Sunday, 3 October 2010

Codes and Conventions of a Music Magazine Front Cover

In the lesson we were given a selection of music magazines covers and our task was to identify the codes and conventions of the front covers of these magazines. These are the list of conventions i came up with:


  • One main image which takes up the whole cover
  • - Usually the main feature article
  • - Studio photographs which conveys the band/singers attitude
  • - Direct address
  • Title (masthead) - has a trademark, unique font
  • - Usually one word
  • - Fills the width of the cover, or is in top left corner
  • - Positioning statement - usually above or below the title
  • - Price and issue date by the title (11pt size)
  • - Sometimes by the barcode
  • Puff - offers something else to the magazine
  • Buzz words - usually with main feature article e.g. "EXCLUSIVE"
  • Cover lines - lines of text on the front cover. Main coverline is the largest text on the cover after the title and it anchors the meaning of the image. Usually a subline in smaller text giving more information about the article. Other coverlines are usually one or two words with sublines explaining them.Some are used to intrigue the reader.
  • Barcode
  • Strip across the top or bottom containing lists of artists names who feature in the magazine
  • Coverlines - frame the image or are down one side of the magazine
  • Colour - small amount used with a simple colour scheme

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