Analysing Music Magazines for R&B Genre

I am going to analyse three R & B magazines to gain a better understanding of the common conventions of this genre. By doing this, I can use the same common conventions that work with this genre but make my own version, like in Bentley’s quote in 1997: 'The making of the new and rearranging of the old'.

Billboard Magazine

Billboard Magazine is a music magazine that covers the following genres: rock, metal, pop, R & B and many more. It is produced by Prometheus Global Media.

The target audience for Billboard magazine varies from young teenagers to young adults, so between the ages of about 16-26. This is because the magazine covers a range of different genres and provides its readers with weekly up to date music charts. Also, the layout of the magazine is not too busy and looks professional as it is not crowded with images and has a colour scheme that doesn’t clash with the colours in the main image. The target audience for this particular issue would be for males and females. The main image of this issue is Rihanna, the male readers would find this attractive, as Laura Mulvey said in 1975: “As erotic objects of desire for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic objects of desire for the spectator within the auditorium.” However, young female readers would want to read this issue because they might look up to Rihanna because they may be inspired by the way she dresses, or how she is styled such as her hair and make up. The majority of people reading this magazine will fall into the demographic band of C1 – E.

The masthead for this magazine is a good design for its purpose as it stands out and is a recognizable font and colours. The font for the magazine name is always written in white, which always stands out of the main image of the front cover. The background on this cover is made up of dark colours, so the masthead stands out well. The font and colours used in the masthead are current and will attract the target audience. The masthead is bold and eye catching as it is a large size, recognizable and of a contrasting colour. The style of the masthead suits the theme of the magazine and will be appealing to the target audience.

The main colours that are used on the cover are red, yellow, black and white. These colours make the cover look professional and make the page look clean and not busy. The colour scheme works with the main image on the cover, for example, the red works with Rihanna’s hair, lips and flowers in the background and as the image has quite a bit of contrast the black and white work well to make the text stand out without making the cover look like it is full of colours. The yellow works well with the red as it stands out against it without being too contrasting. Most of the text is written in white and black for headings with a white background. Yellow is not used very much, yet it stands out because red is the only other bright colour used. Yellow is used in one of the spots in the masthead and for an important heading at the top of the page. Red is the main colour that stands out in the main image – as well as black. This colour could be used as the main colour because it is associated with strength and power as well as passion, desire and love. This is relevant because some people could see Rihanna in a place with power, or have feelings of love/passion towards her. For males, this could be that they find her attractive, or for females, this could be that they have a passion for her music or see her as a role model so she has the ‘power’ to make things like fashion current and popular. This magazine cover supports the conventions of a magazine by using 3-5 colours.

The overall layout of this magazine cover is the general layout that is usually seen on a magazine; the background is quite plain as the colours and content are blurred so the audience’s attention is not focused on it, it is focused on the close up in the middle that takes up most of the page. There is text mainly on the left side of figure, with the text around the figure as part of the same subject as the main image. This cover does not have any smaller images around the main image with the text showing and teasers of what content will be inside, of which a cover page usually has. However, is does show teasers of information in the text which will make the reader more likely to want to read it. The layout is professional and is not busy and over loaded with images, text and colour. 

There is only one image used on the cover of this magazine – but an effective one at that. This one image does support the usual conventions of a magazine as it is a close up image. The colours within the main image work well with the colours used in the rest of the cover. This image will attract both male and female readers as males will be attracted to Rihanna, and females will see her as a role model. Also, both genders could be attracted to the magazine because they like Rihannas music. The main image is a medium close up shot which supports the the usual conventions - medium close up/close up. The lighting is effective as it makes the image look contrasting and more bold. The light comes from the left, creating dark shadows on the right. In terms of the mise-en-scene, she has been styled to appeal to the male gender as they will find her attractive, but also to females as they will see her as a role model and will want to be styled as she is. She is styled mainly with the colour red (her hair and lips) - this colour represents love, passion and power, which are the things her fans will admire about her. Smaller images are not used to show off the content within the magazine which is unusual, although the one image that is used is effective because of the colours, pose and expression. 

There is one main font used for the text around the image which is very similar to the font used for the masthead. The only font that is not as similar to this plain and simple font that is mainly used is the font that is used for the text ‘Rihanna’ and the text around it. The fonts that are used make the whole cover flow.

Overall, I think this magazine fits it purpose as its aspects are like the common conventions of the magazine. It supports the conventions and does appeal to the target audience because it is eye catching and will capture their attention. I can connote that it will interest the reader as it has a professional look. The colours, image and fonts work well together to attract the reader and look appealing. I like the layout on this magazine cover because the imagery is effective with the text around it; and also the text reading 'Rihanna' through the stands out against the white background. I would like to use a layout similar to this in my own work.

Vibe Magazine

Vibe magazine is a music and entertainment magazine that covers the following genres: R & B and Hip-Hop music. This magazine was founded by producer Quince Jones. In 1996, Miller Publishing bought Vibe, and in 2006, it was bought by The Wicks Group. But as from April 2013, Vibe is owned by Spin Media.

Young, urban followers of the hip-hop culture are the magazines main target demographic. The target audience is mostly people between the ages 18 and 34 and enjoy listening to R & B, Hip-Hop and Rap music. Vibe is targeted toward both males and females; this means that Vibe has a large audience compared to a magazine such as NME as that is mainly targeted to males. For this particular issue of Vibe, females could find it appealing as they may be attracted to 50 Cent on the front cover, but also males could find it appealing because they see him as a role model and would like to be like/dress like him. The content of this magazine is generally aimed at young adults as they are their primary target audience. The content is not necessarily aimed at people in education or people that have been in education because the target audience is quite a large age range. The features could involve slang rather that content of a high readability standard so the whole audience can understand. A large percentage of the target audience is African-Americans, which means that this magazine will include features that will attract this culture rather than anyone else. To raise more interest with this culture, Vibe features images and interviews with African-American hip-hop stars.

The masthead is a good design for its purpose as it stands out because it is plain against the background and does not look busy. The background has mostly dark colours; the contrasting colour of white is good to make it clear. The masthead is of a large size which makes it bold and eye catching. The font used for the masthead works well because it makes a statement – being bold.

The main colours that are used are black, white, red, yellow and blue in the background. These colours make the cover look professional as they work well together. I’d say that the background was a bit crowded, but the storm cloud pattern may have some relevance to the main image as it does work with it. The colour scheme fits the style and genre of the magazine, as I said about the masthead; the colours make a statement of being bold and standing out amongst everything. Black and white are the main colours that are used for the text, with red and yellow where the text is of more important information. The model in the main image is wearing black, and blue is only used as the main background colour. The magazine supports the conventions of a magazine as it uses 3-5 colours.

This magazine uses the general layout that is usually seen on magazine; there is one main close up image in the middle with text of a contrasting colour to the background around it. This magazine cover, like the Billboard cover, does not have any smaller images that advertise any of the features in the magazine. It does however; use text to show off the teasers from the magazine which will make the reader more likely to want to read it if the information interests them. The background isn’t completely plain, but is mostly dark colours which works well with the main image and allows the white text to stand out.

The same as the Billboard magazine, only one image is used on the cover. This image is still effective however, and captures the attention of the target audience. This supports the common conventions of a magazine as there is one main medium close up/close up shot. The lighting is effective as it makes the colours and tones more contrasting, making the model more bold. The light is coming for the middle-right, creating shadows around the sides of the face and highlights on the middle of the face. In terms of mise-en-scene, he has been styled to appear threatening/powerful to fit with the heading 'Who's afraid of 50 Cent?'. This will appeal to mainly males as they will see him as a role model, but also to some females as they may find him attractive.

There is a main font that is used for the text around the main image which is very similar to the font used for the masthead. All the fonts used are very similar, and when there is more important information the font is wider which make certain words stand out. The fonts used on the cover makes the page flow.

Overall, I think this magazine fits it purpose because its aspects are like the common conventions of a magazine. It supports most of the conventions and it does appeal to the target audience because it is eye catching and will capture their attention. It looks professional and the image, colours and typography used works well to make an appealing front cover.

The Source

The Source is a monthly magazine that covers hip-hop/R&B music, politics and culture. It is based in the US and was founded in 1988. This magazine is currently published by L. Londell McMillan.

The main target audience for The Source is the fans of hip-hop and rap music. This genre of music is most popular amongst the younger generation and appeals more to young adults. Although the lyrics of this genre of music mainly represent the younger generation, this genre has been around since the 1970’s, so could still however appeal to an older generation. This magazine also represents the fashion and culture of hip-hop and is therefore aimed at people who are fans of the hip-hop culture as a whole. The target audience for this magazine is most likely to be males of the average age of 20. This is because the lyrics to this genre of music (mainly the rap genre), usually represents the male gender as the artists are usually male themselves and the topics that the lyrics are often about can be offensive towards women. Males are also likely to look up to the artists of this genre because they may like the way they dress and the culture. They tend to be of the average age of 20 as the lyrics are often explicit and would not be suitable for a young age. It has a similar target audience to Vibe magazine in terms of ethnicity (African-American) and geographic (New York) as it is a magazine that is popular in the U.S.

The masthead is a good design for its purpose on this magazine as it stands out and makes a statement. It does this by being a contrasting colour to the background as it is plain whit against a dark grey background. A bold, large font is used for the masthead which makes it bold and eye catching. Within the ‘o’ of the word ‘Source’, a hand holding a microphone makes up the middle of the letter which is an effective addition to the masthead font which fits with the theme of the magazine.

The main colours that are used on this cover are grey, white and lime green. These colours work well together as they look professional and work with the main image of the cover. They work with the genre of magazine and give this particular cover a classy look to go with the clothing of the model. Grey is used for the main background colour, white is used for the important text and masthead and the green is used for the smaller parts of writing. The colours that are in the main image on the cover are similar colours to the colours used for the text and background, apart from the tie that the model is wearing that stands out. The magazine supports the conventions of a magazine as it uses 3-5 colours.

This magazine uses the general layout that is usually seen on magazine; there is one main close up image in the middle with text of a contrasting colour to the background around it. This magazine cover, like the Billboard and Vibe covers, does not have any smaller images that advertise any of the features in the magazine. It does however; use text to show off the teasers from the magazine which will make the reader more likely to want to read it if the information interests them. The background is mostly plain but is more lit up in the middle and darker around the edges – this helps make the cover look more interesting.

The same as the Billboard and Vibe magazine, only one image is used on the cover. This image is still effective however, and captures the attention of the target audience. Although, unlike the other magazines, this cover uses a medium shot image which goes against the common conventions of a magazine.  The content of the image will attract mainly males as that is the majority of the target audience and they may see the model as a role model, although females may find him attractive and therefore are more likely to want to buy the magazine.

There is a main font that is used for the text around the main image which is very similar to the font used for the masthead, but not as bold. All the fonts used are very similar, and when there is more important information the font is larger which make certain words stand out. The fonts used on the cover makes the page flow.

Overall, I think this magazine fits it purpose because its aspects are like the common conventions of a magazine. It appeals to the target audience because it is eye catching and will capture their attention. It looks professional and the image, colours and typography used works well to make an appealing front cover. I like the layout and imagery of this cover because the main image works well with the colours and text that goes around it.