NME Magazine Analysis

  What is NME Magazine? 

The first magazine that I will be analysing is an issue from NME. Created by Theodore Ingham, NME is a British weekly journalism publication which has been publishing since 1952. The magazine focuses largely on rock, alternative and indie music, the magazines that NME publish appeal to me as I enjoy listening to the certain type of genre associated with the magazine. In the 1970s, NME magazine became the best selling British magazine, and to this present day is still one of the best selling music journalism in the UK.

I recently purchased an issue of NME, to study whether the magazine follows the rules and regualtions of a music magazine. The three main areas that i will be focusing on are the front cover, contents page and double page spread, as these features of a magazine easily present the conventions clearly and are fairly simple to point out and analyse.

  Front Cover

The front cover of a magazine is important to address the audience and entice them to read the magazine, as it includes a summary of the magazine, and must be pleasing to the eye. The main image displays an image of Liam Gallagher, an alternative/rock icon. The artist is shown from the shoulder upwards, which follows the normal regulations of a front cover. The artist is shown posing as a "rock star", as they portray the indie rock look, with the use of the glasses and black jacket. The artist is posing with a sincere look, connoting a sense of impudence. The artist has eye contact with the reader, which entices the reader's attention.
However the main image, tests the conventions of a magazine, as the artist on the page is not centred in the middle of the page, this can potentially draw readers away from the magazine, as the magazine may not look professional and real. The artist's head is also covered by the logo of the magazine, and other cover/sell lines. This is very unprofessional, as the magazine appears unstructured and messy. The cover lines are clear and easy to read and distributed to outer thirds of the magazine structure. The cover lines use certain vocabulary to entice the reader, such as 'smash' and 'free posters', this engages the reader and promotes what features are inside the issue. However the cover lines are not aligned properly and are structured poorly on the front page. The mix of different fonts effects the overall image of the front cover and makes the page appear messy and amateur. The cover and sell lines are distributed towards the top half of the page, and most of the magazine is left with out any other images or advertisements of certain features in the magazine. The cover and sell lines promote what is featured in the magazine and advertise popular bands from the certain genre. The main image is promoted by cover lines. "Liam", clearly states to the reader who the male on the front cover is, and is followed by more information on what the article will include. The cover line uses a rhetorical question, 'What now, Our Kid?', which interacts with the reader, and entices the reader to pay more attention to the magazine. The type of the front cover differs, from colour, sizing, and font type. Different sections of font have different sizes of kerning and spacing, again this makes the front cover appear messy and disjointed. However the font colours follow a certain colour scheme, red, black, white and blue. Fonts are high lighted in black, red and white, making fonts easier to read, by creating a contrast.
 The clear colour scheme, makes the front cover seem clear and polished. The colours contrast well together and connote the indie/rock genre that the magazine portrays. The colour scheme follows the purpose of the magazine and is relevant. The colour scheme is also relevant to the logo of the magazine.
The logo/ masthead, is placed at the top left hand corner of the magazine. This is successful at following conventions of a magazine as the location of the logo, relates to the 'Z' rule. The audience reads a magazine in a 'Z' like order. The NME logo, is the same style in every issue, however it may differ in colour depending on the colour scheme of the magazine, but the colour of the logo/masthead usually is red and white. The logo is easy to read and is recognisable to the audience. The magazine must have a similar masthead/logo, so their magazine is recognisable to fans. The logo of this magazine follows the conventions of a magazine as it is structured to the 'Z' rule, ensuring that it will sell efficiently.
At the bottom of the front cover, is the barcode and information that may not be as appealing to the reader. Next to the barcode is usually the date and price of the magazine. This is usually the last thing that the audience will read. The magazine follows the conventions by placing the barcode and other technical information away from the centre and top of the magazine.
However the overall presentation of the magazine, is fairly poor, as it does not entice the reader, as it comes across as dull and disorganised. The front cover's sell/cover lines are fairly boring. The magazine also lacks puffs, and other images featured in the magazine. The front cover' absence of advertisement and promotion of features, makes the magazine seem boring and lifeless. The purpose of a magazine is to persuade the reader that the issue is unique and significant. However this front cover fails to do so, as the front cover lacks puffs and tag lines to feature competitions or certain articles of the magazine.

Contents Page

The contents page is significant, as it shows all articles that are featured in the weekly issue. The contents page is structured into 3 colunms, with different headings such as regulars, features and a band list. The band list is achored with page numbers so the reader is able to navigate through out the magazine. The band index makes the reader able to identify the bands that they are interested in. The contents page is easy to read, as it is structured and layout efficiently. The font of the magazine is highlighted in different colours. The contrast between the font and coloured text box, makes the text stand out and attracts the attention of the reader.
The colour scheme of the contents page, follows the same colour scheme as the front cover. This follows the conventions of a magazine as the magazine presents a fluent colour scheme, which makes the magazine appear professional and real. The colours contrast well together, which makes the page aetestically pleasing to the reader. The page includes the nme logo, which ensures that the reader can identify the type of magazine they are reading. The logo supports the masthead to represent the contents page to the reader. The masthead is clear and easy to read, as it states 'Inside', which implies that the contents page is a summary of what will be featured in the issue. The date of the contentas page is disrubuted below the masthead, as it shows when the issue was published. The contents follows the Z theory which is used on the front cover, the reader will always focus on the top lefthand corner of a magazine when studying a magazine. The contents page follows the Z theory in order for a structured layout and for the page to be easy to read.
However the contents page tests the conventions of a contents page as it lacks a main image. There is only one image which is fairly small and does not capture the audience's attention. The contents page should have some relation with the front cover, howver this contents page doesnot include a picture or any relation with the front image or headline. The contents page also lacks any social media interation links, and appears dull. The colour scheme includes two colours, red and black which makes the page seem outdated and unattractive. The text is small and can not be read from afar. As the contents page lacks images, it repels the reader's attention as the page appears boring and difficult to read, as a contents page should be 50% images the contents page doesnot follow this convention.

 

Double Page Spread

The double page spreads of the magazineis significant, as it is a main artwork of the magazine, and is usually a large artical, that is featured on the contents page. The article follows the significant conventions and regulations of a double page, as it still focuses on a type of music genre, indie/alternative. The page focuses on the band Superfood, the band are current in the indie/alternative music scene. The main image dominates the page, as it is the largest image of the double page spread, and the reader is able to tell what the article features. The double page also features other images, which are smaller and less significant to the main image. The smaller images are featured to make the double page appear aestically pleasing to the reader.
The colour scheme relates to the main image as the main image shows bright and eye catching colours. Therefore the background of the double page spread includes colours from the main image showing a fluent colour scheme, which makes the double page seem proferssional. The green, blue, and pink colour scheme create a calm atmosphere which appeals to the reader. The colours work well together. The pink head line, creates a contrast. The headline is the most important text of the double page spread as it demands the attention of the reader. The headline reads, "We are making it happen", the use of "it", is vague, which should make the reader interested in the article to find out what, "it", is.
The double page posesses a good layout, it provides the main body text in columns and has gutters to show clear division between the columns. This enables the reader to easily study and read the article.
A drop capital is used to grasp the attention of the reader, to the main body text. Pull quotes are also used surrounding the mainbody text to draw the attention of the reader, whilst also breaking up the main body text, so it is easier to read. The image that sits in the middle of the gutter promotes events and adverts to do with the article. the article includes smaller images, to create an artistic element to the double page spread as it has to appeal to the reader.