Conventions of the front cover of a music magazine

The first and most important feature of a music magazine is the title. The title can tell a person what genre of music the magazine specializes in or if the magazine will accomodate a more mainstream audience. Music magazine titles often give the reader a clue of the genre of music, for example, 'NME' or 'New Musical Express' tells a reader that this magazine focuses on new music that's popular and 'on the scene'. The title of a music magazine has to stand out to the reader so that they know which magazine they are buying and what music the magazine specializes in. The colour scheme of a music magazine title can also tell the readers what kind of music it includes, for example, NME uses red, black and white in the title. This colour scheme would give readers the impression that it's focussed on Indie/Rock music, as these colours are used a lot on other Indie or Rock magazines such as 'Rolling Stone' or 'Q'.

Another main feature of a music magazine is a photograph of a popular artist, usually the artist on the front cover is featured in a double spread article inside the magazine. The artist is usually the main image on the front cover and the image used is generally a midshot of either the lead singer or whole group. Typically, the photograph of the main artist overlaps the title of the magazine, this indicates that the artist featured is more important than the actual magazine. This draws readers attention, especially if they are fans of that particular artist.

Another convention of a music magazine is usually that they are giving something away. Using the word 'free' in a bold, eye catching font is very helpful in drawing a reader's attention to the magazine. Typically, music magazines give away free posters, free music downloads and possibly gig tickets or prizes.

There are many other conventions of music magazine front covers, including:

• subtitles of other articles or bands included in the magazine
• the date of issue
• the magazine price
• the barcode
• eye catching fonts
• colour schemes
• typical costumes or props for the main photograph

All these conventions are common on the front cover of music magazines and are all features I will use in my own magazine to give it a professional look and for it to appeal to readers. I will also adapt some of the features, like the colour scheme to appeal to my certain genre and to make my magazine unique.