Music Magazines: Codes and Conventions

Necmiye Oztekin

What are the conventions of music magazines?

Conventions within magazines are used in order to ensure that the audience

know what the magazine actually is portraying, for example, without the master head and the articles and images, the product would not be a magazine as the audience’s immediate response would be not to recognise it as one. Similarly different genres have different conventions, for example, pop magazine shave bold and bright colours with a celebrity that is wearing a costume in which the

audience can aspire to, and the main props used would be objects such as headphones as the audience can acquire these. On the other hand, a rock

magazine may use darker and more masculine colours with a band with instruments such as guitar and drums; which would lead to an immediate

response to what the magazine is representing. Music magazines in particular use conventions in order to ensure that the audience can understand the

product and that they are used to the way in which the magazine is laid out. This therefore then makes it easier for the audience as they can spend more

time reading the magazine. They then use specific celebrities, for example for rock genre they may use Muse, to portray the conventions even further for their

genre. Conventions also help to make a more successful product as they are easier plan.

Analysis of Existing Products

Kerrang ! is a rock music magazine published by Bauer Consumer Media in the United Kingdom. Kerrang magazine is the world's biggest selling rock magazine, and covers all forms of music for example Slipknot to Marilyn Manson , Limp Bizkit to The Offspring etc.. Kerrang ! was initially devoted to the new wave of British Heavy Metal and the rise of hard rock acts such as AC/DC who appeared on  Kerrang! ’s first cover.

Launched as a monthly magazine its high demand meant it could then be printed

fortnightly and eventually weekly. Kerrang magazine appeals to a specific niche audience because it concerns topics and themes that are relevant to people who listen to and are interested by rock music and its background.  Kerrang!  identifies its audience as ‘individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty’ Kerrang!  is aimed at the youth and their lifestyles as it has a contemporary and up-to-date look, making use of modern typefaces and a down-to-earth feel.

The magazine even accommodates the young readership by using advertisements that relate to their interests. Kerrang!  aims itself more at a male audience and appeals to them by using content such as hard rock and metal iconic male bands on the front cover pulling angry faces or violent expressions. Female readers are targeted by the use of male bands on free pull out posters and feature interviews.

The anchoring image is of a popular rock singer for the band

Paramore and can be clearly seen and there is a direct mode of

address. This main image attracts the readers attention as she is

staring at them and is a mid –shot which is taken from the waist

upwards. It is also of a well known singer which helps encourage people to buy the magazine.

Master head- the heading is in a fixed location , always at the top, and the font remains

the same in every issue, helping develop brand

Identity.

The cover line states “Hayley answer your questions", it

encourages readers to discover more to what they know about Paramore and upcoming music which may be included in the magazine. It is a scoop and a

hook to attract potential buyers. The text is framed, and acts like a caption to the main image above.

Front Cover Issues/articles - The front cover shows Hayley Williamson the front cover with the cover line saying “I

have nothing left to prove...” so the magazine will feature something about her inside. It also lists more bands down the side, this shows there may be interviews or reviews or something about them inside the magazine as well. From the front cover we can only see that their interests are mainstream rock groups. The front cover has a header listing some mainstream bands; the main image on the front cover is of the lead singer of a mainstream rock

group, and on the side they list other mainstream rock groups that are going to be in the magazine and also are

advertising that they have posters of yet more mainstream rock groups.

The Left Third , covers the main stories and articles in the issue e.g.

“Bullet for my Valentine” , they have made the text bold and showed it as if it would cause

danger, the bright and bold colour elaborates the importance of this event in history, to make the story

more worthy of the readers

attention of Kerrang.

Features- On the right hand side of the page there is a long column that highlights the main

features included in this week’s issue. The features are numbered which correspond to the number of the picture this is effective as it gives

the reader a taste of what is to come without giving to much away, encouraging the reader to read on. Small subheadings are used and these

are shown in a bright yellow font, this is to show their importance by using subheadings and dividing the magazine up they have made it

much easier for the reader to find exactly what they are looking for. This is an important

convention for a contents page. Readers do not want to be wasting valuable reading time on finding out what page a specific article is on.

Kerrang ! Colour Schemes- the colour schemes used on the top of the page is a black box with a contrasting

bold yellow font so as to make the page more noticeable to the reader and evidently shows

them what the page is about. The colour scheme of this page is yellow, black and white. The

yellow and black work in reverse of each other which makes the page look more artistic.

The overall impression is the layout and design, which is very crammed into one page , and is

bold and loud. This is purposely done as it attracts their target market of rock music, rock music expresses dark, gloomy, untidiness and clutter therefore if a rock magazine used these codes and conventions ,it will help portray the

fact that it is a rock magazine

“Q” Magazine Q' s current editor is Paul Rees, former editor of the UK edition of Kerrang!, another musical Bauer publication based on heavier rock/metal music.

Q has a history of associating with charitable organizations, and in 2006 the British anti-poverty charity War on Want was named its official charity.

In late 2008 Q revamped its image, with a smaller amount of text and an increased focus on subjects other than music. This “Rolling Stone”; has led to criticism from much of the traditional Q readership, though it is yet to be seen if this change in attitude will dramatically affect sales.

Colour Schemes- the main colour schemes are red ,white and black, these colours

are repeated and used in every “Q” Magazine , this repetition of the colours

helps the reader recognise when the magazine is in the shelf.

Main Image- this main image attracts the readers attention as she is staring at them and is a mid –shot which is taken from the waist upwards. It is also of a well known singer which helps encourage people to

buy the magazine. Left Third - The left third contains the main feature article, in this case the left third

features, “Britain's Biggest Music Bands” and there interviews which are exclusive to “Q” Magazine.

Cover lines - The essential articles inside the magazine, in this case “If you’ve got it, flaunt it” , this concept helps the female market buy the product as it about them and so putting the information on the front cover helps them get a feel for the magazine without

even turning the page.

Overall Layout- the overall layout stands out with the darker backgrounds and the bright colours, and it will help the magazine stand independent , from the rest of the magazines on the shelf. The overlapping layers

adds to the effects of it all being crammed in one front cover, this can also encourage people to buy it as there

is lots of thing to read about

The little details such as the barcode, price and pugs – can either be at the top left or/and right-hand corners of the front cover. These add to the professional look and help demand people to buy more magazines as

this helps the magazine look more realistic

“ Q” Magazine- Contents Main Image- the main image is of “Adele” who is an indie pop singer,

normally the main image of a music group/singer and at the bottom there is a caption, with a quick

description on what's the story about, e.g. exclusive interviews, celebrity gossip and reviews

Overall Styles -“Q” has kept its traditional house style of red and white in every issue. It has a simple and clear title with the issue number

beside it. Down the left hand side the features are laid out very clearly with sub-headings and separating red lines Features- the feature are

always on the left in every issue and the headings are usually underlined in red and the reviews are

at the bottom .

Left Third -left third and the page numbers are in a large red font, relevant to the style of the Q logo. Below the “Features” section is a small section labelled “Every Month” which has the

same layout as the “Features” section with the black font and red numbers. The “Q List” is also

present in this contents page and features a white background ,which fits well with the black

text.

Photography- there are only two images on the contents, because the contents so a more written

text than images like the front cover,. However the images used look original and are not edited

The magazines shown are primarily what I anticipate for my magazine to be like, however the magazine which would be more effective and similar for what I anticipate is the Kerrang! Magazine. This is because this particular magazine in the same genre as what I hope my magazine will be. I also hope to use a similar layout to this magazine with the masthead above the main image; therefore the person in the main image will be able to stand out against the writing. I will also be using aspects from Q magazine with the use of overlapping layers and the left third. I will also be anticipating the use of mid-shot for my main images, as it has been done in both the magazines , shown from the previous slides.

The layout for my contents page will be similarly laid out to Q magazine, continuation of the same person used on the front cover but also in the contents, giving a direct address of what is to be expected in the magazine. The contents page will also consists of a long column addressing features included in the current issue of the magazine as it would it gives the reader a taste of what is to come without giving to much away, encouraging the reader to read on. The colour scheme for the contents page will be similar to the front covers colour scheme, as it will most likely link well to the use of colours which may be used in the masthead of the magazine for example bold and daring colours such as reds and blacks- which links fairly well to the genre of the magazine.

Conclusion