Analysis of the NME magazine (front cover, contents page and double spread) music magazine

Magazine Cover

The main image featured on the splash is positioned to the middle/ right side and is a MCU of the celebrity Lily Alan. The image of the idol has a very uncaring and plain facial expression which connotates that the music magazine is aimed at the rebellious, indie youth as she doesn’t look like she cares about anything. The image gives me the impression she doesn’t care which stereotypically the genre of music of this magazine, the image gives an overall disobedient feel. The appearance of the magazine conveys a message about the genre of music that it is different and rebels against the traditional sensible youth. Again Lilly is wering a casual checked shirt to show her young vibe.Also representing this theme is the bold colour scheme used. The colours presented; red, white and black all contribute to the daring and bold attitude of the Indie genre and its predictable target market. The different text on the page all have a different font face to make the magazine look unique and messy, again representing the target audience. The masthead format is bold and in capital letters to make it stand out, also it is placed were we would expect to find it on the splash (top left). The masthead has been positioned slightly behind the main image of Lily Alan to promote the main feature of the magazine. Again the convention: a screamer is presented at the left side of the page with a much larger format than the masthead, the text has also been given a shadow to further emphasise the article to the reader. It has been positioned to the left third of the splash where I would expect to find cover lines. As this is the more important article it has been made large enough to fill the whole left third on the cover. An effective use of skyline has also been used however unlikely positioned at the bottom of the splash instead of the top; I still think this convention is useful for showing the viewer other articles included within the magazine.
Other images of bands have been used on the splash to again further grab the audience’s interest eg, promoting the new Arctic Monkeys premier and information about David Bowe and the credit crunch. The featured artist Lilly Alan is represented by the magazine as a rebellious performer and overall a bad influence on the younger audience. The overall magazine conveys a message about the target audience. Unfortunately the message given about the rebellious magazine is also portrayed about the target audience who would read and buy the magazine as they would be viewed to have the same style and bad attitude. Although Lily Alan is a international, famous icon therefore many viewers who may not normally buy the NME magazine may become interested as she is featured therefore promoting the magazines reputation.  From Lillys lifestyle we know her true attitude meaning her pose in the magazine may not reflect badly on the magazine at all, only help it gain popularity.

Double Spread Page

The colour scheme presented through both the splash and contents page is again used on the double spread in this issue. This is very important as it adds to the house style of the magazine making it easily recognisable to the audience. The title used is slanted over both pages showing the bold importance of the interview, it is presented as a quote from part of the interview between NME and Lilly. "But I'm just honest" this allows the interview to be seen as more casual and chatty rather than formal attracting a lot of young markets who are rarely formal. The language used also entices the reader and makes them want to read on to find out what she was talking about. It is important to state that although the 2 pages have been created to show a messy and young vibe (through the large image of Lilly and the title) that the actual interview has been presented very neatly and in formal margins. This has been done to make the text easier and more practical to read by the viewer. The large image of Lilly has been used to show the strong dominance she has over this article and how she is the main feature of the magazine. Again her facial expression is alike the image on the magazine cover and is promoting the same message. In comparison to what I stated before this could also be done to make the reader find Lilly a more serious performer as she is not showing a expression and wants to tell her fans about her current views ect.

An important convention of this double spread page is the page numbers at the bottom right of the page which indicate to the reader which page they are on, again as stated before the format and layout of the actual interview is important as it is ensures the interview is very simple and easy to read for the all the audience. A sub title in the form of a teller has been used to introduce the interview and give brief, exiting information allowing the reader to gain background knowledge on the content of the article before reading on. The carryon of the colour scheme throughout the magazine pages is both important as it continues the same indie influence so the audience understands the theme of the magazine throughout the different articles, and also so the audience remembers the theme easily for the future when buying a new published magazine. Obviously the target audience for the whole magazine Is the same however specialist Lilly Alan fans may buy NME to read this specific article on this artist which may result in new customers who may also become interested in other features of the magazine. To accurately find what messages the article on this double spread promotes about the magazine and audience I will need to read the text and infer different meanings that may indicate different representations. Although the publisher is not stated on the double spread it is the same for the whole magazine but only stated on one page.

Contents Page

A useful convention presented in this contents page is the "band index" this gives the reader information about the different artists featured throughout the magazine therefore allowing them to decide on buying this issue. An advertisement is also presented at the bottom of the page; the format of this text is bold and yellow to stand out against the black banner background. A number and email addresses is also given to influencing the reader to subscribe as it is much more easier.  Also the publishers of the NME magazine have included a unique convention in including a "band index" giving the audience extra information about the different artists featured throughout the magazine. The layout on the page is interesting as a lot of information has been crammed onto 1 page, although this does give the audience extra information it could a feeling of being overwhelmed from all the text presented. The bold title at the top of the page shows a good use of layout as it is mainly addresses to the audience clearly the page. The title has been extended from “NME” to "NME this week" on the contents page. This is done to again draw in the reader’s attention and allow them to become intrigued about the new, fresh bands and articles shown below- it makes the audience feel they don’t want to miss out. Again the house style is continuously presented in the different pages of the magazine. The layout on the page is very effective; the main image about "the end of Astoria" is positioned in the centre of the page giving it the audience’s full attention. However I don’t think the long shot image itself is very efficient as it does not imply what the article is about; also the lighting of the image is quite dark. The image should be attractive and eye catching emphasising the importance of this Item to the reader. The colour scheme of red, black and white as previously stated are used as the clashing colours connotate the rebellious nature of the magazine. The contents page represents the genre and target audience fairly similar to the magazine cover and double spread page as the house style is carried out through the magazine. Also

Audience and Institution of NME - Further research

In investigating the target audience of the NME magazine I carried out background research about the publisher and institution. The NME website reader profile gave me an overall image of who the market is and how this magazine targets its audience. The mood board is dominated with male designer brands and stereotypical male products eg beer, hair gel and sports cars. Also the table given on the reader profile gave me valuable data I used to decide on an accurate target market:

"Male 74%

Female 26%

Median age 26

Circulation 33,875"

From the statistics and mood board shown on the reader profile I have concluded the target audience of the magazine is a typical young adult male who has a music interest in the genre indie rock. The publisher of the NME music magazine is IPC inspire. "IPC Inspire publishing company produce over 60 iconic media brands” this includes TV Times and Marie-Claire. The quote "two thirds of UK women and 42% of UK men" from the official IPC website gives me an idea on how large this national institution is and the  number of people the publishers target through the different magazine genres.