Front Cover Overview

All the front covers are taken from the music magazine named Country Weekly and so they all have been designed with the intention of attracting fans of country music. Through carrying out an investigation on them and by comparing the different front covers to each other, it is possible to identify shared features on each of the covers and recognise the repeated patterns.

The six front covers all feature the typical magazine front cover conventions. We can see the expected general and layout conventions, such as the main image dominating the front cover, the main sell-line that is positioned in the centre of the front cover along with other sell-lines that are around the main image and the masthead being written in a bold and dominating font, following the genre of music.

As well as this we can see the repeated patterns through each front cover. Each of the front covers features an artist as the main image. Obviously, we expect to see a music artist in the main image, but the repetition of a solo artist on most of Country Weekly's magazine front covers shows that bands are rarely seen in country music. This can be because most atists use few instruments during their songs, most commonly there is an acoustic guitar played by the singer meaning bands usually consist of two people rather than larger numbers. Also during live performances solo artists play the guitar when they are singing the song meaning the whole performance is simple and easy causing bands to be a unique and rar appearance in the world of country. IN each of the front covers, we can see the artist is positioned in the centre of the frame, they are looking at the camera, achieving direct address creating a connection to the reader. By using this positioning and pose the audience feel as though they are connected with the covering artists making them interested in buying the magazine.This is repeated through all six magazine front covers of Country Weekly. This is a powerful way of attratcting the magazine's audience, as the artist will be well known and easily recognisable, having the most fans and be popular with the audience.

Most of the aritsts that feature on the front covers are male, however there are two female artists. This is showing that females and males are both likely to be seen in country music however there are generally more male country artists

than female. The use of more male artists on the front cover of these front cover could be related to the feminine audience that Country Weekly has. Country Weekly is generally a more gossip based country music magazine and mainly females prefer gossip magazines.

We can see other similartities in the mise-en-scene elements that are presented on each of the front covers. In terms of costume, the males artists are wearing a shirt and jeans with some in a cowboy hat, the females are wearing simple dresses. The colours are brown earthy colours and blues, this emphasises the genre of the music magazine as well as the link between each of the front covers. Many country songs are based on relationships as this is what makes the songs relatable and simple. Many country singers want to sing about personal experience in life meaning most singers sing about their relationships. This is a look that is similar with male and female artists within the genre of country. On the front cover with Carrie Underwood she is wearing a sequined top with black shiny leggins, this is an unusual costume for a female country singer as she looks more pop. Also she is holding a microphone and she is standing with a wide stance making her look dominant and strong, contrasting with the sterotypical view of female country singers as many of them are said to be girly and weaker than males. By Carrie Underwood being the artist of country music who has many well know songs such as 'See you again' and 'Something in the water' she is bringing a new light to female country singers, as she is showing that they are successful like artsits such as Katy Perry; a pop singer.