ROCKSOUND Front Page Analysis
GENERAL
Which company produces the magazine?
Rock sound is a British magazine published by Ryan Bird.
Who are the target audience?
Rock sound is aimed at the British market, but also aims to be popular in America, Australia and Canada. From the front cover, it is aimed at a young audience due to the bright colour and popular band featuring on the front, who are also aimed at younger people. In addition, the bands they are advertising on the front cover are quite young, so it is highly likely young people will listen to them. This means younger people, around the age of 16-22 will be more likely to buy the magazine than people who are older or younger.
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How much does it cost and how often is it published?
The magazine comes out every month so it is more expensive at £3.99.
The main image:
The main image is of a very popular band called 5 Seconds of Summer. They are the main feature in the magazine. The image is anchored as it is layered in front of the name of the magazine, which shows they are more important. The image is a close up of the band members letting all seriousness go and pulling funny faces. This tells the audience the information in the magazine will be quite relaxed. Their facial expressions are excited and friendly, which means It also stands out from other magazines as some bands can look quite intimidating. They are centred and the majority of their bodies are covered up by text which draws all of the attention to their faces. This makes it easier to recognise them for people who may be looking for a magazine with this particular band in.
Other images:
The other images on the front cover are a lot smaller than the main image and are a mixture of artists performing and posing. This allows the customer to see who the other bands in the magazine are, without drawing all the attention away from the main picture. Circulation techniques are used with the smaller images to keep the focus on the people and bands rather than their names. The clothes the bands in the images are wearing give a first impression on the type of music they make which instantly tells the customer what kind of things the magazine will include.
Content:
The front cover is packed with bright colours that contrast with darker ones. The image of 5 seconds of summer is a dark image which makes the text and boxes seem brighter and makes them stand out. It informs the reader on what is going to feature in the magazine.
INSIDE
How many pages are there?
There are 99 pages.
How many pages of adverts are there?
16
How many double page spreads are there?
There are 14 double page spreads.
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Categorise the adverts into categories:
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Advertisements for the bands featuring in the magazine e.g. albums
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Video games
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Merchandise
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Food
THE COVER
The title:
The title is Rock Sound which instantly tells the audience the type of music that will feature in the magazine. It is all in caps which shows it is loud and bold. It is behind the image which shows the magazine is popular as the title doesn’t need to be the main part of the front cover. It is bright green with no outline colour which makes it look simplistic but also makes it stand out.
The strapline:
The house style is repeated here with the bright green text that is all in capital letters which brings the page together. The only difference is that it is slanted which makes it look fun and makes it stand out in comparison to the other text on the page. The other colours used on this text are pink and white which are both bright and eye catching, and also link with the bright green text. The words “new” and “broken” are juxtaposed which draws attention.
