Masum Qahar

Detailed Analysis of Music Magazine XXL

Front Cover
Masthead The name XXL stands out on the page as it is white and in a red box which helps represent the brand of the magazine. However the l is slightly covered by one of the models showing that it is not as important as the model and the audience should only read the masthead to recognise the brand.

Features The features are other hip hop/rap artists and the fact their name is so small suggest how big the two models are in the rap game It is also in a corner again showing how less important they are. However the editor has included their names showing that they are still names that could attract more buyers. This will sell the magazine.

Main cover line The main cover line just states the artists names which suggest that thats all the reader needs to know and that will be enough to attract them to buy the magazine. It is bold and acts as an anchor to the main image as it clarifies who the artists are. The writing is big and bold which represents how big the artists are. Underneath this cover line there is a strapline which acts as a statement about the artists. The word hater represents a person who hates and a nightmare for them represents the bad attitude which is associated with rap and hip hop artists.

Main image The main image is of two hip hop/rap artists; 50 Cent and Soulja Boy. These are two very big rap artists and having them on there represents how big the magazine company is. 50 Cent has his arm around Soulja Boy representing the brotherhood of the rap artists. 50 Cent has his arm tensed showing his strength, he also has his face covered representing crime and how he has to stay hidden as many rap artists are stereotyped to be criminals. Soulja Boy is showing his underwear suggesting his jeans are baggy which is how many gangstas wear their jeans showing their backside. He is wearing a lot of jewellery showing his wealth and also showing how big the artists are.

Left third The left third is just the strapline for the main cover line which occupies the dead space suggesting it is not important and the artists names is important enough for audience to read the magazine.

Barcode The barcode represents the fact that the magazine is for sale and implies money which the rap and hip hop artists themselves crave. Also the magazine cost $4.99 which is very expensive and the audience must be quite wealthy to be able to afford the magazine, this represents how big the brand is as it is so expensive.

Rule of thirds - The layout uses rule of thirds to follow the convention of a magazine. The image of 50 Cent and Soulja Boy covers most of the page and the text is almost there to cover the other space; the background is plain but is hard to notice as the text covers the background. The text is quite big but the image dominates the cover to illustration how big of an icon the two artists are.

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Contents Page
Contents title The contents title says the A-side which is like the A-team which shows how big the two artists are together. It is the biggest text and it is bold to show how important it is. It makes the audience want to know about the A-team which attracts the audience to read. Date The date is on the contents page to show when the magazine was issued. It is not on the front cover as the writer did not feel it was as important.

Features The features are the other things present in the magazine, the titles are bold and are like hip hop songs titles to re-literate the genre of the magazine. The text underneath gives more of an idea about that particular story, this acts as a strapline. It only states the pages which the editor feels the audience will most likely want to read. The title itself features suggests it does not list everything on the magazine but just the main features.

Masthead The masthead is also on the contents page but a little smaller, it is used to anchor the two pages and make the magazine look more professional.

Main image The main image is again of the two artists on the front cover and again the image takes most of the page, this all shows how big the two artists are which suggests that this issue of the magazine is all about them. This time they are back to back which shows the brotherhood of rap artists sticking together and having each others backs. Soulja Boy again is wearing a lot of jewellery signifying his wealth.

Rule of thirds - The contents page also follows the rule of thirds (same as the front cover) by the way everything is layered on the page, the main image again occupies most of the page suggesting that it is the most important information. The right hand side of the magazine (readers left) have text with features found in the magazine with page references so that the reader can find the page they want to read but it is not the main focus. There is a black frame at the bottom with a reference to the photographer as the write needs to give reference however the fact that it is at the bottom suggests that it is just used to occupy the dead space at the bottom and that the photographer is no were near as important as the models and the magazine.

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Double Page Spread

Illustration The only image is the image of the two models which take up half the double page spread showing how important the artists are and expressing how big they are. Soulja Boy has his hands up showing his pride and 50 Cent has his body tensed suggest he is read and with his body showing that he is ready for a fight if anyone wants one. Soulja Boy again is wearing a lot of jewellery showing his wealth, this could make many males aspire to be them as they want money and to be rich.

By-line - This by-line gives the name of the stylist, this is used to give credit to them for styling the magazine. However the headline is a lot bigger suggesting the actual article is more important than the stylist.

Headline The headline is the biggest text on the page (takes up about a quarter of the page), it is not bold but stands out on the page, it is used to tell the audience what the article is about and anchors the image, it is a tweet from 50 Cent expressing how he has Soulja Boys back reiterating the brotherhood of rap stars. This makes the reader want to read the text to understand what 50 means and to feed their taste for knowledge and wanting to know everything.

Masthead with date The masthead is again present however it is tiny and in the left hand corner (readers left) showing it is not as important but only being used to make the magazine look more professional with the brand recognition. The date is again present to remind the reader of the issue which suggests that it is 50 Cent and Soulja Boys issue as it is all about them and it is again present on the double page making the magazine look more consistent and effective.

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Identify the Elements that Connect the 3 Different Parts of the Magazine.
On the magazine all the front cover, contents page and double page spread have the image of the two models but in different poses showing how big they are and their importance on the magazine. The images are quite large on all the pages. 50 Cent and Soulja bo ys picture is the biggest thing on all the pages they appear on expressing how big the artists are. The pictures are large to give the reader a better understanding of the story before even reading the article by the way they are posing. On the front cover, contents page and double page spread the masthead is present for the brand recognition so that when the audience see it they know it is an XXL magazine, it also makes the magazine look more professional. It is quite small on the double page spread because the main attraction on the page are the artists and the audience will have already recognised the brand by seeing the front cover and contents page. However it is present on the double page spread to make the magazine more consistent. The font sizes used are large on the front cover as they need to catch the readers attention and will be hard to read if they are small. The masthead is the largest text, but the main cover line is just a little smaller. On the contents page the masthead and contents title are large and also the titles in black font and are also bold to stand out more so the reader reads the text as early as possible. The rest of the text is considerably smaller but the titles of the stories are bold but are not really eye catching as it is more used to fill the space and make it look like there is more on the magazine. The bold text is all the specials which the writers want the audience to see to help sell the magazine. On the double page spread the heading is very large compared to all other text representing the models importance. The text in the article is small as it is needs to fit in the page therefore does not need to be as big. The fonts used in the magazine are all sans serif fonts which are pretty simple as the writer wanted to keep it as consistent as possible to make the magazine more professional. This will be important for the brand recognition as the reader will need to be able to read the masthead. The sans serif fonts are easier to read therefore the reader will be able to understand the magazine better. The magazine uses informal language and an aggressive tone as it uses words like NI**AS and F**K which make it seem like the writer is angry which also reflects on the personalities of the hip hop artists as they are seen as very aggressive and this may be tone may be more recognised by the reader as they like this genre. The article uses words like you to make the reader feel more comfortable reading the text pushing them to read on. It also uses foul language which wouldnt be seen in a formal magazine. The foul language is only used in the quotes of 50 Cent/Soulja Boys speech which gives the reader a better understanding of the man himself. Overall the tone is aggressive but this may be the tone one of the reasons the reader buys the magazine as they may be able to relate and they to may speak in the same way.