Generic Conventions of a Music Magazine

In this blog I will be sharing the generic conventions of a magazine which appeals to me.

The house style used in this particular magazine shows a simple mixture of colours. The colour scheme used is grey, black, white and red.

The obvious convention, in my opinion, of any magazine would have to be the masthead/logo. This title is partially blocked by the main image of the magazine, this makes the magazine come across as being confident in that the audience would still recognise the name due to it's popularity amongst their intended audiences. The text itself is black against a white background making it have an impact to the readers' attention and also gives it a distinguishable image.

My next convention needed will be the main image. This main image is of a band at a medium close-up whilst the camera is taken from a slightly low angle so the band are made to look like they are looking down at the reader. The eye contact produced in the image is eye-catching and it also creates a direct impact on readers.

The main story in any magazine will always have an image of it as it's cover and therefore will need a cover line to inform the audience of what the content of the magazine will mainly contain. The large, bold, white text with a black outline has been made to stand out against the black in the main image. The 'PANIC!' in the band name has been made larger than the rest of the name which makes it instantly recognisable to its intended audience who are familiar with the band.

Buzzwords are basically short simple yet eye-catching texts to show the readers that there are more than what they would expect in a magazine, for example in this magazine includes a free poster making readers know that they are getting their moneys worth.

Extra cover images show the reader what else are included in the magazine making it appealing to those who might also like the extra artists/bands shown on the cover and therefore will make them want to buy the magazine.

Coverlines are more articles that are included in the magazine. The use of the buzzword draws the attention of the reader to the coverlines to show the variety of articles they have.

The barcode, date release and price are found on almost every magazine. The price is important depending on what the target audience is, the price will have to be made affordable to it's target audience e.g. KERRANG! is a teen music magazine and therefore has to be made affordable for teenagers.