Codes And Conventions Of Music Magazine Front Covers...

I decided to research and refresh my mind on the codes and conventions of a magazine front cover as I haven't really gone into detail about it. This is what I found out:

(I will also do this for contents pages and double page spreads)

- Most music magazines have a colour theme of 3/4 main colours, these colours are usually from a limited range as this makes the magazine stand out more to its audience.

- The masthead is at the top of the page and it's main job is to draw in the audiences attention as it suggests the genre and target audience, for example a children's pop magazine like "Smash Hits" has bubbly font which appeals to children.

- Buzz words are used in order to attract attention for example "plus" and "free", these words both get the reader to want to buy that magazine.

- Around 5 cover lines are used which also link/relate to the genre of music.

There is always a main image used which is of the main band or artist, when it is a band it's usually a long shot however when it is a solo artist it is usually a mid shot unless it is a solo artist who is looking at the camera in order to connect to the audience where their body language reflects this audience and the genre of music.

- Subsidiary images are used which may also get you to look at the magazine, especially when well known images are used. These images may be used as a back up if some of the others do not appeal to the audience.

- There is an organised layout which suggests a more mature audience as it is formal, this is then appropriate to the genre and the target audience an example of this is Q magazine as it looks more serious.

- A tag line is used which also is there to attract attention and give the magazine an edge for it's audience.

- There is also normally a plain background used as this makes the other features of the front cover stand out more and make it look more formal.

- Basic information is also featured on the front cover; which is needed for most magazines in general like a bar code, price and issue date. If the magazine is more expensive then this price tends to be smaller so that it isn't the first thing the audience see and get put off by. On the other hand if the magazine is cheap then the price is usually bigger and bolder in order to quickly draw in the audiences attention.