Music Magazine Analysis

A P O W E RP OIN T T O SH O W M Y AN ALY SIS OF T H E M U SIC M AGAZIN E

UNCUT

Uncut is a monthly released music

magazine that bases on the genre of
rock. The artists included are a
range from old to new, all that are
creditable for the rock theme.
The first issue was published in May
1997 by Time Inc. UK. Theyre
responsible for the publishing of
other magazines such as NME,
InStyle, Country Life, Marie
Claire and many others from genres
of sports and shooting to furniture
and clothing.
The front cover of this magazine has very
bold, eye-catching colours. The band at
the front of the magazine are all welldressed in out-dated suits which gives
some context to the artists. They are all
foregrounded by being in black and white
against the yellow background and red
writing. The bold, red serif text stands
out very well due to the background
colour, but also because theyve added
slight shadowing which creates an effect
that its almost coming off the cover. The
white and black text also stands out well.

Front Cover

The black and white scheme on top of the yellow and red
scheme is a daring approach to colour combinations
which connotes the contents of the magazine will be
about bands that arent your generic pop bands. The main
cover line is also about a band named The Specials
which formed in the 1970s; the colours could be seen to
be representing the colour schemes at the time period.
A range of different fronts in both serif and sans-serif have
been used to add variation to the front cover and allow
different aspects to stand out.
One of the buzz words Free CD promises to the
buyer a free CD which can easily influence
someone to buy it just because its free.
Another buzz word reveals that there will be
information about Bon Iver in the contents of the
magazine. The buzz word is also in the shape of a
guitar pick which relates to the artist.
The language on this front cover is very simplistic and
declarative. Any potential buyers can briefly skim over the
cover to see the basic contents of the magazine. This is a good
design so that theres not too much information on the front
cover putting people off, and its more about the presentation
and image, which is exactly what the front cover should be
about.
The front cover only really focuses on the bands that the
magazine includes this helps to state what genre the
magazine is about, and also attracts an audience who have an
interest in these artists.

This contents page has a clear layout.

The title of the magazine and issue
date is at the top of the page in a blue
CD disk relating to the music subject.
Beneath the heading is the editors
comments from the updates in the
music world in the month of
November, 2016, and also a brief in
the contents of the magazine. At the
top right there are also
acknowledgments of the front cover
image.

At the bottom third of the page is

the contents and heading, including
the folio and a brief hook. Right at
the bottom is a brightly coloured
banner that contrasts greatly
against the white background. Its
displaying a special offer to
The colour scheme to this contents
subscribe to the magazine.

page is black text on a white

background, and orange headings of
the contents. The blue disk at the top
adds a nice patch of colour to the
page. This colour layout keeps the
contents page clean and clear so its
easy to read which is important so
the information is well presented.

Page
In terms of the language, the contents page
doesnt so much address the reader, but does
use some persuasive techniques such as in
the commentary: In the commentary/intro
by the editor, he expresses opinion such as
and, I think, one of the best albums
{Leonard Cohen} has ever made. The editor
is in charge of what enters the magazine
each month so his opinion would be
something for readers to go by.

The language uses a lexical field of

musical terminology. The result of
this reinforces that the magazine
isnt aimed at children, but more so
ages 17+. More specifically,
probably men in their 40s judging by
the artists included.

This helps to give a brief context

to the artist for the readers who
dont know who they are.

Excusing the scanning in of my pages, but here I

wanted to show that before each new topic,
particularly when the magazine was about to focus
on a specific artist, there was a double page spread
just being an introduction to what story would be
following. They include a portrait of the artist and
also a quote to intrigue the readers.

Double Page Spread

As seen in the previous
slide, the Bon Iver intro
has a blue colour
scheme which is
continued in the double
page spread on the
artist. This helps
readers to know that
its the same topic
continued, but the blue
could also be seen to
represent the artist, for
example he may have
come to a powerful
conclusion in his life,
A portrait
of Bon Iver
and calmness
is is
featured
so
that
readers
can
portrayed through the
seeblue
whattheme.
the artist looks like.

The fact its in black and white

and his facial expression is
straight connotes a serious
topic or personality of the
content/artist.

Pull-quotes are used in

this DPS to stand out in
the page and draw in
readers to find out the
context of the quote.
As you can see, the text size is
small so that lots of
information can be fit onto one
page. This allows the
magazine to fit in more
content, but does mean that
the writing could be difficult to
read from a distance, or for
those who are short-sighted.

The use of graphology and

typography in this DPS helps to
engage the readers with things to
look at that relate to the text. The
feature on the bottom of the
second page allows readers to find
out about the featured artists
inspiration which also engages the
reader.

Summary of Analysis
The cover page, contents page, and double page spread are all well presented. Theres consistent colour schemes
running throughout which help to tie the magazine together with a professional look. The range of fonts aides in
presentation, but also acts as a way to represent the different artists, just like everyone has their own style in
their handwriting.
From my own analysis, I can see that the target audience is the older generation of men, typically from ages 4050. The language choices are low-mid frequency which makes it inappropriate for those younger than about 12
years old. The bands and artists in the magazine all range from being classic rock bands from around the 1970s,
to much more modern artists who are new on the scene, but this class of rock is more traditional which is why it
would generally attract the older audience as opposed to the current generation. Women arent included in this
target audience and we know this because of general stereotypes made for women. Magazines that are aimed at
women are generally health magazines, furniture, or fashion; for girls it would be more chart/pop music, or based
on toys. Uncut has a real focus on male artists and masculine colours which shows its not aimed directly at
women.
This magazine represents men to be rock-lovers, and letting rock music continue to live through them. Youd
expect men from this target audience to all have been party-goers and playing guitar in their youths, and to have
not changed much from these times.