Magazine ResearchMagazine Research

Abbie Hollis

• Publishing: NME has been published weekly since March 1952 and is in association with the company IPC advertising.

Editor- Krissi Murison

Publishing Director- Paul Cheal

Publisher- Faith Hill

• Target audience: Aged between 15-25 (the average age of their readers are around 23), who are generally interested in indie/rock music. Though in the 70’s NME changed their style to punk/rock as that was popular in that era. This shows their dedication on keeping to a large target audience.

• Circulation: NME reaches over one million music fans every week. Total circulation- 38,486 (ABC July - December 2009)

Masthead: Large font, contrasting colour to it’s background. Using only three letters makes the magazine stand out on newsstands.

Inserts: Creates another reason for the reader to pick up that particular

magazine.

Other stories: Tells the reader what else is included in the magazine. The two colours, red and white, are included here as the font.

Main Image: One large image is used which is more effective in catching the readers attention. It’s a spontaneous shot at a concert which immediately indicates the magazine includes the subject. The persons focus is indirect.

Date, price, tagline etc is shown under the masthead, or generally by the barcode.

Main article: This would be one of the main reasons why the magazine would be bought. The Large font size, which is the same as the copy used for the headlines of the other stories. An alliteration is used as well as an exclamation mark to help make the headline jump out to the reader.

The image on the left covers 110% of the left page, which immediately draws your eye onto it.

The headline is large and has a contrasting colour to it’s background. It’s interestingly at the bottom of the left page rather than on top of the right, where the article actually begins.

This copy acts like a sub-heading which tells you a brief description of the article so the reader can easily have an insight on what they are about to read.

A quote within the article is printed in much larger bolder font. It’s another way to show the reader what type of information is in the article and could interest them more.

The copy is small which allows a larger article to fit onto the page.

The article is laid out as though a newspaper article, this makes its clear and easy for the audience to read.

A caption is used to illustrate the image and tell the reader who or what is in the picture.

“Noise”: a feature within the magazine that is perhaps carried out week after week.

A direct focus is used which makes the reader feel more involved and catches their eye.

The image is posed, yet seems more relaxed.

A small colour theme of pink and purple sets a trend and completes the look of the article

• Publishing: The publishing company is Bauer Consumer Media with the editor being Nichola Browne

• Target audience: “Individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty.” (Audience profile- Bauer media). The target audience is 16-25 year olds and specific towards rock music fans. However in recent years, the age of the audience has dropped and it is more 14-17 year olds who tend to buy and read it due to its featured bands being more ‘poppy’.

• Circulation: The total circulation is 43,253. 41,856 of those being in the UK and the rest in other countries.

Main image: Taken at a photo shoot, with the band members placed so that they “scream out” to the reader. The use of multiple people makes the cover look more cluttered. The bands focus is very direct which draws in the reader.

Main article: The large font size and contrasting colour makes it stand out. The titled words gives it a more ‘edgy’ feel to it. The copy under the headline is a different colour and font and uses an exclamation mark which again adds to jumping out to the reader.

Inserts: Again, adds another reason why the reader should buy this magazine. The “free poster special” makes it seem like a limited edition. Unlike NME, this magazine has used multiple images to attract the readers eye, this also makes the page look more busy.

Masthead: The font is “shattered” which makes it look more ‘rocky’. The exclamation mark again makes the masthead stand out more and the use of Black on white obviously makes the writing stand out.

Strips of extra features on the top and bottom of the page gives another reason for the reader to pick up the magazine. The use of one or two words means you can fit more on the page and gives a short insight on what the reader can look forward to.

Bar code, issue number, price and the month is set out much smaller in one place near a corner of the magazine.

Use of image as a background. The dark colour gives it an edgier feel.

The use of “world exclusive” makes it seem as though this is a limited edition and unique.

Bar on the right that gives extra information on the band being interviewed. It gives the reader background knowledge on the artist or just interesting facts about them.

Smaller images relevant to the main article and the larger image.

Captions are used to give an insight on what the picture is about or who is in the image.

The website is included again within the magazine to lure the reader to look on to it for extra information and the latest music news.

Subheading to show the reader what the article includes.

The article is set out in two columns so that it’s easier to read. The font is very small as well which makes it easier to fit more text onto the page.

The headline looks untidy, with its ‘scruffy’ font and titled frame. The exclamation mark makes it stand out and the use of different colours for a headline I found can be quite common for a music magazine.

• Publishing: first published in October 1986, again with the publishing company Bauer Media Group. Paul Rees is the editor.

• Target audience: An older generation of music lovers with the age range being 25+ rather than young adults and teens. The genre of Q is mostly focused around classic rock.

• Circulation: 130,179 as of June 2007

Words like “world exclusive” makes the magazine unique and completely interests the reader to pick up the magazine.

Just one letter makes the magazine stand out against other magazines.

“Skinny” font looks more sophisticated and tidier. Large black font stands out against the background and is ‘behind’ the image, which in turn makes the main image stand out.

Colours used are red, white, black and gold. The limited use of colour isn’t too striking which again makes the front cover look tidier.

Extras to give the reader another reason to buy this magazine.

Main image is taken at a photo shoot. The artist is very mainstream compared to the other magazines. This probably attracts more readers as they know who is on the front cover. The emotion portrayed in the image can be reflected through to the reader which can make them pick up the magazine.

There are a variety of fonts, which adds depth to the front cover.

The general layout of the magazine isn’t as cluttered but much tidier which makes it look more expensive and classy.

Main image: Of a very mainstream current artist. Takes up 100 % of the left page, which catches the readers eye quickly as they turn the page. Direct focus also draws in the reader. The image was taken at a photo shoot which makes the article more sophisticated and “professional”

Caption: The text box is in red, the house colour. This also makes the text stand out. A caption gives the reader an insight on who is in the image and why.

Features: “Cash for questions…” an exclusive interview to a certain artist that the readers have asked Q to interview. This makes it unique to this magazine as the reader will know what to look out for each week.

Layout: Set out in traditional columns which makes it easier for the reader to follow the interview. It also makes the general look of the magazine seem more sophisticated and ‘tidy’.

Sub-heading: Tells the reader what the article is about and gives short words or phrases which would draw the reader in, for example “You demanded answers from Barbados' most famous R&B singer. She talks firearms, the body, and who pays the bill when she's Jay-Z.” This was for this particular article.

Colours: The white background on the article keeps it simple whereas the black background on the picture contrasts against this. The use of “washed out” simple colours doesn’t distract the reader and makes the article more simple to look at. The image takes all focus from the readers eye.