Codes and Conventions of Music Magazines

Today in lesson we discussed the codes and conventions of music magazines.

• Masthead- is the title and positioning statement. The positioning statement is the magazines ethos, for example 'life is loud' from Kerrang.

• Title- is kept clear and seperate from the image unless the magazine is well known, and if it does go over then most of the title should still be visible. The title is always a large,bold font. It is unique to the title and not used anywhere else on the magazine.

• Barcode- Is often in the bottom right, but it can be moved to the top bellow the masthead or the left. Around it is usually the price, date, issue number and website.

• Buzzwords- 'PLUS!, Extra, Essential, Exclusive' this makes the reader feel they are getting more for their money or getting a preview before everyone else.

• Images- Main Image, if it is a band image it will be a medium longshot or a longshot. If it is a solo artist then it will be a mid shot. There is always direct adress and the body language of the person in the image must fit the genre of the music they play. A plain background makes the image stand out. Also the no text will be put over the face of the person in the image.

• Images- Subsidiary Images, always smaller than the main image and relate to the stories ion the magazine.

• Colour scheme- simple colours that don't clash and go with the genre of music in the magazine. The colours reinforce the brand.

• Coverlines- The main coverline relates to the main image, all coverlines must be in the same font. They always relate to a story in the magazine and there are about 5 coverlines.

• Fonts- only a few fonts are used, Serif, Sans Serif and Times New Roman. If the magazine is monthly then a small font size will be used for the price because it is more expensive, if the magazine is weekly the price may be made to stand out to show how cheap it is.