LIIAR analysis of a music magazine

MOJO front cover

Language- The type of shot used is a medium long shot. This might have been used so that the magazine still feels personal to the reader, even though they aren’t close to them. There is a constant colour scheme of red, yellow and white. All of these colours stand out from the main image as they are brighter than it. Also the colour of the clothes are wearing are a mixture of light and dark, to show that they may have variety in their music. The style of the masthead is simple and bold, like it’s making a statement. The masthead is covered up slightly as it is already a well-known magazine so it can be easily identified. This cover has all of the conventions of a magazine. Institution- The company that owns this magazine is Bauer. They are a multinational media company based in Hamburg, Germany that has grown into a worldwide publishing and media company. Bauer Verlagsgruppe has offices located in other countries such as USA, Spain and the UK. Ideology- The main image conveys that the music genre won’t be pop or rap, it will probably be rock. This is shown by the type of clothes they are wearing and what colours they are. The image portrays that they may be quite rebellious as one of the men has his tie undone and is wearing a black leather jacket, which could mean rock music. The other has his shirt unbuttoned so far, as if he doesn’t follow the rules and isn’t very sophisticated. Audience- The main image may represent the target audience that the magazine is trying to reach, males aged 30-50. This could also be shown by the use of colour on the page. The colours red and black are more masculine colours, rather than feminine. But with the lighter colours like yellow and white, this could also attract a small female audience. Also because the Rolling Stones have a female following, this could affect which gender buys the magazine. Since the price is set at £4.50, the target audience will be well paid individuals with a high disposable income. With nearly 12,000 Twitter followers and over 6,000 likes on Facebook, this magazine could have a larger audience than expected, even if some who read it, aren’t part of the target audience. Representation- This magazine is known as a rock magazine, which instantly makes you think that the artist or band on the front cover will be part of that genre. This is also shown by the type of clothing they are wearing. This front cover puts across the idea that the Rolling Stones are quite interesting yet serious about their music. This is because of the bright red writing and because the men in the image show no expression on their faces. MOJO contents page

Language- The same font is used on the contents page, as the front cover so it is consistent, and the colour scheme is kept the same too. This contents page follows the conventions of a music magazine. It has a heading for each different subject/topic in the magazine, to make it clear to the audience what is going to be inside the magazine. Each heading is a different colour to the smaller text so that they stand out, but still follows the colour scheme. The images on the page take up about half of the page, so that it doesn’t look like there is too much writing on the page, and to give the audience and insight on what might be on a few of the pages. Institution- The company that owns this magazine is Bauer. They are a multinational media company based in Hamburg, Germany that has grown into a worldwide publishing and media company. Bauer Verlagsgruppe has offices located in other countries such as USA, Spain and the UK. They make the magazine appeal to the target audience by considering the amount of text used and the colours used. Ideology- By using the images on this contents page, it gives the impression that is will be straight forward magazine, but will also be interesting. This is because the majority of the pictures have the colour black on, with splashes of colour. This could also show that this magazine will be about rebellious rock bands or artists. By doing this, the magazine may attract an audience that like to think of themselves as rebellious. Audience- The audience of this magazine seems to be males, aged 30-50. This is shown by the colours used as they are darker colours, which can be seen as masculine. As there is not much writing on the page, this could indicate that the audience does not have to be well educated or sophisticated to be able to read it. But because the magazine price is high, this could show that the magazine is aimed at more well educated and well paid people. Representation- The artists and bands in the magazine are all represented as people who are produce rock music and are serious about their music. This is shown by the use of simple colour and images of the artists. In the images the artists are not wearing bright coloured clothes, which shows that the are simply all about music, just like the magazine. MOJO double page spread

Language- The layout of the double page spread is conventional to music magazines. There are 2 large images at the top of both pages, one in black and white, one in colour to grab attention as soon the reader turns the page. The colour scheme is kept constant, by using yellow, red and black, even in the images. A quote has been pulled out of the text to give the reader an idea of what is going to be in the passage. One of the images used is a medium long shot. Using the colour red as a background on this image could represent the passion and love they have for the music they produce. Institution- The genre of the magazine is represented by the different types of photos used on the page. There are some coloured pictures, and come black and white pictures, which could show that they are able to adapt to different styles of music. Ideology- This double page spread indicates that the target audience will be similar to the artists and bands featured in the magazine. This magazine portrays that the band in this magazine are serious about their work, as many images are used on the page. By using many images on the page, this shows that throughout the time they have been around in the music industry, they have always been serious about their music. Audience- The audience of this magazine is males, aged 30-50. This is shown by the type of images used. Some of the images used are in black and white, this gives the impression that they are older pictures and will appeal to the older audience more. Also a lot of text on the page shows that the audience may like reading and may be quite sophisticated. By using a pull quote, this influences many different types of class to at least read it, so see what it is all about. Representation- The artist in the magazine is portrayed in the same way as the magazine is. The both have a genre of rock and are shown in a few different ways and the magazine and the artist both complement each other by doing this. The magazine is represented as a rock magazine because of the type of images used and the colours used. Also the artist in the magazine is represented as a rock band because of the shots used and how the images are presented.