Pop contents page analysis

Billboard Magazine

The masthead of this magazine contents page is quite formal as it actually uses the word "contents" and the font uses is quite formal. This may be used to suggest that this magazine is serious about their music which will appeal to an audience that is also serious about their music. Also the masthead is conventional in size as it uses around an eighth of the page.

The main image is conventional for a music magazine contents page as it is clear there is only one main image and the person that the image is of is an important person to the music industry. This person is also not the only important part of the image. This can be seen because he is standing to the side of the image rather than in the centre unlike most other images that are included in music magazine contents pages because generally the person is the most important part of the image. This is unconventional because if a music magazine can get a famous artist to pose for an image for them to put in the magazine they will generally make sure that he is in the centre of the image to suggest that he is the most important part of the image.

The colours that are used white, black, blue and yellow. The colour white connotes perfection which may be used to suggest that Billboard is the perfect magazine for pop music fans. The colour black connotes power which may be used by the magazine to suggest that they are a powerful brand when it comes to pop music magazines. The colour blue connotes softness which may be used to attract a wider audience. Finally the colour yellow connotes happiness which is used to attract more people to the magazine. This will also link in with Hebdige's theory of "Youth as Fun" which will as a consequence attract their target audience of young people.

The layout is very busy as there is a lot of text. The main stories are in the main part of the page and are highlighted in blue whereas other stories such as the album charts are separated from the main part of the page in a separate column on the left hand side of the page. This may be used to highlight the importance of some of these stories as they are separate from the rest of the minor stories.

The contents page uses words like beat, which is a word that is heavily related to pop music, in order to attract an audience of music lovers as these kind of "key" words will instantly attract someone who is passionate about their music.

Also the font used are quite formal which suggests that the magazine take itself seriously as they are passionate about the music and stories that they include in their magazine which will attract their target audience.

The masthead for this magazine is much less formal than the one on Billboard shown previously. This is because instead of using the word contents it uses the phrase "We love this...". This suggests that the magazine is fun which would appeal to their target audience of young people unlike Billboards target audience which is an older audience of young adults. This masthead is much larger than most conventional mastheads. Also the masthead includes the magazines logo which suggests that the brand is important to their reader.

The main image is of Olly Murs a popular artist in the pop genre and is even more popular with their target audience. They have chosen to use a picture of him and have a story on him because any fans of his will want to be able to view exclusive interviews with him which will then encourage them to purchase their magazine.

The colours used are green, yellow, blue and white. The colour green connotes freshness which may be used to suggest that We Love Pop magazine has got the "freshest stories." The colour yellow connotes happiness which will relate to the target audience of young people because fun is important to them. The colour blue connotes softness and is a popular colour with their target audience so they are more likely to purchase their magazine. The colour white connotes purity which will relate to their target audience of young people because young people are at times seen as "pure".

The layout is quite busy with many stories and images. This is also quite a fun layout because of the way the stories are laid out around the images. This will appeal to their target audience of young people because this kind of style is popular with them. This links in with Hebdige's theory of "Youth as Fun"as the magazine's primary audience is a young audience.

The stories that are included will appeal to their target audience as they will interest them so they are more likely to purchase their magazine. For example the story about Olly Murs will intrigue the target audience because young people especially young girls will be interested about stories like this because they are such big fans of his.


In my magazine I will use a few ideas from each of the two magazines across to try and increase the age range of my primary audience as We Love Pop is aimed at a younger audience and Billboard is aimed at an older audience. For example I will use similar layout style to We Love Pop but use some of the fonts and colours from Billboard.

In the magazine on the left, the mashed actually states that the page is the "Contents" page whereas the magazine on the right doesn't actually include the word "Contents" and instead reads "NME This Week". The fact that they don't use the word contents suggests the magazine is more fun and friendly and less formal.

In both magazines the font is the same all the way through the contents page which shows that the magazine is organised and professional. Also they both include page numbers rather than page titles so that the reader can easily find the stories that interest them. Also both magazines make the main stories stand out from the rest by making them bold, a different size and/or a different colour.

The contents page on the right NME's contents page uses the colours red, white, black and yellow. The colour red connotes passion which can relate to the target audience as they may be passionate about their music. The colour black connotes power which may be used to suggest that the magazine NME is a leader in the Indie/Alternative genre magazine industry.