Chris Briant WGSB AS Media Studies
The title of "Billboard" is simple yet eye-catching and it's coloured in white, with one of the "B's" and the "D" coloured in red and green/yellow respectively, which is different from both of the other magazines I have analysed. This in turn gives the magazine a neutral feel, as there is no set target audience in terms of gender and music genre. This is similar to both "Q" and "Rolling Stone" as they also don't style their magazines to appeal to a certain gender or music genre. The title itself is worded to help the magazine to be distinct from others, as the design of the title is simple but effective. This is similar to "Q" and "Rolling Stone" which may be a reason why all of these magazines are so successful in the music magazine industry. Overall "Billboard" is a music magazine that most people can relate to and should be interested in. The "Billboard" masthead is similar to the "Rolling Stone" masthead because it is positioned in the centre of the page at the top, which is where most titles are positioned on a magazine. "Billboard" is written in a sans serif font, which exhibits how the magazine is modern, as the font of the title gives off the impression to the reader that it is an established magazine. This issue of "Billboard" has the title partially obscured by the main image, which is of Rihanna. This is an intriguing concept to use, as it reveals how "Billboard" knows that their magazine is so well established that the whole title doesn't need to be seen to recognise what magazine it is. Overall the masthead is recognisable and uncomplicated and this theme is continuous on every issue.
I have decided to analyse "Billboard" magazine as it is a professionally presented, and well-established music magazine. Billboard magazine has said about itself, "Billboard has evolved into one of the most dynamic, widely visited music destinations. Its signature asset, the Billboard charts, remains the final word on success in music. Its relevance is greater than ever due to new technology and partnerships" which represents how they feel they're a successful magazine that run the music industry (in terms of what places where in the charts). "Billboard" is published weekly, so the magazines print won't be of the quality of a magazine such as "Q" which is published monthly. The cost of this magazine is $6.99 (£4.62) per issue, and it is published by ???. The average age of a "Billboard" reader is around 47 (magazine reader) who likes to be up to date with the popular music that has been released, and is into music that is "mainstream" at the time.
Background Research
Front Page Analysis
The main image on the cover if this issue of "Billboard" magazine is a mid-shot of Rihanna who is staring deep into the camera in a defiant way which may be to try and draw the reader in. The image comes across as striking because of the vibrant colours of Rihanna's hair; it represents the confidence that she has and it seems like she is ready to make some conversation. This expresses that the interview with Rihanna could well be inviting to the reader, as it could be relaxed and open. Rihanna's facial expression suggests that she is in a serious state of mind, which relates to some of the serious aspects of her music. Rihanna is wearing a crop top which is a stereotypical appearance of a R&B/Hip Hop artist, as it reveals the tattoos she has, and it comes across as provocative. She also has red hair and dark red lipstick, which is bold and vivid and displays her as someone with a superb reputation. This all combines to illustrate a striking look to this issue of "Billboard" which, because of the red used, will catch peoples eyes and draw them in to buy this copy of "Billboard" magazine.
Similar to both of the other magazines that I have analysed, there is only a single image on the cover of this issue of "Billboard" magazine, which shows the reader that the focal point is Rihanna. This helps the magazine to be easy on the eye to the reader, which in turn helps to give it a professional and well-presented look. By only using one image on the front cover, the reader is drawn in and engaged by the vibrant image, as it stands out on the cover due to it being so large. The attention of the reader is then stuck on Rihanna because of how eye catching the image is, which should mean that more people decide to pick up this issue of "Billboard" and buy it, therefore increasing sales. "Billboard" is a clear and straightforward magazine, and the images it uses on its front covers accentuate the facial features of the artists. This matches both "Q" and "Rolling Stone" as they design their front covers in a similar way. Altogether, "Billboard" is a magazine that is marketable and widespread in terms of its circulation, which reports the latest stories about music to those who read the magazine. The house style of the magazine is unvarying and well finished, which helps to keep the professionalism of the magazine intact for every single issue published.
The language that is used on the front cover of this issue of "Billboard" magazine is uncomplicated meaning that most people will be able to read and understand what is written. This keeps the magazine simple and helps it to appeal to a wide range of people who could potentially buy this issue. The main cover line says "The RE-REinvention of Rihanna" with a quote underneath reading "My fans don't really know who I am". This indicates that Rihanna is changing and doing something because of the "RE-REinvention". This is also a clever play on words, as "RE-RE" is pronounced the same as Rihanna's nickname which, is "Rih Rih". By doing this, "Billboard" have appealed to the hardcore Rihanna fans meaning that sales should increase. This all helps the magazine to stand out, mainly because of the white that is used for the text colour. This is because it is bold and it is striking when on top of a mainly red background. The text here is bigger than the other text on the cover, which highlights the significance of this article, hence why it is the focus point of the magazine. The top left cover line differs from the main cover line, as there is a title that is pointed out and a small summary of what the article is about. The title reads "Soundscan Q3 Report" which helps to inform the reader of what the main point of the article is, so for this it would be the report of sales of music magazines, and what albums are selling best. The summary underneath reads "Digital sales set to exceed physical" which announces to the reader the main issue that the article talks about. All of the cover lines that are on the front cover are advertising articles, and in total there are 4 interviews shown on the front cover of "Billboard" magazine. This keeps the magazine simple but still intriguing, as the amount of articles suggests that they are all interviews of high quality.
The typefaces used on the front cover are all in sans serif, bold fonts, which also includes the masthead. This gives the magazine a more modern feel which helps it to stand out from its competitors, as it looks like a magazine that would be published monthly, but in fact it is published weekly. This is because of the simple yet powerful colours that are used, in this case white and black for the text, and the image expresses a strong red. Although headline dividers haven't been used, the titles of each article have a white text box around them to separate the articces to highlight the importance of each article to the reader. On this front cover of "Billboard" 4 colours have been used, white, red, black and yellow. White has been used for the title, the main cover line and the summaries underneath the article titles. Red has been used to colour in the gap in the second letter "b" in the "Billboard" title. Black has been used as the font colour for the titles of the articles. Lastly, yellow has been used to colour in the gap in the letter "d" in the "Billboard" title. All in all, the colours used on the front cover of this magazine make it eye-catching and striking to the reader's eyes.
Billboard Magazine Analysis
