Magazine – MIXMAG
This magazine is monthly and £4.95 and it contains 122 pages
inside.
The
Cover:
o The title: why is it called that? What does the title connote?
(imply or suggest)
The title is
‘mixmag’. It is called this because its content covers a wide range of
different music genres therefore making it a mixmag. The title doesn’t
necessarily imply that it is just a music magazine; however, having the word
‘mix’ as part of the title made it clear that it was about the different mixes
in music. The title also implies that it is a magazine using the word ‘mag’.
o The masthead /title logo – analyse it.
The masthead/title logo is in bold, white writing at the top of the page located just under their magazine motto. The title stands out on the dark background as it is bright white; this makes the title very loud on the page. The font of the masthead is very casual and quite childlike and immature. The ‘i’ in Mixmag has been designed with a different font to the rest of the title and gives the title a retro and funky look. No capital letters have been used in the title making it unclear whether it is the title or not. The masthead of mixmag is different to other magazines due to its title, it looks very young and has a new look to it.
o Is there a strapline? – analyse it.
The strapline
for mixmag is ‘The world’s biggest dance music and clubbing magazine’ written
in capital letters at the very top of the page. The format of this text has been
given capital letters and a peachy colour to stand out on the page. This
strapline immediately identifies and indicates the genre of the magazine which
is likely to be one of the main reasons as to why it has been placed at the
very top of the page. The strapline makes us assume that this music magazine
has been made specifically for the younger generation as it is a ‘dance music
and clubbing’ based magazine which the younger generation are mainly interested
in.
o What is the main image? – analyse the facial expression, direction
of gaze, body language, clothing etc. How does this reach out towards the ideal
reader identified above?
The main
image shows a medium shot of Nina Kraviz who is dressed in all black with a cropped metallic
looking purple cardigan which has a gold neck. The facial expression that Nina
Kraviz holds is a pout which forms a half smile sort of smirking expression.
Her hand is by her head as if she is saluting to the readers and fellow music
lovers. Her other hand is placed just below her right hip with her elbow
pointing outwards. Nina Kraviz is a well-known Russian DJ and the younger
generation are very familiar with her and her work. Nina Kraviz's body language looks
very dramatic and also creates a very striking vibe which fits in with the music genre and the style of the magazine. It is also clear that photo shop has been used to enhance her facial
features, in particular her cheekbones and eyes. Her cheekbones have been made
very defined, and her eyes look almost sunken in and dark which attracts our
attention to them, and as her gaze is directed at us we feel that the magazine
is personal and interactive. Having a familiar person on the front cover is
what can attract readers easily as they want to find out what they have written
in the magazine. The medium shot of Nina Kraviz is placed directly in the centre of the front cover which allows plenty of space for the strapline and other headlines.
o What other images appear on the cover? – Why?
There are no
other images, only text.
o What content is promoted by the cover lines?
There are
many different cover lines on the front cover, the main one is ‘Nina Kraviz’ in
huge capital letters in the centre of the page across Nina Kraviz’s picture,
and this text is in a black text box in a bright peach/pink font. Written
around that is a quote from Nina Kraviz which says ‘You wanna talk about the
music..? Let’s talk about the music” inside a white filled text box in black typeface. This quote is informal as it sounds friendly and relaxed. All of the
cover lines tell you what you can expect to find inside the magazine, for
example, “the best underground student nights”, this suggests that you can find
a variety of music based on the student nights genre.
o Explain the connotations of typefaces (fonts), graphics, colours
etc.
The colour
scheme of the Mixmag front cover is black, white, peach/pink and grey. All of
the cover lines are written in black text boxes, with either peach/pink or
white typeface colour in order for the text to stand out on the background. The
contrast of bright and dark colours creates a party theme which gives us an
idea of what the target audience is interested in.
o What sort of language/language features/language devices can you
identify? How does the cover ‘talk’ to its readers?
o Does the cover look similar to other magazines? If so why? What
does this magazine offer which rivals don’t (USP)
Mixmag has an excellent brand identity and one of the
main unique selling points of this music magazine is that it comes along with a
free CD inside. Mixmag was the world's first dance music magazine and has been
the market leader ever since which makes it very unique compare to other music
magazines.
Inside:
o How many pages are there?
123
o How many pages of adverts?
23
o Categorise the products advertised into types.
The adverts
fall under the following categories:
o
Jewellery – 1
o
Concert Dates – 3
o
Musical Event - 8
o
CD Albums – 5
o
Drinks – 1
o
Music Products – 4
o
Music Related Business Advertisement - 1
Above
shows an image from the "Twice As Nice" double page spread.
Features and
Topics:
o
Nina Kraviz – Her life as a DJ
o
Twice As Nice – Vintage Prints and Clothing
o
Night People – when are people at their happiest
o
Renato Ratier – His life in fame
o
Kelela – Her future plans
o
Redinho – His younger life until now
o
Black Magic – Who they are and what they do
o
Betoko – how he was born to make music
o
Deetron – his life
o
Gessaffelstein’s – about his tour
o
DJ EZ – his time performing at a festival
o
Paul Woodford – his creativeness
o
Mat Zo’s – Interview with Mat Zo
o Categorise the features/articles topics into types.
- Celebrity Lives: Nina Kraviz, Renato Ratier, Kelela, Redinho,
Black Magic, Betoko, Deetron, Paul Woodford, Mat Zo.
-
Concert Experiences: Gessaffelstein, DJ EZ.
-
Clothing: Twice As Nice
-
Young People: Night People
o How many double paged spreads are there? What are they about?
24
o Are there any “advertorials” where it is not clear if something is
an article or an advert, or a mixture of both?
There are no
advertorials inside this magazine, the difference between what Mixmag consider
as an article and an advertisement are clearly defined throughout the magazine.
o How does the magazine achieve a unified ‘house style’? Think about
the language and mode of address, colour schemes, graphical elements etc.
It achieves a
unified house style by having a colour coordinated front cover. It also
separates all of the different sections and articles by using different colour
and graphics to notify the reader when they are moving onto a new section of
the magazine. Any pages that have a black background always have white text
showing more colour coordination. Similarly, on any white pages, there is
always a variety of explosive colours and graphics on the page to draw the
reader’s attention.
o Why is this house style appropriate to the target audience? What
assumptions does it imply about the TA?
Using this
house style draws attention from the younger generation as their target
audience; this is due to the use of contrast between the dark and bright
colours which attracts readers. The magazine also includes a lot of bright
images and as well as being a music based magazine it also includes some pages
based on fashion to keep the reader intact and interested. As the magazine is
£4.95 this is quite expensive and therefore implies that Mixmag is particularly
appealing to higher classes. 
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