Magazine Cover Analysis

Media Studies Magazine Cover Analysis

Target Audience:

Clearly the target audience here is suggested to be teenagers, most probably boys in particular. This clearly connotes a grime style of music, due to the ‘Vibe’ which suggests the vibe you would have at nightclubs or festivals where this type of music is typically played. The target audience typically within grime is represented towards almost a ‘chav’ way of doing things. An obvious example would be that, you would not find old people listening to this where as teenagers you would.

Images:

On the front cover it is showing the man of rap himself, Eminem. This is linked closely with the name of the magazine as his music is similar to the vibe that he gives. The image of Eminem clearly connotes Goffman’s theory as it shows him as being dominant and having the arms crossed shows power almost like he controls the magazine. The point of having just Eminem on the front page suggests that he is the main focus of this magazine. It also means that the picture is bolder compared to all other aspects of the cover which suggests it is striking and engages the reader or buyer. Eminem is in a mid-shot and has his arms crossed in a strong stance. This pose and expression has been used to show off the rapper persona of being strong and cool. This crossing of his arms also helps us as the reader to see his tattoos which shows us the rapper meaning yet again. His facial expression is aggressive/serious which is backed up by the quote next to him saying "I literally almost died".  His guarded pose also shows his seriousness with his arms crossed. The fact that he has is arms crossed suggests he has something to hide and next to him there is a headline saying 'Eminem comes clean'. This engages the reader as they want to know what he is coming clean about. His guarded pose also shows his seriousness with his arms crossed. The fact that he has is arms crossed suggests he has something to hide and next to him there is a headline saying 'Eminem comes clean'. This engages the reader as they want to know what he is coming clean about.

Sell lines:

There are sell lines around the picture of Eminem and are in a lot smaller writing than the main cover line. This is again showing the rapper and that he is the main article/focus in this magazine. However the sell lines are the entire same genre of music (rap) and the artists that are involved in this genre. The words Vicodin, Valium and methadone all attract the reader’s attention and this because it is not normal for there to be the names of drugs on the front page of a magazine.

Color scheme:

There is a clear color scheme throughout the front cover with the red being the main colour. The red is a strong and vibrant color which is used in certain sections of the cover to highlight and emphasise certain points and articles. The red connotes rebellion which is linked the rap genre. The background is just a plain pale blue color; this is because the audience’s attention focuses solely on Eminem.

The header:

The header is a list of different artists of the same genre of music. This tells the reader what else they can expect to find inside including puff daddy, cash money, big pun, etc.

The main cover line:

The main cover line is unusual as it is not across the main image as many magazine’s use but is to the left of Eminem’s head and is slightly behind him with the letter ‘M’ being covered by his Eminem. This is because, as with the background Eminem is the main focus of the magazine and it speaks for its self as he has a serious expression which suggests that the article about him is going to be serious, which it is.