NME Analysis

Analysis of NME (New Musical Express)

New Musical Express is a music magazine released weekly, and is aimed at teenagers to people in their late twenties. It has been running since March of 1952, and now has around 23,924 magazines circulating.

Front Cover –

The Title/ Masthead: NME is shown in bright red San serif font; this will attract the reader’s attention, as red is a very dynamic eye catching colour. The location of the title is also over to the left of the magazine, which is because when magazines are laid out on shelves the left ½ of the magazine is usually the part on show. As this magazine is well established the editors don’t always feel the need to add the tag line “New Musical Express” to the magazine, as most people are aware of this magazine now.

Main Cover line: The main cover line features Noel Gallagher, and is typed in a white font, however the font is sprawled out and not in straight lines, and I think this reflects the meaning of the cover line as Noel talks about everything feeling “Out of Control”. Then the Main text is written in red and black, this matches the colour of the NME title. I think the use of the colour red reflects maybe anger or danger regarding Noel, as he and Liam had the big falling out, and this magazine refers to him starting over, without Oasis.

 Other cover lines: These are typed down the right hand side of the magazine, and the main title is in black, then the sub text is red. This follows the colour scheme that the front cover is following.

Main Image: The main image to accompany the main cover line is a picture of Noel Gallagher. His face looks determined and slightly arrogant. I think this is because he wants to show people that he can start again, no matter what anyone thinks of him. The image is a medium close up, and main cover line fits into his shadow. The image is quite dramatically lit, as I think this will draw people’s attention due to the vibrant effect created.

Thumbnails: Across the top of the magazine is a “skyline” head line, talking about an indie band. Accompanying this headline is a thumbnail image of the band. This is the only other image on the page. I think they chose to limit the number of images to draw most of the attention to the main story about Noel Gallagher.

 Contents Page –

Page Title: “NME This Week”, the title reflects the same font and style used as the “NME” logo. I think this title works really well, opposed to the conventional “Contents” title. It reminds me of the start of a preview of a TV programme, where they tease you about what is going to be appearing on the show that week. Instead this shows what is going to be featured in this issue of the magazine. The text is typed on a plain black background, which follows the magazines red, white, and black theme.

Feature Sections: The feature section of this contents page is right in the centre. It depicts a scene from a gig that the magazine is highlighting. There is a short paragraph written about the gig, to entice the reader into looking at the article further.

Page Numbers: In NME the contents are split into sections: News, Radar, Reviews, Live!, and Features. I think this works really well, as the reader can easily find out which sections they are most interested in, and locate the pieces they want to read first. The colour scheme of this section follows the same black, white, and red; which fits in with the consistent house style. The same font used for the title has been used for the subtitles of the contents.

Language Techniques: The language techniques used make me think that this is a magazine aimed at mainly young people , as they use word play and puns, and talk fairly informally.

Extras: They have a band index down the left hand side of the magazine, which tells the readers if a band has been mentioned in the magazine, and which page they are featured on. I think this is really useful for the readers, because everyone has their favourite musicians or bands, and want to keep up to date with everything that they’re doing.

There is also a section at the bottom which advertises a subscription service they run, and it tells the reader details about if want to subscribe and the prices. 

 Double Page Spread –

Large Title: The title of this double page spread is typed in red and black, this really stands out against the white background. A San serif font has been used; it looks direct and grabs the attention of the reader.

Sub Heading/ Paragraph: The sub paragraph is also written in black, just beneath the main title. It explains more about what the article is regarding.

Quotes: They haven’t exaggerated any quotes; however there are parts of the article which have been typed in bold. The start of each new section also has a bigger bold beginning letter. This means if the reader is skimming the article, or loses their place, they can easily find their way back to where they were reading.

Columns: This article uses the typical column layout, as it looks professional, and makes the article easier to read. Using columns also makes it easier to make room for pictures, compared to if big blocks of text had been used.

Main Image: The main image takes up around half of the right hand page, and clearly depicts the band they are highlighting. The title overlaps the image slightly; I think they did think to make the pages run fluently and blend in with each other.

Other images: There are five other pictures that have been used to illustrate the article. They are shown in a Polaroid style, I think this looks eye-catching, and they fit well with the style of the magazine (young and clean cut).