Planning: Existing Music Magazine Cover Analysis (1)

As part of my research/ planning for my music magazine, I have decided to analyse the cover of an existing music magazine, ‘VIBE.’ The main focal point of the cover is an image of singer Chris Brown, located in the centre. This not only tells us the genre of the magazine, R’n’B/ Hip Hop/ Urban, but also indicates what the magazine may include; perhaps an exclusive article on Chris Brown. Stereotypically, an audience associated with this genre of music would be a black teenage male, relating to Chris Brown. However, we could also take into consideration that Chris Brown could be seen as an iconic figure to many young adults, as well as being seen as an attractive celebrity; therefore attracting a female audience.

In some respects, I think this magazine in particular has a very wide range of target audiences.
The overall cover has a shallow depth-of-field, as we can see that the background is slightly blurred. I think this has been done to focus a readers’ attention on the image of Chris Brown. His code of dress is a red t-shirt, a black flat peak hat and dark jeans. The red t-shirt combines well with the overall colour scheme of the magazine front cover; red, white and green. This is effective as there are no bold contrasts that over power the image. His code of gesture is him standing up against a wall with both hands in his pockets. One hand, is positioned in his right pocket, showing a gesture which adds to his 'gangster' image. This code of gesture combined with his code of expression suggests that he has an attitude, also stereoptypically linked to the 'gangster' image. This attracts a specific audience which could relate to these factors.

The name of the magazine is 'VIBE,' presented in a large, bold font which stands out and draws in a readers attention. The definition of 'vibe' is 'a distinctive emotional atmosphere.' This could relate to the urban soul music that the magazine is based around. Above this heading, it reads: 'The rise and tragic fall of the debarge family.' The words 'Rise', 'Tragic Fall' and 'Debarge' are in a green font opposed to white. This highlights the main point of the article and tells a reader what it is about. I think this makes the article seem overall more exclusive too, making a reader more interested. This has effectively been done throughout the whole front cover, with alternating white and green fonts on the right hand side.