FRONT COVER COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

The two magazines I looked at were “XXL” and “Kerrang”, I chose these two magazines because they are extremely different to each other in genre, audience, fashion etc. however, they are both similar in method, layout, approach etc. as they are both music magazines.
“XXL”’s masthead is predominantly visible but the main image of the cover is blocking a section of it, this is also apparent in the “Kerrang” cover, this is a technique used by many music magazines (rolling stone, nme, black beat etc.) to indicate confidence in brand identity, as they are so secure in the knowledge that their logo/name is recognizable to the public, that they are willing to make it partially concealed. The coverage of the masthead also suggests the importance of the artist/artists on the magazines front cover, which simultaneously boosts the credibility of the magazine itself.
There are several elements to the covers that are consistent in both magazines but also in most if not all music magazine covers. A masthead is a key feature for a music magazine, it gets across brand identity, but also the word or phrase itself and the style that the masthead adopts epitomize the genre and approach of the magazine as a whole. To use these magazines as an example, “Kerrang”’s masthead is bold and covers the whole width of the cover giving an indication of the magazines “in your face” attitude, and the shattered lettering represents the magazines loud, over the top style, as shattered glass/windows has classically been used in television as a result of an extremely loud noise.
Another key element for any music magazine that is used in the ones I have studied, is a lure. A lure is used to advertise a feature within the magazine by giving the readers a small indication of the whole story. In both “XXL” and “Kerrang” they use a question as the lure, for “XXL” they use “Future of the west- who got next?” and for “Kerrang” they use a more envy provoking, “K! Awards- wish you were here?”
A third element used in the magazines that is also used in most other publications, is a list of artists featured in the magazine. A common element of this magazine feature is the use of a plus sign (+) to signify the fact that it is informing the reader of additional artists; this element is used in both magazines. This feature of the magazines front cover also gives the potential consumer a further indication of the magazines genre, for example “XXL” lists important artists in the hip-hop scene including Lupe Fiasco, Flo Rida and Souja Boy, where as “Kerrang” lists important artists in the metal scene, including Avenged Sevenfold, Fall Out Boy and Guns N’ Roses.
The two magazine covers also contain elements that are technically necessary to the product, like barcodes, prices and dates. These features are both essential to the publication but also indicative of the target audience of the magazine, for example, the price indicates the potential spending bracket and as a result, the class of their target audience. “Kerrang” is priced at £2.20 showing that it’s target readers are mainly in the group C1 of the JICNARS scale (lower to middle class), similar to “XXL” which is priced at £2.30.
Although there are many elements that are apparent in both of the magazines, this does not mean that they would reach the same audience. There are many factors that indicate the dissimilarity of the two magazines and it could even be said that they are focused on opposite genres. This is shown (amongst other factors) by the mode of address that the publications have adopted. XXL uses a relaxed, cool approach. This is shown in the main image, which depicts a calm and composed Snoop Dogg, he appears to have made little effort in posing for the photo however looks very cool. On the other hand, Kerrangs mode of address is aggressive and loud, this is shown in their photo of an angry man, clenching his fist and his face, both typical signifiers of confrontation, the photo also suggests diversity, as around the central character are four other artists all with a very varied personalities and styles.
Mode of address is mainly shown in the language and graphology of the text. In XXL, they do not use any exclamation marks or come across as aggressive in any way, and the use of all capital letters suggest confidence, where as Kerrang uses exclamation marks on three separate occasions, and uses a bold font giving the impression of being boisterous and “in your face”.
In conclusion it is clearly evident that that the two magazines are aimed at completely different audiences and are focused around two completely different genres, due to the mode of address and aesthetics of the magazines. However it is also clear that both of the magazines share the same purpose, to inform readers of news about their preferred musical genre, as they use most if not all of the typical music press conventions.