NME - magazine research analysis

In terms of the layout for the magazine, the main image of well known, popular rock band, Kings Of Leon takes up the most amount of space. This is important to the magazine because it enable the audience to realise what the main article in the magazine is about. This image holds the impact of the page because it take up the most amount of space and is the first thing you notice when looking at it. However, there are also other images included on the page that are a lot smaller than the main image but are all balanced to one another. Due to this, it highlights the contrast in importance to the magazine between the two sets of images and the fact that all of the eight other images are placed in the top right hand corner imply that they are linked and from the same article. Whereas the main image is from a seperate article because it is placed elsewhere. This allows the reader to understand what the content of the magazine is mostly going to be about and for those who are big Kings Of Leon fans would be very interested in it.

The images on the page are all of well known indie rock bands - which is the genre of music of the magazine. The written content around them relate to the images because they explain to the audience what the images have been used for. For example, the reason behind the useage of the image of Kings Of Leon has been explained underneath it as it states 'KINGS OF LEON: Drugs ruined us. Now it's time to be huge.' which implies they made that statement themseleves as it is written in the first person. This clearly states why the image has been used and what the article is going to be about. Also, the quote used is very exciting and something that the target audience will be very interested in. This is because readers love to find out background information about their favourite bands to allow them to feel as if they are closer to knowing everything about them.

All of the eight images at the top are framed in a red border implying that they are from the same article because they are the same size and in the same frame. This is specified through the written content to the left of the images where is says 'FREE POSTER SELECTION.'

In terms of mise-en-scene, the stereotypes of an indie rock band have been portryed in the main image. This has been shown through the use of their dark clothing and their hair styles which are quite long which is stereotypical of an indie rock band. The setting of the images at the top of the page represent the stereotype of indie rock bands spending a lot of times at music festivals because all of the images used have been taken of a well known band at a festival.

The colours used are red, white and black. The red is used for the written content to stand out on top of the dark images whereas the white is used for the backgroung so the dark images can clearly be seen.

The main image of Kings Of Leon form a narrative of being quite thoughtful. This is because all four members of the band are pulling quite serious facial expressions which create a serious atmosphere for the article about them. It also allows us to believe that the mood of the magazine is fairly unembellished unlike other music magazines which as quite light hearted.
The main image creates a fairly sympathetic feel amongst the audience. This is because the four members of Kings Of Leon look quite serious and thoughtful implying that the article about them is going to be about serious matters in which the reader can sympathise with them for. Also, as the images used at the top of the page are all taken from festivals, it allows the audience to feel involved. This is because festivals are very popular among the general public and is likely for readers to have attended some of the festivals in which the celebrities. This gives the reader a sense of importance as the magazine shows them to be at the same festivals in which A list celebrities were also at. These images also link to the target audience of young, indie music fans because it shows indie bands at festivals they are likely to have attended and they are all well known popular bands that the target audience are likely to be fans of.

In terms of language, the linguistic devices that the magazine front cover uses is quotes from well known bands and information about bands that the target audience will be interested in. However, they do not always use full sentences. For example, at the bottom of the page it states 'Arctic Monkeys plan record with Josh Homme' which is not a full sentence but is clear enough for the reader to understand visibly and immediately. Even the magazine does not use full sentences to explain their articles, they do not use any slang. This is because they want to relate to the target audience who are young but unlikely to use any slang words. The written content links to the images because it explains why the images have been used, who the images are of and the text consists of information of popular bands such as Arctic Monkeys in which the target audience will be interested in findinf information about them.

The genre of the magazine is indie rock music. This is clearly shown through the use of images of well known indie rock bands like Kings Of Leon, Ting Tings and MGMT, the information given about popular bands like Arctic Monkeys, and the layout of the front cover which is simple for fans to understand but includes enough intertesting information that the target audience will be interested in.