Music magazine covers - Analysis: Billboard

Billboard

The masthead is written in large, bold writing so that it stands out as the title of the page. It is also presented in the iconic ‘Billboard’ style with the primary colours (red, blue and yellow) to fill the inside of certain letters. This is a recognisable aspect of the magazine which will be recognisable to the intended audience. Furthermore, the prominent image is superimposed over the masthead as it is such a popular magazine so the majority of the intended audience will recognise the magazine.

Plugs present enticing and intriguing articles from within the magazine to make people wish to read the content to discover more. For instance, it states “CHART HEAT”; people will wish to gain an understanding of current chart music which will appeal to the intended target audience.

On the image, Taylor Swift is looking directly towards the camera which can act as a personal pronoun as it appears like she is looking directly at the reader. Furthermore, the photograph is positioned in the centre of the page as it is the prominent feature of the cover. It is also superimposed over the masthead of the magazine as ‘Billboard’ is a popular magazine and is confident that the reader will know the title. In terms of mise en scene, she has white clothing, blonde hair and pale makeup to link with the purity of the colour scheme.

The colour scheme is relatively pure and calm colours which consist of yellow, white and black. The white colour stands out most in contrast to the background so it is, therefore, used to present the more important and intriguing pieces of text. Furthermore, using a colour scheme allows for consistency throughout the magazine and it becomes an iconic feature of each ‘Billboard’ magazine.

All of the writing on the magazine cover is written in a simple sans serif font. It doesn’t appear to be too formal and will, therefore, appeal to the younger intended audience. Moreover, the more important information is written in a larger, bold font so that it stands out on the page.

 

For the cover lines, the prominent cover line presents the text stating ‘Taylor Swift’ in the largest and most noticeable font on the page so that it stands out to the audience. It is evidently the main story from within the magazine and will entice more readers to find out more. It also includes a small description of what the content will include in a smaller font to explain to the reader what they will read about.