Codes & Conventions of Music Magazine Front Covers

In today's lesson we looked at the codes and conventions of music magazine front covers. These are the rules I will refer to when creating my own.

Mast head- (title and positioning statement) shows the magazine's ethos.

Title is kept seperate from the main image, unless the magazine is well-established.
The image can also be placed underneath the title.
If it's a well-known brand, the title may be partially covered by the image.

The title is in a large, bold font, which is unique from any other text on the page.
The font of the title never changes, so that people recognise it.
It must match the magazine style.

The barcode is generally on the bottom right of the page, with information of the date, issue number, website and price.

Sometimes buzz words are used.
These make the reader feel like they're getting some extra for their money, or something special that nobody else has.
An example of something extra could be an exclusive interview.

Images:
- 1 main image
- Mid shot used for single artist
- Long/ medium long shots are used for bands
- No text over face, never over the eyes
- Uses direct adress to entice the audience
- Subsiduary images sometimes used that relate to stories
- Body language must match genre
- Plain background makes the image stand out

Cover lines:
- Smaller text than the main story
- Main cover line links to image and has a bigger font
- Same style of font throughout
- Text usually close to image and always relates to stories within the magazine
- Minimum of 5 coverlines
- All cover lines must relate to the magazine genre
- Limited range of fonts; serif, sans serif, times new roman

These are some examples of established music magazines: