Liam Meah

1. Detailed class analysis of
music magazine on NME

3. Rule of Thirds: (Rule of Thirds is a
guideline which allows publishers to
main the main parts of the image into
‘hotspots’) Rule of thirds is used in
this as it allows the target audience to
see the main points in which need to
be focused on. The main ‘hotspots’
focus on the model Dizzee Rascal. This
helps attract the target audience as he
is the model who is respected by
many in young adults.
Connotation: ( A connotation is what
you think something means) On the
front of the magazine we can see
graffiti on the walls which connotes the
idea of a rebellious nature. This nature
is stereotypically given to the younger
generation who are seen as rude and
also rebellious which connotes that the
target audience are the younger
people not the older people who are
seen as more mature and responsible.
Moreover, his clothing presents a
childish and immature tone which
further helps connect to the target
audience of younger people.
Furthermore, Dizzee Rascal’s facial
expression is seen as wild and excited
which connotes that whatever is in the
magazine is also wild and exciting.
Genre: (The style/ characteristics of
the magazine) The genre of the
magazine is clearly shown to be
grime/hip hop/Rap as they graffiti in
the background is stereotypically
associated to ‘chavs’ or people who
live on the rougher side of society.
Icon: (An Icon is a person/thing who
is the symbol) The icon/cover model
is Dizzee Rascal. He is a very
recognisable figure in the music
society and this attracts the target
audience as people may look up to
him as he is close to their age. Also,
Dizzee Rascal is a male icon so
therefore he is likely to attract a
mainly male target audience.
However, it is possible that he wants
to attract a different target audience
by making hip hop seem friendly and
approachable.
Denotation: ( A denotation is what
you can directly see on the magazine)
On the front we can see the model
Dizzee Rascal, graffiti on a brick wall
along with a checked floor pattern.
We can also see that he’s wearing a
white tank top. Dizzee Rascal is on the
front of the magazine as he has star
power and is able to influence
between to but the magazine because
of this. The graffiti on the wall is used
to help attract the younger generation
as graffiti is presented as ‘hip’. In
addition , the white tank top being
worn by the model helps to contrast
with his dark skin tone and allows for
him to stand out on the front of the
magazine. Also, the clothes he's
wearing represents the styles of the
younger generation also which is
another reason the magazine NME
helps to attract their target audience.
Masthead: (The masthead is the title
of the magazine) The masthead for
this magazine is ‘NME’. NME is shown
in bold text to provide attention to
the masthead which allows people to
easily see it. Also, the use of red also
helps the masthead to stand out as it
is the only thing on the cover which is
red. The red connotes danger which
helps attract the target audience as
they are more rebellious and like to
do the opposite of what they’re told.
The masthead is emphasised by the
white background, and is the only
thing that is consistent in the other
NME magazines.
Cover lines: (gives content/genre
information and tells us who the
target audience is) The cover lines
used help to tell the audience what
that magazine is about. The cover line
“I’M SPREADING JOY AROUND THE
WORLD” subverts the stereotype that
black people only cause havoc and
destruction wherever they go, but
now this shows that they are friendly
and have been labelled as wrong.
Doing this helps challenge the
negative stereotypes in which black
people have. This is one of the only
cover lines on the magazine which
shows that it’s important.
Main cover line: (The main cover line
is the cover line that is the biggest and
the main one the magazine wants to
present) The main cover line is Dizzee
Rascal. This is the largest piece of
information on the magazine. It’s used
to attract Dizzee Rascal fans and to
attract those interested in the same
genre as he is. The main cover line uses
bold text to stand out from everything
around it and also uses a black stroke
around it to also help it stand out.
Colour scheme:(Are there consistent
colours used throughout?) The main
colours used are white and black
which really help to contrast each
other and stand out.
Representation: (How is the image
portrayed?) The image is represented
as fun and exciting which allows for the
magazine to pull in more readers.
Furthermore, the dark colours
contrasting with the white colours could
represent a sense of mystery which
would provide an enigma to the
audience and thus further interest them
in the magazine.Also,this subverts
stereotypes of men who are black being
negative an aggressive but Dizzee Rascal
is seen as positive and happy. In
addition, the model is Dizzee Rascal
who is a popular artist which makes the
magazine seem respectable and popular
since someone of his caliber is working
with the magazine.

4. Target audience:(A target audience is
a group of people who would be
interested in a product) The target
audience for this would be people
who are knowledgeable about music
and are regular buyers of the NME
magazine. They may also, like to
diversify in their music tastes and
would like to experience something
new and different.
Direct address: The model Dizzee
Rascal is using direct address as he is
looking straight into the camera. This
helps the audience feel more
personally with the model and helps
to draw readers and consumers in.
Barcode:(A small label with a code)
The barcode is small and is place in
the left hand corner of the magazine.
This is to so it doesn’t take up any
space that is needed for more
important things such as cover lines.
The barcode most of the time includes
a price on it to allow the costumer to
see how much they have to pay,
however since the target audience
would be regular buyers they already
know the price which is why the price
and barcode are small.
Strapline:(A strapline is at the top of
a magazine allows for more
information to be shown) The
strapline is '16 page autumn tour
special' This strapline allows the
readers to automatically see the main
subject in the magazine. The word
'special' allows for the target audience
to know that the information is
interesting without having to read the
whole article, which would be the
main reason the target audience
would be the magazine; to see
something 'special'

5. [Insert contents page image here]

6. Layout:(The way in which things are
laid out) The contents page is laid out
in a very simple and organised way
which allows the readers to clearly
understand what is going on. On the
left side there is an index which allows
for the readers to directly see and go
to the page in which they want to see.
The middle includes a main image of
an artist along with text to go match
the image. In addition, the model in
the picture is very attractive which
helps to attract the male audience. On
the right side of the magazine is the
main features of the magazine 'News',
'radar', 'Reviews', 'Live!' Which further
helps the audience to find what they
are interested in or want to read
about. It's like a simplified index.
Moreover, in the bottom right there is
an advertisement. This means the
magazine can make money by
providing space for the advert. Doing
this attract the audience to something
else
Font:(A set of type of one particular
face and size) The font used is pretty
traditional simple font which means all
readers can clearly understand what is
being written. Also, the font is similar
to the front cover which allows the
font to become memorable. This
appeals to the target audience as it
makes the magazine memorable so
the target audience can easily
recognise it.
Main Image:(The biggest image on
the magazine) The main image uses
rules of thirds to grab the attention of
the target audience. In addition, the
medium long shot, shot type is
followed from the front cover which
allows the magazine to seem
professional. Furthermore, the image
includes a very pretty woman which
would draw in both male and female
audiences.
Anchorage:(Text attached to an
image) The text below the main image
anchors image as it allows the target
audience to see the relation between
the two topics. Also, it gives the
readers extra information and allows
them to perceive it in different ways.
Grab Quotes: Grab quotes are used to
grab the readers attention and gives
some realism to the magazine. The
quote 'UK's NO.1 gig guide' suggests
that it is the best and nothing can beat
it, which is why that target audience
don’t want to miss out on something
that is seen as the best.
Subheading:(A heading given to a
subsection of writing) Subheadings
are used in a white colour against a
black background to allow for them to
stand out, which is important since
subheadings allow for the target
audience to guide their way around
the magazine and get to the parts they
want to. In addition, the larger text
allows for the audience to focus their
attention on that which means in
order for the magazine to do that it
must have been important
information that they wanted to be
seen.
Page numbers:(Numbers that tell you
what page something is on) The page
numbers help the target audience
around the magazine. This means that
target audience doesn’t spend their
whole time trying to find what they
want.
Masthead:(The title) The masthead is
the same as on the front cover. This
allows for the audience to remember
the magazine as the masthead will
never change.
Date line:(The date) The date line is
used as it allows the target audience
to see if they have gotten the latest
magazine, and also when the
magazine was published.
Issue Number(Tells you the order of
publication) The issue number
is used to allow the readers to make
sure they have the latest one and to
allow them to keep up to date. It's
function is similar to the date line.

7. [Insert double page spread image here]

8. Main image: The main image is a
medium long shot of the model
Dizzee Rascal. In this image he looks
as those he's worried and is doing
something wrong. This can be
explained by the fact that he is doing
graffiti on a wall. This supports the
stereotypes that black people are
mischievous however, this contrasts
with his earlier behaviour on the front
cover. His red jacket connotes danger
and further supports the stereotypes
surrounding black people. The way
he's positioned almost makes it seem
as if he has spray painted the article
to the right of him which could
connote that it's his story that he has
created throughout his journey as a
music artist. This attracts the target
audience as they would want to know
his story and what he's had to
overcome when he decided to
become a black people in the music
industry.
Mode of address: The mode of
address In this is informal as he is
wearing casual clothes. This may help
the target audience relate to him as
they may be thinking he's just a
normal person so if they try they can
become just like him
Font: The font used also keeps in line
with the font used on the other pages
in the magazine. Bigger font is used
on the cover lines to allow emphasis
on certain parts, and allows the
audience to see it as significant. The
quote' from tags to riches' connotes
that Dizzee has struggled through his
life but now has access to whatever
he needs. This attracts the target
audience as they would be intrigued
by his failures on his way to become
successful. The bold font also creates
an impression of importance by using
the font for cover lines mainly, which
further allows the audience to see the
main parts of the pages.
Target Audience: The target audience
is mainly 18-30 year olds as Dizzee
rascal is quite an older artist in
comparison to the other artists in his
field so the younger generation may
no know of him. Also, the older
people may not know of him because
stereotypically they listen to calmer
and gentler music whereas Dizzee is
known for his loud and energetic
music. The readers of NME would be
able to feel relatable to the model
which helps NME to maintain a strong
relationship with its target audience.
The magazine is a unisex magazine
(For males and females) however is
primarily male with 70% being male
and 30% being female
Representation: This page is
represented as a way of allowing the
target audience to feel closer to the
artist. This is shown the personal
information which is connoted by the
cover line 'from tags to riches' which
implies that he stopped being
mischievous and graffitiing and
decided to pursue his career in music.
This allows the audience to see him a
passionate, and would thus
remember and buy the magazine
because of him
Layout: There is barely if not any plain
space. This means that the whole
double page is covered in information
to the reader to read. This allows for
the magazine to get more in depth
with their stories, which allows for the
reader to stay interested and not get
bored. This would help attract the
target audience as it'd be something
new every time and it explains in
depth what they are talking about.
Also, both pages aren't used for text
as it may seem a bit overwhelming to
the readers and that they are only
including the information they deem
necessary which give them a
professional look.
Denotation: At the bottom of the
page there are empty bottles and a
stereo which shows that there was
some sort of party. You can also see
graffiti behind the model which shows
the sort of environment he is in. This
allows for the audience to guess the
genre of the music and the type of
people who should be listening to the
music or reading the magazine.
Furthermore, you can see the model
is the one who is producing
the graffiti which is used to show his
part in the destruction of property.
This would make the audience feel
like they know the both sides of
Dizzee and to also allow them to see
what he used to be like in comparison
to now. This Connotes that the
magazine wants the audience to see
what it's actually like becoming
'famous' and also that anyone can
become like Dizzee if they try.
Page numbers: Once again page
numbers are used as they are an
essential part of magazines. They
allow for the reader to keep track of
the page they are on and to also allow
them to find specific pages they are
looking for.