Thursday 26 February 2009

Cover analysis 1


Rolling Stone Cover Analysis
Name
The magazine ‘Rolling Stone’ could be referring to the rock band ‘The rolling Stones’ which is extremely famous. The word ‘rolling’ could also refer to the fact that the magazine is ongoing and it gets across the latest news fast. The word ‘stone’ could represent the magazine as being a ‘rock’ magazine as well as the band the rolling stones. The significant words are both of them put together as the first thing that comes to your mind is the famous rock band which immediately gives the impression that this is a rock music magazine.

Publisher of the magazine
The publisher of this magazine is ‘Wenner media’ and publishes magazines such as ‘Men’s Journal’ ‘Us weekly publications and of course ‘Rolling Stone’. It is an American based company and the Rolling stone was created in San Francisco.
The rolling Stone costs $4.50 and is published every two weeks.

Target Audience
The readers that the magazine is targeting are men in their late twenties and above that enjoy rock music. It would appeal to an audience that want to know up to date news and gossip about older scene rock bands, this is why it would not appeal to perhaps a younger audience because they would be more interested in modern rock bands. Also there seems to be a political context behind the music side of things, it was after all known initially as a political magazine until it changed its format in the 90s. The layout would appeal to more of a male audience because there aren’t any bright feminine colours; they are white, black, blue and red. These don’t stand out and attract female readers as much.
The reader can interact with the magazine by logging onto their website: www.rollingstone.com and posting comments in forums, voting in online polls and writing letters to the magazine.

The style of magazine and mode of address
The magazine’s presentation is quite formal, there is some colour but it is not bright or eye catching, this perhaps relates to the genre of music it contains, old rock music; it is laid out neatly in a sophisticated manner and has an expensive look to it because of this. It addresses its readers in a formal way however the picture of Amy Winehouse addresses the audience in a rather provocative way, suggesting that the magazine has a less formal side to it also. It doesn’t scream ‘look at me!’ but addresses the audience in a different way, it is using its sophisticated look to its advantage, for example Amy’s head covers most of the masthead but we still know what the name is, the title is that recognisable.

FRONT COVER ANALYSIS

The masthead is partially covered but still the reader knows what it says due to the popularity of the well known name and combination of two words. The font is italic and in an ‘old school rock’ font in blue with a black bold outline to stand out against the white background.
The colour scheme is black, blue and red with a white background to contrast with Amy’s black clothing and hair (displaying her dark nature?). The blue, black and red represent masculinity within the magazine. Also Amy’s tattoos match the red and black within the colour scheme. Amy herself as the main image is in a provocative pose; her chest is forward and her strap is of her shoulder slightly, she is also pouting and looking up and at the audience showing a slight sense of innocence. She is wearing all black to perhaps represent her dark times, also the ideology of the black colour of clothing is that it can be seen as rebellious and a person that isn’t afraid of being themselves. This can also appeal to men because they like women with confidence and a ‘nasty’ side. She is addressing the reader in the eye constantly, like in a challenging way.
The coverlines feature the main features in the magazine and the names of older rock bands that would appeal to a slightly older audience, no modern day bands. The cover lines are in Red and black to match the rebellious colours of the front cover, however for the main tagline Amy Winehouse’s name is in the same colour as the masthead to highlight its importance and to make it stand out alongside the name of the magazine, the coverlines aren’t overused and only the main articles that would grab the readers attention are covered. The ‘logo’ style cover line reminds the political side of the magazine and gives a ‘straight to the point’ evaluation of what this article will cover; it is in black and white bold colours to make it stand out almost like a newspaper article to keep its formal side.
The similarities of this front cover is Vibe and XXL magazine however this magazine is less ‘in your face; and is more formal to suit the older audiences looking at the magazine.

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