RockSound' Front Cover Analysis

Rock Sound is a leading multi-media new music brand operating across the UK. Having started as a print title in 1999, Rock Sound has evolved into a multi-platform media proposition.Across the magazine, website, and the brand's live events and social network pages Rock Sound reaches over a million music fans every month. Focusing on new music, Rock Sound is targeted at a 15-24 year old core audience with an interest in all rock genres. The publisher is called Patrick Napier

Across the magazine, website, and the brand's live events and social network pages Rock Sound reaches over a million music fans every month. Focusing on new music, Rock Sound is targeted at a 15-24 year old core audience with an interest in all rock genres.

The Masthead is behind the artists suggesting they have many people that buy their magazines, it is almost as if this magazine is for people that already know about ‘Rock Sound’ because the readers would know it is this magazine even though they can only see part of the masthead. It is at the top centre which may be done as when you buy magazines, in the shelves you can only see the very top of the magazine.

The main image(cover stars) on the magazine is a Mid-shot. This may be done because it gives a bigger image of the body language of the artists. It is also taken in a slight low angle to create the effect of the band looking down on the reader. This can signify intimidation and power. It also shows off their tattoos as well as giving more space for more writings on the page. The tattoos can also signify rebelling against the norms of the society. Also, the fact that they are the main image implies that the institution has an existing fan base and is easily recognisable and iconic.

The main cover line on the front cover is the music band's name which is ‘Bring me the Horizon’. The use of font for this cover line is big and bold so that it will catch the audience's attention and if they like Bring me the Horizon more people are likely to purchase the magazine. It is positioned a little below the centre of the magazine because the masthead covers the top.

The skyline on this front cover has a bright colour and is at the very top of the magazine so it would stand out also so that it would get more recognition. The skyline writes ‘Kings and Queens of 2015-Poster special’ meaning there are posters in this magazine which is a definite advantage. They have also added some of the posters that are in the magazine and the rest are just writings of the band names. Only few of the posters might be up there because those few are most likely to be the more famous bands and singers.

There many many puffs/flashes on this magazine because the puffs always stand out and as there are many interesting and exciting info on this magazine, the number of puffs are quite high. There are puffs at the top of the front cover with the Singers and bands names written inside which highlights them and makes them stand out. There are also two more at the very bottom of the magazine in the ‘plus’ section to not exclude the ‘plus’ section and also make that section stand out.

The barcode, issue number, date line, the price + other links are at the right bottom side of the page which suggests that it is more likely to be the last thing the audience sees as we read from left to right. The price is deliberately at the bottom of the page in small font because the magazine is more expensive than some of the other music magazines currently on the market.

The colour scheme fits into the traditional 3 colour scheme where 3 main colours are used. The main colours in this front page are Yellow, Red and white as well as black but it does not count as a specific colour. The colour yellow is used in places where they want the writings to stand out with a slight red as a shadow to again bring out the yellow. Also, the puffs/flashes are red and yellow too which makes the colour link and look presentable. However, the main colour of this front cover is black as the whole background is black to give it a dark and Gothic vibe as it is a Rock/Metal magazine.

There is around 2-3 different types of fonts used on the front cover which makes everything look a little crowded and over done. What makes everything look put together is the fact that almost all the fonts are bold.