5 different type of magazine titles - similar genre

As part of our research for my music magazine, everyone in my class has to research about 5 different music magazine titles and we have to discuss what their names connote in relation to their magazine. As my genre is hip hop/RnB, I will be looking at a wide range starting from vibe - my favourite!

The title 'Vibe' is always in bold is consistent in every magazine. What I've realised is in the title every letter is capitalized except the 'e' at the end being lower case. It could be to represent the male audience as it big and powerful being capitalized. The title is red which flows with the magazine as there's not a variety of colours used and only two. Red and black are normally a good combination of colours which is very eye catching. This attracts customer and is recognisable from a distance. As red is both a males and females colour, anyone can read it so it appeals to both males and females. The title is behind the artist (Nelly) and is a convention as the same position is in every magazine. I've noticed that in each and every one of their magazine covers, they have used either two/three colours which go well together. Using two/three colours which blend together well, allows the audience to be attracted to it as it isn't busy, being colourful doesn't always appeal to your audience! It's the layout and how it's portrayed attracts your customers in my opinion.

Another music which is a hip hop/RnB based magazine is 'The Source'. The title is large and is sans-serif which makes it looks professional. 'The' in The Source is smaller than 'Source'. This could symbolise that the word 'Source' is much more important than the word 'The' as it's much bigger and bolder. This is eye catching to their audience as it is the first thing they notice after the picture of the artist. The title is positioned behind the artist. Notice, it's the opposite from vibe. They've also used a colour that appeals to both males and females so it attracts both genders. The colour gold connotes wealth and good health which relates to the the artisit (nas). He's a rich, well known famous artist as he has sold over thirteen million records in the United States alone.

XXL is a rap based music magazine. The colours for the title is always white and red. Everytime I look at the title, I feel as though it has been stamped onto the page. Maybe that's what they want there reader to think? White symbolises cleanliness and peace whereas, red symbolises passion but war and violence. The red relates to the picture as his hands are guns which suggest violence and aggression. This could put the customers off buying this particular with this artist on it. However, if the customer is a 'The Game' fan (the artist on the front cover), then they are likely to be attacted to it.

Flavour is another popular magazine that caters for Rnb artists. It's a free magazine which is difference from the ones above. The white, yellow and black colours work well together and are consistent throughout the front cover. Another difference between this one and the others above is that the title is place in front of Cher Lloyd (the artist). The colour white symbolises purity, the colour yellow symbolises joy and happiness and the colour black stability. The hand gesture of her having her hand over the mouth suggests many things. It could either suggest that, she is shocked and she just found out something. Or it could suggest that she is keeping a secret by covering her mouth. One thing that I have realised that throughout Flavour's magazines is that the heading 'Flavour' is always either behind or in front the artist. However, in Vibe, the title is not consistent and is always behind the artist.



The last but no least is 'Respect'. Another magazine that catera for RnB artists. Straight away, the reader is drawn to the image as it's the most important thing. From his facial expressions, you can tell that he is serious. The pull quote used at the bottom left hand corner, shows that he is being boastful about his current position in the music industry. Brown symbolizes self discipline which could link to the serious look on his face. However, there is not a lot of information on the front cover which is one factor that I dont like.