Analysis of Front Cover (NME)

NME is an indie music magazine aimed at both males and females who are interested in this genre of music, from around the ages of 16-19. As the magazine seems to only feature pieces of information about bands and artists on the front – as opposed to the quizzes, competitions and prizes which are generally offered on the front of Top of the Pops magazine – we can assume that the audience of the magazine is intended to be more mature.

We can see that the main article in this magazine (the double page spread) will be about the band ‘Paramore’ as they are the featured image and the band name is in a large, bold font across the front of the page. The image of the band is placed behind the text, so that we associate this band name with this image (basically, so that we know who they are) and the lead vocalist is placed in the centre of the image. The positioning of the band members shows us that the female, Hayley Williams, is the leader of the group. Hayley stands out against the rest of the group as they are all wearing dark clothing and have dark hair, but her image is colourful (i.e. her orange hair, red lipstick and green eyes). Because Hayley is placed in the middle of the image, it gives the impression that all eyes are always on her, and that we are supposed to be looking at her, not the rest of the band: her pose is seductive and feminine, and she is looking down at the camera slightly which shows her power in the band and over the audience. Interesting anchorage text has been used alongside the band name, and it questions the reader, almost tempting you to pick up the magazine and read: it seems to compel you to join the crowd.

The colour scheme of the page is standard for NME - black, red, white and pink - and the positioning of the mast head is conventional to almost all music magazines; it is in the top left-hand corner, where our eyes go first. The mast head is in red which makes it appear bold, and the font is large and block-like - this shows that this piece of text is imporant, and regular readers of the magazine would associate this design with NME, as this style is consistent for every issue: this design could suggest that the magazine has an agressive, blunt approach to music, but the plain style of the font gives it a less 'angry' feel than the font used by Kerrang. The page also has little puffs of information to catch the attention of the reader, which are mainly on the left side of the cover, and the barcode is placed in the bottom right-hand corner - again, this is conventional to most music magazines. At the top of the page, right above the mast head, is also info for the reader on an article, but the positioning of this piece seems to go against the codes and conventions of a magazine, as it almost seems to overshadow the name of the magazine. Like Kerrang, there is a lot of text on the page, giving it an almost cluttered look, but this page seems more reserved and organised, almost plain in fashion.