Contents Analysis #1

Analysis of NME Contents Page

As I am going to be producing a contents page as well as a cover, I will also analyse three existing contents pages to ensure my knowledge of them and what conventions are common within the chosen genre is great enough for me to be able to confidently produce my own contents page without having to research closer to the time. Due to the fact that the 'Arctic Monkeys' are a band which is more popular with males rather than females, as is the magazine itself, the primary target audience is white males. The white male on the cover represents these white males, a necessary factor to include whence producing my own magazine, it must represent the target audience to an extent in order to attract the correct specified audience. Though, it i not solely targeted towards this gender, but also a secondary target audience of females, and I will explain the reasons for this and how through my analysis. They will also be 17-30, as this is the range of ages which are more likely to attend performances, as this is the most common age group you will find at any concert, there will be very little people who are older or younger, depending on the genre of music.  This age means that they will also be interested in new music, as indie is a relatively new genre, rather than classical music which appeals to an older audience demographic. Their social grade is B-E, as it is not considered to be 'classy' enough for the likes of and A grade social audience demographic, but rather appeals to this audience because it is . 

The headline consists of the masthead from the cover of the magazine and the lexis 'contents'. The masthead is easily recognisable wherever in the UK you are, putting it on the map as the iconic masthead from the most popular indie magazine. The lexis 'contents' is in a white font on a black background/box, which shows how it is simplistic and extremely easy to read for the audience, but also effective. It is not overcomplicated, as they want it to appeal to males, and stereotypically, males are not attracted by over complicated features. Rather than selecting a fancy font which attracts females, the simplest font appeals to the male audience, as stereotypically, they do not appreciate feminine features. 'Contents' is in capitals, to shout out to the reader and attract attention, ensuring that the audience know almost instantly what the purpose of the page is. It also represents the primary target audience slightly, as capital letters are commonly associated with males rather than females, as they are seen to be masculine, rough, and edging more so towards the rebellious side of life. As the males interested in this genre do not want to be 'mainstream' and follow the crowd, a lot of them tend to be relatively rebellious either to make a statement, or because they enjoy it. This therefore appeals to them and represents the readers in the way in which they aspire to be viewed as and represented. Most of the white letters are joined up slightly, making the headline less spaced out than most are, obtaining a certain unique quality. 

Personally, I feel as though the imagery says a lot about this magazine. A white male in a medium long shot who looks as though he is second class, even if a bit rough, is in the feature article of the magazine. This supports Marxist (1984) theory that white second class males are in control of society and only make themselves appear to be great, and portray anyone other than this with a pessimistic view, even if only slightly. The buff arms of the male show the reader that he works out and takes care of himself, attracting the females who see this magazine. They also connote how this is the stereotypical ideology concerning males views towards themselves; they wish to be like this, and think that if they buy the magazine, they can get an insight to how. People who are considered to be 'indie' are stereotyped to be 'weedy' and not work out, which is likely to be where this image has stemmed from. Another aspect of which females stereotypically find attractive is the mise-en-scene: the guitar. This is seen to be an object which, if held in the right way, is 'sexy', and so, this is appealing to females. Automatically, the audience can tell that  this is a gig, assisting the readers by making the subject obvious, and they can presume that the article will be about either an interview or a review. As gigs as usually during the night, this portrays the stereotype that people who are considered to be indie themselves enjoy coming out when it is dark, having their fun during late hours. The imagery works well with the colour palette of the writing; a lot of black is present in the imagery, and so the editors have decided not to incorporate colour which would clash with this image, but stick to it and have mostly black text. One more image is present in this contents page, the image to attempt to sell a subscription to the people who purchased the magazine. It is of a previous magazine cover, which gives them a further insight to what they will be buying into in a persuasive manner. As I mentioned, the imagery represents the target audience, the reasoning for using a white male and a white female (the female's picture is of a smaller sizing).

Typographically, the font and colour palette is successful in attracting and representing the specific target audience chosen to pitch this particular magazine at. It is not 'fancy' or 'bubbly' as the majority of magazines would delve into if the primary target audience was females, rather the text is blocky and uses a lot of caps to shout out different sections to the reader. Through both choice of lexis and typography, 'Subscribe today and save' stands out to the reader who is stereotyped to take any opportunity to save money in this economical crisis. It is in yellow to ensure the readers see it above other features, this works especially well as the majority of text on the contents page is in black. The page numbers have been separated from the lexis through the red colour to ensure they do not blend together. The black and white is not as elegant as it could be for females, but is blocky and capitalized for the males audience.

In terms of layout, immediately the mast head can be see due to this, as it has been placed directly at the top of the page to ensure the audience see the feature. It also informs them straight away what the page is about: 'Contents', and it is mandatory for the magazine to make sure they understand what each page is about, otherwise the magazine is likely to become unsuccessful. Under the mast head is the main image, the first aspect of the text which draws the audience in, and so it is vital that this is placed in such a way that the features surrounding will be seen next. It also connotes that the image represents the  masthead and target audience, or what they aspire to be. The index is located to the left of the image, where it does not particularly stand out, but is easy to read due to the colour palette and changes of colour with different aspects. If the index was located on the right, the reader would not look forward to turning the page and feel reluctant to purchase the magazine, as indexes are often seen as boring and are unlikely to be read. The actual contents text has been placed down the right hand side, and separates each subject of the magazine to make it easier on the reader to find what they want to read; it is down the side of the page as it is next to the image and the reader looks forward to turning the page and getting started on reading the magazine. As the image shows what the feature article is about, there is a description directly below it to ensure that the audience, especially if they are not aware of who the band are, knows that the particular article and picture are related. This is allowed a larger description as it is what the issue is based around. There is only one red block on the page to make the white text within it really stand out against the white background and black text surrounding. Another block which stands out is the subscription section with a black background to it and yellow text which catches the eye due to the fact that they want their readers to subscribe. The image in the subscription box is not placed near the main image, as it breaks the text up. Underneath the mast head is the date, to ensure this is not confused with the lexis below.

In conclusion, I feel as though this particular contents page is quite busy, and do not find it to be a suitable page to use as a style model for my own contents. There is a lot going on concerning writing, whereas I would rather include a few more pictures to show the audience about the articles, rather than talk about what will be inside too much. I also would not want to incorporate an index within my cover as I do not see it as a necessary feature, it is not something that a lot of people read as it is considered to be quite boring. Though I would like to take the idea of placing the feature article description below the main image, and using imagery that is similar to this.