Magazine Write Up - Layouts

I looked at four magazines which were different genres. I looked at a Pop magazine called Top of the Pops, two Rock magazines called Q and Kerrang, then finally a hybrid which focused on R&B, Hip Hop and Urban music called RWD (Rewind). I am writing this report to compare all the magazines and find out any similarities and differences in magazine layouts.

Front Cover

The layout of music magazines are very professional and look of good quality. The front cover always have a main image which takes up the majority of the page and then everything else is around the image. The image never really has writing over it. However this contrast with RWD's magazine which I analysed and the artist, Jessie J, had typefaces across her cheek. They are also layed out clearly so the reader knows exactly who the main feature it, if you cannot recognise the main feature, the most obvious cover line will be related to it. I liked how professional the front cover look and I think the amount of detail on all of the magazines was the right amount because I enjoy looking mainly at pictures which is what the majority of magazines had on them. My favourite magazine was RWD as it did not follow the usual layout and was different which attracted me to it. In addition, I am a big fan of Jessie J whereas I am not a fan of rock music which is what Kerrang! And Q offer things on.

Contents Page

The contents page can be a double page spread but is most commonly across one page. If there is a main image it is either in the middle or at the top of the page, drawing attention to it. The cover lines always have sub headings helping to structure the page well and help orientate the reader. Moreover, they sometimes have captions under the cover line which is another way to entice the reader. The masthead is usually always at the top however again RWD contrasted with this and had the masthead in the middle. The contents page is also much busier than the front cover as it does not need to attract the reader as much as they would now of already brought the magazine, which is why there is much more writing on the contents page. Also colour is a key thing used in contents page as it always links closely with the front cover. I think the way the magazines set out their contents page was very effective and clear. All of the four I analysed had different layout which gave me more of an insight into how music magazine are made. The best contents page was Q. This is because by having it on a double page spread, it made it seem important unlike the others. I felt if I did not read the contents page I might miss out on something. It also only used a few colours, similar to the other magazines, which made it look more need a professional. I also likes the structure of the contents page, I felt it was easy to find what I was looking for as it was under two simple headings. Moreover, each cover line had a caption underneath giving a small hint into what I could be reading, this made me want to find out more of what each feature was about.

Articles

Articles can be a single or double page spread and are usually set out with a larger picture of who the feature is about, a heading, strap line and then the article. I also noticed all articles, whether they were an interview or just about a band, had gutters. This was very effective as it made the article more professional by making it newspaper like. Also readers will be familiar with that layout and not struggle to read it. I think a double page spread is much more effective than a single page spread because it seems like it has a sense of important if it gets to have two pages rather than one. The single page spread articles looked more like they had to fit everything in and looked more cramp.

In conclusion I found that every page in a magazine will have a similar layout and all pages use a narrative device which guides the reader around the page. They do this by using different conventions which are very effective. I will use all these conventions when I construct my own music magazine hoping it will have an excellent layout and if it was to be put on a shelf it would be successful.