TOP OF THE POPS MAGAZINE ANALYSISANALYSIS OF THE FRONT COVER, CONTENTS PAGE AND DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD OF MAGAZINE 1 (TOP OF THE POPS JESSIE J EDITION, OCTOBER 2013)

By Sandeep Shoker

Front Cover

Main ImageThe main image is of Jessie J, she is placed in the centre of the magazine showing that this issue of the TOTP

magazine is about her. She is wearing a bright yellow bra top which is showing some flesh, this clearly

indicates the idea of fun with the use of bright colours. She is wearing a big

gold chain, this adds edge to the cover and appeals to its target

audience well, as she is seen as a role model.

FlashThe flash used on this particular

magazine consists of a serious and important story, this shows that the

producers of the magazine want to also show a more serious side to real life

situations and stories.

MastheadThe masthead is on the top left of the magazine it takes up

quite a lot of space, it is in a bright orange text box, including bold white writing, this is done to add a clear element of fun and gives the magazine a wacky edge. The masthead has got stars surrounding the text used as a boarder this highlights the strong

element of fun.

Main cover lineThe main cover line is ‘At home with

Jessie J’ this cover line begins using a large font and pink writing

but as it says, Jessie J the font gets much larger and is placed in a

bright yellow text box, this makes it clear and stands out to shadow the image and show that the issue is

based on her.

Pull QuoteThe pull quote is of Jessie J saying ‘you think I watch TV in a catsuit’ the fact that she uses the word ‘you’ makes it informal and pulls the audience in as they feel she

is talking to them.

Date/Barcode/PriceThe date/barcode and price and all placed central

but closer to the bottom as they are placed on Jessie J’s midriff, they are quite big in comparison to other magazine covers. This is done because

the target audience will need to be able to see the price, as it is important to the custom of this

magazine. It is also written in purple writing again, tying in with the colour theme of bright colours and

standing out.

HeaderThe header is a long running bright

purple strip which has an image on it and reads ‘meat your new crush- the

vamps’ this is used to entice the target audience in as it persuades the

audience to buy the magazine and they have a chance in meeting ‘the

vamps’.

Left ThirdThe left third on the TOTP magazine

includes the latest gossip in which the target audience would want to see, it

includes images and small descriptions of what is covered, it is laid out on the left

hand side so that it can be seen on a shelf in store.

• Who is the target audience for the TOTP?

The target audience for the Top Of The Pops magazine is mainly young girls/teens age ranging from 10-15, it is aimed at those who enjoy listening to pop music, celebrity gossip and fashion.

• How does the TOTP attract it’s audience?

TOTP attract their target audience by using a range of bright colours, large texts and, celebrities/artists who are in the charts at the present time.

Audience

Masthead/ContentsThe masthead on this magazine’s contents page is right at the top

aligned central, it is in a white box, using a green font and it written in capital letters. Because of this, it

shows that it is important, however it is very small in comparison to the other title which reads ‘Inside your Mag’. This is used to connect with

the audience and make them feel like it is their magazine, this is more

informal that ‘contents’ and therefore is much bigger, bolder and is a large bright green text ox, using black and white writing, therefore showing more

importance.

Main ImageThe main image on the contents page is of the front cover, this is

done to highlight where everything shown on the front cover is in the magazine, this shows that all the main and important stories are on the front cover. Many other main and secondary images are used

on this contents page, this makes it bright, colourful and appealing to

the audience.

Copy/EditorialThe editorial on the contents page is an

informal copy from a staff writer, it is directed at girls by starting it off with

‘Hey, girls!’ The punctuation used shows the excitement and expression in the

text, this draws the audience in. The fact that it is directed at girls is also

emphasized in the colour scheme as bright bold colours are used like pink

and purple but pastel colours like green are also used to make the magazine

look attractive and interesting.

Headings/SubheadingsThe headings used on the contents

page of the TOTP magazine are large bold, and have used a white font using

capital letters again, this makes it stand out well especially against the

bright green background/text box. This again clearly emphasizes the element

of fun and happiness. The sub headings used are much smaller descriptions of what is included in each section of the magazine, they are in a black text and some key

information is in bold, this is done as it is pointing out what is important in the magazine for the target audience, and highlights what will draw the audience

in.

Contents

Double Page Spread

ImagesOn this double page spread we would expect to see

perhaps an editorial and an image or two, however, in this case on the TOTP magazine 8 main images are used, this

makes the double page spread extremely colourful and interesting as some images are different shape, sizes and

colours. This links well to the target audience as this is something they would want to see rather then having to

read a long editorial. This therefore would pull the audience in, the fact that it is a page of embarrassing

images of artists and celebrities may entice the audience in as it is not so serious and has a large comical element.

By-LineThe by-line used on the double page spread is running down the left hand side nearer to the bottom, is shows who it is written by and who the photographs are taken by. It is written using a small fine print, mainly because

this is something the main amount of the target audience will not be interested in seeing this.

TitleThe title used on the double page spread of the

TOTP magazine reads ‘clelebs exposed’ however, the title may not be clear as the same as the

contents page although the masthead is in capital letters and have a white boarded background it is very small at the top of the page, this is because throughout this magazine the informal mastheads

are almost hidden. This encourages the target audience to see the larger captioned title being ‘awkward’ This is in large, bold black font over a

bright red text box background. This stands out on the double page spread and entices the audience in.

LanguageThe language used on this double page spread is very comical and informal, this is because the target audience is young teenagers and they would want this type of language to be used on the double page spread. The language used links well to the images as the captions make the images of the celebrities embarrassing as

well as comical.

Identify the elements that connect the 3 different parts of the magazine.

• In the TOTP magazine many elements are sued to connect to front cover, contents page and double page spread together.

• One is colour, the magazine do not use one on-going colour throughout the magazine but they do use a range of bright colours including, pink, green, yellow, orange and purple.

• The elements of the magazine also link as the layout used is quite wacky as not all of the images or text have central, left or right alignments, this links the cover, contents and double page spread well because they all have an edge to their layout.

• Also, the 3 elements have a clear connection my the use of font as all the title's use a clear bold, black font which stands out amongst everything else on each page.

House Style• A clear house style is used throughout the Top Of The

Pops magazine, the titles used are bold and big. Also, the colours used are very bright and colourful, this is used to make the magazine stand out from other music magazines as well attract the right target audience. The use of bright colours will make young teenagers want to buy the magazine. The language used throughout the magazine is very informal and comical this will make the audience more inclined to buy the magazine as it has a chatty flare to it.

History of Top of the Pops• The first ever Top Of The Pops magazine was launched in

February 1995, it instantly became famous by using The Spice Girls on its front cover and gave then their nicknames.

• Whilst the TV show was on going, it had been marketing the missing gap between the magazines Smash Hits and NME.

• However, as the magazine became more popular, the content began to change, including less music content, and focusing more on celebrity gossip and fashion, this aslo lead to a change in the target audience as it began to market for young girls.