Music Magazine Evaluation
About Muse Muse is a free online magazine, therefore because they do not get profit from buyers they get it through advertising. They aim their content toward rock/indie fans, this influencing their choice of interviews, reviews and articles inside.
Masthead – The colour of the font being a bold red connotes danger, which could symbolise the meaning of a ‘muse’ but also that the reader -mainly rockers- can pick up that it would fit their wants from a magazine. When presented the left side would show the ‘M’ only and this would be key as they can identify which magazine it is and it is noticeably different from others.
Presentation – It uses simple colours, the minimal colour in the image allows the font to stand out to the audience. The band ‘Kings of Leon’ overlap some text at the top which shows they are of importance in this issue. It includes a skyline which draws the reader to the special feature which would appeal.
Muse
Image – The band are stood with boldness showing their masculinity, it connotes their power but also the typical superior characteristic that comes with being a masculine rocker.
This issue offers free tickets, this appeals to the often gig attending rock fans that would read this magazine. The first thing the reader is drawn to is the yellow box containing the information that the magazine is in-fact free. Cover lines – These tell the reader what else will feature in the magazine that would be of interest to them, and another reason that they’d want to buy this magazine.
Muse contents page On the right side they have included images which give an insight into what else will be coming up within the magazine so they can get an interest by what they see. The text is simple so if they want to easily be able to find information on a page it would not be too difficult to find amongst other things. The sub-heading of ‘lifestyle’ suggests what the topics are classified as so it is understood what articles the reader can look at. In general this simple design is not too complicated for quick navigation of the magazine.
Muse double page spread
The lead image connotes the band being powerful, this can be interpreted through their stance and lighting. They are positioned in a way which implies the mainstream view that lead singers are of the negligent view, as he looks away from the camera . The drop cap is used to draw attention to the beginning of the article, the dusty blue colour is presented as a house style of this particular issue of the magazine, being used both in this DPS and also the contents page.
The pull quote from the interview draws attention to a particular quote that would be of significance to the reader. It can entice them to further read or be a quick sum up of what’s been said
After reading the article, the image seems to detach from the statements made. They no longer give the impression of arrogance but they begin to appear down to earth as they state that they ‘we definitely got bigger than we would have wanted’. This changes people views and gets a boost to their public ratings.
A range of features are used such as: tour dates, competitions and the scan icon for mobile phones, that will engage with the target audience because it will give them a reason to keep returning to this brand of magazine.
Front cover of muse The masthead is the same on each issue of Muse so that the reader will know that its that particular brand is stocked against other competing magazines; still the red connotes danger and excitement. This could also be linked to the type of audience who will read because they may be easy rockers who would associate the red with the life of loud, bold and rebellious people.
The cover lines used at the bottom of the magazine are there to present what else is coming up within this particular issue. They use white on black as it is a more noticeable contrast compared to the rest of the front cover.
‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’ is printed in the colour to reinforce the idea of them being a hot, exciting band but also having danger and darkness involved in their music.
The lead image of the ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’ seems like they are having fun and are ‘jokey’ characters symbolising their music will be exciting and something different from ordinary music in the charts. We could determine that they are people who do not wish to stand in with the crowd as one male has green hair to not be the ‘stereotypical band’. Their poses connote their careless attitude and their crazed behaviours, it shows the true side to males and highlights the fact that they never really ‘grow up’ from their childish antics; representing the standard view on males.
Contents page of Muse The same house style of the contents page is presented throughout every issue of Muse, this gives a ease and comfort to the reader so they know the company and contents of the magazine will not change far too much and can still interest them and appeal to them. They have included a way for the reader to be involved and be able to receive a newsletter for extra information and news, they enable this by letting them email them – a typical contacting way that the young generation would be associated with and more inclined to use. The strip of images of bands/ up coming articles that will appear in the issue are neatly positioned to one side, this is an ideal way because the reader will not think the page is over crowded and not read on.
Double page spread of Muse The denotation of the image is that they are a young group of males having a quiet night in, doing usual activities such as texting, drinking and eating or general laying around. We could connote this as them being lazy lads who have nothing better to do.
The text over the image engage with the reader by trying to get them to answer the rhetorical question and then be intrigued to read further. They say ‘use a little volume’ which could be interpreted to mean that they feel people these days are quiet and that they need ideas on how to come out of their shell, it then also links to the image on the adjacent page where there is a man seeming to be shouting down the microphone behind an amp – clearly showing his loud side.
Front cover of Muse Above the masthead they have used latest album reviews as the skyline so that they readers (music lovers) know that they are getting what they are interested in. The text has an outer glow to draw it from seeming 2D and of no acknowledgement.
The title of the artist who will be the subject of the lead article is type with both lower caps and high caps throughout the name,, this could suggest that maybe the magazine is different from the standard music magazines already around. Connecting to the individuals who don’t want to be the stereotypical people.
The lead image of a young man looking like he is deep in thought, we could also take this to believe he is a soulful character. His clothing makes him look like a rocker by the thick stripes and the biker style jacket, his stance looks casual but leaning against a wall to suggest his freedom and un-caring manor. The fact he is placed in front of the masthead to show his importance.
Contents page of Muse Once again Muse have decided to use the same dusty blue as at theme for their magazine, used for block colour behind titles and also standard text. Also the strip of simple images to show what will appear later on is used to the right hand side. Below the listing of pages they have included a list of important contact details which is un-usual compared to other magazines which have this information presented towards the back of the each issue.
Double page of Muse For their album review they used a popular rock band, ‘The Foo Fighters’, the images used connote them as being laid back but they have supremacy and authority among others. Inside the article they state that no editing will be used on their new album therefore we can tell the band have a traditional view on how music should be played, raw voice and loud music . They have a rough and ready style with the long hair and an unmanicured appearance showing the lack of interest or importance of being the feminised representation of a male in this days society.