What is a Music Magazine?

A music magazine is a magazine that is completely dedicated to music. In a music magazine you will usually find interviews with artists/musicians, concert reviews, photoshoots, record reviews as well as music news. Music magazines focus their entire content around one specific genre such as Indie, Rock, Hip-Hop or Pop to attract a niche audience; this means that the genre of the magazine will determine who will buy the magazine. A niche audience is a relatively small audience that all share a specific interest, such as fishing or music. 

Comparing Genres:

These are two examples of music magazines, they are both different in genre and are trying to attract different audiences. The main image on the magazine cover is of a specific band/artist; this helps to determine what genre of music the magazine is focused its content on and what audience it is trying to attract. 

The first magazine is NME which predominantly features rock and indie bands and artists. The front cover shows the Indie Rock band Peace. The magazine cover also features the names of other Indie Rock artists, this will help the magazine to attract people who are interested in these artists and the genre of music. Using an Indie Rock band on the cover helps to reinforce the genre the magazine is based on. The second magazine is VIBE which predominantly features Hip-Hop and R&B bands and artists. The front cover shows the R&B rapper/singer Drake. The magazine cover also features the names of other R&B artists to attract people who are interested in these artists and the genre of music. Using a R&B artists on the cover helps to reinforce the genre the magazine is based on.

Different genres of music magazine offer different content and features to try and persuade their target audience to purchase the magazine. I decided to research two other music magazine genres so that I could fully understand the different techniques that they use to portray their genre. 

Rock music magazines include articles that strictly about music (no gossip). They tend to use dark colours such as red, black and navy blue, this is to connote a serious atmosphere because it is aimed for people of an older audience. Some rock magazines offer the free gift of a CD sample to emphasis that it is a music magazine. Rock magazines use more text on the front cover to give out of context snippets of what is inside the magazine so that the target audience will want to read more. 

Pop music magazines include articles about mainstream artists.  Their articles are mainly focused on gossip about these artists, this is to attract their target audience who aspire to be like them artists. Pop magazines use bright colours such as pinks, yellows and blues, this is to connote a positive and fun atmosphere. They also often provide free gifts such as nail polish and makeup, this makes the target audience want to buy it more. Pop magazines use short headlines/headings because their target audience is younger, and therefore use more images than text to keep them interested.