Contents page analysis

Like the NME magazine cover this contents page is simple 
 and easy to follow. The colours used are limited and this works well in creating a distinctive style.Unlike most contents pages this one only uses one main image.The headings are bold with brief descriptions underneathwith the page number beside it in a different colour to make it easy to find. The contents page is split into sections like most magazines for example news,radar,reviews,live! and features. At the bottom of the page there is a promotional offer in a different coulor to the rest of the page above to draw the readers eye.

 NME

This magazine is different to any that i have seen before.Firstly there is no main image of a band or artist which especially for a music magazine is very unorthodox.Secondly there are no visible sell lines. The magazine cover does conform to the usual magazine however as it limits its use of colour to three main colours (yellow,black and white) which contrast in an attempt to draw the readers eye to the cover. From a distance it would be hard to tell that this was a magazine cover, this was perhaps done intentionally to intrigue the reader. The large,bold font also acheives this well.

From this cover it would be hard to tell which genre the magazine features.Even the language on the cover is vague. Words such as definitive,final,greatest and accurate are used to display confidence which may be considered a male trait.There is very little to be said about the layout style apart from being clear to read.No photography was used as their is no image for the feature artical.

Magazine case study

 NME

The new musical express AKA NME is a weekly pop/rock magazine based in the U.K.. The magazine was founded in 1952 with the first issue being released on march 7th. The NME started life as a musical newspaper and gradually evolved into a magazine during the 1980's.IN the 1970's the NME became the best selling British music newspaper.

During the 1960s the paper championed the new British groups emerging at the time.The emergence of Bands such as The Beatles and The rolling stones aided sales figures greatly. During this period the NME leaned towards the pop genre more than it did the rock genre.

By the 1970's NME had lost ground to Melody Maker, as its coverage of music had failed to keep up with the development of rock music, particularly during the early years of psychedelia and progressive rock. In 1972 the paper found itself on the verge of closure by its owners IPC after sales figures plummeted to just 60,000. Editors were told to rethink their journalism or face 'dieing on the grape vine'

NME were groundbreaking in introducing polls, awards and concerts which also helped reestablishing their name amongst music magazines and fans.NME regularly released their 'album of the year' and 'cool lists' with winners being voted by readers as well as hosting gigs such as an NME stage at Glastonbury.

By the 1980's the NME started becoming more politically motivated, endorsing socialism during the thatcher era. On the week of the 1987 election the NME featured Labour leader Neil Kinnock on its front cover as well as having an interview inside the magazine.By the mid 80's sales began to drop again ,Sales were apparently lower when photos of hip hop artists appeared on the front cover and this led to the paper suffering as the lack of direction became even more apparent to readers.

The 1990's were a golden age for the NME, in the thick of the Madchester scene, covering the new British indie bands (such as Oasis and The stone roses).From the issue of 21 March 1998, the paper is no longer printed on newsprint, and more recently it has shifted to tabloid size with full, glossy, colour covers. In 2001 the NME reasserted its position as an influence in new music and helped to introduce bands including The Strokes, The Vines, and The White Stripes.

Artist case study

Arctic monkeys

The Arctic monkeys are a British rock band founded in High green, Sheffield in 2002 by friends Alex Turner (lead singer) and Jamie Cook (lead guitar). In 2003 the band released a collection of songs entitled 'Beneath the Boardwalk' which they recorded and produced themselves on a tight budget.Word quickly started to spread via social networking and file sharing site about the band gaining them greater status in the independent music industry.

The band quickly grew in popularity across the north of England, receiving attention from BBC radio and the British tabloid press. In 2005, Arctic Monkeys released their first single Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys on their own 'Bang Bang' label, featuring the songs "Fake Tales of San Francisco" and "From the Ritz to the Rubble". This release was limited to 500 CDs but was also available to download from iTunes. Soon after, the band played at the Reading and Leeds Festivals, on a stage reserved for less known or unsigned bands. 

They signed for Domino records in June 2005 and were reported to have received a £1 million publishing deal with EMI.Their debut single 'I bet that you look good on the dance floor' released on the 17th October 2005 went straight to number 1 in the U.K. charts beating of the likes of Robbie Williams ans The sugarbabes. Shortly after this they were featured on the front cover of the NME magazine.Their second single 'when the sun goes down' released in January 2006 also went straight to number 1 in the U.K. singles charts.This amount of chart success with very little marketing made some question if multimillion pound advertising was really worth it.

The bands debut album 'Whatever people say i am, thats what i'm not' was released and
became the fastest selling debut album in UK chart history, selling 363,735 copies in the first week.

The Arctic monkeys went on to release several albums such as :

• Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)
• Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)
• Humbug (2009)
• Suck It and See (2011)
• AM (2013)

The Arctic monkeys have been placed under the umbrella of 'indie rock' but it has been difficult to pin them to an exact style as through out out their albums their sound as evolved from garage-rock in their first two albums to 'hip-hop' in the latest album 'AM'.Most of the bands songs are centered around failed relationships, nostalgia and growing old.

Record lable case study

Domino Recording Company aka Domino Founded in 1993 by Laurence Bell and his partner Jacqui Rice, is an independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in New york that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German and French divisons. Success was not swift or easy. Domino were releasing more established American rock and unusual British music, were marginalised during the Britpop era, but a steady stream of new signings gave the label increasing credibility. Recent high profile releases from Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys have only acted as a catalyst to this, and Domino is now one of the longest running and most successful independent record labels in the UK.

My music magazine planning ideas

My music magazine will be based on the genre of rock with the sub-genre British rock. It will feature more current artists as oppose to classic bands.My magazine will have a uniquely fresh feel, it will be clean and organized and will use varied fonts, layouts and colour schemes. It will will contain regular features such as :

• interviews : bands,artists.
• reviews : albums,gigs,singles. 
• news : new release/acts.
• adverts : genre specific
• competions/prizes
• front cover : with featured artist/s

Music magazine mood board

Final student magazine

Final contents page