Textual Analysis - Front Cover

NME 26/03/2011 - Front Cover

Title: NME

Price: £2.40

Frequency: Weekly

Masthead - "NME"

The words NME are in capitals and bold white writing which stands out over the red writing and the blue background. When we look at this, we automatically seem to look at the white writing as it stands out, hence why the NME is in white as it's the most important part of the magazine and we know what the magazine is.

Left Third

The method of the left third is used which complements Matthew Bellamy (Muse) on the right hand side to give the magazine an even feel. There is some writing on the right hand side but the left hand side stands out more with the red background and looks bold and important. The left third refers of Reading and Leeds and refers to the main image of Matt Bellamy (see anchorage text)

Main Image - Matthew Bellamy
The main image is a medium close up (so we can see his facial features and also his clothes) of the lead singer and guitarist of a band called Muse, pictures with his hands clenched together looking directly at the camera. This suggests a serious tone of the magazine and Matt is looking straight at you, almost telling us to buy the issue and lets be honest, who doesn't want to buy a magazine with Matt on the front? His clothes look like regular rock star clothing with a black jacket and a chain necklace which attracts rock fans.

Anchorage Text - Muse: "This will be the last chance to hear a lot of our songs"

The anchorage text links to the stern look of Matt Bellamy. The words 'Muse' and 'Last' are emphasised with a different colour of bold writing which made me read them first and made me a bit upset to be honest as I didn't go to Reading and Leeds. I still bought it, none-the-less to read more about the 'last chance' and teases the reader and gives clue to the storyline. The grim look on Matt's face looks like he isn't happy and reluctant about the topic or perhaps he just looks dark and brooding to attract fans some more because we all like a dark, brooding man in our lives.

Colour Scheme - White, Red, Black

The main colours on the front cover are white, red and black (not including the blue main image background) These are all very bold colours and instantly grab the readers attention.

Cover Lines

There are a number of cover lines including the anchorage text to link with the picture (see previous) Beneath the anchorage text, the words "Plus more Reading and Leeds exclusives and 51 new acts unveiled" which links to the left third pictures (which are also captioned to see who exactly are in the pictures and who will be in the issue).

The words 'more Reading and Leeds' and 'and 51 new acts unveiled' are in a different font colour to the rest of the writing (white) which makes you read them words first and emphasises them so they stand out against the rest. 51 is emphasised to show us that there's loads of new bands to get our teeth into and be fans of. 'more Reading and Leeds' makes us buy this issue because there's more information about the festival in this issue- could be something important.

At the very top of the front cover, '2011 Line-Up Revealed' stands out as it's in white and differs to the rest of the writing and drags our attention there and makes us buy it as one of your favourite bands could be playing this year. You'll only find out in this issue so BUY IT!!

There's a list of bands on the left hand side to further show the reader what is featured in the issue and it could be one of your favourite bands and it saves time having to flick through every page. I bought it as it has Matt on the front and on this cover line, it mentions 'My Chemical Romance'.

The bottom of the front page has various sell lines and quotes about a specific article in the magazine. The open wording and weird language of the quotes and sentences makes us question why they have said that and wants us to read more about it. For example, "The Kills versus the tabloids" could mean anything- is it good or bad? Why are the tabloids against them? What have they done? We will only find out if we purchase this issue.

"Say hello to music's odd future" uses informal and friendly language to entice the reader some more.

Hyperbolic Wording

"Plus more Reading and Leeds exclusives" is used in this magazine to show that when you buy this magazine, they're letting you into loads of hot, juicy gossip about Reading and Leeds only in this magazine ('exclusive') and not just the ones they mentioned last issue, but 'MORE' Which made me clasp my hands (rather like Matt in the picture) and squee in excitement. "Oh boy! Some hot gossip has dropped!" Gossip sells. We want to know secrets and tell everyone just to show that you knew them first.

'Last' is also used referring to Muse to shock us and question why we won't hear their songs again. Have they split? It makes us sad :(

The words 'new', 'unveiled' and 'revealed' are also used a lot in this issue to show some revelations about the music industry and particular at this time, Reading and Leeds. It sheds light onto the subject and also says what exactly is new inside. It only teases it on the front cover.

Slogan - "New Musical Express"

This is what NME stands for. 'New' suggests exclusivity in the magazine. 'Express' suggests exclusives and fast (as it is a weekly magazine and can refresh it's contents frequently)

Price - £2.40

The price is fairly cheap compared to most magazines these days which attracts people to buy it since it's cheaper than any other on the market. I's still really small to see the price but people will get a pleasant shock when buying it and seeing it will only cost them £2.40.

Layout

The layout is quite formal in its organisation There's just enough words and pictures on the page and it looks even and not too heavy on the eye and doesn't 'shout'. The pictures on the left third are on various angles to give an edgy feel and adds attention to the pictures as they are not straight and surprise us.

There are a few lines at the bottom of the front cover separating the three headlines. Three headlines are effective as the power of three is a big tool in the media business, e.g. 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' is one use of it. The power of three is punchy and memorable.

There's also a plus sigh on the right hand third. It's more effective rather than using the words 'plus' because it adds shape to the magazine and it's page furniture- there's plenty of words on the page already, any more and it would look too busy.

Barcode

The barcode is on the magazine- it has to be as it's a legal requirement and must not be covered by any text. It's how you buy the magazine.