Monday January 12th Evaluating Two Front Covers
Rolling stone is an established globally produced rock and pop magazine which has been running since 1967.It runs every 2 weeks and is quite a mainstream rock magazine and features most personalities or musicians that are well known to the majority of the public. It targets interesting 20- 40 year olds with an interest in music and the entertainment industry.
Obviously due to the fact that the magazine is music based clearly the majority of the content will be linked to music. From the image on the cover and the coverline and which says “Kid Rock Gets Lucky”. This implies that Kid Rock is having sex or is living the dream. Rolling Stone aim to use this pun to insert that double meaning. This cover line insinuates that Kid Rock is a sex symbol. This is further backed up by his clothing where to come across as more of a pimp than a musician. Kid Rock also comes across as quite a womanizer as he is seen holding many woman at the same time. The image does not give the audience the idea that he is a loyal man. Rolling Stone may be highlighting that there is not a whole lot of difference between the two. Kid Rock is notorious for sleeping with many women such as Pamela Anderson. The magazine may be aiming to explore the whole rockstar lifestyle and their experiences with exotic woman. Kid Rock is probably featured because he is living proof that this rock stars do indeed have a plenty of relationships with high profile female celebrities. The front cover image and kicker which says “Kid Rock” also insinuates that there will be some feature or interview with Kid Rock possibly to promote a new album or upcoming tour. Aside from the obvious articles about the link between supposed “groupies” obsession with rock stars, Rolling Stone does not get distracted and remembers what made it famous; music. This is shown through the kicker “Springsteen’s Magic” with the five stars alongside it. Again this could just be an article in dedication to Springsteen but it seems more likely that it links to a possible gig or album that he has just released. Although the magazine is notorious for its knowledge of music, they also have always engrossed themselves in political activity. They aim to become a rounded magazine than just a specialist music magazine. Perhaps they don’t feel that specialising in a certain area is enough to capture an immediate audience in the long term. This may be a reason why they have included a coverline titled “John McCain Lost in America”. Due to the fact that at the time of release of the article, the presidential elections was so highly coveted it only made sense on the magazines part to include a section on the election. Through the explanatory text “Lost in America”, the audience would be forgiven for believing that Rolling Stone is favours the democratic vote. Through this and the article within, Rolling Stone hopes to persuade their demographic audience to vote democratic.
The fact that the masthead “Rolling Stone” is behind the main image shows the confidence that the company has in its magazine. It also shows that the magazine is successful and well known enough that it can be placed behind the image. They expect the audience to know that their magazine is Rolling Stone. The masthead is also in a deep purple to go with the theme of the magazine of sex. It has connotations of danger, sex and love. For this particular issue the audience demographic is likely to be men for the most part, although woman to may be interested in rock stars obsession with sex. Therefore through this the image of the magazine is likely to come under scrutiny, for shedding light on this rock culture. Some woman may feel the theme is degrading and will therefore not buy the magazine any longer. Although Rolling Stone Magazine was released before the breakout of the Rolling Stones, one can not help but think of the band first. Due to this the following that the magazine is likely to get will be older. This is further proven true by the style of the font which looks like it has a very classic rock feel to it.
The colour scheme of the magazine is rather basic and reflects the following the magazine will get. The magazine is totally dependent on its history and reputation and for that reason it continues to attract reader’s world wide of all audiences.
There is not a huge amount of strategy to attract the audience. Again their reputation speaks for itself. What is evident however is that the pull of half naked woman can often be too much for men to turn down. They are also attracted by the content inside the magazine for example interviews and articles.
Rolling stone is an established globally produced rock and pop magazine which has been running since 1967.It runs every 2 weeks and is quite a mainstream rock magazine and features most personalities or musicians that are well known to the majority of the public. It targets interesting 20- 40 year olds with an interest in music and the entertainment industry.
Obviously due to the fact that the magazine is music based clearly the majority of the content will be linked to music. From the image on the cover and the coverline and which says “Kid Rock Gets Lucky”. This implies that Kid Rock is having sex or is living the dream. Rolling Stone aim to use this pun to insert that double meaning. This cover line insinuates that Kid Rock is a sex symbol. This is further backed up by his clothing where to come across as more of a pimp than a musician. Kid Rock also comes across as quite a womanizer as he is seen holding many woman at the same time. The image does not give the audience the idea that he is a loyal man. Rolling Stone may be highlighting that there is not a whole lot of difference between the two. Kid Rock is notorious for sleeping with many women such as Pamela Anderson. The magazine may be aiming to explore the whole rockstar lifestyle and their experiences with exotic woman. Kid Rock is probably featured because he is living proof that this rock stars do indeed have a plenty of relationships with high profile female celebrities. The front cover image and kicker which says “Kid Rock” also insinuates that there will be some feature or interview with Kid Rock possibly to promote a new album or upcoming tour. Aside from the obvious articles about the link between supposed “groupies” obsession with rock stars, Rolling Stone does not get distracted and remembers what made it famous; music. This is shown through the kicker “Springsteen’s Magic” with the five stars alongside it. Again this could just be an article in dedication to Springsteen but it seems more likely that it links to a possible gig or album that he has just released. Although the magazine is notorious for its knowledge of music, they also have always engrossed themselves in political activity. They aim to become a rounded magazine than just a specialist music magazine. Perhaps they don’t feel that specialising in a certain area is enough to capture an immediate audience in the long term. This may be a reason why they have included a coverline titled “John McCain Lost in America”. Due to the fact that at the time of release of the article, the presidential elections was so highly coveted it only made sense on the magazines part to include a section on the election. Through the explanatory text “Lost in America”, the audience would be forgiven for believing that Rolling Stone is favours the democratic vote. Through this and the article within, Rolling Stone hopes to persuade their demographic audience to vote democratic.
The fact that the masthead “Rolling Stone” is behind the main image shows the confidence that the company has in its magazine. It also shows that the magazine is successful and well known enough that it can be placed behind the image. They expect the audience to know that their magazine is Rolling Stone. The masthead is also in a deep purple to go with the theme of the magazine of sex. It has connotations of danger, sex and love. For this particular issue the audience demographic is likely to be men for the most part, although woman to may be interested in rock stars obsession with sex. Therefore through this the image of the magazine is likely to come under scrutiny, for shedding light on this rock culture. Some woman may feel the theme is degrading and will therefore not buy the magazine any longer. Although Rolling Stone Magazine was released before the breakout of the Rolling Stones, one can not help but think of the band first. Due to this the following that the magazine is likely to get will be older. This is further proven true by the style of the font which looks like it has a very classic rock feel to it.
The colour scheme of the magazine is rather basic and reflects the following the magazine will get. The magazine is totally dependent on its history and reputation and for that reason it continues to attract reader’s world wide of all audiences.
There is not a huge amount of strategy to attract the audience. Again their reputation speaks for itself. What is evident however is that the pull of half naked woman can often be too much for men to turn down. They are also attracted by the content inside the magazine for example interviews and articles.
NME
NME is a popular music magazine which runs weekly and has been since 1950. Unlike Rolling Stone, it is purely a British based magazine. Unlike Rolling Stone which covers a wide range of rock and pop, NME is more specific and celebrates young “Indie and Alternative” music. Its target audience is young adults ranging from 15- 21 years old. NME is dissimilar to Rolling Stone in that it is far more focussed on Indie and Alternative music and the culture which surrounds it.
The strap lines and kickers reveal what the content of the magazine will be like. The image of Radiohead implies that the headline part of the magazine will indeed revolve around them. The image of the lead singer looking directly at the reader is also very personal and insinuates that singer is prepared to give out some information about him and the band. The kicker “Win Tickets to Glasto+ Reading, Leeds” also informs the reader that there is a competition available within the magazine.
The competition also acts as a persuader for the audience to buy the magazine. They know that the audience will be interested in the competition based on the fact that they appear keen on music and are therefore likely to attract a host of gig goers. On the cover there are many “freebie” for example many fans will want Radiohead art prints and because of solely this they will go ahead and buy the magazine.
NME is a popular music magazine which runs weekly and has been since 1950. Unlike Rolling Stone, it is purely a British based magazine. Unlike Rolling Stone which covers a wide range of rock and pop, NME is more specific and celebrates young “Indie and Alternative” music. Its target audience is young adults ranging from 15- 21 years old. NME is dissimilar to Rolling Stone in that it is far more focussed on Indie and Alternative music and the culture which surrounds it.
The strap lines and kickers reveal what the content of the magazine will be like. The image of Radiohead implies that the headline part of the magazine will indeed revolve around them. The image of the lead singer looking directly at the reader is also very personal and insinuates that singer is prepared to give out some information about him and the band. The kicker “Win Tickets to Glasto+ Reading, Leeds” also informs the reader that there is a competition available within the magazine.
The competition also acts as a persuader for the audience to buy the magazine. They know that the audience will be interested in the competition based on the fact that they appear keen on music and are therefore likely to attract a host of gig goers. On the cover there are many “freebie” for example many fans will want Radiohead art prints and because of solely this they will go ahead and buy the magazine.
It appears strange that Radiohead are on the cover of a teen music magazine. Radiohead’s success came in the 80s as they appeared as a strange misunderstood grunge band. Since then the music industry has moved on to bands such as the Kooks and Bloc Party. Only recently have the influx of old bands return and restored their supremacy on the music scene. It is unexpected that NME (New Musical Experiment) would feature such an old band because it stands against what they usually do. They generally feature upcoming new artists but due to the ever growing demand of old bands returning, NME has manipulated its general features in order to satisfy its audience.
The main cover line suggests that Radiohead have returned in a different form. “Most songs on the record are seduction songs.” Does this mean that the reason Radiohead have been featured is because their new album varies dramatically to those of its predecessors which were mainly quite slow and depressing? Through featuring Radiohead, NME could also be attracting an older audience because Radiohead has quite a mature middle aged following.
The cover also appears to use a bigger colour scheme. They use bright colours such as yellow, blue, pink and red. This keeps the cover looking young and therefore similar to its main target audience. All the fonts used are quite tall, big and bold. This is so that the teenage audience will notice the topics of the magazine. They are unlikely to pay attention to long sentences in small font, due to their lazy teenage ways.
The masthead NME’s font is quite block looking and again is bold in order for the audience to see it and pay attention to it. The colour red is also quite bright and can’t help but catch attention. The font is also quite futuristic and young so that it represents the demographic target audience. The masthead is also quite grunge looking as it looks as though it could be done by graphite. This again enhances the young feel of the magazine.
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