Analysis of magazine front coversCover 3.Top of the Pops Dec 2011

One Direction Edition

The masthead – It is the same logo on every edition of the magazine so that it is easily recognisable to regular buyers. Also it is in bright baby blue and so clearly stands out at the top of the page although it only takes up about a fifth of the page.

Flasher – this draws readers attention to this particular exciting extra feature of the magazine, intriguing them to what is going on inside the magazine. Also as the text says “Boys’ real fears” it suggests that the magazine is aimed at young girls as they are most likely to be interested in boys at their age.House style – the house style is consistent and uses swirly/funky writing suggesting it is again suitable for girls of a young age. It also uses the colours baby blue, pink , white and black which would be the colours most liked/suited to young girls, especially the pink. These colours also suit the genre of the magazine as they are quite funky and funky/bright is associated with pop.

Background – the background is mainly white sticking to the house style. This could be because the page is crammed full of images and bright colours and so anything other than a white background would be too much. As the page has lots of bright colours and images this could suggest it is to suit the target audience as if they are young girls this will be what interests and attracts them to the magazine the most.

Use of a pull quote – Their are a couple of pull quotes used to intrigue a niche audience as they are from the artists that the audience would most aspire to and these artists are included in the pop genre.

Barcode/date/issue/price – it is important on all magazines but is placed at the bottom away from the main copy as it is not as important to the genre of the magazine.

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Main Cover line – it tells everyone who is on the front cover , although it is only small. However, the bit in bright letters stands out and the language “flirt factor” suggests it is directed at girls and younger girls around the age of 8. Also the writing, with a heart on the “i” again suggests it is aimed at girls and also the font suits the pop (funky) genre of the magazine.

Main image – as One Direction are currently well known icons, especially to people who relate to this magazine and their music style, it will attract a niche audience or those who don’t usually buy it. Also this is a long shot of One Direction with the boys at the front crouching and as they are all enclosed in on each other this suggests they are good friends which makes them come across as friendly to the audience influencing them to buy the magazine. Also as they are all smiling , this gives the connotations of welcome to buyers and it fits in with the whole feel of the magazine, the eye catching features for example.

Selling lines/Cover lines – These inform potential buyers of the other music artists and featuring in this edition and so will attract and relate to the target audience as they fit in with the genre of the magazine which is in fact Pop but sometimes the genre of this magazine may include R&B/Hip Hop. Also the language of these reinforces the target audience being young girls as it is easy for them to understand and not something that would really interest boys.

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Header – This gives information about Pixie Lott encouraging the reader to read more and again this is more likely to be someone young girls would admire.

Rule of thirds – is the traditional layout of a magazine as it adds interest to the target audience and the cluttered layout shows that the magazine is filled with content and also relates to the target audience and lively feel of Pop music/artists.

Warning – this is very important because it is a warning about if an allergic reaction occurs, with some makeup that came with the magazine, and what to do. This is so that people/adults are aware as young children may be using it and so that the magazine covers themselves.

Producers/Creators – this is here to show that Top of the Pops originally was a show on BBC and so it helps advertise the magazine because if people used to watch the show and liked it they may think they will like the magazine and therefore buy it.

THE TARGET AUDIENCE OF THIS MAGAZINE The target audience of this magazine are mainly females as Pop is associated more with them and they seem more interested in it. Also the target audience of this issue is mainly those who are interested in some of these, if not all, music artists and perhaps those more similar to these artists listed on this magazine. Also as most of the artists featured in this issue are boys they are unlikely to attract any age of other boys unless the artists are role models to some boys possibly of a young age. The main age group that are likely to be interested in this magazine could be young girls (around the age of 5 – 13) as the main Pop artists featured on this cover are teenage boys or varied in age girls which girls both aspire to/are more interested in. Therefore, they are unlikely to attract young adults and onwards. The majority of the target audience may be children and so on no wage (or little pocket money) so will not be able to afford a magazine as expensive as this and so if the children want the magazine they will generally beg the parents for it who are on an average wage and so can afford a £3.99 magazine (when it comes with makeup).

The methods used to attract the target audience are:

One Directions facial expressions relate to the whole theme/feel of the magazine relating to the genre of Pop which then relates to the target audience and there interests.

The girls featured on this cover, e.g. Kelly Rowland, and the clothes that they wear may attract a niche audience who aspire to be like them as they also like Pop. Also all of the artists featured may attract people who are not always weekly buyers of the magazine for example it may usually be people interested in just Pop who buy it but just for this issue those interested in the artists who aren't always on the cover.

Also the general House Style of the magazine, the bold, bright and funky eye catching writing and colours, will automatically attract the target audience as they will straight away know it is a Top of the Pops magazine and it will relate to them but it may also attract non frequent buyers of the magazine.

Pictured here is some makeup that came with the magazine which emphasises the fact that the target audience is young girls as boys would most likely not be interested in the makeup and the fact that the makeup does not appear very expensive suggests it is for a young audience as they may damage it easily.

Putting the makeup with the magazine is another effective way to attract the target audience as some young girls may just want the magazine because of the makeup that comes with it and therefore this may be a one off occasion that they buy it encouraging more/extra non usual buyers. It is also an effective way for the magazine to make more money as this issue will be slightly more expensive just because there is makeup with it.

Analysis of magazine contents pagesContents 3.Top of the Pops Dec 2011

One Direction Edition

The masthead - is not the same as on the front cover and it doesn’t say contents, it says “Inside the mag...” which suits the house style for the contents page of TOTP and also this language used may suit the target audience better as it is easy for young children to understand. Also the glittery/starry effect around the masthead suggests this magazine is aimed at girls as that is what, stereotypically, would interest them.

The main image - it is the image of the front cover with numbers pointing to the features to show what page they are on so it is easy to understand for young children. There are a few images to suggest it is image led therefore. There is also an image of The Wanted at the bottom of the page which takes some of the focus again suggesting that girls are the main readers as this would interest them and what they are wearing again relates to the magazines Pop genre. However, there is a fair amount of writing on this page which could be so that it is easy to understand for young audiences as there is a lot of explanation. Also there are two smaller images;, one of girls perfumes and one of a dress, which make it clear that this magazine is aimed at girls and furthermore, young girls as one of the perfumes is Hello Kitty, for example.

House style - Again the colours Pink, Baby blue, Black and White are used to stick to the house style and relate to the target audience; (the baby blue would also appeal to young girls as it is not a definite/dark blue which would interest boys more). Also most of the writing on this page is in a suitable font that would appeal most to girls of a young age.

Lure - this could be a lure as it says “we have highlighted everywhere you can get inside boys’ heads” which should relate to the target audience, which is suggested they are young girls by this, and so will lure them in to read more. Also the use of the word “We” in the subheading “We (heart) boys” makes the reader feel included/ a part of the magazine.

Editorial - there is no real editorial which could be because it would dis-interest the target audience as they are children and children can have short attention spam's.

Subheading & Summaries - There is a subheading, always in swirly black writing on a white background, splitting pages into sections to make it easier for readers to follow. There is also a summary of the pages under a brief heading to intrigue the audience to read more. It is also always in black with the page numbers in pink on a white background; therefore all of the colours used stick to the house style and interest the audience.

By line - this is a credit for who the photographer of the cover image is. This could again be just to advertise their magazine but in an effective way so that if people know who the photographer is it may intrigue them to buy other issues with that photographer featured.

Analysis of magazine double page spreadsD.P.Spread 3.Top of the Pops Dec 2011

One Direction Edition

Main Image – This is a long shot of One Direction who are all wearing casual clothes suggesting the magazine is quite informal reinforcing that it is aimed at children. They are also wearing blue/white coloured clothing which fits in with the colours of the double page spread. Finally, this clothing suits the Pop/Trendy feel/genre of the magazine.

House style- here it shows the Top of the Pops title and page number which is important on a magazine and shows a consistent house style.

Caption reference to One Direction - this could be to emphasize how important One Direction are to this magazine and to make more people aware that they are featuring in this issue.

By line - this is a credit for who the double page spread is by e.g. Who the photographer of the image is and who the author of the article is. This could again be just to advertise their magazine but in an effective way so that if people know who the writers are it may intrigue them to buy other issues with that writer in.

Stand first - this is an introduction bit of information about the artists being interviewed so that if people read this they may be interested enough to read further on in the article.

Main headline/Lure - this is in blue/purple block capitals on a light blue background and so again suits the house style and maybe the stereotypical gender being interviewed. Also it could be a lure because it uses a catchy slogan type phrase that intrigues the target audience to want to read more but also suits the season/time of year it is (Christmas) which could also influence the colour choice as blue has connotations of cold/ice and snow . Also as the word “unwrapped” is bolder and has an exclamation after it, it makes it seem more important to the audience and so they feel obliged to read on.

Background - this creates mise-en-scene because of the colour blue associating with winter. The colour also fits in with the fact that the target audience (children) like lots of colour to interest them.

Columns - there are 3 columns of equal width so sticking to a consistent house style of using rule of thirds. However, they wrap around the stars connoting that the page is mainly colour led (to suit the target audience) and relates to the season/time of year.

Use of pull quote/Flasher- here is a quote pulled out from the text (usually an interesting one) so that when the audience read it they will read the rest of the text as well. The quote is inside a ‘festive’ flasher to make it stand out and draw people in as it is a bold purple/blue colour. Also the target audience, at the age they are, may have interest in bold colours and shapes which will interest them further.

Advertisement – here is an advert about how to win ‘1D’ goodies suggesting that One Direction must be well recognised and known by people interested in Pop which also suggests these people will know ‘1D’ are a regular feature in ‘TOTP’. Also the language “goodies” again suggests it is aimed at children who are girls and so this advert is something they would be interested in. Finally, the word “win” is in bold black swirly letters, sticking to the house style, but standing out as important to attract attention because it has an exclamation after it.

ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN ARTICLE: The article itself is basically about an interview with One Direction about the festive season (Christmas). This could be because this is something the target audience, of young girls, will find interesting e.g. the fact it is One Direction being interviewed and the fact it is about Christmas time. The style of the article is written and displayed to suit One Direction and the Pop genre. For example, the word “pressie” is used to suggest the magazine is informal which suits the Pop genre and the age of ‘1D’ and the target audience of children. It is written in 3 equal/quite long columns consisting of approximately 250 – 300 words. This could be again to stick to the house style but also to ensure the text is not too long to put off their target audience (as it is in a slightly bigger than usual font). The main headline is dramatic as it uses play on words to suit the festive season and entice the target audience to buy the magazine so that they can read more. It could also interest those who do not normally buy the magazine just because it is catchy and the font relates to Pop and children and possibly boys, who aspire to be like ‘1D’, as it is the colour blue.

MORE INFO ON Top of the Pops MAGAZINE Top of the Pops has been published, by BBC magazines, in the UK, monthly, since February 1995.

It is a supplementary magazine for the TV show Top of the Pops. Alongside a revamp of the TV show, it was originally produced as the missing link between Smash Hits and NME, but its format gradually changed so it now includes less music content. It is still in publication even though there was the cancellation of the TV show.

An online version of Top of the Pops was launched and can be found at http://www.totpmag.com/

Top of the Pops currently has a circulation of 105,025.

The magazine has had several editors over the years, including Peter Lorraine, Corinna Schaffer and Rosalie Snaith, and contributing editors including Adam Tanswell. Its current editor is Peter Hart.

Although the magazine has been known, in the past, to include R&B artists; its main genre is currently Pop as it has featured girl groups, such as The Spice Girls, in which the magazine was famous for giving the group their nicknames.

During the magazines revamp (at the time of the show revamp) it made a demographic shift to young girls and this is still its current target audience. However, it sometimes is stated that ‘TOTP’ is a teenage/young people’s gossip (Pop) magazine.