Textual Analysis



Keyshia Cole On The Billboard Music Magazine Cover.

Billboard Music Magazine

Denotation:

The magazine cover is in colour and contains a coloured photo of a lady; her head is fixed straight forward and looking straight into the camera lens. This photo is a medium shot showing her chest up to the highest point of her head; her hands are leaning on her back relaxed. The background of the photo is different shades of orange and although the photograph doesn’t cover every spot of the page it is spread across the whole page. Behind the photographed lady is the magazine masthead “Billboard” in white bold writing and in front of her is a sub heading in conjunction to her also in white writing.

Masthead:

The billboard masthead is recognizable as the main heading; this is because it stands out to the other writing on the page. The billboard heading has also got the circles in letters coloured in, these are green and blue within the white overall masthead colour which is white. There is a mixture of lower cased and upper cased letters with the first letter of this masthead being a capital. A billboard is an advertising technique which display on panels in public places like on buildings and highways. This could suggest that the magazine billboard is trying to get music out there and have more people knowing about the stuff their product talks about. This title helps us to understand that this magazine is information based and informing you on something.

Character:

The cover photograph is off an American Celebrity (artist/Singer) Keyshia Cole who has a medium reputation but isn’t as known as other celebrities in her genre of music.

Composition:

Her pose is very open and Keyshia Cole suggests she is inviting with her stance and body language. She looks very attractive and her picture is very engaging to the eye. The clothing worn is different to the clothing that Keyshia Cole wears generally; it looks like the lady inside the picture has just come off the red carpet and her quaffed black hair completes her look.

Costume:

The clothing worn in this photo is a silky like material, because of the picture u cannot figure out what it actually is but it could be a dress. The top has no shoulder straps and is slightly revealing, this probably appeals to the magazines target audience.

NVC:

Her Mouth is open displaying perfect white teeth and she is looking directly into the camera. She has lush pink lips which are also viewable. Altogether she looks like someone teenagers would aspire to be like and has model features.

Lighting:

The lighting is shined onto her as you can see her skin reflecting light back. The light is shining mainly at her chest and facial areas and there are a few rays of light on the background behind.

Setting:

There isn’t much of a setting in this photo, the pictures shows the artist basically standing with what could be a green screen or a background added in after in the back.

Cover-Lines:

The Main Cover Line says the artist’s name “Keyshia Cole” in larger letters to the other cover lines, the cover line is bold and coloured white. It is placed directly in front of the image of keyshia cole in the chest area. Under the cover line is a little bit on what the magazine will be talking about with relations to the artist. This is coloured yellow and is under the main cover line. It makes a reference to a new album the artist has been working on and also a different side to Keyshia. There are also other cover lines on the magazine that suggest the magazine won’t just be focusing on the artist pictured on the front but also other musicians. These cover lines are coloured white and are in the same font although there are others which are coloured purple in a slightly bigger thicker font which include big musicians names. Other artists mentioned on the cover include Pink, Akon, David Cook, Guns & Roses and Toby Keith. Cover lines on the front page also suggest that the magazine focuses on present topics like today’s charts. This tells readers they are in on new gossip and talks of the streets.

Target Audience:

From analysing the front cover I believe the magazine would be aimed at teens to people in their mid 30s who enjoy reading about musicians, wants all up to date gossip and use these magazines to feed their interests in free time. These people are likely to be people who take up reading as a hobby.

World Renowned Rihanna On The Music Magazine NME.

NME Music Magazine

Denotation:

The magazine front cover consists of a coloured photograph; this is of a famous lady looking directly into the camera although her eyes are slightly shut. The shot is a mid shot showing her belly up, this image shows an object model of a bird (Parrot). The photos background is plain white with shadows also on the wall behind the lady. Her hand is on her hip and her other hand isn’t in the view of the camera although the photo covers the whole of the magazine page. The NME masthead is in front of the ladies head and there is a cover line based on the lady inside the picture, all main info is coloured in pink. A barcode is in the bottom right corner.

Masthead:

The NME masthead is recognizable as the main heading, its bold pink font with letters that stand individually on its own is very distinctive. The masthead does not contain any lower case letters The words being written in capitals suggest that each letter represents a word. These letters stand for New Musical Express which could mean the magazine focuses on new modern music and musicians.

Character:

The cover photograph is of a successful American singer/ artist named Rihanna.

Composition:

She is posed in a mysterious kind of way; her body language suggests that she is protective although she looks very attractive. 

Costume:

Her clothing’s material has almost a paper like effect, she is wearing a black t-shirt and from what I can see looks like a blue dress. She is showing hardly any of her body or barely any skin but her picture is still appealing. The picture on the front cover suggests it may have been targeted at children who inspire to be like this person. The clothing worn is similar to the clothing in the “who’s that chick” video and define her new look. Black hair with blonde highlights is the hairstyle of the person on the cover. On her shoulder is a model of a parrot that finishes of the look but is very random and doesn’t fit in with the scenario. Finally her nails are painted pink.

NVC:

Her non verbal communication is very uninviting and kind of warning, the parrot on her shoulder looks protecting and like security. Her mouth is open displaying a few white teeth and she looking wearily at the camera lens.

Lighting:

The lighting is light in the central part of the picture but blurs out into a shadow in a ripple effect around the main character Rihanna.

Setting:

There isn’t really a setting in this picture; the picture is taken over a blank background. That may or may not have been white intentionally.

Cover-Lines:

The main cover line relates to the photograph and says the artist’s name “Rihanna” and is the same color as the masthead but smaller. The writing underneath is a quote by the artist that could have been said in an interview or is a signature phrase. This phrase could be controversial or attract fans into wanting to buy this magazine. The different cover lines explain that the magazine is more varied, and isn’t just focused on one character in the music industry and there are other interesting artists to read about. Big artists included are Florence and the Machines, Jack White, Kasabian and others. They are listed under another sub heading called the state of music today meaning they are all artists in the present day. This suggests everything in the magazine is both today and modern, pictures of the celebrities it talks about could mean all info received is accurate.

Target Audience:

After analysis of the magazine cover the likely target audience is teenagers who want the latest gossip on their musical idols. The teens would have a good knowledge of popular and present day music and an interest in varied types of music rather than just one genre.

Fergie From Black Eyed Peas On the Blender Music Magazine

Blender Music Magazine

Denotation:

The magazine cover is a coloured photograph of a woman posed; it is a medium long shot showing the top half of her legs upwards to the highest point of her head. Her arms are active as it looks likes she is acting out taking off her shirt. The whole of the photos background is fully one shade white and the photograph is covering the whole magazine cover. The photograph to writing ratio is around 60 to 40 percent. Behind the head of the magazine cover is the magazine masthead “blender” and to her right are four separate cover lines in blue and black. The woman who is photographed has her name written in blue and there is a summary of the cover line underneath this. A website link is visible in the right hand corner.

Masthead:

The blender masthead is distinguished as the main heading it is placed high on the cover in the largest writing on the page. It is a brownish golden colour and all letters are uppercased in the masthead. The words font is very bold and has a crack like effects going through six of the letters. The letters stand alone and are not joined. The word blender is usually related to breaking something down which may be why the masthead has the crack visible in it. Blender also is associated with stirring or mixing thing things together, the name blender could suggest that you will find a mixture of lots of different or varied information in this magazine.

Character:

The cover photograph is of a successful American now solo singer Fergie. 

Composition:

She is posed in an inviting “come and get me” sort of way, her pose and body language is very tempting. She is very attractive and the photograph suggests the model is luring the reader.

Costume:

The reader shows a lot of skin, her belly and chest area is visible to readers. She is wearing a black bra hiding more private areas as well as a white or grey looking zipped hooded sweat which covers both arms. Her hair is long and looks as if it is blowing in the breeze and finally long nails coloured blue can be seen in the image.

NVC:

Her non verbal communication is very seducing and enticing. The picture screams “come get me”. Her mouth is semi opened with teeth apart showing her tongue, as she looks attractively into the camera which looks like she is looking at you.

Lighting:

The light is shining on the body of the artist and suggests that all eyes should be on her and the first thing you see but the lighting doesn’t look like it was shone from forward but more at an angle above her head.

Setting:

There isn’t much of a setting and it seems the picture was shot in a studio or staged.

Cover-Lines:

The main cover line relates to the photograph and says “Fergie: how a bad girl made good”.
This could be relating to Fergies more calmed down song choices and behaviour as she had grown up. The cover line summary associated with fergie could be suggesting certain times in 2007. The 2007 year was a large milestone for fergie, during this time she won the Pop or Rock "Favorite Female Artist" at the American Music Awards. In addition, her song "Big Girls Don't Cry" also earned Ferguson a nomination for a Grammy in the "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" category, as well as this magazine Blender picking her as their woman of the year. The other cover lines suggest it talks about music interests at the time of when the magazine was created. Different cover lines tell us the magazine also doesn’t just concentrate on the one musician pictured in the main front cover image. Other musicians mentioned on the front cover in these cover lines are Rihanna and led zeppelin. All cover lines have blue first words or phrases followed by black summaries.

Target Audience:

Taking In mind my analysis on this front cover I believe that the audience would be male and female audience members in their late twenties to early forties. I believe this because this magazine as well as recent issues in music also talks about legends in music which young readers may not want to read about.

Madonna On The Q Music Magazine.

Q MusicMagazine 

Denotation:

The magazine cover includes a coloured image of a lady who is peering into the camera lens the photo is a medium close up showing chest upwards although her hands and arms are visible. Her hand is gripped on her collar, and her body is partly facing away from the camera. The photos background is jet black but the masthead background is different and is a darker red. The photograph covers three quarters of the page. In front of the image are cover lines and behind part of the women’s head is part of the masthead. Underneath the masthead cover line is a selling line it is a short and sharp description, reading “Britain’s Biggest Music Magazine” this is the titles main marketing point. The picture to other context ratio is about even at 55% to 45%.

Masthead:

The Q Masthead is in its own little space on the magazine front cover, the “Q” is a capital and is in white writing, whilst the background of the q is a red colour. The Q can probably be described as a serif font, this could insinuate unlike other magazines, this one has been around for longer. The Q masthead sounds short but projecting due to its one word answer it stands out and is more noticeable this may help when on newsstands.

Character:
The cover photograph is off the famous British pop star Madonna.

Composition:

The photograph of the lady is posed in a very mysterious way; she is holding onto her cloak and looking back with a strange look.

Costume:

From the looks of it the picture shows a hooded silky form of clothing, close to what boxers wear before fights. With the hand she is using to grip this gown you can see gloves where the slots for the littlest finger and the one close to it have been cut out. This look adds a dark side to the celebrity.

NVC:

Her non verbal communication is indescribable she doesn’t have a straightforward emotion or aura about her and everything is more unknown, kind of hiding her identity.

Lighting:

There isn’t any lighting but just a dark background which the musicians cloak camouflages in to. Everything about the photograph is real dark and lacks glam.

Setting:

There is no setting and the photograph is likely to be taken in front of green screen.

Cover-lines:

The main cover line is about Madonna the late photographed on the front page. It Says Madonna in large red sans serif writing. The writing is very ordinary and all letters included are uppercased. The summary which is on top of the main cover line suggests that Madonna is being interviewed as it says “all interview”. This magazine also has other cover lines suggesting its varied genres; Q magazine unlike others is filled with information on the front page other musicians included are the rolling stones, arctic monkeys, girls aloud, the Kaiser chiefs and a lot more. There are also other people mentioned that are not musicians like, Russell brand a famous comedian and a comedy group called mighty boosh. Lastly there is also info on hit U.K programmes like little Britain. All cover lines are on British born popular artists and this suggests that the magazine aims to be or has been a running culture in the U.K

Target Audience:

This magazine targets itself at the U.K population who enjoy listening to varied types of British music. I believe readers would be much older and around 30 – 50, this being because there are a lot more older artists and the magazine aims more at the earlier generation of artists that adults would be way more interested in.

Kanye West On The Vibe Music Magzine.

Vibe Music Magazine

Denotation:

The magazine cover consists of a close up shot of a man. He is looking directly into the camera. The picture is coloured and shows his shoulders upwards. The pictures background has different shades of black and white like a shadow effect was trying to be carried off. The image covers three quarters of the magazine cover and the picture to text ratio is around 70 to 30. Behind the man’s head is a cover line reading VIBE which may be hard to see as some of the word isn’t fully visible. This is written in blue writing. To either side of the man are cover lines written in pink blue and black. The Man that is photographed has his name in pink bold writing. And it is easy to see where cover lines are separated.

Masthead:

The vibe masthead is a very large title and covers the whole portion of the cover that it takes up. The font colour is blue all letters in the masthead are upper cased and are written very bold. A vibe could be described as a feeling or something which gives you an emotional experience, this magazine could be implying it has that reaction you or creates some of these senses on you.  

Character:

The Cover photograph is of the controversial American hip hop rapper Kanye West.

Composition:

His body language has a “no care” attitude look to it. One of his eyes is looking sharply at the camera whilst the other looks dazzlingly half opened. His overall pose and body language suggest laziness and a very rugged look. 

Costume:

Due to the shot type you can’t see nothing else apart from the collar of the photographed persons clothing, this clothing from what I can see is a buttoned sweater.

NVC:

His NVC is very masculine although no effort into the photo is shown. The model in the photo has a visible attitude and comes across very serious. He has an unshaved beard and no haircut which could imply he has been through hard times. There are also wrinkles visible in his forehead.

Setting:

There is no setting but a background of white with a shadow shown on the wall behind the musician.

Cover-lines:

The main cover line relating to Kanye West’s photo says the artists name followed by “I AM RAP” this could be a summary of Kanye West’s life in music, as Kanye is a world renowned hip hop artist. The upper cased letters could suggest his point being enforced onto readers and passion towards rap/ Hip Hop. The magazine front cover also has other cover lines these are written smaller than the main one but is also in black, pink or blue. The other cover lines include other musician’s names like the Dream, Britney Spears and Smokey Robinson these are more of the obvious ones and is written in a dark black. The other artists are written in blue and are not as known; these include Antoine Fuqua an American film director, jay rock who is a street artist/ American rapper and Colin Munroe a Canadian singer/ songwriter. The use of more varied names suggest that this magazine does not just concentrate on one type of genre or just look at the person from the image on the front cover. All fonts used in writing these cover lines are sans serif which suggests that the magazine is more modern.

Target Audience:

Considering the use of modern artists and the present day layout of the magazine cover, I would believe that this magazine is for younger readers. I believe readers would be between about 16 to their late twenties and would have an interest in music.