Analysing double page spreads of music magazines

Magazine double spread pages convention is to have a three colour theme as part of their branded identity. The NME  magazine normal three colour scheme is red, black and white, however for the ‘Radar’ page they have gone against their main scheme and  used blue, black and white which is in line with the three colour theme convention. NME changed the red to blue to make this story look new and exciting. This also links with title ‘Radar’ which has connotations of something new and exciting showing that the artists on this page are on the radar (new). However, the Top of the Pops magazine is breaking the three colour scheme convention by having six (blue, pink, yellow, orange, white and black) different colours. As this magazine is aimed at a young teenage demographic, using more than three colours captures the demographics attention as it shows that this magazine is young and fun.

The convention is for one of the double spread pages to have a main image; both magazines fill up one of the pages with a main image. This is following the convention of a magazine, however NME is more in line with this convention as the main image is usually on the left page.

The two pages are linked which helps the reader navigate their way through the double spread visually. Both magazines integrate the pages by making the title overlap both pages. This is to create a narrative flow between both pages. The Top of the Pops magazine also has images of unknown artists down the bottom of the page which overlaps both pages, indicating that there is more to know about ‘Camp Rock’ and that both pages are relating to the same story. It also shows to the reader where the story begins and ends.

The typography used in the titles is useful. Top of the Pops font is not formal and quite simple. This is relatable to their demographic of young teenage girls as the font is quirky and eye catching. Compared to the NME magazine, the typography for the copy is very similar, however for the title is bolder because it is in capitals and is in jet black. This draws in the demographic of people who enjoy Indie music.

Under the title, the convention is to have a subheading. The subheading is meant to give more information about the copy below it. They are usually tailored for their demographic and made to look ‘smart’ so only the demographic who know the artists understand the subheading. The NME subheading is an innuendo which is used to make the people who understand it feel smarter/better than everyone else.

Within the copy, the convention is to have at least one quote from the copy in bold, bigger than the rest and somewhere in the middle of the copy. The quote also acts like an anchor. This is eye catching and grabs the reader’s attention to the copy. The quote normally shows the key information said by the artist in the copy. Both these magazines follow this convention. However, Top of the Pops does not follow convention of the first letter being bigger than the rest. The convention of the first letter being the biggest is to show the reader where the article starts.

The convention to show that it is the end of the copy is a little black box at the end of the article. Both articles go against this convention as the NME magazine uses a red box including the NME website which is using synergy as it is promoting their website. The box is red to relate this article back to the front cover as the three colour scheme is red, black and white. The Top of the Pops magazine goes against the convention and does not have anything to show that it is the end of the copy.  The copy in a pop magazine is mainly an interview or short story. The Top of the Pops magazine is in line with the convention as the copy is a short interview with The Jonas Brothers.

The box on the side of the NME magazine does not have anything to do with ‘The Teenagers’ as shown by the black background, however it is still liked to the same page and subject of being on the ‘Radar’ as the blue is overlapping both the main story and the little stories on the side about upcoming new artists.

There is an information box which is used in many magazines which gives facts and additional information about the artists. NME have made the information box look like a note pad, this is to relate to their demographic as most of the people who read NME are older teenagers who own notepads showing that they are the first people to know about this new band.

An anchor is used on every image in most mainstream magazines like the NME. An anchor is used to steer you and tell you how you should feel about this image. The Top of the Pops magazine is going against the convention of having an anchor as it does not have one on any of the pictures.

NME has gone against the mainstream of the magazine by putting an ‘NME loves’ stamp. This has connotations of the band being new and unfinished, almost s if the band is not sophisticated yet. This however would be a convention of a pop magazine as the artists they feature are not well known and are usually aimed at the younger demographic.