Magazine Cover Analysis 3

NME magazine is based at a working class, male audience for the ages 14 to 25, with a median range of 23. This is a purely music magazine but does review cultural aspects such as films, books and shows that their readers may be interested in.

This front cover is unusual compared to NME’s usual front cover as its in black and white compared to the normal colour scheme of black, white and red. As well as being in black and white, the writing is all in pink and white, which could suggest that this is a special or limited edition issue as NME rarely use pink on their covers, being a male orientated magazine. They have also changed the traditional red title to pink and is overlapped by the picture of the band which shows they know that the readers can instantly tell the difference between NME and other magazine and is has become a staple and looked up to music magazine. The pink and white writing also highly contrasts with the black and grey clothing of the band, as does the black ‘THE’ in the pink A. The cover has very similar font throughout and is quite bold which gives it a 3D effect as well as standing out to anyone walking past the magazine. It is aimed at a more working class audience, so the black and white does make it seem more sophisticated but the stretched out headline and amount of writing makes it appeal more to its target audience, unlike a more middle class magazine which tends to have limited writing on the front.  The barcode is placed at the bottom corner of the page so it’s not a distraction from the band or any of the other information as well being aligned with the names of the other bands featured in the magazine which gives the cover a neater and tidier appearance and making a good first impression for the reader.

The bands image on the cover is quite defined and has a lot of tone and shadows which make them stand out compared to a normal colour image. The positioning of the band it typical for a music magazine, with the lead singer being in the middle and to the right a bit to draw your attention from the other band members as he ‘fronts’ the bands image and they all have quite a serious expressions which is quite common for NME’s covers. The two front members of the band are wearing lighter colours than the other two as it brings your attention to the centre of the magazine and has almost a gradient effect, with the clothing darkening and the edges.

The bands used on the front cover are mainly aimed at a younger audience, although it does have posters of older artists which are there to attract an older reader. NME also are involved in many performances and festivals that run throughout the year, which are again aimed at a younger audience so the magazine are likely to feature artists than appeal to a younger demographic. There is a range of well known and more alternative artists on the cover but NME tend to focus on up-and-coming artists that haven’t been in the charts and played as often as bands and singers.

Being aimed at a male audience, the adverts are likely to reflect that by advertising music orientated shops such as HMV, clothing, technology and alcohol. Cd’s and albums are also advertised a lot in the NME as the readership of this magazine are music enthusiasts.