Initial Research

I've found some covers of NME magazine where some Indie/Folk bands have been featured as the cover band.

Firstly, is Mumford & Sons:

On this front cover there are a number of features which I would have to include on my own music magazine, for example, the masthead 'NME' is very prominent and brightly coloured, this will initially draw the readers attention to the title. Another feature is that there is a banner across the top of the cover telling readers about other articles included in the magazine. 

The second artist in the genre I've chosen is Laura Marling:

Another main feature of music magazines is that the image of the artist featured on the front cover is usually overlapping the title. This gives the impression that the artist themselves are more important than the actual magazine. This will make people want to buy and read this magazine as they can see that there is something very important featured in it. Another feature is that the colours in the font and image are all following a certain scheme, so they're all very similar. This is important so the magazine looks professional and it isn't too 'messy' as all the colours go together and the cover just seems to flow.

This next image is an interview in NME with Laura Marling. This will give me and idea of the writing skill and layout used in music journalism. A main feature in music journalism articles is that there is a main image of the artist usually covering a whole page, like the one below. This is important as it's dramatic and eye catching. Also, there is a title for the article layered on the main image. Usually in music magazines, they use features such as drop caps and text alignment to make the article look professional. Another common feature is also that there is another small image of the main artist featured within the article, and there is also a quote from the artist which is in larger and usually a different font, this gives readers a taste of what they will be reading to make them more interested in the article.

The last image I wanted to post is an article in NME about Bombay Bicycle Club. I'm posting this as research to the type of journalistic writing I will have to include in my magazine. This image also gives me an idea of the layout for articles in music magazines.

This image is of another type of article featured in music magazines - this is an album review. In these articles there are a number of similar features as there are in the main article, for example, the drop cap, main title, artist image, colour scheme and text alignment. These are all features I will have to include in my own magazine to give it a professional and eye catching feel.