Research: Detailed analysis of music magazine double spread (a variety of music genres)

This double spread from ‘vibe’ music magazine is of the celebrity Florence welsh who is part of the famous band Florence and the Machine. This magazine cover represents her as a edgy and attractive woman. Her costume represents this because all the clothes she ]’s wearing are black and made from leather. When you think of black leather you think of toughness, and by having her wear this represents her as a tough character. The colour black also contrasts against her red hair which makes her hair stand out against the black colours. Not many props have been used in this photo shoot, I mainly think this is done to keep the main focus on the artist. Florence is sitting on a box which has been covered in a red and white striped sheet which looks very similar to the American flag. This fits in with the text which is in the background which says ‘USA’ because it gives an all over American feel to the shoot. This makes the reader think that this article is about the artist and America.
The headline of this spread is the words ‘got the love’, these words are part of one of their lyrics from one of their songs. This will seem familiar to the audience and also relate to them. The headline is in an formal italic style which stands out against the rest of the text on the page and makes it clear that this is the headline.
Overall I like this spread because its simple and edgy which highlights the artist and is also eye catching.

This double page spread is on a feature on the celebrity singer Lily Allen. The headline of this article is a quote from the interview with Lily Allen, by having this as the headline it gives the reader a sneak peak to the real interview. The font and style of the words are as if someone had cut out the letters out individually as they look like different sizes and are in all different positions. This makes the article look more alternative and makes the quote stand out of the page. The headline Lily talks about her being an ‘attention seeker’, they made the font of this headline around that particular quote, the bold writing does this because it attracts attention.
The image of the singer is a mid-long shot of her leaning forward to the camera with her hand on her hips, this pose looks awkward and different which fits ion the rest of this spread. She is wearing a scruffy red checked shirt with messy hair and make-up. This makes her look grudge and alternative. The colour red is a bold colour and is the only colour used on this spread which highlights her.
Overall this spread is very bold and in your face, this is good because it will attract the readers eye while they flick through the magazine.

This spread from ‘Q’ magazine is of the very popular singer Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga is seen to have a crazy and different personality which is reflective in some elements of this spread. The set-up is simple on the left side is the image of the singer and on the other side is the article about the artist.
The image of Lady Gaga is a mid-shot of her body from the bust up. In this image she is wearing nothing on her tops except a chain necklace. This can be seen as controversial because some people may not think it is appropriate to have her have a photo shoot that's so revealing and other may think that this is artistic. Also by having her covering certain areas with her hands and the necklace gives her a sexual image and an attraction, this will appeal to the male audiences. Her make-up is glamorous and creates shadows on her eyes and cheekbones, this makes her look more attractive. Her hair in this shoot is very big and voluminous, almost wild d which reflects the artists personality and music. This photo ahs been edited during production to black and white which makes the image look classic and dramatic, because black and white represents images in the 60’s with movie stars and celebrity’s such as marlin Monroe. This plants the idea that lady gaga is classic and will be around for a long time.
On the right side of the article the letter ‘L’ in red has been out onto the text. This ‘l’ represents lady gaga, by having this letter on the text represents that the text is about her which should attract the audience more. In the top right corner the words ‘lady gaga’ have been printed in medium size writing which indicates who this article is about. The word ‘lady’ is in a lady-like style writing which reflects the true meaning of the word ‘lady’. The word ‘gaga’ is in all upper case writing and is in a bold font as well, this represents the word well because the word ‘gaga’ is a weird and bold word.
Overall i like this spread because its looks classical and eye catching.

This double page spread is on the artist Pink, who is a famous pop singer. The spread has an easy set-up which is split into two separate section. On the left hand side is the actual article about Pink and then on the right side is the image of pink.
The image of the artist Pink makes her look like a very happy and easy to get on with woman. In this picture she is wearing bright yellow earrings, the colour yellow represents brightness and when you think of brightness you think happiness. You get this impression because of her facial expression and the way the image is et-up. The image of Pink is a close up of her face and abit of her neck. This makes the audience feel like their seeing all of Pink because when your closer to people you often see more flaws on them. By doing this it makes it seem as if she’s comfortable with the reader. Also by having her smiling makes her seem relatable to the reader and makes her seem as if she could be someone that you could have fun with and doesn't take things to seriously. I think the overall idea of this photo is that Pink is a happy person and that they wanted the audience to relate to her.
The left side of the article is set-up into three columns which makes it clearer for the audience to read and understand. The heading ‘Pink’ is in a neutral colour which surprisingly doesn't represent the meaning of Pink. This gives the impression that she is a neutral person.
Overall i like this spread because it gives the reader something to relate to and has a easy set-up.

This double page spread is on the band ‘traffic’ and it i think that it has a country feel to the whole magazine. The main image of the band takes up 3/4 of the page and is an image of the band in a field. I t is a low level shot of the band coming of out some trees , by having the band coming out of the tree’s makes them look mysterious and alternative. The band are all wearing neutral earth tone colours which matches with the theme of the country for this shoot.
The header matches also with the picture because the header is about people getting together in the country, that is exactly what the band are doing in this image. The font and style of the words are in a rustic style writing which makes it look more country like. I think by having the whole theme of this magazine may suggest to the reader that this band is a country music style band. The background for the article part is an earthy beige colour which makes it look older and more authentic.
The writing which is used in the article is a pink colour which contrast to the earth tone colours of the background. However to highlight the bands name the word ‘traffic’ is in bold black writing which tells the reader that this is the bands name. The bands name ‘Traffic’ is also featured at the top of the page in a black box and the words traffic is in white writing. By doing this again it shows the reader that this article is about this band.
Overall i like this spread because its very original compared to the over spreads because it looks very naturalistic and looks like its from a former time.

This double page spread featured in NME magazine is of the band the teenagers. The image mainly dominates this page and the text takes up a small proportion of the spread. The image of the three teenagers is a laid back image and it looks as if someone has taken the picture unprofessionally. This makes it more relatable to the reader because it makes them think that these boys are normal. The set looks like a typical teenage boys room with pictures of girls, bands and more. This makes them seem more normal again and also goes with the idea that the band is called ‘teenagers’.
For the header and other elements of the spread the colour blue has been used. I think the colour blue was used because the colour blue often represents boy and the colour pink represents girl. This makes the spread very gender specific. The part of the text is set into two sections which makes it easier for the reader to read.
The header ‘the teenagers’ is set against a blue background and is in all uppercase black writing. This makes the words more bold and indicate to the audience the name of the band. Overall i like this spread because it does a good job of representing the artist.