Textual analysis 5 - NME

Textual analysis part 5

NME magazine is an indie/rock magazine which covers many aspects of the industry. It offers people the chance to win tickets, get knowledge about music in the charts, concerts and tours from people’s favourite bands!

The magazine is targeted towards indie people and those who enjoy rock music. It would be more likely for boys to purchase this magazine because they are seen as being more into indie music, rather than girls.

The tag line of NME is ‘New musical express’. Although this is the expansion of the abbreviation ‘NME’ it shows the audience that they are up to date, they are expressive with what they publish and they are all about music!

The largest text on the front cover is NME. This would have been done purposefully to make sure that the reader notices the brand name so when they come to purchasing another magazine on a different occasion, they will know a familiar brand and may consider purchasing it a second time round, or even more! Having the masthead in a big, bold font, it is easy to notice and for people to familiarise themselves with it.

The layout of the magazine isn’t too organised. There is a lot of text overlapping pictures and images in the same area, also overlapping one another. The main image is of Kurt Cobain. He is wearing retro sunglasses. As his eyes are hidden, an element of mystery surrounds him; it makes him seem like maybe he has something to hide. By doing this, the magazine creates mystery and intrigue amongst the audience. This will then make them want to read on to find out more about the man they seem to know little about! In this image, Cobain is smoking a cigarette; for Kurt, doing this gives him an image of being rather rebellious and edgy. This then reflects on the magazine, making them seem a little more quirky than other magazines. This could be seen as a unique selling point for them. This also supports the fact that the audience are part of the rock/indie society because they are usually the kind of people who are seen to have this image.

The background that Cobain is standing in front of is completely plain, it’s a simple dark grey back ground. This puts all of the focus on the model, Kurt Cobain. By capturing him stood in front of this back drop, it highlights the fact that Cobain is a main feature in this issue and he doesn’t need lots of things going on around him, he is interesting just as he is. The audience therefore will think that he is worthy to read about!

As said before, the back ground is a dark grey. On top of this lay many cover lines. All of these cover lines have either been written in yellow text or have been placed in a yellow box. This light and happy colour makes the text really jump out at you! By having an attention grabbing colour like this on the front cover, people will be immediately drawn in to read the cover lines and what the magazine contains. If they are interested in what they briefly read in the cover lines, they will be able to purchase the magazine and read more!

The shot type of Cobain is close up, of his head and shoulders. Due to this close up shot, the reader might get the impression that the magazine interviews inside get closer to Cobain and they get to see the real him more. This impression would not be given if the shot was full body; in that case people may just feel as though it’s a brief overview of a man and everything that they’ve heard before, not a personal encounter that is unique to NME magazine.