Feature Analysis

After I analysed pop magazine front cover and there contents pages, I now am going to analyse the feature articles to see how I can make a successful feature article by finding out the common conventions. Here is some of the work I have created on Prezi:

http://prezi.com/lepjlevlxef3/pop-music-magazine-feature-articles/ 

This magazine feature article is a question and answer, this article is from We Love Pop magazine and is aimed at audiences from 12 - 15 year olds who are straight white British females. The audience demographic band of this magazine are C1 to E

Masthead/Typography/lexis
The masthead follows some of the common conventions by having it at the top of the page however it only spreads across one side of the page and most mastheads will spread across both the pages if there is two, but when you turn onto this page your eyes immediately get drawn to it so it fits its purpose because its bold and colourful. The masthead is a quote from one of the question and answers making the potential reader want to know what they are talking about. The writing is on top of the pink and it gives off the effect that its being highlighted with white making it stand out on the pink background. The masthead is all the same size and they have used the same font making it look professional and tidy, they changed the colour of 'never' to purple so it stands out they have used purple as it appeals more to girls than to guys. For the semiotics, the lexis is used for the colour of the 'Never' as it hits the target audience and it also stands out on the page and emphasises the word, this links to the Hall and Holmes theory (1998) 'Any media text is created for a particular audience and will usually appeal most to this particular audience.' The font that has been used on this magazine feature article has been kept to the same style to keep it looking professional. The questions that they are asking are in a different colour to the answers so its easier for the readers to look at and understand what each part is. As there is two people answering the questions they have the names next to the answers in bold so you can clearly see who is answering what question and you don't have to guess. Just above the interview there is some small text used telling the readers about Jordan and Perry just incase you didn't know them but still want to read the interview anyway. They have stuck to the same colours through out the interview. In the bottom left hand of the page there is a yellow circle with speech marks around it and in the circle there is black writing with a bit from the interview, this will attract readers as they would want to find out more. 

Layout/Text boxes
The layout includes a masthead which is at the top left of the page. It sticks to the common convention of having a large image in the centre of the page which captures your attention, The picture is of the people who are being interviewed so the reader can identify who they are. The text has been placed into columns and there is are circular yellow text box with a quote from either of the boys who are being interviewed, this gives the potential reader an idea about what the interview is about and looking at the columns could get a bit boring and tedious. The whole Question and answer has been put into white text boxes to make it stand out on the page. The background alternates, as its stripy pink and white with the white text boxes. They have only used the page number on the left page but not on the right page obviously presuming the reader would know what number the page is by looking at the left page. There is also 2 more yellow circular boxes on the right page giving the reader information about the chance to win a dance lesson and the other with a QR code.

Colour
The magazine Feature article follow the common conventions by having a colour palette using yellow, white, pink purple and black. The denotation of yellow is optimistic and cheerful which connotes the magazine as these elements and shows that its a happy article and wont leave you feeling depressed.
The denotation of white is purity and innocence which could link with the readers of the magazine and goes against Stanley Hall's theory (1904) of 'Adolescence is inherently a time of storm and stress when 'all' young people go through some degree of emotional and behavioural upheaval' and he uses the colour black to back up his theory. Black is only used in this article though for text and in terms of iconography its what you expect to see as the colour of the font. The denotation of pink is harmony and emotional balance, encouraging common sense connoting that this magazine isn't a load of rubbish. The denotation of purple is It can be creative and individual or immature and impractical this could relate to the people they're interviewing as they are creative as they dance.

Images 
there is one main image on this double page spread and that's of the two boys that are being interviewed. in terms of iconography its what you would be expecting to see so that potential readers will know who is being interviewed. As both are young males they will attract female readers. The mise-en-scene used is the clothes as they are in fashion and its what you would see boys wearing if you walked down a street this would link to Blumer and Katz Uses and Gratification theory (1974) 'The media user seeks out a media source that best fulfils the needs of that user'.  There is 2 medium close ups and that is of both the boys who are doing the interview and this is used so you can clearly see who they are, and in terms of mise-en-scene you can tell they are dancers as they are dressed in baggy tops and loose jeans which is the stereo typical thing fir dancers and young boys to wear.

Conclusion
In conclusion this feature article of interview appeals to the target audience and has used a bright colour palette which is a common convention throughout this magazine. The layout is professional and isn't to busy and in your face and it would appeal to the target audience. The images that have been used link well to the topic and fit together nicely and have been well positioned so its not all crammed together. Having the question and answer in different colour fonts is something that I will use when I make my own article as its easy to look at.


Feature analysis 2

I am now going to review this feature article which is a reviewing article that reviews film, music and book, and it also features an interview. This feature article is from Mizz magazine and is aimed at a target audience of teenagers ages between 11-15 who are straight white British females. The audience demographic band of the magazine is C1 to E.

Title/Typography/lexis.
The title for this double page spread fits to the common conventions as its been placed at the top of the page however it only fits over one of the pages. The title says 'Review it' and by using this lexis it appeals to the audience as they know what this feature article is. They have also used an exclamation mark to emphasis it and make it stand out on the page this would be something I will use when I make my own feature article. The typography the title consist is a big and bold capital letters to stand out, its also bright pink which will attract the target audience as pink is seen as a feminine colour. In terms of semiotics the lexis that has been used when it 'Tyler n Steveie' appeals to the audience as they are stereotypically known for texting and shortening words. The subtitles keep the same style across the double page spread to make it all fit together. They all start with 'Must See' and by using the lexis of 'must' as a doing word informs the audience to do something and read what the magazine is telling them to. When I create my own magazine I will use this lexis to persuade my audience. The typography that's used is kept similar so it links together will. The font is kept the same throughout all the subtitles used on this page which is bold and has a small flick and it appeals to the target audience as it gives it a feminine look. The text for the rest of the writing is all in the same font when I create my own I will make sure I have similar typography. Theres a small interview on this page and on the previous feature article I analysed I found that it used two different colours to show the interviewer and the person answering the questions, the person interviewing had a bigger text that would in capitals to make it stand out more, I also noticed that after each review it would write the release date underneath giving the reader information about when the product is released, I will also do the same with my magazine.

Layout/text Boxes
The layout fits to the common conventions by including a title at the top and having larger images There are two images which are of people that are going to be interviewed and they have been placed either side of the text, as that breaks conventions it gives it a unique look as its not what you normally see so I'm thinking about how I can make mine look more unique to sell it to my audience. The little images are used to show you what the magazine are reviewing and it helps the audience recognise it if they decide to buy it, Images would attract the audience more this would link to Blumer and Katz uses and gratification theory (1974) 'The media user seeks out a media source that best fulfils the needs of that user' I am going to follow this theory when creating my feature article. On the first page it is mostly white as there is a huge amount of text on it with the interview so it doesn't make it look too busy, It then has a long thin text box on the right with a maths book effect. This would link to the audience as they go to school and would use those kind of books. The subtitles are placed in a text box to make them stand out and capture the readers attention. On the next page it also uses the square maths book affect to make both the pages flow together also the background of that page is also still white but you can't see it as much as there is bright coloured text boxes used to split up each section of the 'must see' to make it more appealing to the audience. For each topic that is being reviewed the name of it is placed in a text box such as 'despicable me' this is to make it stand out and its easier for the audience to see if something appeals to them. Also they will read the smaller writing and hear what the magazine has to say about it. When I create my magazine I will make sure I will use text boxes as its an effective way like to get my audience to read what is on the review page. At the very top of the page is a black rectangle shape that spreads across both pages and on the left hand side it says 'Reviews' which helps show clearly to the audience what this page is about. On the right hand side is the magazine web address so the audience can go on there, this is something I could use when creating my own.

Colour
This follows the common convention by using a colour palette with colours of yellow, red, blue, green and pink. Also black and white are both used, white for the background and black for the smaller text which is what you would be expecting to see in a magazine. The denotation of yellow is joy and happiness which would connote the audience of this magazine yellow is also used as its a bright colour and would capture your attention and for this feature article it is used quite a bit for the text so it was probably used to get the audiences attention. Red connotes passion and love which could connote the audiences love for music as most of the reviews are music related. The denotation of blue connotes to wisdom, trust and loyalty which would probably represent the magazine to show the audience that what they are looking and reading is trustworthy information. The denotation of green connotes freshness and stability which could represent the magazine as the reviews have the freshest latest releases. Pink connotes to femininity and as most of the target audience is girls this is the perfect colour to choose.

Images
for the images there is two long shots that have been used and are the biggest images that have been used on the double page spread. You'd expect this to happen as its an interview and the audience will want to see who is being interviews if they don't recognise the name. The images are in black and white which isn't what you would normally see in a magazine. In terms of mise-en-scene and iconography it is what you would expect to see as the two males in these long shots are dressed in the latest fashion young men would wear and this will make them appear attractive to the audience.
This goes against Laura Mulveys theory (1975) 'Women are seen as erotic objects of desire for the spectator within the auditorium' because the males are seen as this instead. Also it links with Dick Hebdige's theory (1988) who says 'youth is fun and youth is a trouble maker' because in terms of mise-en-scene the costume the male of the left is wearing is stereotypically the chavy troublemaker as he's wearing a snapback, trainers and tracksuit bottoms which is popular for young males to wear this. These photos have been taken in a studio with a white backdrop so that these photos could look professional and be photoshopped. In terms of iconography the poses that they are doing is what you'd typically see a teenager do if you suddenly placed a camera in front of them. The minor images that are used is to show what things the magazine is reviewing and this appeals to the audience because they can see what the magazine is reviewing. When creating mine I will make sure I use just enough minor images to attract my audience. These minor images are of books, CD's, DVD's and clips of films. They are used as teasers so it will persuade the audience to invest in it. I will also do this for my magazine. One of the films they are reviewing is a cartoon and will appeal to the audience as at that age they would be interest in cartoon film. Two of the album are medium close-ups, one of a man wearing sunglasses and a suit which fits in with mise-en-scene that shot would have been taken in a studio, the other album cover is of a female who is posing by pulling a silly face which will appeal to the audience as they would think she is funny and kind. This image was also taken in a studio as you can tell by the lighting as it shines directly on her face. The next album cover is of a band and if I chose to include an image of band in mine I would probably do it like this magazine as by using this shot you can clearly see all members of the band, in terms of mise-en-scene they are wearing clothes that connote they are young which will make them appear attractive to the audience. Also on the other page some album covers with two clearly set outside and has props such as bikes included in the long shot. In one of the images that are shot from a film is a medium close up of a male and female posing by looking at each other and holding a glass each which suggest the setting of the shot must have been in a house as they are sat down, that they are a couple and it would be a romance film. This would appeal to the audience as they are becoming interested in boys. Even though it is not about music, by using other interests the audience will persuade them to read the magazine and enjoy it which is what I would need to do when creating mine.

Conclusion
To conclude this feature article style of review would appeal to the target audience and it even includes a small interview too which would want to make even more people read it as the people they are interviewing have a fan base. The colour palette that has been used is structured layout that the audience would be attracted too, so I would have to pick the colours wisely when making my magazine. The images are high quality and appeal to the target audience. The images also create a perfect teaser to what the magazine is reviewing and the typography is eye catching so it attracts the readers.

Analysis of music magazine contents page

Analysis of music magazine contents page.

Top of the pops magazine is a monthly publication published by Immediate Media Company, it has chart information, star gossip, fashion and beauty advice, quizzes, and posters of various celebrities. Top of the Pops has a circulation of 105,025. It started of trying to link inbetween smash hits magazine and NME but gradually changed having less music content and more gossip fitting in with young girls. I would say the target audience for this magazine would be 11-15 as it contains quite preteen contents such as on the cover 'ashton wants to date you' and I don't think that anyone above the age of 15 would want to read this magazine because of that. The price for this magazine is £2.99 which is cheaper than billboard (which is £5.50) so younger people will be able to afford it if they ask there parents nicely. It would also attract a young audience as the celebrities they have used on it would appeal more to them than someone who is 16+

Masthead - The mast head for billboard magazine successfully fills its purpose of standing out on the page and letting everyone know that its top of the pops magazine. It also fits the common convention of having it fit 2/4 of the page, the mast head fits the target audience of females ages 11-15 as the writing is quite curly and I don't think that if males had a choice between this font and a font such as Arial they would choose this one as its quite girly and curly, the colour of the mast head shows that its aimed at 11 - 15 year olds as its very bright and vibrant, and doesn't look like it would be aimed at someone who's 50+. Even though there's a bit of the main image laying over the mast head you can still tell that it says 'top of the pops'

Layout - the layout fits to the typical layout of magazine cover. The cover features the popular boy band one direction who have an army of fans based in this age range who would willingly buy this magazine to catch up on the latest gossip of there favourite band member. They have decided to use boxes and circles to get the information across instead of just writing it on the cover, and they also decided to put a banner across the top with a story on it. By having boxes and circles of information on the cover it keeps the information in sections so its easier to look at all the celebrities that they have used on the cover would fit to the target audience of 11 - 15 year olds as they all follow the pop genre of music. If they had a picture of snoop dog on the cover then it wouldn't look right and it wouldn't make sense as this is a pop magazine and he's a rapper. This magazine also looks very busy as there isn't a blank space on the cover at all and which makes it look even more that its aimed at 11 - 15.
Colour - the colour pallet would defiantly suite more to girls then to boys as they use light blues and yellows. It defiantly stands out at you, because if it was next to kerrang magazine on the shelf then this magazine would be the one that catches your eye so your more likely to pick it up. If I was going to make a magazine based for 11 - 15 year olds I would without a doubt use bright colours like; blue, yellow, pink, white, orange etc.

Images - the images that have been used is one main one in the centre of the magazine a smaller images around the outskirts, this sticks to the common conventions of a magazine, all the images that have been used are high quality and look professional, they have used One direction as the main image, this is because one direction have a huge fan base who will go out and buy the magazine to find out what happening in there life and to see if there's any gossip about them.  They have also used celebrities such as rihanna, Frankie Sandford (from the Saturdays) and JLS star Ashton, all these celebrities have massive fan bases which by having them on the magazine there fans would all go crazy and buy it. All these images are fairly spread out and not crowded together which would have made it look to in your face and too overpowering.

Typography - the typography that has been used for the masthead is very girly as I have discussed earlier. But however most of the subheadings for the magazine cover look quite girly as they are curly. It also tells you the main stories that are going to be inside the magazine, which they hope will sell the magazine more as they want it to relate to 11 - 15 year olds. Because these aren't the type of stories that would attract anyone above the age of 20+. There's different font being used throughout this magazine cover and my personal opinion is that it looks to messy and hard to look at as thy haven't kept it plain and simple.

Conclusion - in conclusion I think this magazine looks professional and would suit the target audience of 11 - 15 year olds as it very bright and child like. Something it could improve on is making it expand the gender and making it a bit more boy like this would not only increase sales but increase its reputation. There is a large amount of information on the page and it looks to messy to look at. However it suites the target audience of 11 - 15 year olds as they would probably like it.

Top of the pops magazine..

I have already analysed the top of the pops magazines front cover so I'm now going to move on and analyse the contents page, obviously the price, circulation and anything else about this magazine has stayed the same, and from what I seen about the magazine when I analysed the cover is that this magazine has a target audience from about 11 - 15 year old, because when you look at this magazine straight away you can see that its not going to be based for anyone from the age of 30+.

Masthead - the mast head that has been used for the contents page is very girly, just by looking at it you can tell that this magazine is aimed at girls, they have also used a typeface that looks as though someone has written it themselves giving the magazine a bit more personal touch to make it look like some extra effort has been given. The masthead fills it purpose of being eye catching as you can see it pretty much straight away when you look at the page as the white writing stands out against the pink background. They have also used the words 'mag' which is short for magazine they have done this to connote to the target audience, because younger people are stereotypically known to shorten words.

Layout - The layout of the top of the pops magazine is split into 3 sections to make the magazine more easier for the potential customer just to flick through. They have put 4 boxes on the page to show what falls under what category, there is - we love shopping, wins and offers, all about you, Celebs and gossip, and we love boys. Each of these categories have the contents in them with the page numbers so that if the reader was in a rush and wanted to look at something under the category of fashion they could easily look under the we love fashion section and find what they are looking for. The magazine has also stuck to having one main image and using little images around it.

Colour - the colour that mostly appears on this page is pink its used for the page numbers and there's a lighter shade of pink used at the top of the boxes to make them look bolder and stand out more on the page. They have also used a white background and yellow highlighted to highlight the important bits. I like the way that they have used pink as it ties the magazine together and makes it all fit in with all the parts. This is suggests to me that its aimed at girls as pink is quite a girly colour.

Images - The images have stuck to the common convention of having a main image and little images scattered around the page. For this contents page the main image that has been used is a picture of the front cover. This captures the readers eye as they recognise it, the image has arrows pointing to each subheading with the page number to make it easy for readers to see where that page is and so they don't have to keep flicking through the magazine to find that page, and as the target audience is rated at such a young age it would be easier for them to look at and get information from it. 

Typography - the use of typography in this magazine is different to magazines like billboard or heat magazine, as this is much more childlike as I said earlier the mast head looks like it has been handwritten giving it a much more personal effect because it seems as though someone has taken the time out to write in every single magazine. They have also used the same font throughout the contents which makes it look more professional as having a different font would be to hard to look at and it would also make the magazine look really messy.

Conclusion - In conclusion I think that the top of the pops contents page serves it purpose and fits to its target audiences needs, by having things such as 'inside the mag' instead of having 'contents' this makes the magazine appeal more to the target audience of 11-15 as they would probably think the contents is 'boring' or 'uncool'. It doesn't really stick to the normal magazines common conventions because then it wouldn't fit in with its target audience and probably wouldn't sell as much as its selling now. 

I have previously analysed the front cover of we love pop magazine, I talked then about the circulation price, and publishing company etc. Obviously everything has stayed the same as every is the same. I came to the conclusion that this magazines target audience is 12 - 15 year olds because of the colours, layout and the type of content the magazine has. 

Masthead - The masthead serves its purpose of being bold as it stands out on the page. The letter 'o' is blocked out which gives it a more edgier look, and keeps the house style that its started. It also keeps to the normally common convention of taking up 1/8 of the page. The font style which has been used is informal which shows that its aimed at a younger audiences than someone who's 30+. We love pop have carried out there identity by having there logo in the top right hand corner of the page.

Layout - The layout of this page doesn't really stick to the common convention of typical contents pages as it has more images than normal ones with less writing. It has a border going round the outside and this makes our eyes get drawn to the content on the page even more. It has one main image, 5 medium images, ad 9 smaller images. To the left of the main image in the centre they have a 'letter' that the editor has written about that particular issue, they have worded it so its quite easy going like its 'friendly chat' this gives the reader a sense of comfort as thy feel like the editor has written them a letter just for them. They have also put the contents in a box on the left hand side of the page, they done this because this is the content that doesn't go with any of the images and they had no where else to put it. When I create my pop magazine contents page I will do something like this because its easy for 12-15 year olds to read. You can clearly state that by just looking at this contents page that its not aimed for a mature audience as for an older audience there would be less pictures and less 'friendly' talk.

Colour - The colour scheme would still continue from the front cover of the magazine, in this case its mainly blues, oranges, whites and blacks. They have used Orange and Blue for all the subheadings which are bright colours and very eye catching. For the general text they have used black as its simple and if they used another bright colour then the contents page would look to busy an disturbing. 

Images - The images have stuck to the common convention of a teen pop magazine using one large image and the rest smaller. The main image that has been used on the contents page of this magazine is of one direction which would have something to do with what in the magazine. They have used one direction on the contents as they are in the age range for the target audiences, One direction have a huge fan base and once they see that One direction have done an interview with we love pop then it is sure to sell out fast. The text next to the images says 'I'd pose for about a hundred quid!' they have used this quotation from the interview which shows there cheeky, love-able rogue side which will keep the target audience wanting to purchase this magazine. The page number linking the boys to the interview has been placed on the image making it easy for the reader to quickly flip through to that page. The other images that have been used are also in the interest of the target audience as it has an image of Taylor Lautner who starred in the movie hit 'Twilight'. He also has a huge fan base which many teenage girls will happily follow, they have put a quotation under his image saying 'I can't believe I just said that...Taylor Lautner reveals all' this will immediately pull his fans in and wanting to purchase the magazine to see what he has said. The Saturdays Una and Vanessa also appear on the magazine this attracts girls from the target audience because they're girl band are in the target audience, the selling line for the image is 'We look like condoms Una and Vanessa take on our dreaded carrier bag' this will attract the target audience as they would want to find out what its about.

Typography - The typography that has been used is a bit more grown up than the one that has been used on the top of the pops magazine as it doesn't have the horrid curly writing used and they have just stuck to the plain and simple text. They have used 'For your eyes only' in the left hand corner of the magazine making it appeal more to the audience it also makes it seem more personal. 

Conclusion - I think this magazine has done very well in hitting the target audience as they have everything that would appeal to them, it also look very professional, and easy to read as its not over crowded with colour, information and text, They have kept the layout simple and not tried to over complicate things.

Analysing music magazines from pop genre

Analysing music magazines from pop genre

After looking at all the possible genres I could work in, I have decided I want to make a pop magazine because this is a genre I find interesting and want to find out more about.

I’m going to analyse 3 music magazine covers from the leading magazines, Billboard, Top of The Pops and We Love Pop, which all follow the same genre I want to work in to see what common conventions they all have in common so I can include these in my work to make it professional and easily recognisable as a pop magazine because as Bentley said; ‘The making of the new and the rearranging of the old’ (Bentley, 1997).  

The target audience for pop magazines is the same as pop music, which means all of the magazines I look at, and the magazine I make, needs to appeal and represent young women 12-24 years who are into mainstream pop music.

Billboard magazine is published by Prometheus Global Media, it has circulation of 16,327. Its an international music news magazine, And one of the eldest and most popular music magazine in the world. Its main audience is for people who listen to popular (pop) music that is in the charts. The target audience for billboard magazine varies from teens from the ages of 16 to young adults from the age of 28. As it gives readers the latest music information and music updates from the charts. The second audience would be gay males because if you went into any gay nightclub in the 80s you would be bombarded with pop music. Billboard will be one of my main competitors so I will take stuff from this magazine and put it into my own and make it better.

Masthead – the masthead for billboard magazine fits its purpose and stands out on the page. Even though lady gaga is in front of the masthead you can quite clearly tell that it says billboard and also fits with the conventions of other magazines of having a mast head that’s fits 1/8 of the front cover. The mast head fits it target audience of 16 and above as it looks mature and professional however it has yellow in the circle of the D and blue in the circle of the A, this shows that its aimed at a younger audience as well, because without the colour it would look really mature and almost as if its too good for teenagers to pick it up and read. If you associate pop music with a colour you wouldn’t think of dull and boring colours like black and brown, you would think of bright colours such as yellow, blue etc.

Layout – the layout fits the common convention of having a main image in the center. This cover has lady gaga standing there wearing black clothes however you are drawn to her as she has purple hair which stands out on the magazine as everything else is grey or black. They have used a high quality image and by doing this it instantly makes the magazine look more professional. There is writing all around the main image showing preview of stories that are inside the magazine. The image that they have use would fit to the target audience as she is probably one of the main figures in there life, and would want to know what kind of wacky thing she does next.

Colour – The colour pallet would fit to mostly girls as its mainly purple that jumps out to you and purple is quite a girly colour, it also fits to the target audience of 16 – 28 as it fits that age range because if they had to much colours on It then it would appeal more to younger age ranges, and if they didn’t have that colour on it then it would appeal to a much more mature audience as the cover would appeal more to elder readers.

Images – The Image that has been used is of lady gaga, who has a massive fan base who will all buy the magazine to get some more gossip on there favourite celebrity. When I create my magazine I would put someone famous on it that has a huge fan base so I can sell more magazines, I’d put someone like one direction, Justin Bieber or Beyoncé as they have massive fanbases who would definitely buy the magazine. In the picture Lady gaga is revelling a bit of skin, which would instantly grab males’ attention, this follows Laura mulveys ‘as erotic objects of desire for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic objects of desire for the spectator within the auditorium. (1975).’ There is no other images on the page however if they did have more images then I think it would over crowd the page and they would lose the professional look that it gives off as it would look over crowded and messy. As they have used lady gaga on the cover it appeals to the target audience of 16 – 28 as she is based in and around that age range so they would most likely pick up the magazine.

Typography – The Typography has used teasers and quotes so this connotes what the story is going to be about. The text used doesn’t connote to a specific gender, however the colour that is used (lilac) indicates that its aimed at mostly females than males. The texts keeps to the same kind of format, as all the text that is in gray has kept to a certain font, all the black writing is in the same kind of font, and all the white writing is in the same kind of font. Making it all fit together perfectly to keep that professional look.

Conclusion – In conclusion, I think the magazine looks professional and sticks to the target audience, it also includes information that both genders would find interesting and would like to read. The only thing that I would improve with this magazine cover is the amount of writing on the front page as there is a lot, and if you quickly glance at it, it looks to in your face.

We love pop magazine is published by egmont publishing group who wants to kick start the teen media magazine with we love pop a pop magazine aimed at teenage girl five years after smash hits released there last magazine. We love pop magazine was launched in September 2011, each magazine has 68 pages and its target audience is aimed at 12-15 year old girls who are in to pop music. egmont (we love pop's publishers) seen a gap in the market after smash hits released there last magazine 5 years ago so egmont took the risk and it has been very successful. We love pop has a circulation figure of around 115,000
mast head - the mast head for we love pop magazine stands out the most on the page as it has very bold colours (black, yellow and white) the mast head fits with the common conventions of other magazines by having it the same style of every magazine this makes the magazine recognisable to the reader when they see it on the shelves, the mast head fits to the target audience to 12-15 year olds as it is quite immature looking - as you wouldn't see it on a magazine aimed at 20+ year olds they have used bright colours (in this case yellow) as if you think about pop music you think of bright colours like pink and yellow and in this magazine they have quite bold and bright colours.

Layout - The layout fits the common conventions of most magazines by having a main image and using other little images to preview other stories inside the magazine, all the images that they have used are high quality and make the magazine look professional they have all clearly thought about the placement of everything on the front cover so it doesn't look to in your face and harsh to look at, they have shown previews of what's inside the magazine either by text or by showing images. Also the main image is of cher Lloyd and she stands out on the page as the background is white and she is wearing a blue top which makes her stand out against the white background she would also fit to the target audience as her music is aimed at young teens and her music comes under the pop genre.

Colour - the colour pallet of this magazine fits to the target audience as they are quite bright and happy that jumps out at you and if I was to create a pop magazine then I would definitely use bright colours as it works perfectly with it. Also if they used colours like brown, grey and boring colours then it wouldn't suit the target audience because your mainly attracted to bright things and colours like brown wouldn't catch your attention 

Images - the image the has been used is of cher Lloyd who has took America and the UK by storm, she has a massive fan base so by using her on the cover connotes to all her fans going out and buying the magazine as they want to know all about her at the bottom of the magazine they also have sneak previews of 'the wanted poster special' by using this they would also attract there fans as they would want to have the posters, I could also use this in my magazine to attract a wider age range. They also have a image with Matt cardle showing something that he said in a quote next to it saying ''words were said between me and zayn'' which would attract 1D fans aswell and make them buy the magazine as they would want to know what it was about. They have a lot of information on the page however it hasn't over crowded the magazine and still looks professional.

Typography - The typography that has been used doesn't connote to a specific gender as it just in a simple text however the colour of it would suggest that its mainly aimed at girls and the images used would connote that this magazine is aimed at girls. The same typography is used throughout this cover and if it has changed its only changed slightly.

Conclusion - In conclusion I think the magazine looks professional and fits its target audience however it only mainly sticks to one gender, maybe something that they could improve on is making it more for both gender and by doing that it would expand there audiences and it would benefit everyone. There is not a large amount of writing on the page which makes it look professional and makes it look like an easy going magazine, however by just glancing at this magazine cover you can instantly tell that this magazine is aimed at young teens by how the whole magazine looks, because you don't see cher Lloyd on any young adults magazines or ones that are aimed at 16 year olds and above as she just wouldn't fit in with that age range. 

Top of the pops magazine is a monthly publication published by Immediate Media Company, it has chart information, star gossip, fashion and beauty advice, quizzes, and posters of various celebrities. Top of the Pops has a circulation of 105,025. It started of trying to link inbetween smash hits magazine and NME but gradually changed having less music content and more gossip fitting in with young girls. I would say the target audience for this magazine would be 11-15 as it contains quite preteen contents such as on the cover 'ashton wants to date you' and I don't think that anyone above the age of 15 would want to read this magazine because of that. The price for this magazine is £2.99 which is cheaper than billboard (which is £5.50) so younger people will be able to afford it if they ask there parents nicely. It would also attract a young audience as the celebrities they have used on it would appeal more to them than someone who is 16+

Masthead - The mast head for billboard magazine successfully fills its purpose of standing out on the page and letting everyone know that its top of the pops magazine. It also fits the common convention of having it fit 2/4 of the page, the mast head fits the target audience of females ages 11-15 as the writing is quite curly and I don't think that if males had a choice between this font and a font such as Arial they would choose this one as its quite girly and curly, the colour of the mast head shows that its aimed at 11 - 15 year olds as its very bright and vibrant, and doesn't look like it would be aimed at someone who's 50+. Even though there's a bit of the main image laying over the mast head you can still tell that it says 'top of the pops' 

Layout - the layout fits to the typical layout of magazine cover. The cover features the popular boy band one direction who have an army of fans based in this age range who would willingly buy this magazine to catch up on the latest gossip of there favourite band member. They have decided to use boxes and circles to get the information across instead of just writing it on the cover, and they also decided to put a banner across the top with a story on it. By having boxes and circles of information on the cover it keeps the information in sections so its easier to look at all the celebrities that they have used on the cover would fit to the target audience of 11 - 15 year olds as they all follow the pop genre of music. If they had a picture of snoop dog on the cover then it wouldn't look right and it wouldn't make sense as this is a pop magazine and he's a rapper. This magazine also looks very busy as there isn't a blank space on the cover at all and which makes it look even more that its aimed at 11 - 15.
Colour - the colour pallet would defiantly suite more to girls then to boys as they use light blues and yellows. It defiantly stands out at you, because if it was next to kerrang magazine on the shelf then this magazine would be the one that catches your eye so your more likely to pick it up. If I was going to make a magazine based for 11 - 15 year olds I would without a doubt use bright colours like; blue, yellow, pink, white, orange etc. 

Images - the images that have been used is one main one in the centre of the magazine a smaller images around the outskirts, this sticks to the common conventions of a magazine, all the images that have been used are high quality and look professional, they have used One direction as the main image, this is because one direction have a huge fan base who will go out and buy the magazine to find out what happening in there life and to see if there's any gossip about them.  They have also used celebrities such as rihanna, Frankie Sandford (from the Saturdays) and JLS star Ashton, all these celebrities have massive fan bases which by having them on the magazine there fans would all go crazy and buy it. All these images are fairly spread out and not crowded together which would have made it look to in your face and too overpowering. 

Typography - the typography that has been used for the masthead is very girly as I have discussed earlier. But however most of the subheadings for the magazine cover look quite girly as they are curly. It also tells you the main stories that are going to be inside the magazine, which they hope will sell the magazine more as they want it to relate to 11 - 15 year olds. Because these aren't the type of stories that would attract anyone above the age of 20+. There's different font being used throughout this magazine cover and my personal opinion is that it looks to messy and hard to look at as thy haven't kept it plain and simple.

Conclusion - in conclusion I think this magazine looks professional and would suit the target audience of 11 - 15 year olds as it very bright and child like. Something it could improve on is making it expand the gender and making it a bit more boy like this would not only increase sales but increase its reputation. There is a large amount of information on the page and it looks to messy to look at. However it suites the target audience of 11 - 15 year olds as they would probably like it.