'NME' Music Magazine - Third Front Page Analysis

The Masthead/ Title

The masthead/title 'NME' stands for New Musical Express. When the magazine first started it was called Musical Express, however with time it was converted to the acronym 'NME'. This was a good idea because it stays with and is remembered easily by it's audience due to its simplicity and unique style. Furthermore, it sounds similar to 'enemy' which could impact on its popularity and help determine its target audience. Also the actual lettering or 'NME' is written in white, bold, sans-serif font which is placed on a red rectangle which helps it to stand out and be recognised in the shop as it is extremely eye catching. Moreover, it's very popular as it has been used since 1978 with slight variations over the years, and again with this consistency it allows the public to familiarise themselves with the magazine.

The Headline

The headline is used to explain the image on the front cover which is of new British artists and enlightens us to what is also going to be inside the magazine. Throughout the cover there are roughly twenty artists making their own pose and putting across their own unique characters and this is shown further by their independent styles and the clothes that they are wearing. The headline again sticks to the house style as they have again used the white, bold, sans-serif font with the 'Young Britannia' on two separate red rectangular backgrounds and the '2013' on a smaller blue rectangle as the shapes have been designed to fit the size and length of the writing.


The Main Image

The main image is one third of a pullout and therefore looks slightly incomplete at first glance due to part of the image being cut off. The theme seems to be fire extinguishers which goes with the quirky side of the models that are being used and the white foam contrasts well with the simple blue background. Again, the blue background, the red fire extinguishers and the white foam all stay within the chosen house style perfectly. The main artists that are enlarged in the image are looking directly at the camera, so this enables us to almost connect and feel invited to look at the magazine in more detail. There is a mixture of male and female models so you know that their target audience is aimed at both sexes. Furthermore, they are wearing simple white and black clothes so our attention is more drawn towards their facial expressions and confident body position, for example, the girl is leaning into the camera slightly,  rather than what they are actually wearing.

The Cover Lines

There are not very many cover lines due to the design of the images, however the main cover lines are branched off of the masthead and it simply lists four artists and having those names may connect with some readers and help to entice they're fans to purchase the issue. This can be very effective in some cases as although it is subtle it does still have a prominence about it, where as on some other magazine front covers such as 'Kerrang' everything shouts at you and you do not know what to look and what is the most important. On the turnover cover, there is another cover line - 'Say hello to the future of British music', which again clarifies what the issue is all about and we could probably expect to see some of these names in a couple of years time representing Britain.

Furthermore, there are cover lines that label the different artists on the front cover, for example, Jake Bugg, who seems to be the most important artist due to the size of his image and Wolf Alice who is another important artist and this enables the reader to have more of an idea of what to expect in the magazine.

What Makes the 'NME' Magazine Unique?

I think this magazine has a unique style as there are other music magazines such as 'Kerrang' whose magazine front cover, for example, is much more full on, bold and seems as though it shouts at you a lot. But this magazine has a completely different layout and has not got as much content on the front page. What makes this unique is that it has a simple design and technique due to the 3 page pullout which is not commonly seen.

Inside the Magazine 'NME' and General Information 

Inside

How many pages are there and how many pages of adverts are there?

There are 68 pages in this magazine, the number of adverts that it contains is about 14. The things that are advertised vary from cameras, albums, ticket for concerts, men's L'oreal face wash, photography awards, music bands/ artist, fashion items, and upcoming tours.

How many double page spreads and advertorials are there?
Throughout the magazine there are about 12 double page spreads and they are often about the reviews, such as 'NME album of the week'. Also there are double page spread 'Young Britannia which is expected as this was the headline on the front cover. Moreover, there are a few advertorials scattered within the articles such as little gimmicks and products as this is an advertising technique to sub-consciously entice people into buying their products.

    

What is this magazines house style and why is it appropriate for the target audience?

The magazines house style is that 'NME’  has the title of the magazine in the top left hand corner in big, sans-serif, capital letters. The front cover is usually limited to about 4 or 5 colours, and the few cover lines that are used are kept very consistent with this. There are lots of columns and other bits of information in separate boxes so it fills out the page and there is a lot to attract the reader’s eye in the magazine so it is made interesting for the target audience which ranges from 16-30. Also a mixture of females and males are used to promote this magazine which is also appropriate for the target audience for this magazine as it is aimed at both sexes.

General

Which company produces the magazine?

The company that produces the magazine is IPC Media.

What is the target audience?
NME's target audience is 16-30 year old males and females. They have targeted a wider audience by producing articles likely to have a broader interest such as 'what's in the UK's festival drugs'. This headline targets most fans despite their music interest. The statistics show that NME's audience is 73% male and 27% female. The core audience is predominately males ages 17-30 (average 25), who are well educated with a high disposable income. The audience will have a passion for films, music and should be technology able. The audience will spend their disposable incomes on music and films and the use NME as a resource of direct information.

How much does it cost and how often is it published?

'NME' magazine comes out weekly and it costs £2.40 every week, which is a respectable price for the content that it includes.

What is its circulation?

The latest statistics recorded shows that since the 16th August 2012 the total circulation of the magazine is 23,924. This fairly high number of circulation which 'NME' has means that the magazine is successful and has a good understanding of its audience and what makes them want to buy their magazine.

Approximate monthly revenue streams from advertising and circulation:

Statistics show that the overall income of monthly revenue streams totals to £95,696 and this may vary from time to time depending on the year, either when people have more money or if the actual issue is bigger or has more content.