable and aesthetically pleasing. I didn’t feel the need to add secondary images to my front cover for the fact that it is not my style, I believe if I did then it would have lowered the overall quality of my end result.

Unfortunately, my context page lets down the overall quality. I’m not afraid to admit that I could have done a lot more. When I look at it, I find it rather dull and boring; to a certain degree rather un-professional. I do like that I kept to the same house font and colour scheme like most magazine, like in all aspects it worked very nicely. When it comes down to it, it does lack what is needed for it to be successful, like I said it’s rather dull and boring. I should’ve added more than one image and been creative in the way I’ve presented my text. I know my target audience are of a more mature level compared to secondary/primary school students but this still doesn’t mean that my context page could have been more fun and creative so that it would be more relatable and aesthetically pleasing to my target audience. I fit into my demographic, when I see my context page; it does just not interest me. It really does affect the overall quality of the end result.

In conclusion, my front cover has been pretty successful. It follows the codes and conventions of magazines, relates nicely to my demographic and has been completed to a high and professional standard. I know now, through analysing that I could have added a couple of extra techniques allowing me to have a product that needs no improvements. I should experiment with all techniques so that my finished product is something I would expect to find in a school or any magazine. As for my context page, I need to do further research into what makes a successful context page. To put in the same amount of effort I put into the front cover, I know the front cover is the most important but the context page is up there.