NME Maccabees Cover Analysis

Intro

This front cover is from a January issue of NME (new musical express). NME is a punk rock genre magazine that is published on a weekly basis. I chose to analyse this magazine because the genre of music is bordering on the genre that I plan to use for my magazine.

Masthead

The mast head is the very first thing the reader sees and this means it has to attract the reader straight away. Because of this they place their special offer for the issue there, with the free posters that come inside the magazine when purchased. This again advertises the magazine for purchase from new and existing customers.

Banner

The banner is placed in the top left hand corner of the page. It doesn’t cover the whole width of the cover, so it is shown to be more of a logo than just a magazine. By also doing this it makes the banner less visible and therefore making the magazine more made for their regular audience.

Picture

The main picture on the front of the cover is of the Maccabees and covers the whole of the front cover. This brings the reader’s attention who will then notice them as a big band. They’ve been positioned in front of the magazine name; however it does not interfere with the reader seeing the banner.  This tells us that this issue is appealing to regular viewers and also new readers with their headline band of the Maccabees. The picture is a shot at a slight angle to make it seem we are looking up at them, making them seem big, however the angle only makes it subtle, making it seem that they could be a rising or up and coming band. There is no real emotion on their faces and they are positioned with the singer and main member of the band at the front, but by having the whole band on the page it shows it’s all about them and their rise to fame.

Main cover line

 The main headline is positioned in the very middle of the page; this ensures it attracts the reader’s attention immediately. This again advertises there main story further, trying to bring in fans of the band. By having it in pink it contrasts with the other colours and helps the cover line stand out. This helps attract readers to buying the magazine because of the main act featured in the magazine.

Cover lines

The cover lines are either in white or pink, this again is used to help them stand out. Pink seems to be mainly on the bigger acts that are featured in the issue of the magazine.  This is to help them stand out and advertise the issue even more or to keep readers interest even if they don’t like the main act featured.

Colour palette

The cover has used a three colour pallet with the use of white, black and pink. The use of pink against these colours makes it really contrast and stand out. This is why the main headline is in pink, advertising their main act again. The use of pink to advertise the main act also may be to show how contrasting and different the band is to the usual bands featured in the magazine as the Maccabees are thought to be of a different genre to the typical punk rock style NME features. They also use the bright colour to advertise the free gifts and other big stories that the reader may be interested in.  

Barcode

The barcode is in the bottom right hand corner; this is so it doesn’t disturb the reader’s view of the main headline and other stories. This also contains the price and issue that the magazine is. By keeping this all together it gives the reader one place to look for all the information. However the issue number and price are also at the top by the banner for new readers when they see the banner and may be interested in purchasing the magazine.

Layering

I counted fourteen layers on the cover. This may be a small number for a magazine cover; however it gives the cover a simple and easy to read look while also looking more punk and rock with the quirky aligned texts and torn up stamps. This links back to the genre of the magazine.