Analysing Music Magazine Contents pages for R & B Genre

I am going to analyse three R & B magazine contents pages to gain a better understanding of the common conventions of this genre. I will also be able to see what target audience will be interested in this genre of magazine and why; like in Hall and Holmes, 1998: “Any media text is created for a particular audience and will usually appeal most to this particular target audience”.

Billboard Magazine

The information about the Billboard magazine company is the same as what I wrote about on my last post. As is the target audience and masthead.

The layout of this contents page is quite busy as there is a lot of text in different columns and it also includes an album and song chart on the left side of the page. It is split into two sections; on the left is the music charts and on the right is the contents for the magazine. There is a main image on the right with text around it, and three images at the top of the page. There is not a large size difference in these images, which makes it difficult to point out if there is a main image, or not. At the top of the right side of the page, the word ‘contents’ is written in a bold font making the word stand out and make it obvious to the reader what page they are looking at. This supports the conventions of a contents page of a magazine, as the word ‘contents’ is usually used for a title for this page. The page is broken up into sections for different features making it easier for the reader to find the information they are looking for, as there is a lot of text on this page. I personally think the layout is quite boring as the images are of a similar size so there isn’t a main subject to the page and there is a lot of small text so the reader might feel as if they are being overloaded with information. In my own work, I would like to create a page where there is a main subject/image rather than everything merging together that doesn't give anything to draw in the readers eye. I personally think that for the target audience for this genre, there is too much information on this page.

The colour scheme is quite simple – there is a plain white background with mostly black writing and blue where there are more important parts of information and around the borders. A few other colours are used within the left side where there are the song charts, like red and yellow. It makes the page look more interesting when there are different colours in the text, and makes the important parts of the text that the reader will want to read stand out. It also separates the writing into different parts which makes it easier to read. Because the colour scheme is quite simple, but makes it easier to read, it will help the magazine sell to the target audience because they will be able to see if the magazine has the features and information they are looking for easily. In terms of my own work, I would like to keep my colours quite simple and also use them to make headings more clear.

The typography in the text is effective as the fonts that are used are similar. The font used for the title ‘Contents’ is also used for the important subheadings around the page, like for ‘Home front’ and ‘No. 1’. This font is bold as it is in a block letter style and is written in black against white.  Using the same or similar font’s makes the page less busy for the reader can get the information more easily. It is important that the fonts work together or the page will look too busy and it won't look professional - I will use this to influence my own work. This also helps the product sell to the target audience because they will appreciate the professional look. 

As I said when I was discussing the layout, there is not much scale difference which makes the page a bit boring to look at. The content of the images is relevant to the topics in the magazine, but if the reader does not know who the people in the images are, it would be difficult for them to relate to it without reading further into the magazine. There isn’t any main image, which means the reader doesn’t have any subject to look at or anything that catches their eye. I don’t think the images that are used are effective, and make the page look boring. 

Overall, I think this contents page is a dull design for its purpose. I think it works well for giving the reader relevant information and I think the music charts on the left side is a good addition to the page, but I don’t think the layout or colours make the page interesting. This page gets the information across, but I personally don’t think it draws the reader in or makes them want to read any further. 

Vibe Magazine

The information about the Vibe magazine company is the same as what I wrote about on my last post. As is the target audience and masthead.

This contents page has fairly simple layout. It is split into two sections, the model in the main image is on the right, and all of the information is written in one column on the left. The text overlaps the main image, as the background of the image is used for the background of the whole page – the model is not cut out and put onto a plain background like the Billboard magazine. This makes the page look more interesting as the image takes up most of the page, and it isn’t overloaded with text. However, it does look a bit empty as there are no other images to show teasers of what is included in the magazine which makes the page look simple. Overall, it does look professional and gets the message across without looking too busy. The word ‘Contents’ is not used for the title of this page, which is unusual as that is a common convention of magazine contents pages. This professional looking layout will help sell the product to the target audience because it is simple and gets the message across. Also, unlike the Billboard contents page, there is a main image which draws the attention of the reader strait away. This will influence my own work because it has taught me that the page doesn't have to be full or busy to look professional.

The colour scheme on this page is very simple, the only other colours used other than black and white for the text is the colours in the image. The background is mainly shades of grey, which makes the black and white text stand out. The font is mainly white, but black is used for the page numbers, and the main image is made up of mostly dark colours. By using minimal colours, it makes the page look professional without looking boring. Again, like the layout, the colours are simple but still look professional and attract the reader. I would like to use this idea of simplicity in my own work.

The typography is also very simple. The same font is used for the heading ‘Features’ and all of the sub headings for each feature, and a similar font is used for the rest of the text. This makes the text flow together, and also makes the sub headings stand out. The text is bolder for the heading and subheadings which makes the more important parts of information stand out. This makes it look more interesting as it separates the text; it also makes it easier for the reader to find out the information that is relevant to them. As I said before, it is important the the font flow together making all aspects of the magazine look like they are part of the same product. This will help the magazine sell to the target audience because it gives them what they are looking for in the simplest form which makes it easier for them. I would like to use the idea of simplicity in my own work through the use of typography.

There is one main image on this page. Unusually, it does not have any smaller images around the page to show any teasers of information that will be included in the magazine, which goes against the common conventions of a magazine. The one image that is used is an effective one, and gives the reader a main subject to look at, whereas the Billboard magazine doesn’t give the reader a place to look first. It is important the the image/s on the page attract the reader because it is the first thing that they will see - this will help the product sell to their target audience. This will influence my own work because I like how the one image is effective. The model of the image on this page goes against Sarita Malik's theory that “Many feel that Black and Asian audiences are still not sufficiently catered for," and that "The reality of a lived multiculturalism is not represented in the British media." This is because this page features a Black artist. However, this is popular with hip hop and R & B music because the majority of the artists from these genres are Black.

Overall, I like the style of the contents page – it is a simple design, but still looks interesting. It gives the reader the relevant information and nothing else; the reader is not overloaded with too much information and they can find what they are looking for easily. This magazine contents page goes against some of the common conventions as it doesn’t include a title of ‘Contents’ nor any smaller images around the page.

The Source Magazine

The information about The Source magazine company is the same as what I wrote about on my last post. As is the target audience and masthead.

Again, this magazine contents page has a simple layout that is quite similar to the Vibe magazine. It has the model of the main image on the right, with the text in one column on the left. The text overlaps the main image, as the background of the image is used for the background of the whole page – the model is not cut out and put onto a plain background like the Billboard magazine. As the model takes up most of the page, like the Vibe magazine, it gives the reader a subject to look at first. The page isn’t overloaded with text, so it makes it simple for the reader to look at what they want to find in the page. It does also have an empty feel to it (like the Vibe magazine), without and smaller pictures around the page to show any teasers. Again, the word ‘Contents’ is not used for the title of this page, which is unusual as that is a common convention of magazine contents pages – it doesn’t make it obvious to the reader as to what they are looking at. Like the Vibe magazine, the simple layout will help sell the product to the target audience because it only gives them the necessary information.

The colour scheme is also very simple. For the text, black is used mostly except for ‘66’ which is written in red. The only other colours used on this page are the colours that are in the main image. The background colour is a pale grey, which makes the black text stand out. Having a simple colour scheme will help attract the target audience because it doesn't make the page look too busy, and colours don't over power the page. I would like to use this idea in my own work so that my contents page looks simple and easy to find the information.

The typography on this page is quite plain – the same font is used throughout, but is bolder for the headings and sub headings. By doing this, it doesn’t make the text look too busy, but still makes the more important parts of the information stand out. This makes it look more interesting as it separates the text; it also makes it easier for the reader to find out the information that is relevant to them.

Like the Vibe magazine, there is one main image on this page. Unusually, it does not have any smaller images around the page to show any teasers of information that will be included in the magazine, which goes against the common conventions of a magazine. The one image that is used is an effective one, and gives the reader a main subject to look at. The way the model is posing on this page supports Stanley Halls Theory that "The common mood of teenagers is a state of depression," because the model is posing with a careless attitude which follows the stereotypical image of a teenager. 

Overall, I like the style of the contents page – it is a simple design, but still looks interesting. It gives the reader the relevant information and nothing else; the reader is not overloaded with too much information and they can find what they are looking for easily. This magazine contents page goes against some of the common conventions as it doesn’t include a title of ‘Contents’ nor any smaller images around the page. The page looks quite plain, but still works to give information that is useful to the reader.