Magazine Analysis of Mixmag

Magazine Analysis

Mixmag Magazine

THE COVER:

1) The title: why is it called that? What does the title connote?

The masthead is Mixmag. It is called that to demonstrate the mixture of music within the magazine. It connotes that it can suit several people and music types and if a different magazine to what is currently out there on sale.

2) The masthead/title logo – analyse it.

The title logo is simple and clear. It is big enough to read but not to over powering to the page. It is also clear white on a dark grey background, making it easy to read and avoids clashes of colours. It is all in lower case so keeps uniformity throughout and is easily recognisable. Also by creating it all in lower case creates more informality.

3) Is there a strapline? Analyse it.

‘You wanna talk about the music..? Nina Kraviz. Let’s talk about the music.’ The strapline informs you of what the main purpose of the magazine is, what the main is going to be based on and what to expect. It tells you that you will be discussing music with Nina and this is portrayed very clearly in the strapline. It is straight to the point and simply tells the reader what the content is about. Using the word ‘wanna’ is very informal and chatty. I feel this works well as again it allows a stronger connection with the audience and creates more of a personal link.

4) What is the main image? Analyse the facial expression, direction of gaze, body language, 

clothing etc. How does this reach out toward the ideal reader identified above?

The main image is of Nina Kraviz. It is a medium shot, from her waist upwards. Her facial expression is very intriguing and alluring. It is serious yet cheeky at the same time. Her direction of gaze is directly straight down the camera, drawing in the reader, giving them a chance to connect with the magazine and feeling that it is aimed at them. Her body language is very strong and demanding. By saluting it portrays her as very commanding and serious. Her clothing is very different and unusual, consisting of a purple ruffle dress meaning that readers are intrigued by what she is wearing, however it still relates to the genre of music and therefore fits within the magazine and house style. The colours mix well with the background and strapline and everything is still clearly visible.

5) What others images appear on the front cover – why?

There are no other images on the front cover, which I feel was a good idea, so the attention was not drawn away from the main image and keeps it simple.

6) What content is promoted by the cover lines?

‘The best underground student nights’ – This clearly promotes what the best underground student nights are and lures in the students to read the magazine. By picking the best ‘underground student nights’ interests the audience more as it is s unusual and would create more of a reaction then just picking the best nights out.

‘Leaf festival hits London’ – This promotes people to look into the leaf festival and brings them aware of the opportunities they can encounter. By using the world ‘hits’ helps promote the story as hits is such a strong word. It empthasises the festival coming to town and makes it sound as you should not miss it.

‘The second coming of DJ EZ’ – This promotes people to read more about DJ EZ and his return to music. Using he words ‘second coming’ insinuate that his is the second time round but a lot bigger and better than last.

‘DJ ETIQUETTE how not to start a beef in the booth’ – This promotes DJ’s and allows people to indulge into the life of being DJ and being in the booth themselves. Also using the word ‘etiquette’ is very contrasting to the rest of the language used throughout the magazine. Eg. ‘beef in the booth.’

‘How disco beat the EDL’ – This promotes people to read up on how music has changed and what is the best current genre to listen to. Also the use of the word ‘beat’ is very strong and draws in the audience. Using the word beat, makes it sound as if there was some sort of fight involved. The strong b sound, works a lot better then simply saying ‘disco is better than EDL.’ The audience are more intrigued in who and how they won the fight, so automatically want to read on.

7) Explain the connotations of typefaces (fonts), graphics, colours etc.

The cover includes a lot of pink as one of the colour scheme colours, this may be regarded and connoted as being a girls colour, and therefore this article is focused at the female market oppose to the male. Also the use of font connotes like musical notes. This automatically creates a link to the reader that it is about music before even reading the content. The graphics allow the audience to relate the magazine to music before even reading it.

8) What sort of language/ language features/ language devices/ can you identify? How does the cover ‘talk’ to the reader?

In the main headline, it uses rhetorical questions to help connect with the reader. ‘You wanna talk about music?’ This allows the reader to feel directly involved with the question and as if the question was written for them. They also use alliteration ‘beef in the booth.’ This adds humour to the article title meaning it can become comical and connect to the reader through laugh. They also use words such as 'hits' and 'beats' to intensify the articles. This makes the stories gain importance and makes the reader more likely to read the articles.

9) Does the cover look similar to other magazines? If so why? What does this magazine offer which rivals don’t (ie what is its USP)?

I do not think the cover looks the same as others as it very distinctive and memorable. It has a great brand identity, making it easily unique and individual. The colour scheme is different to other magazines in this genre. The layout is completely different to other magazines and this magazine has a catchy slogan which other magazines do not – ‘The worlds biggest dance music and clubbing magazine.’ This helps the magazines its own USP and puts it above other magazines.

10) Is there anything else distinctive about the cover/format? (eg size)

The headline is very bold and distinctive on the page, due to the colour contrast to the background and the fact it is of a very large size, meaning consequently it is the first thing you see when looking at the magazine cover. Also all text is written on blocks of colour meaning it stands out more and is more distinctive and clearer to read.

THE INSIDE:

1) How many pages are there?

In total there are 60 pages inside magazine.

2) How many pages of adverts?

There are 25 pages of advertorials inside.

3) Categorise the products advertised into types.

-Music/Concerts

-Drink

-Music related products

-Fashion

4) Make a list of the features/articles topics in the magazine..

-Music

-Fashion

-Life

-Young People

-The dance and clubbing industry

5) Categorises the features/articles into types.

-Interviews (For example they have an interview with Nina Kraviz, Sub Focus, Betoko and Mat Zo)

-Product reviews (There are many product reviews on musical related products such as new speakers, DJ mixing tables and brand new headphones, all recently been released onto the market. They also review several fashion related issues also. These include reviews on new released high end fashion shoes to fashion events (eg. catwalks of new released ranges.)

-Research articles (there are many research articles on upcoming music events.)
All the above being editorials (written by a journalist.)

6) How many double page spreads are there? What are they about?

There are 35 double page spreads. The first one is about interviewing young people, and their favourites place to hang out. The second one is about the best places to party in the last month. The third is about an interview with Matt Zo. The forth to the eighth are about an interview with Nina Kraviz. The ninth is about becoming a DJ. The tenth is another interview with Black Magic. There are also interviews for the next 3. The fourteenth is a student survival guide. The fifteenth is another interview. The sixteenth through to nineteenth are about fashion. The twentieth through to the twenty-seventh are based about current music. The twenty-eighth is about the best festivals across the Uk. Lastly the last seventh are a directory for the UK.

7) Are there any ‘advertorials’ where it is not clear if something is an article or an advert, or a mixture of both?

There is one advertorial that looks like an article due to the fact they both consist of the same colour scheme and have the same layout making it confusing. They both also have the same content making it more confusing.

8) How does the magazine achieve a unified ‘house style’? Think about language and mode of address, colour schemes, graphical elements, etc.

The magazine does achieve an unified house style as the dark colour schemes are kept throughout. They also keep the same font style and graphical elements like underlining of titles and circles around the i. The layout 

9) Why is this house style appropriate to the target audience? What assumptions does it imply about the TA?

The house style is very modern and up to date implying that their target audience would be of the younger age. They would be attracting to the 18-30-age bracket. They have kept the magazine style trending to its era and therefore keep in fashion.