Magazine - Rocksound Magazine Analysis

Already having knowledge of this magazine and the band featured on the front, I know that this is aimed towards teenagers of both genders who enjoy rock/alternative music, and are interested in finding out more about this band or who enjoy this band. The magazine is successful in appealing to this demographic as the large image on the front and the fun/appealing design of the front cover is sure to catch the audiences eye.

This magazine uses very bright colours of red and yellow, which would make the magazine stand out in a stack of others. The main cover line also uses this colour scheme so works well with the aesthetic. The writing of the band name is in the same colour as the mast head, which shows its importance. The main image is almost the size of the front page and lays over the title of the  magazine. Although it does obscure the title slightly, the viewer is still able to make out what it says and so therefore this does not create a problem. 

The skyline across the top of the magazine is in a different colour scheme to the rest of the page and so this makes it stand out and shows that it is informing you about different articles. On top of the skyline are two blue circles with text on, featuring buzzwords - such as 'awesome' - which will interest someone who is considering purchasing the magazine. 

Below the main cover line is the secondary cover line, which lists bands that will be featuring in the magazine. This is a simple design with white text on a black background, which shows that they are the less important features of this issue. Below this is the date line and barcode, which is clearly set in the bottom right and contrasts with white against the grey/black of the band member's clothing. This will make it easy to find on the page.

Although the design of the background and the colours used are quite bold, this is quite a simple front cover as it does not feature much on it but the main article and it only uses around three colours throughout the theme. Also, I feel that using complimentary colours such as blue and yellow could make this stand out more. Despite this, the band Twenty One Pilots are a rapidly becoming more and more popular and so having a large image of them on the front cover will most likely ensure that this will be a popular issue.

Red and yellow are quite often used in reference to superheroes, and with the sharp text and lines in the background of the magazine, this gives an implication that Twenty One Pilots are 'superheroes'. The way that Tyler Joseph (right) is pointing at the camera - or the reader - can be compared to a WWI recruitment poster of Uncle Sam. This could be a connotation of the band recruiting new fans through this magazine, which can also be asserted from the way the magazine calls them the 'leaders of the new world order'. The way the magazine refers to them as this tells us of their rapid climb of the music scene and how they are quickly becoming well known.

Magazine - Key Terms

There are many elements to a magazine - there are around 10 just on the front page. Below I have listed and defined some of these.

Sky line: the skyline is the part of text, usually in the style of a bar, going across the top of the page. It usually doesn't have a lot of information, only small bits of text saying what is in the magazine.

Mast head: the mast head is another name for the title of a magazine. It is almost always at the top of the page and is large so that it is easily readable if someone is looking for it in a crowd of other magazines.

Lead article/main cover line: this is the part of large text that usually goes across the middle of the page. It is used to display the main article of the magazine. So, if the main article is of someone's favourite band, they will see their name on the front cover and immediately be attracted to it.

Main image: this is the large image on the front page. It is usually hidden under the text and smaller images on the page, but this does not matter as it is the only large image on the page and so can still easily be seen.

Tagline: some magazines have a tagline. This is a small sentence which is placed under the masthead and usually gives the main message/theme of the magazine away.

Cover line: this is almost the same as the main cover line, except it is always smaller as they are announcing the smaller - or "less important" - articles within the magazine. 

Date line & barcode: the date line and barcode are included in every magazine and are an essential part. The date line allows a customer to know when the magazine was published and the barcode is there to allow an employee in the shop to actually scan the item so that it can be sold. The barcode and date line are universally recognisable, which is why they are always on every magazine.