Magazine Review…NME (October 15th) – Featuring Florence Welch
- -Produced by IPC Media
- The target audience would be alternative music lovers over the age of 18 (due to the nature of advertisements such as alcohol). Upcoming gigs and festivals are stated for those who are interested. Also advertisements for festival equipment e.g. boot and unknown artists wanting to get into the music business. – Video recording studios -. Complexity of magazine would incline is for 18 to late twenties perhaps. (Young adults mainly)- - Price = £2.40 or £74.99 for a years subscription
- -Published every week
- -Circulation is 29,020, in the first half of 2011 it's sales dropped 14.3%- the biggest decline in sales of all music magazines. According to recent figures, Kerrang was the only exemplar to increase at 0.2%. NME is actually the lowest seller in comparison. This could be to do with the fact that as NME has been going for a long period of time (since 1952), there can be doubts as to whether they have adapted their style to the current climate and judged their target audience effectively. As you can see the economic situation in recent times has been the main factor hindering sales for all magazines with a few exceptions.
Circulation figures : Source - MAG ABC
- The Fly (free) ; Channelfly Enterprises Ltd ; 100,386 ; -7.2%
- Mojo ; Bauer Consumer Media ; 87,262 ; -4.8%
- Q ; Bauer Consumer Media ; 80,418 ; -10.1%
- Uncut ; IPC Media Ltd ; 66,004 ; -10.9%
- The Stool Pigeon (fee) ; Junko Partners Publishing ; 51,750 ; N/A
- Properganda (free) ; Proper Music Distribution ; 45,212 ; N/A
- Kerrang! ; Bauer Consumer Media ; 43,033 ; -2.2%
- DIY Magazine (free) ; RWD Creative Media Limited ; 38,125 ; N/A
- New Musical Express ; IPC Media Ltd ; 29,020 ; -14.3%
-£67,071 a month on advertisement revenue generated.
-Brand identity…NME – New Musical Express
- The Cover
- -The USP is the WORLD EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW to pull in customers. This global exclusivity is attractive. The title is FLORENCE – the name of the artist, which is rather obvious, and the reader can easily relate to the name.
- -The logo/masthead is continuously the same size but I know from observation that from time to time the colour changes, for example to correlate with the theme of the font cover, yet the text style remains constant.
- -The main image is of Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine), and her iconic red hair is clear. She is wearing a burgundy retro styled hat, which contrasts, with her hair colour. Her clothes too are too rather retro and are classic plain colours, which allow the hat and her hair to stand out. We are also as consumers drawn into the necklace, which is centred pretty much in the centre of the page. - -Her gaze is locked on the camera also connecting with the reader. The background is a plain grey blue, which reiterates the same effect of the classic clothes.
- -The other image on the cover is a small portrait photo of another artist with a small feature within the magazine and is simply for advertisement of this feature.
- -The font is a constant on the front page even though the text size and colour differs. It is also all in caps. -The largest example is the main coverline in bright red which is in relation to her infamous hair colour.
- -The context of the writing is in note form as such – simply not very descriptive and brief, which is fitting for a front page.
- -The cover is similar to other music magazines in the respect that it has a featured artist on a medium close up shot on the front page surrounded by text. Also the logo is generally in the same place in the top left as in other magazines. People probably but NME also for the name as its famous and well recognised as a good music magazine.
Inside
- -66 pages.
- -17 pages of adverts. (26%)
- -Advertising pages of: Fashion, itunes, books, radio, mobile phones, alcohol, TV shows, music gigs, stores, Cds. Here shown is a selection of upcoming gigs. This also indicates the target audience. In my opinion I believe that the target group would be individualists as there are not a lot of fashion advertiements hence the irrelevance of trying to influence the readers to buy these product as such. Branded clothing companies would recognise this.
- -10 double page spreads. To note, only one of these is dominant/takes up over two pages which in fact is the main feature shown on the front - the comeback interview of Florence Welch. In fact it actually is dedicated 5 pages.
- -The house style is modern and vibrant which is in correspondence with its young audience. There is a continuity of stylish and relaxed tones throughout which makes the structure of the magazine organised. Many images make the setting far more interesting. The font itself is rather small - hence the detail of content being comprehensive and thorough as more can be fitted in.
- The bulk of the text regarding the main feature is situated on a double page and then another page after (the interview itself). Before this there is a large scale picture titled 'THE EXORCISM..." with a brief description of the approaching article. It can be seen as an introduction.
- The bulk of the text regarding the main feature is situated on a double page and then another page after (the interview itself). Before this there is a large scale picture titled 'THE EXORCISM..." with a brief description of the approaching article. It can be seen as an introduction.
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The style of the images relates back to the front page (traditional/retro)
... there are also examples of continuity of text and the colour scheme of red in correspondance to her hair as mentioned. I feel this is a nice considerate touch.
- The language used in the feature is directly taken from the interview thus creating a relaxed and casual tone although sometimes it can be developed to create a sense of drama and exposure with factual evidence- "Watched by a billion people at the VMA's last September. Officially the most googled person on earth the day after. Still living at home with mother in..Camberwell?". Here is the percieved sarcastic and rhetorical manner in which it was written but it cannot be taken in a serious way.Every so often the writer conveys a humourous take on the proceedings in their own way or Florence's career. The language used can also identifiy the target audience as its complexity and adult humour would obvious imply it is not for young teenagers as such. A quotation is enlarged which is attention grabbing and summarises some of the interview " I WAS A SCARED KID. IT GIVES YOU THE FEELING OF BEING HAUNTED". To the right of the double page is a timeline type account of her in NME itself. There are several small images and noteably a larger more dominant image in the centre of the two pages.
- -KERRANG is produced by Bauer Consumer Media. I can assume that audience targeted is rock music lovers between the age of late teenage years to early thirties as there is a wide variety in the focus of bands such as Metallica to relatively new bands like You Me At Six.
- All featured bands/artists have their images displayed in a semi circle type formation – over the KERRANG logo. The KERRANG masthead is done in the style of a smashed window to show the loudness of the 'kerrang' of a guitar, which I think is actually a nice touch. It is an emphatic name which is unique.
- -Posters again are cropping up. KERRANG offers ‘posters of 2009’. More pulling techniques are shown by competitions ‘win over £1000 of Xmas presents”.
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The style of the images relates back to the front page (traditional/retro)
... there are also examples of continuity of text and the colour scheme of red in correspondance to her hair as mentioned. I feel this is a nice considerate touch.
- The language used in the feature is directly taken from the interview thus creating a relaxed and casual tone although sometimes it can be developed to create a sense of drama and exposure with factual evidence- "Watched by a billion people at the VMA's last September. Officially the most googled person on earth the day after. Still living at home with mother in..Camberwell?". Here is the percieved sarcastic and rhetorical manner in which it was written but it cannot be taken in a serious way.Every so often the writer conveys a humourous take on the proceedings in their own way or Florence's career. The language used can also identifiy the target audience as its complexity and adult humour would obvious imply it is not for young teenagers as such. A quotation is enlarged which is attention grabbing and summarises some of the interview " I WAS A SCARED KID. IT GIVES YOU THE FEELING OF BEING HAUNTED". To the right of the double page is a timeline type account of her in NME itself. There are several small images and noteably a larger more dominant image in the centre of the two pages.
KERRANG – (December 19 2009) – Featuring Paramore, Metallica, BMTH, Slipknot, YMAS.
- -KERRANG is produced by Bauer Consumer Media. I can assume that audience targeted is rock music lovers between the age of late teenage years to early thirties as there is a wide variety in the focus of bands such as Metallica to relatively new bands like You Me At Six.- The cost of the magazine is £2.60, the same price as the current NME.
- -KERRANG offers a subscription of £35.50 for sixth months or £77 for 12 months.
- -It is published weekly and has a circulation of 43,033 on average.
- -Advertisements – similar to NME. Upcoming music concerts/festivals etc. e.g.) Sonisphere Festival, Dance Gavin Dance, KISS, Airbourne, A Day To Remember. Quite heavy music as you can see. Also a section at the back of the magazine called :small ads”.
- -There are 87 pages. There is a lot more content than NME and notably less large advertising space taken up hence the point there are more features. As this is a Christmas/End of the year edition, it is more of a summary of many factors and not focused on one or two bands as per. There are in fact five bands mainly with double page spreads. These are set up all similarly which shows continuity in the house system. Only changed made are obviously as expected- fonts, images.
- The images in general on these double page features are rather large, sometimes covering a whole page with the interviews being displayed on the opposite page.
- The front page itself is rather cluttered/crammed. The band that are featured. The coverline @WHY 2009 ROCKED! Simply shows what the content of the magazine will be referring to. Everything on the front page as it goes is in CAPS.
- All featured bands/artists have their images displayed in a semi circle type formation – over the KERRANG logo. The KERRANG masthead is done in the style of a smashed window to show the loudness of the 'kerrang' of a guitar, which I think is actually a nice touch. It is an emphatic name which is unique.- The stamp has small writing of upcoming topics, which are not as important but can still inform the audience of what is in this weeks magazine.
- The xmas theme is further demonstrated as Oli Sykes is holding a cracker for example. The facial expressions of the artists are rather dramatic and theatrical and are mid shots. Their top half is only displayed though.
- -Posters again are cropping up. KERRANG offers ‘posters of 2009’. More pulling techniques are shown by competitions ‘win over £1000 of Xmas presents”.- -The contrast in the difference between the style of the double pages is perfectly shown between Hayley Williams’ and Jared Leto. The house style is adapted to the nature of the interview. Colour schemes also differ but the structure and lay out of the page is constant. As in an interview the language is casual and colloquial.
Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were frustrated by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then they were still a new technology.
- The target audience of the magazine would be those that are slightly more affluent as advertisements such as Audi are shown. Also the price is considerably more at £3.99. Saying this, the magazine is only released once a month, therefore, there is a lot more content and advertisements need to be of a higher income to make a good profit as only released once a month. Higher ended brands in the market would pay these competitive prices to be featured and meet magazine requirements.
-Comparison to the Florence feature in FHM - as there are many features not focusing on one individual in depth as in NME this was bound to be shorter or less unique. The shots of Florence are of a vintage or classic intention in NME, whereas in Q they are more current with the colours enhanced. Lighting is much brighter. The purpose of the feature is to interview Florence and find out her favourite albums – this cropped up in NME notably. There is further recollection to the strapline of “THE MUSIC THAT CHANGED MY LIFE”. Quotes are again hightlighted “I paced the streets of London sobbing to the first Bon Iver album” – showing her vulnerable side and the reader sympathises with her. It’s clever how the writer can slyly make the person in hand be perceived in many lights.
Q Magazine – (November 2011)- 25th Anniversary Collector’s Edition
-Produced by Bauer Media Group
Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were frustrated by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then they were still a new technology. - Was originally called Cue but Q would stand out on stands. Cue – “cue the music”. The masthead is iconic – short and snappy. It makes sense and is relative to the music theme. The red background alerts the customer to the top left of the page, to its core identity.
- As of the first half of 2011, Q’s circulation was down 10.1% as anticipated in the current market.
- The target audience of the magazine would be those that are slightly more affluent as advertisements such as Audi are shown. Also the price is considerably more at £3.99. Saying this, the magazine is only released once a month, therefore, there is a lot more content and advertisements need to be of a higher income to make a good profit as only released once a month. Higher ended brands in the market would pay these competitive prices to be featured and meet magazine requirements. - Tbe USP of this magazine is the “#01 of 25 covers to collect” and the 25th anniversary.
- The style of the music intended is alternative and pop/rap – Tinie Tempah on front cover, then Mumford and Sons advertised and Arctic Monkeys etc. A real variety.
- Tinie Tempah in a mid shot, sunglasses show mysterious element, also iconic to Tinie.
“THE MUSIC THAT CHANGED MY LIFE” – strapline. Referring to special features of Jay Z, Muse, Coldplay etc.
- “Plus! 145 albums to discover” – intriguing and pulls reader in.
-Unified house style, continuity of red and white theme linking back to Q masthead.
-Comparison to the Florence feature in FHM - as there are many features not focusing on one individual in depth as in NME this was bound to be shorter or less unique. The shots of Florence are of a vintage or classic intention in NME, whereas in Q they are more current with the colours enhanced. Lighting is much brighter. The purpose of the feature is to interview Florence and find out her favourite albums – this cropped up in NME notably. There is further recollection to the strapline of “THE MUSIC THAT CHANGED MY LIFE”. Quotes are again hightlighted “I paced the streets of London sobbing to the first Bon Iver album” – showing her vulnerable side and the reader sympathises with her. It’s clever how the writer can slyly make the person in hand be perceived in many lights. 
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