NME magazine analysis

NME magazine

NME’s front cover has a busy layout which appeals to the rock, indie and alternative genre. The colour scheme used also appeals to those genres as it uses bright primary colours prodominantly used on a black background to make them stand out and look more appealing. The paper used to print the magazine is glossy and professional on the front cover.

The first thing on the page that draws a customer to the magazine is the photo because Pete Docerty’s heda is possitioned within the top and middle third. The photographer has also succesfully managed to make the image focus on Carl to Pete and back again which makes you realise it is all about them. The costumes and props that the two Libertine legends are wearing relate directly to the rock genre that they come from because it suggests everything under the rock and roll image. The unwashed look and the sleepless eyes, the two bottles of champagne which they are drinking from indicate intoxication and a love to party. The cigerette in Carl’s hand suggests that they don’t care about the future they just want to “smash” now. The colour in which they are wearing is a direct link to the rock and roll look aswell as one of the traditional colours assosiated with NME.

The small inserted images which litter the page to contribute to the busy layout all refer to what can be found in the rest of the magazine and all seem to be taken outdoor with natural lights however some of the stage photos from the outdoor stages at Reading and Leeds demonstrate a variety of lighting typical gig photos. These images continue the rough cut vibe as they are not clean cut, best quality and have no visible thought put into the photography however they give a real insight to the feel of the festival which is what the whole magazine is a review about. The insert at the top right hand corner is the posters used as an incentives to pursuade people to buy there product. The decision to use the arial shots of Reading and Leeds festival is very clever because people who went would love to buy it and play tent spotting (like wheres wally) creating a great memory saver to keep forever.

The text on the page is mainly bold and in capital letters except for the date above the magazine title in the top left corner of the page. The capital letters on all text represents all those times at gigs where you have to shout because you cant hear and that is the crowd which NME caters for because being called the ‘NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS’ it does as it says, acts as a new music guide. The way the ‘united they stagger’ is written in a simillar arty font to that written on the thumbnail posters making you think that there is a link to the piece of writing and the festival which juztaposes the main photo. The tagline itself is very cleverly created and so is the other little taglines and captions related to other feature articles at the bottom of the page like the alliteration of ‘Blonde ambition’  and the direct link to the lead singers change of hair colour. Shortning Munford and sons to ‘Munford’ as if to highlight a friendship with the band which enables them to do that.

The banner at the top with the Reading and Leeds logos on it demonstrate that this issue is a special review and not just bands as the main features. The AXL Rose badge seems to be an added part of the front cover because it was not expected and the way that they dont make it large indicates that they dont want to make a big ‘expose’ on the story they just want to acknowledge what an idiot of himself he made and that be the end of it.

Aswell as having the specialist features to NME they also have the typical thing you expect to find on the front of the magazine like the barcode which is turned round to the side but still situated on the bottom of the page where it is tidily out of the way but still easy to find and clear which is helpful when buying. Extra information found on the barcode are the website, the date (again but smaller).                                          

The contents page is 100% blocky layout with the heading centred at the top if the page which flows down into the blocky columned layout. The pages from now on in the magazine are like newspaper paper slightly rough which continues to add to the feel of the magazine because it’s new meets old in every issue.

Even though this is a contents page there is barely any writing on the page compared to other magazines therefore it relies on images to sell the story along with the information already given on the front page, which is limited. However the strong structure of the “INSIDE THIS WEEK” page being the same every issue makes it easy to navigate, understand and absorb the information. With the main cover story feature in the middle of the page directly underneath the heavy heading but it gets the most space allocation on the page. Other features fill up the left hand side using different fonts depending on the artists sub genre and boldness depending on feature hierarchy. The headlines are mainly quotations therefore one of the trends of NME is to use allot of quotations within the magazine.

The bolder the heading the bigger the feature will be. The bottom right hand block is filled by an advert full of persuasive language in order to try and make you subscribe to the magazine. And the mini thin column “PLUS” is where the regular articles where simply listed: page number followed by the regular article heading then the next page number.

The photography on the page reflects diversity through the artists, setting, style, lighting and colour.  No photos are repeated and by actual re using or by the creative compositions because they are all different which I believe airs a high level of professionalism by having a good back catalogue to use.

The page also has minute font on the left hand side turned on its side as if in the margins of the page which is the credits to the editorial and photography however there is no mention of ‘NME’ anywhere on the page.

The double page spread is set out as two separate pages with the image covering one page and the article on the second page. The image used for the first page is a similar composition to the front cover image as Carl and Pete have barely moved and the costumes are the same therefore taken on the same photo shoot.

The title of the article is a quotation said by the artist which is a common thing found in NME. The main article itself takes up the majority of the second page however there is a smaller addition at the bottom of the page of box pops asking other artists what they thought of the Reading and Leeds festivals. The images used for the mini extra addition to the feature is mainly to fill space, add extra images of a thumbnail size and more quotations. The content of the article uses a lot of quotations, ellipsis and text within text referrals to lyrics and other bands. Drop letters are also another method which NME but only for starting off an article.

The images used throughout the article are varied using mainly posed photography as there main image however they have included an action photo from on stage at the festival to create photo diversity. The use of the red of the additional box pop’s at the bottom of the page, the highlight of the quotation as a page breaker in the middle of the second page and the vibrant colours coming through from the action photo all show representation of the feel of NME magazine.