Conventions of Music Magazines

Rock/Metal Music Magazines.

 

As part of the courses research task section, I have looked at and analysed three different rock and heavy metal magazines. This is the genre I wish to portray as my final piece, and so I decided to analyse magazines within this field specifically, to take not of what aspects make a successful, rock/metal magazine.

 

There were three aspects of said magazine we had to analyse, this being;

• Cover Page
• Contents Page
• Feature Article (Double Page Spread)

 

                                       Front Covers

 

Firstly I would like to talk about the conventions of  a typical rock/metal magazines front cover. During my analysis I noticed many similarities between the three different magazines. For example, the use of fully bleeding images across the pages masthead.

 

Here we see a prime example of exactly how a full bleed is effective in a rock/metal magazine. This is effective because the name of the magazine is so synonymous with this genre and has been very well publicised, presenting the masthead clearly is not a necessity, instead it gives the magazine allowance to enlarge the image making it stand out to the reader, making the magazine potentially more desirable depending on the target audience, and in this case the use of two bands considered to be pioneers of the music genre, the target audience will indubitably be large and wide, further giving reason for the enlargement of the icons used. 

 



 Also in the above image we see the use of iconography; synonymous imagery relative to the genre. As previously mentioned this is particularly effective because, being iconic it means these images are easily distinguishable particularly, again, to the target audience. Noticeably in the Metal Hammer front cover, in which the band itself is not presented (Iron Maiden) however the bands figure head, or mascot is, further suggesting that this images iconography will be more successful and effective than using the conventional shot of the band or lead singer. The image itself usually foreshadows the feature article, readers can expect to find within the magazine.

 

In addition, although the textual colour differs between the two magazine above, the background colour remains a reoccurring theme; black. Connotations suggest that the genre is a dark and mysterious genre of music. However the more direct reasoning may be as a result of the pragmatical fashions of the era. The 1980's rock and heavy metal scene largely centred around black leather and big hair, something completely derived from the brightly coloured and dance filled 70's, and so became synonymous with this genre of music. Therefore the use of this colour is a reoccurring theme use by each of the following successful rock/metal magazines;

• Kerrang!
• Classic Rock
• Revolver
• Metal Hammer
• Decibel

and so, given this is the same genre as I wish to use in my final piece the use of black is essentially a necessity in this field. Colours such as red and white are also seemingly iconic with rock/metal magazines and so will also contribute, hopefully, to the success of my magazine.

 

Finally the use of sell lines is influential in any magazine as it informs the reader what else they can find within the magazine.

 

                                  Contents Pages

Here we have two different examples of a contents page and its layout, in a rock/heavy metal magazine. The first image is of Metal Hammer magazine and the second from Kerrang!. Again here we see the reoccurring colour scheme of black, red and white. Noticeably although Kerrang! uses yellow coloured text, at least two of the three colours depicted previously occur in the majority of successful magazines in this genre, as shown in the two images here.

 

 Identifying the main articles and the sub articles has been very well presented in each of these contents pages. However in this case I feel Metal Hammer's contents page is much more effective as it shows the reader what is special and unique about this issue in particular, in the form of the 'Features' section. Generically in every rock/metal magazine contents page the use of adjoining images to the text is influential in the clarity of the page. The images are used to provide a visual interpretation of the text and the articles further in the magazine.

 

Added professionalism is apparent in the use of banners and button to plug free gifts or other things into their magazines. This is also a reoccurring theme on the front covers, as it provides a unique selling point to the magazine further helping the magazine to be successful and is something I may use to further portray my understanding of the features of a successful magazine.

 

Both magazines presented on the left here, also present;

- Long Shots

- Mid Shots

- Close Ups

- Band Photos

Showing that for a successful contents page a variety of camera angles must be used to further incline my capabilities of software and key techniques.

Feature Articles (Double Page Spreads)

We see once again the re-use of the main colours previously examined, further suggesting the connotations with said colours and the genre of music being presented in the magazine. In addition however in both of the magazines presented here, we see many key attributes to a successful double page, feature article. This include;

• Pull Quotes
• Image bleeding
• Box Outs

Pull quotes are used predominately in both and are presented in much the same manner, in that they contrast with the background causing them to differentiate from the main article drawing reference to them. The Kerrang! extract below overlaps the main image. Most readers will be attracted, firstly, to the image, and then secondly to the pull quote due to its encroachment on the image. In the Classic Rock extract above, the main pull quote is presented in much the same way, in that it overlaps the main image, however in this instance it is also used as a heading for the page. This is effective as it draws the readers attention to this point, therefore it is apparent that in order to make my magazine look professional incorporating a technique such as a pull quote, in a similar layout could be particularly beneficial to me.

 

Furthermore in the Kerrang! extract we see how the images has been bled with the masthead of the article, therefore making it relative to the adjoining article, allowing the reader to have a visual perception of the text. This is also accentuated by the pull quote also being bled with the image, vitally beside the person being quoted, further adding meaning to the text. Classic Rock however have bled their main image with its adjoining text in a different way, using a box out as the main contributor to this process. Bleeding an image with the article is massively beneficial to a successful magazine, adding purpose, meaning and a visual aid to the article, whilst also making the article interesting and appealing to potential readers.

 

Finally as briefly mentioned above box-outs are also included in the generic conventions of a music magazine of this genre. Often they are used to derive from the main article by providing further additional information relative to the topic of the article. Classic Rock and Kerrang! both use  box-outs effectively in their feature articles, both achieving the sole purpose of a feature article. On the contrary however it is the layout and set up the differentiates the two magazines, with Kerrang following the generic codes and conventions, by inserting within the textual part of the article, whereas Classic Rock have used their box-out rather unconventionally using it and bleeding it with the main image to provide a stepping stone effect with the important part of the article and the image being connected by a bit of random by relevant text regarding, in  this case, Robert Plant.

 

To summarise therefore, the use of image bleeding, box outs and pull quotes will be very influential in the resultant success of my final magazine.