Classic Rock Magazine - Deconstruction #1

This post shows my deconstruction of Classic Rock magazine. I have used terminology in the analysis and explained what they are and how they have been used in this magazine.

Front Cover

The masthead on Classic Rock magazine is shown in the top half of the page but is not right at the top. Traditionally the magazine logo will be added digitally over the image at the very top of the page, often in the top left corner of the page. With this magazine the logo and title has been incorporated into the main image. This isn't a common occurrence and it is a very unique way of showing the magazine.

The essential information of the magazine is the date, volume/issue number and the price. For this magazine, the date is September 2013. This shows that it is a very recent magazine, it is good to analyze a recent magazine because it means that it is current and I won't be picking up on out-dated features. The issue number is 188, first off, a number this high shows that the magazine is well established and has been around a while. This shows there is popularity in what they are doing in and out of their magazine. This is a good magazine to get ideas from as I know that what they are doing works. The price can tell the reader a lot about the target audience. This magazine costs £5.50, this tells me that the magazine is most likely going to be aimed at an older audience who work and have a higher disposable income than a teenager. If a magazine is highly priced, a lot of younger people won't be able to buy it every week.

The main image of this magazine is very bold and unique. The image shows the back of a man wearing an old worn-out leather jacket. The leather jacket is to symbolize American rock artists and symbolize classic rock. The leather jacket is thought about when you think of American Rock. The jacket has the logo printed on it at the top and a skull and crossbones wearing an American helmet printed largely in the center of the jacket. The print has a scratched and worn-out affect to show that its old and classic, like the music they talk about in the magazine and to symbolize what music the readers listen to. The skull and crossbones show the classic rock imagery and the American helmet represents the magazines theme, American Rock. The red and blue on the helmet also stand out from the dark neutral colours in the image. This catches the eye of the reader and drags them in. The cover also uses white logos of different classic American rock bands. This again appeals to the older audience whilst the white still stands out from the darker imagery. Throughout the cover there is an American theme, this is very good as it shows the cover represents the content of the magazine, this is important in a magazine cover. The main image isn't an image of a famous rock artists, this tells me that the magazine isn't based on an individual and that its focusing on a specific topic.

The main sell-line of this magazine is ‘The American sh*t kicking Rock Issue’. This sell line is very bold and it teases to what the magazine is about. The sell-line doesn’t give too much away whilst also revealing the general idea of the magazine, this sell-line does its job perfect. The use of swear words in the sell-line shows that it definitely isn't aimed at children and that its aimed at a much more mature audience. However, the main sell line has been put on in orange. This is very strange as it doesn’t really go with any of the colour scheme on the cover and it looks a bit out of place. This could help attract a reader but it also hints that the magazine may also be aimed a little towards teens because of the bright, fun colour used. The sub-head used is actually a quote and is still a little mysterious, ‘We were in the middle of an American revolution’. This sub-head here doesn’t really elaborate on the main sell-line in any other way than the fact it uses the word ‘American’ again. Again, the sub-head is in blue and red, matching the helmet on the leather jacket.

The cover-lines tell you a little about the content of the magazine. There are two cover-lines on the cover, these are ‘The golden age of American Rock’ and ‘The U.S. bands that ruled the 70’s’. They have been added in a style that looks like it could be a logo. The cover-lines aren't just a line of text, they have been arranged in a certain way that makes them stand out. They have been done in white to make them stand out from the darker imagery. The font that has been done looks like they have been spray painted on to the cover. They have also had a faded effect added to them, this makes them matcher the main image and to stop them from looking out of place. The barcode has been added to the bottom right corner.

The mode of address for this magazine is indirect, I know this because of the imagery and what has been said on the cover. The subject in the image has his back turned to the reader, therefore he isn't looking into the camera or looking directly at the reader. The text doesn’t use any words like ‘us’ or ‘we’. This means they aren't directly including the reader in the cover. The only use of direct language is in a quote that is used, this is including the reader but it isn't used frequently in the magazine cover, showing it isn't direct.

The puff on a magazine cover is known as the advertisement of what's inside the magazine, normally something free. These are used to attract the reader and persuade them into buying the magazine. The puff on this magazine cover is in red, blue and white. This fits in with the colour scheme that has been used throughout the cover but at the same time it is also making the advertisement stand out and be noticeable. By advertising something that is free, the reader thinks they are getting more for their money so they are more likely to end up buying the product. The puff, when used right, can be a very valuable part of the magazine cover.

Contents Page

The contents page features a main image that relates to the cover story and it lists all of the featured pages in the magazine. This shows the magazine is full of content and there isn't enough room to display all of the content so they show the best content and display it all in a list. The magazine does this to display the best of the best, this shows the reader the main stories and persuades them to buy the magazine as it makes the quality of the magazine higher. The featured page list also features a brief summary of what the page is talking about and it gives the reader a better understanding of the articles before they read them.

The image used is of J. Geils Band performing a show. The image fills up most of the page, leaving a column for the page list to go on the right side. The image is shown in black and white, this has been done to continue with the classic style of magazine throughout the magazine. The black and white could also represent that the image is old or that the band is a classic, old band. The black and white image is very dark and doesn't stand out in an obvious way. This, again, reflects the target audience being a mature one that doesn't need a vibrant image to catch the attention of the reader, like a magazine that was aimed at younger people would. The date and issue number of the magazine is position directly below the title of the page.

The text is smaller on the page, this has been done to utilize the space more to fit in more text and information. The amount of text can be directly linked with the audience. For example, a younger reader would look for a magazine with slightly bigger, colourful font and less of it. However, an older and more mature reader would look for a magazine that is full of text and that has more to read as they want to get the most out of their money, especially when they are likely paying more for the magazine. 
The magazine has used a variety of fonts in the contents page, from Serif to Sans Serif font with the use of italic fonts as well, this could be to show variety and to make certain things stand out more. The magazine has used black and red fonts, this is because they contrast against the white page and stand out. They are bold and they catch the eye of the reader very well.

The main image directly relates to the cover story. This article is being shown the most as it is the theme of the cover and of this magazine so it gets the most space. The same style of graphic has also been used as what was used on the magazine cover, this shows continuity in the magazine and it connects the two together in small ways.

Double-Page Spread

For the double page spread, two columns have been used. This has been done because this makes the text look much more dense and full. The audience is older for this magazine so they are more likely to want more text to read. Columns are used differently depending on the reader, for example, a magazine that is aimed at a younger audience will likely use three or four columns, this is because it separates the text out and makes it look like there is less text than there actually is. The text is small, this again, is so that more text can be fitted onto the page, pleasing the reader. The black font contrasts with the white page and makes the text stand out and come off the page.

The article is about a member of the band Queen. This is apparent by the colours used and also the links in the text, The words 'Rock Royalty' are used in the article, this is referring to the genre of music and also making a slight pun, adding a little humour and fun into the article. This shows the article is a little less serious. Another example of this is the title of the article, 'The show must go on'. This, like the first example, is another Queen reference that has been used. This isn't just a direct quote, it has been used to describe what the article is about.

The image used fills up all of the left page, leaving the right side of the double page spread to be filled with the article its self. The image that has been used is an image of Roger Taylor performing on stage, this image is directly related to the context and the content of the article. Throughout the magazine, there has been a lot of black and white imagery to symbolize older performers and it has been used again on this double page spread. The image has been put in black and white to represent him as a classic rock star and to appeal to the older audience. The image that has been used has been used to show who he is. He is a performer and the image captures him doing what he does and doing the thing that represents who he is perfectly.

The title of the article has been added in Gold. This colour has not only been used to contrast with the strong black text and stand out, it has also been used to tie in with Queen and the words that are used in the article. Gold is a colour that is known to be put together with royalty and class, and this goes perfectly with that classic rock style the magazine has used. It also ties with words used like 'Rock Royalty' and it also could represent Queen, his band.