Brief Magazine Analysis

•Who are the audience? 

I think that the audience of NME magazine are both men and women; however I think men are the more prominent readers as they tend to be more interested in the magazine’s genre of music. The majority of women in the UK tend to read fashion, ‘real life’ or ‘celebrity gossip’ magazines, and there are only a small percentage of women who read NME. I think that the age range of people who read this magazine is 16 – 30, as its content and bands are typically aimed at older readers, starting at teenagers aged 16+. The reason I think it goes to 30 years old is because this genre of music attracts an older audience as well as a young one, unlike pop music which is typically a younger audience. Obviously the main audience for NME are people who like Indie/Alternative music, as this is the genre of the magazine.

•What is the text selling?

The magazine is selling the band ‘LCD Soundsystem’, as they are the band that is being featured in this issue. In order to ‘sell’ them they have featured a large image of James Murphy who is the front man of the band as the main image and focal point of the cover. This image has been accompanied by the main sell-line of the band’s name in bright orange to match the masthead and the colour of the cover model’s glasses. Another thing which the magazine is selling is ‘The New NME’, which is the magazine’s own advertisement for their redesign. This cover is the 3^rd of 10 special edition covers to promote the redesign, something which the magazine is keen to get across to the readers.

•What sort of attitude/tone does it have?

The way that the cover model is standing is quite intimidating, and tells the reader that he is assertive and powerful within the music industry. However he is holding a dog, which is completely juxtaposed next to the way he is standing, making him seem soft and not as intimidating as he may seem. However, the subheading which is presented above the main sell-line is a quote from the cover model, which is quite violent and competitive, making him seem even more powerful and very opinionated.

•Ideology - is valued/believed in?

The main thing which is believed in for this magazine is music. The magazine is aiming to promote artists, gigs, songs and everything to do with indie/alternative music, and does this by including intriguing headlines and images of artists which the readers may like and want to read about.