Codes/ Conventions/ Audience of a Rock Music magazine

Some key codes,conventions and audience expectations found in Rock music magazines:

I have gained this information from my questionnaire and secondary research into the appearance of music magazines.

- Depending on the style of music, the layout and imagery of rock music magazines differs - from dark, gritty sans serif fonts and Medium Shot images (Kerrang, Rock Sound) to a more sophisticated reliance on one image and less bold font choices (Rolling Stone). Usually however, a common link is that the main focus of the page is that of the biggest artist which will interest the target audience - so a new metal group or a successful singer, for example. The images will rarely be profiles or Close up images from a photoshoot, but can opt for a black and white approach depending on the overall style of the issue. The main image reflects the house style of the entire magazine, and so often takes up most of the page and may feature in contents pages as prominently.

- The Mast Heads of rock music magazine have to reflect the image of the entire genre and style of music, so is therefore in a natural colour which contrasts with the background image - rarely yellow or red. The font style is often sans serif and in block capitals, which suggests the current, edgy apearance of rock music. This font style is similar throughout, though in areas of less importance (e.g additional textual information, quotations to support images) the text can be smaller and/or a different style in order to convey a difference in the messages given off by different fonts. In this way, block capitals are normally reserved for big cover lines and artist names.

- Generally the target audience will not be enticed by special offers, features and competitions - rather the stories of their favourite bands or musicians, and their backgrounds. Therefore, the plugs which may feature on the front cover and contents pages will not be large in size, and may reflect the artists themselves. There is more priority for secondary images on front covers, therefore, as this will make the magazine easier on the eye to spot the images before text. It also is used to suggest the variety of artists that the magazine will feature and make the style more aesthetically pleasing. Notably these smaller images - throughout the magazine in some cases - will be wrapped around the main image which gathers most attention, which keeps in with the layout of each magazine.

- Also, the colours throughout the magazine will not differ very much. In the case of titles, cover lines and the main text, this will normally be black or white over a background of the opposite cover (with the title being a lot larger and occaionally a more eye-catching font style too). Depending on the importance of the interview/article, there can be boxes of text to give a summary of the artist or provide the backstory to a picture - which will often keep coordinated with the house style of the magazine. Often, there is a lack of text altogether, as images can take up the majority of the page. This depends again on the style of music and the specific target audience, as a metal music magazine will not require much text to support the images of the vicious new death metal act, whereas Rolling Stone may feature more backstory and information to provide a balance of the visual aspects of the magazine to appear easier on the eye.

- Also, the general features of rock magazines (as mentioned) will be based on upcoming releases, possibly tours and important news for main artists, and interviews. there may be more specific areas such as reviews and in-depth articles on older acts, or on the other hand a broader range of media (for example Rolling Stone) which also covers aspects of the media such as new films and television shows which link to the musical influences and will be of interest to the target audience. It is important that less is often more, and what the magazine will communicate visually through its' style will reflect the features moreso than text or colours. The target audience will be inclined to pick up on these images and visual aspects, so therefore they take priority in most magazines.