LIIAR AnalysisFront Covers, Contents Page & Double Page Spread

By Lydia Hughes

LIIAR FRONT COVER ANALYSISMasthead: The Masthead is the title for the magazine, conventionally this is the

most eye-catching convention on the front cover so that consumers recognize

the magazine - somewhat seen as a trademark as it is the most distinctive feature

on the magazine.

Main Feature Headline & Image: The Headline is the

main statement on the magazine front cover, which is

usually formatted in the largest and boldest font, describing

the main story. In this case, the main feature image is of Miley

Cyrus and the main feature headline exclaims “MILEY

CYRUS” in large capital letters.

Sub Headline: It is evident that Billboard has used a sub headline since a smaller,

secondary headline is present elaborating on the main

headline above it. In this case the sub headline is a rhetorical question as it questions “The Queen Of Tween Grows Up. But Will Her Fans Follow?”

Cover Lines: The cover lines summarizes the most enticing features and

articles, which are inside the magazine.

Language

The front cover of this magazine displays Miley Cyrus, an American actress and recording artist looking directly at the camera, to engage the pop sensation with the audience and therefore creating direct address. Needless to say, this magazine front cover holds conventional features of a magazine cover including a consistent font and colour theme (yellow and white), generating a house style. As well as this, the magazine front cover also obtains a masthead, main feature headline and image; cover lines (smaller features), sub headline and a barcode. Visibly, the main image of Cyrus takes up the majority of the space on the front cover, leaving very little space for the purple background. The headline simply exclaims “Miley Cyrus” in a bold and simple font. The Billboard Masthead is easily distinguishable on account of the font, but also because of the four letters that are filled in colour within the word “Billboard”. However, the masthead has been layered underneath the subject, making Miley Cyrus the most visible subject on the front cover of this magazine. As a result of this, Cyrus is identified as a very important figure as she is seen by all and therefore acquires great command as she is in front of everything else on the magazine cover, including the magazines masthead. For that reason, the fill for the letters “b” and “o” cannot be identified, however the letter “a” has been filled with the colour blue, while the letter “d” has been filled with the colour green. Moreover, this magazine cover also obtains four small cover lines, which focus entirely on today’s music scene and not just Cyrus herself e.g. “Labels Race To Find The Next Bieber” and “What’s Really Behind The DOJ’s iTunes Inquiry”. iTunes is clearly related to modern music as it was introduced by Apple since the vast majority of music fans buy music digitally rather than physically anymore.

Institution

Billboard is an American music magazine, which is published by Prometheus Global Media, an American entertainment publishing company, based in New York City. Billboard is one of Prometheus Global Media’s many assets and is music’s most powerful brand. Billboard’s additional assets include: The Billboard Music Awards, Billboard Latin Music Awards and Billboard conferences. However, the company also acquires ownership in the Entertainment (The Hollywood Reporter, Back Stage, Film Expro Group) and the Advertising & Marketing world (Adweek and the The CLIO Awards). William H. Donaldson and James Hennegen discovered Billboard in Cincinnati on November 1, 1894. Initially, Billboard was named ‘Billboard Advertising’ as it was a trade paper. After a few years of discovery, ‘Billboard Advertising’ carried news of live entertainment. Billboard Advertising’s first music relation was the Billboard sheet music best sellers charts & top songs in vaudeville theatres published in 1913. Billboard Publications transformed into a major trade magazine, obtaining The Hollywood Reporter, Kirkus Reviews, Adweek and Mediaweek. It was attained by Dutch publisher VNU, which was later renamed the Nielsen Company in 1993, but later sold in 2009 along with the other Nielsen Business Media properties to the new company e5 Global Media, which was renamed Prometheus Global Media in 2010.

Ideology

It is clear that Miley Cyrus is the main story for this Billboard magazine and is therefore an extremely important figure in the music industry. This magazine front cover fits with the typical conventions of a front cover as it obtains a masthead, main feature: headline, image, left third, bar code, date and issue number. This magazine articulates the values that fans should grow up alongside their favourite artists. Underneath the headline, Billboard uses a rhetorical question as they enquire “The Queen Of Tween Grows Up. But Will Her Fans Follow?” Billboard uses this persuasive technique, as it is a question that cannot be answered, however it gives emphasis on Billboard’s ideas and ideals that fans should follow in the footsteps of their idols, in this case Queen Tween sensation Miley Cyrus. On that account, Billboard influences the kind of response that they would like to receive from their audience. As a result of this technique, the audiences’ interest is drawn in because they feel inclined to agree with Billboard’s indirect perspective of what is known as ideal. As quoted from the Billboard website themselves, ‘’http://www.billboard.com/footer/biz”, I was made aware that “The Billboard brand is built on its exclusive charts and unrivalled reporting on the latest news, issues and trends across all genres of music”. This statement is clearly demonstrated as a result of their main story since Miley Cyrus is an exceptionally well-known artist. For that reason, it is apparent that Billboard magazine is established and does not display any unconventional components in the way that Q magazine would. Q magazine identifies new stars and what’s coming next, whereas Billboard predominantly showcases significant and known artists at this current time, as they do not disregard social norms. In this case, Billboard feature Miley Cyrus, because of her known success and therefore aim to retain Cyrus’ popularity within the music industry, since Cyrus’ fans are growing up alongside her anyhow.

Audience

Taking into account the front cover, I have come to the conclusion that the target audience for this magazine is young teens to young adults (16-28). This is because Billboard magazine focuses mainly on the music of today (latest updates). When researching Billboard front covers, I noticed that every single artist modeling for Billboard’s front covers consisted of well known artists, such as Rihanna, Drake, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Eminem, Adele and many more established artists of today’s generation. In addition to this, Billboard.com states “As Billboard's consumer-faced online home, Billboard.com features an extensive array of searchable, playable charts, breaking music news, artist interviews and exclusives, news, video and more. Launched in 1995 as Billboard Online, Billboard.com now attracts well over ten million unique visitors each month in more than 100 countries and has become the de facto digital destination for popular music”. This clearly conveys my reasoning for Billboard’s target audience since the younger generation preferably listen and download charts online. Ten million unique visitors a month in more than 100 countries suggests that Billboard online is a great hit for their target audience as it is convenient and is much quicker when discovering breaking music news. Furthermore, the use of fun and vibrant colours within the Billboard masthead also indicates that this magazine is targeted at young teens and adults since these colours symbolize joy and energy that all young people acquire and can therefore relate to.

RepresentationThe Main Image demonstrates Miley Cyrus holding an “M’ sign to suggest that she is a powerful figure in the music industry and consequently wants to be known by all. Cyrus’ facial expression also indicates how important her status is within the music industry as her disapproving glare suggests that she believes she can be much more successful than other artists in her industry, Cyrus is therefore indicating that she is here to stay. To convey this even further, Cyrus is also dressed from head to toe in a black leather jumpsuit, which concludes her dominance and her high power of authority.

LIIAR FRONT COVER ANALYSIS

Sub Headline: It is apparent that Rolling Stone has used a sub headline since a smaller,

secondary headline is present elaborating on the main

headline above it. In this case the sub headline expresses “CRAZY IN LOVE”, while the

main headline states “Rihanna”.

Masthead: The Masthead is the title for the magazine, conventionally this is the

most eye-catching convention on the front cover so that consumers recognize

the magazine - somewhat seen as a trademark as it is the most distinctive feature

on the magazine.

Main Feature Headline & Image: The Headline is the

main statement on the magazine front cover, which is

usually formatted in the largest and boldest font, describing

the main story. In this case, the main feature image is of

Rihanna and the main feature headline exclaims “RIHANNA”

in large capital letters.

Cover Lines: The cover lines summarizes the most enticing features and

articles, which are inside the magazine.

Box-out: A coloured box behind some text, usually

used to make the text stand out (black background and

white font).

Language

This magazine cover clearly consists of a young female looking directly at the camera. At the age of 25, Rihanna is a Barbadian recording artist, actress and fashion designer, signifying Rolling Stone’s use of a very well known artist on their front cover. As we can see, Rolling Stone have used conventional features for their front cover, including a masthead, main feature headline and image, sub headline, cover lines (smaller features) and a barcode. Noticeably, the Masthead has been layered underneath the subject, making Rihanna the most visible subject on the front cover of this magazine. As a result of this, Rihanna is identified as a very important figure as she is seen by all and therefore acquires great command as she is in front of everything else on the magazine cover, including the magazines masthead. It is evident that the Masthead for any magazine is what creates the brand name, making it much easier for the audience to recognise. On that account, Rolling Stone have indicated that they care more about Rihanna taking over their magazine cover, then their audience acknowledging their masthead (brand name). Consequently, the audience of Rolling Stone recognise that Rihanna is a significant artist in the music industry and should therefore acquire appreciation, conveying her dominance and power to all. On top of that, the Rolling Stone masthead is remarkably distinct as it traits a curled lettering of “Rolling Stone” filled in red with a black outline. Additionally, the font for “Rolling Stone” is Royal Acidbath, designed by Sharkshock. Equally, the main headline clearly exclaims “Rihanna”, which makes us aware that Rolling Stone do not need an enticing headline to draw in the reader’s attention since Rihanna’s name says it all. Once again, this convention demonstrates the power Rihanna has in her industry, as well as the impact that she has on the world. Furthermore, a sub headline is used underneath the main headline to expand on the main headline. The sub headline clearly states “CRAZY IN LOVE”, which is globally recognized as Beyonce’s greatest hit and ‘The Best Pop Song Of The Century’. On that account, Rolling Stone are reinforcing the idea that Rihanna and Beyonce are competing in exactly the same industry, yet it is Rihanna that they have chosen to feature on the magazine cover.

Institution

Rolling Stone is an American magazine, which is published every two weeks, focusing on popular culture and politics. Jann Simon Wenner, who is still the magazine’s chief editor, founded Rolling Stone in San Francisco, California in 1967 alongside music critic, Ralph J. Gleason. Wenner Media, LLC is a company, which is based in New York City, publishes not only Rolling Stone but also Us Weekly and Men’s Journal magazines. In total, the company’s three brands draw in a monthly audience of 58.1 million, together with 41.9 million readers per month in print, 9.8 million monthly individual visitors to its websites (UsMagazine.com, RollingStone.com and MensJournal.com), and 5.9 million mobile monthly individual visitors and 5.3 million followers through social media outlets. In the 1990s, the magazine altered its strategy to attract younger readers interested in youth oriented television shows, film actors and popular music. In the last few years, Rolling Stone has re-established it’s customary mix of elements, including extensive political stories. Moreover, Rolling Stone has broadened content to incorporate reporting of financial and banking matters.

Ideology

It is evident that Rolling Stone is a political and music bi-weekly magazine and therefore reveals supreme values. When conducting my research on Rolling Stone magazines, I clearly identified that Rolling Stone preferably and predominantly uses pop stars and singers as the models on their front covers. This accordingly conveys the society that we live in, in view of the fact that the general public are more interested in the lives of those who acquire fame and money, rather then politicians who influence public policy and decision-making in accordance to our benefit. Since the magazine focuses on politics and music, Rolling Stone retains a controversial target audience on account of the fact that the majority of music fans are more than likely going to be young and are therefore much more courageous and energetic than those who do not experience music in the way that the youth do (festivals, gigs, live concerts etc). However, politics usually concerns adults considerably more, giving Rolling Stone a mature feel to the magazine. The majority of articles in this issue, in particular, Rolling Stone are concerning music, including Rihanna, Billy Joel, Jim James and MGMT. In particular, concern music including Rihanna, Billy Joel, Jim James and MGMT. MGMT is an American rock band founded by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andre VanWyngarden, while Jim James is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band My Morning Jacket. Along with the numerous music features, Rolling Stone also broadcasts details on political and social issues. Rolling Stone’s first political coverage began in the 1970’s with its journalist Hunter S. Thompson. Along the right third, we identify a black box reading “THE NRA VS. AMERICA – THE POWERS BEHIND THE MERCHANTS OF DEATH”. This cover line is written in white to ensure that the writing stands out and is therefore informative. Rolling Stone is not the most mainstream magazine, since it goes against the norms of any other music magazine – Rolling Stone combines two separate genres, creating a hybrid.

Audience

Rolling Stone have said that their target audience is the “middle of the road rock fans of all ages”. This suggests that they want their target audience to have great music knowledge, especially in rock music; which is what the magazine mostly focuses on. When conducting my research, some of Rolling Stone’s previous advertisements were for drinks such as Pepsi. This therefore indicates to me personally, that their target audience likes to relax, as well as luxuriate in music knowledge. Although the magazine was first created in 1967, the audience is allowed to interact with the magazine like they never have been in the past. Social networking sites such as Twitter, MySpace and Facebook have allowed Rolling Stone’s costumers to interact with not only the magazine, but with other music fans. On these websites they are able to express their views on different songs, musicians, as well as on movie reviews, television shows and lots more. Rolling Stone keeps up to date with pages on MySpace, Twitter and Facebook; all important to attract young music fans worldwide. These let the magazine and the audience interact like never before. Rolling Stone costs £4.50; which is reasonable considering its monthly status. 58% of Rolling Stone’s readership consists of males, and 42% of their readerships are female. 32.2 is the median age of Rolling Stone’s readership, and 30% of the overall readers are aged 18-24. Circulation of the magazine is 1,453,158 (paid and verified). 94.5% of the entire readership is through subscriptions- which would indicate that their readership is mostly people who have been reading the magazine for a long time, and who also are very interested in music.

RepresentationRihanna is not covered in jewellery or expensive clothing and is instead dressed in what is seen as a loose white top, conveying her original normality as an Island girl from Barbados. Rihanna’s hair is clearly overlapping the left side of her face, which may suggest that her fame and fortune has resulted in her no longer being able to live a normal life as she is known by all. Her neutral make up also indicates that her beauty is completely natural, along with her talent. It is therefore evident that young girls of today will look up to her as their role model as she obtains beauty, talent, fame and fortune. Rolling Stone is therefore trying to make their magazine as influential as possible by featuring a woman like Rihanna as their main feature. In many ways, Rolling Stone could be trying to set a new trend as she was just an ordinary girl who found success through her natural gift. Rihanna’s fame and fortune has clearly been harnessed by the media and so young girls feel compelled to buy the magazine with the dream of one day amounting to the same success that Rihanna has. On top of that, Rihanna’s striking pose suggests that she has for more to offer in the music industry and as a result is here to stay.

LIIAR FRONT COVER ANALYSISMasthead: The Masthead is the title for the magazine,

conventionally this is the most eye-catching convention on the front cover so that consumers

recognize the magazine - somewhat seen as a

trademark as it is the most distinctive feature on the

magazine.

Main Feature Headline & Image: The Headline is the

main statement on the magazine front cover, which is

usually formatted in the largest and boldest font,

describing the main story. In this case, the main feature

image is of Adele and the main feature headline exclaims

“ADELE” in large capital letters. Sub Headline: It is evident that Q has used a sub headline since

a smaller, secondary headline is present elaborating on the main headline above it. In this case the sub headline states

“BLOWS US AWAY”. On that account, the sub headline is a run on line from the main headline as it states “ADELE…BLOWS US

AWAY”.

Exclusive: Although this is not a story, Q does make their audience aware that this Q

edition is the 300th issue and so it is a very special magazine

for Q fans.

Strapline/Quote: The strapline is a headline appearing over

main headline. In this case, the strapline is a quote from Adele

as she expresses “IF YOU’VE GOT IT, FLAUNT IT…”.

Cover Lines: The cover lines (located on the left third) summarizes the most enticing features and articles, which

are inside the magazine.

Language

Q magazine has used typical conventions of a magazine front cover, including a clear masthead, left third, main feature headline and image, exclusive, strapline/quote, cover lines (smaller features) and a barcode. As well as this, Q has retained a consistent font and colour scheme (red, white and black), which as a result generates a house style. While Adele’s vivid red locks flow with the predominantly red colour scheme, Adele’s neutral make up gives off the impression that she has much to flaunt about. Not only has Q used a headline and a sub headline to entice readers, but Q has also incorporated a strapline/quote from Adele herself: “If You’ve Got It Flaunt It” above the main headline. That being the case, readers feel inclined to buy the magazine since Adele has given a special interview and as implied from the quote, special advice to look just as good as her. Like Rolling Stone, Q has simply expressed “ADELE” as the headline for this magazine as she is a universal successfully known artist and therefore, her name in itself grabs the readers attention. The main image has a clear link to the main headline and sub headline - within the sub headline, we are made aware that “ADELE” (Main Headline) has metaphorically “BLOWN US AWAY”, proclaiming her talent. Adele’s talent is conveyed even further on account of the main image since the close up shot depicts Adele’s hair, literally being blown away, indicating that the image has a clear relation to the content of the story and as a result develops an authentic and trustworthy article for the readers. While analyzing this magazine front cover, it has become apparent that Q magazine likes each convention to correspond well with one another. As conveyed above, the main headline and sub headline correspond with the image of Adele. Furthermore, the exclusive also proclaims “The 300th Issue”, which makes readers aware that Q magazine is an extremely successful magazine as it has just published it’s 300th issue. For that reason, consumers feel influenced to buy the magazine as it is obviously a great success to have reached 300 issues.

Institution

Q music magazine is an extremely popular music magazine, which is published monthly in the United Kingdom. Q was founded by Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were both appalled by the music press of the time as they felt they were ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs – then still a new technology. Q was first published by the EMAP media group in October 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly productions and higher standard of photography and printing. Initially, it was to be called CUE (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it wouldn’t be mistaken for a snooker magazine. As cited in Q’s 200th edition, it was believed that a single-letter title would be much more noteworthy on newsstands since the letter Q would be much easier to distinguish. In January 2008 EMAP sold its consumer magazine titles, including Q, to the Bauer Media Group. The Content within Q magazine consists of an extensive review section, featuring new releases (music), reissues (music), music compilations, film and live concert reviews, as well as radio and television reviews. Much of the magazine is devoted to interviews with popular musical artists, which is clearly exhibited in this edition in particular since the front cover displays a quote from Adele herself.

Ideology

In order for Q magazine to reach out to it’s target audience, the price set has to be realistic for their consumers. On that account, it is evident that Q magazine is portrayed as an up market magazine due to the £3.99 cost to purchase it. Realistically, this is an extremely expensive cost for a magazine and will therefore only appeal to a specific audience. Over and above that, Q magazine displays an exceptionally famous artist on the front cover of the magazine, which again suggests that Q wants to be identified as the top music magazine. The artists mentioned in the features are also very famous, which signifies how popular the magazine is. Artists, like Adele and U2, only want to be promoted by magazines that they know will be noticed by their fans and target audience. For that reason, it is apparent that Q magazine is a conventional magazine that meets the needs of both it’s customers and musical artists. Moreover, the magazine is also represented as a very professional magazine since the conventional layout includes a house style, left third, main feature headline and image, which as a result portrays the magazine as simple but effective at the same time. Without exception, Q magazine always uses thick glossy paper when printing the magazines, which again conveys the magazine as professional and consistent in retaining a high quality feel. Consequently, the magazine is considered trust worthy due to the artists that Q magazine displays. Artists like Adele have amounted from very little to remarkable success and so it is obvious that she would like her story to be told truthfully and in fact. It is therefore acknowledged that Adele has faith in Q magazine, which permits readers to trust the magazine also. Q magazine is therefore prominent enough for famous artists such as Adele to tell them personal information.

Audience

When conducting my research I discovered that “Q is the legendary monthly magazine which celebrates everything that’s great in rock and roll. Since its launch in 1986 it has a painstakingly built an international reputation for quality amongst fans, stars and the music industry. With world-beating exclusives, definitive album reviews, outstanding production values and an inimitable sense of humour, Q shapes music in the UK and beyond. Q has featured the world’s biggest artists – from U2 to Adele, Oasis to Rihanna, Radiohead to Lady Gaga and more – on its landmark covers. Every month the magazine creates new stars and identifies what’s coming next. With Q’s online presence, a new interactive iPad edition, social media, Q Radio, live events and of course the world famous annual Q Awards – the most exclusive event in the music calendar – the message is everywhere. Music sounds better with Q” (quoted from the official BAUER MEDIA GROUP). On top of that, I was also made aware that “Q’s audience is younger and more affluent than any other music monthly. 97% of readers rate Q as a quality magazine. In research it outperforms competitors on measures such as best interviews, writing and awards winning photography”. On that account, I believe the target audience for Q magazine has changed immensely from what the original founders of Q had in mind for the magazine (generation of older music buyers). I believe Q is growing alongside each upcoming generation and trends to ensure it is meeting the main music target audience (features world’s biggest artists and new stars).

RepresentationThe main image of Adele conveys her dominance in the music industry as her hair is seen to be blowing away, suggesting that she is taking the world by storm and is therefore constantly in the lime light. This therefore links to the main story, developing an authentic and trustworthy article. Within the headline and sub headline, we are made aware that “ADELE…BLOWS US AWAY”, expressing her power. Accordingly, the image has a clear relation to the content of the story. As well as this, the lighting used exhibits Adele’s face as extremely pale so that her blue eyes become more distinct around her dark eye make up. On that account, Q has accurately portrayed Adele as a striking woman who has an extraordinary future ahead of her. Furthermore, the light on Adele’s face also conveys Adele’s bright future.

LIIAR CONTENTS PAGE ANALYSIS

Cover Lines: The cover lines summarizes the

most enticing features and articles, which are inside the magazine.

Language: Needless to say, this magazine’s contents page holds conventional features of a contents page including a consistent colour scheme, generating a house style. This contents page clearly publicizes a consistent house style, through the use of the colours blue, black and white, which are also present in the “Billboard” masthead (logo). On that account, Billboard retains a continuous house style to ensure that the magazine flows thoroughly and therefore effectively. As well as this, the contents page also obtains a masthead, main feature headline and image; cover lines (smaller features), which are accompanied by a variety of images depicting the smaller features. On that account, this contents page is simple and effective since it is not overcrowded with information. Instead, the contents page informs readers about the most important features that the magazine has to offer.

House Style: Billboard magazine uses a House

Style of colours Blue, Black and White.

Magazines create a house style because they do not want to

confuse their readers by changing the colour

scheme of their magazines every week.

Layout: The content is displayed in a list in the

centre of the page (gives of the impression

of a large amount of content) – meet every

customers needs).

Sub-headings: Separates different parts of the magazine with subheadings e.g. “MUSIC” or “ONLINE” or “EVENTS”.

Institution

As explained previously, Billboard is an American music magazine, which is published by Prometheus Global Media, an American entertainment publishing company, based in New York City. Billboard is one of Prometheus Global Media’s many assets and is music’s most powerful brand. Billboard’s additional assets include: The Billboard Music Awards, Billboard Latin Music Awards and Billboard conferences. However, the company also acquires ownership in the Entertainment (The Hollywood Reporter, Back Stage, Film Expro Group) and the Advertising & Marketing world (Adweek and the The CLIO Awards). William H. Donaldson and James Hennegen discovered Billboard in Cincinnati on November 1, 1894. Initially, Billboard was named ‘Billboard Advertising’ as it was a trade paper. After a few years of discovery, ‘Billboard Advertising’ carried news of live entertainment. Billboard Advertising’s first music relation was the Billboard sheet music best sellers charts & top songs in vaudeville theatres published in 1913. Billboard Publications transformed into a major trade magazine, obtaining The Hollywood Reporter, Kirkus Reviews, Adweek and Mediaweek. It was attained by Dutch publisher VNU, which was later renamed the Nielsen Company in 1993, but later sold in 2009 along with the other Nielsen Business Media properties to the new company e5 Global Media, which was renamed Prometheus Global Media in 2010.

Ideology

As a contents page, I do not feel this expresses or communicates any values due to the fact that I do not know the story that corresponds with the focus image. In my opinion, the cover of the magazine is the most expressive in terms of values as the cover is the primary feature that encourages someone to buy the magazine. As for the magazine itself, Billboard sets trends due to the fact that its one of the leading music magazines in the world and so it is obvious that Billboard has great influence among other music magazines in terms of content – Billboard.com now attracts well over ten million unique visitors each month in more than 100 countries and has become the de faxto digital destination for popular music. Although the main model on the contents page is unknown, it is mainstream in the respect that it is one of the world’s leading magazines even though music may not appeal to everyone. On the other hand, Billboard’s content is completely conventional since the content of the magazine appeals to the young in comparison to the older generation. Having said that, the price of the magazine is £5.50, which is considered extremely expensive and will therefore not appeal to those of a lower class. This therefore restricts Billboard from being the most conventional magazine since the cost limits people from buying the magazine.

Audience

Taking into account the contents page, I have come to the conclusion that the target audience for this magazine is young teens to young adults (16-28). This is because Billboard magazine focuses mainly on the music of today (latest updates). When researching Billboard contents pages, I noticed that each featured image consists of either a young female or male – never an older female of male. In addition to this, Billboard.com states “As Billboard's consumer-faced online home, Billboard.com features an extensive array of searchable, playable charts, breaking music news, artist interviews and exclusives, news, video and more. Launched in 1995 as Billboard Online, Billboard.com now attracts well over ten million unique visitors each month in more than 100 countries and has become the de facto digital destination for popular music”. This clearly conveys my reasoning for Billboard’s target audience since the younger generation preferably listen and download charts online. Ten million unique visitors a month in more than 100 countries suggests that Billboard online is a great hit for their target audience as it is convenient and is much quicker when discovering breaking music news. Furthermore, the use of fun and vibrant colours (blue, black and green) within the contents page also indicates that this magazine is targeted at young teens and adults since these colours symbolize joy and energy that all young people acquire and can therefore relate to.

Representation When conducting my research, I recognised that the majority of music magazines tried to deposit a lot of information and images on this one page. It is evident that the contents page has to be eye-catching and therefore distinctive since it is the first page that viewers see when they open the magazine. However, Billboard has shown that they prefer the much simpler approach when designing their contents page as the background is white and has therefore been taken in a studio. As a result of this, the simple background causes more attention to the main image. The main model is smiling enormously, suggesting that she is a very happy person who abolishes any worries. Her flowing, bouncy hair gives of the impression that she is free and full of life due to her youth and enthusiasm. Moreover, her casual kneeled down posture represents her as a relaxed and humble person. On that account, the simple and neatly laid out contents page portrays Billboard as an easygoing magazine; Billboard’s only interest is meeting the needs of it’s consumers. Furthermore, there are no props used in the main image and this causes more of the audiences focus to go to the model. For that reason, this contents page is quite simple in the respect that it does not need to be jam packed with loads of images for it to be enticing for viewers. Billboard has shown that its main aim is to meet the needs of its customers as the magazine has provided it’s customers with a top hits chart for their customers benefit only. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that Billboard finds satisfaction out of their magazine through their customer’s enjoyment and demands for the magazine.

LIIAR DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD ANALYSIS

Drop-Cap: The beginning of the article is made obvious to readers due to the drop-cap, which shows the reader when to start reading.

Main Feature Headline & Image: The Headline is the main statement on the magazine front

cover, which is usually formatted in

the largest and boldest font,

describing the main story. In this case, the main feature

image is of Florence Welch (known as Florence and the Machine) and the

main feature headline exclaims “USA got the love”

in large capital letters.

By-line: The name of the journalists who wrote the article to anchor the image.

Gutter: The Gutter is the space between pages in the centre spread; sometimes used to describe space between two columns.

Stand First: Sentence or paragraph after a headline and before the article begins that “sells” a feature to the reader.

Language

This double page spread incorporates the typical codes and conventions used within a double page spread, including a drop-cap, stand first, main feature image and main feature headline. Usually, the image used in a double page spread is direct address, which therefore invites the reader to buy the magazine because the celebrity is looking directly at the audience, consequently motivating viewers to buy the magazine. On that account, NME has fulfilled the typical convention used within a double page spread in the image alone, since Florence Welch is looking directly at the camera, creating direct address to the viewers of the magazine. In addition to the above convention, NME has also used stand first, which introduces the celebrity that the article is concerning. In this case, the stand first is referring to Florence Welch as it expresses “She’s 2009’s biggest success story, with America at her feet. So why is Florence Welch lying on her floor attacking herself?” The stand first is used because some readers may not recognise who the celebrity is just from the image, therefore the introduction gives a little insight into who Florence Welch is. However, the rhetorical question used in Welch’s instance persuades viewers to read on so that they understand Florence Welch in better detail, since the rhetorical question implies that she has an interesting story behind her success. The beginning of the article is made obvious to readers due to the drop-cap, which shows the reader when to start reading, a typical convention used on all double page spreads. Additionally, this double page spread includes a by-line, which is placed underneath the headline to give credit to the photographer and writer. The headline that is used in this double page spread clearly states, “USA got the love”. Despite the fact, that the headlines used for double page spreads are always short and intriguing, this headline in particular is very effective as it is a pun since Florence and the Machine’s biggest hit is called “You’ve got the love”. That being the case, the headline for this article has swapped the word “You’ve” for “USA” since “USA got the love” has a better relation to the story in the article. On top of that, this pun has been used to almost prove to the reader how famous she has become. Furthermore, it is a lyric that everyone can relate to, which gives the reader the incentive to read on because it has given the reader something to familiarise with.

Institution

Nme (New Musical Express), created by Theodore Ingham, is a UK weekly pop/rock music journalism publication, published since 7th March 1952. Although NME started as a music newspaper, NME gradually moved toward a music magazine format during the 1980s and 90s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, in 14 November 1952 edition. While, in the 1970s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. In addition to the above, an online version of NME, NME.com, was launched in 1996. It is now the world’s biggest standalone music site, with over 7 million users per month. The magazine and website’s headquarters are in Southwark, London, England, UK. The magazine’s present editor is Mike William’s and NME.com’s present editor is Greg Cochrane.

Ideology

It is evident that NME is quite mainstream in the sense that it’s double page spread holds conventional features for a music magazine. In particular, the use of drop-cap, stand first and main feature headline and image suggests that NME wants to make the consumers reading experience as effortless and straightforward as possible. The use of a drop-cap and stand first suggests that NME longs for their customers to put their whole trust in them. NME wish to meet their demands entirely and therefore inform them of the established and upcoming artists and bands. Evidently, Florence Welch possessed a lot of trust in allowing NME to base the article on such personal circumstances. Within the stand first, it is made clear that “She’s 2009’s biggest success story, with America at her feet. So why is Florence Welch lying on her floor attacking herself?” On that account, it is obvious that NME is a well established and therefore a trusted magazine since Welch contained great faith in allowing NME to tell her story. As a result od this, Welch’s faith permits readers to trust the magazine also because of the personal information that she told them.

Audience

It is evident that the majority of NME’s audience is British people since NME is a UK weekly pop/rock journalism publication. However, I also believe that NME is a music magazine that targets mainly men between the ages of 17-30. As we already know, NME stands for ‘New Musical Express’ and has been going for 62 years which means that different varieties of celebrities have featured on the front cover. As it is called ‘New Musical Express’ it provides information about new music and bands. Over the 62 years of existence, people such as Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones have featured on the front of the magazine. Generally, it is men on the front cover of the magazine, however, women such as Grace Jones and Madonna have also featured on the front and more recently people such as Lana del rey and Lily Allen have made an appearance on the front covers of NME. Moreover, NME has featured many different bands and people from all over the world, which means it actually targets people from various countries. It is evident that NME prefer to use bands and artists that are well known and established because they are the artists that will ensure NME targets many people as they are celebrities that consumers are interested in. Additionally, NME provides information about up coming gigs which is beneficial to readers who are interested in them. On that account, I believe NME targets older teenagers – younger adults since the older generation are more than likely not going to go to gigs.

RepresentationThe main image of Florence Welch conveys her dominance in the music industry as she is depicted sitting upon the American flag. This therefore links to the main story, developing an authentic and trustworthy article. Within the stand first, we are made aware that Welch has “America at her feet”, expressing her power. Welch’s power is conveyed even further on account of the main image since the long shot depicts Welch sitting on an American flag, indicating that the image has a clear relation to the content of the story. The image visibly pictures Welch sitting on top of the American Flag with her legs raised upwards so that her feet are also upon the flag. For that reason, Florence Welch is shown to literally have America at her feet, indicating to readers that Welch has great authority within the music industry and as a result makes readers aware that your missing out if you haven’t heard of her yet. On top of that, Florence Welch is dressed in a black leather playsuit, as well as black leather boots, which concludes her control and command.