Analysis of media text

This is a front cover of an issue of vibe magazine; it features T.I as the cover model, the photo is a headshot.

T.I is a very successful rapper who has many fans the world over. And because of this fact, fans of his music and even those who just appreciate and the target audience will be intrigued and want to find out why he is on the cover.

T.I’s expression looks as though he is very serious, which is a reflection of the interview he is giving to the magazine. The black and white of the photo is to show that the issue is quite serious and not the typical issue that readers will be used to.

This issue has the mast head in front of the model which is breaks convention for a lot of magazines, which tend to have the mast head covered by the model’s face or any other body part that is near it. This is shown in many other vibe magazine covers but this grabbed my attention as it has a very unique look to it, vibe magazine has been noted for its clever use of colour schemes, the Red and Black colours compliment each other very well.

 The mast head is always at the top of the screen an every issue promotes a different colour which reflects the colour scheme of the rest of the magazine.

Vibe has created a sense of brand identity with its own convention of having only the cover artist. This makes the magazine more recognisable and easier to find for readers. There are additional pictures, its mast head font is a very outstanding bold which reflects the genre this magazine covers, and the audience will find it appealing as they are going to be a predominantly male readership. Those who read this magazine are also likely to be drawn in by the ambiguous quotation in the main sell line; “ain’t no such thing as a secret snitch”, following that the line “the untold story behind the deal” this is an ambiguous statement which will draw the audience in as they want to find out what the tag line means, it doesn’t rely on using an attractive and clever line to draw the readers unlike other magazines.

There are no feature article photographs, instead there are artist names “50 cent, Prince, Lauryn Hill, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z & Biggie” this has become one of the ways in Vibe has created brand identity as this is common in many of its issues. 

This is an issue of Billboard magazine, like vibe it is predominantly an r&b magazine which features artists like Drake who is on the cover of this issue.

Billboard is an American magazine issued weekly. The Billboard name is highly recognised, along with the music chart, it promotes.

The choice of musician is Drake a very successful rapper who emerged on the rapping scene in 2006 from a career as an actor, he wasn’t very well known in the main stream but he made he arrival onto the worlds view in 2009, with endorsement form other artists. Since then Drake has been climbing the popularity ladder with the success of his music, “the new face of hip-hop is evidence to this fact.

Drake’s expression is that of a man who knows he has made it in the world; it is a mix of serious and calm with a hint of accomplishment, which is fitting for a man in his position.

This magazine is known for its trademark logo colours of red, yellow, blue and green, only ever changing to celebrate a special issue etc. the colour scheme of black and lime green is interesting but fall in with everything else without clashing.

The mast head is also in front of the artist which may symbolise a hidden meaning of the magazine believing itself to being better than the artist on the cover. This is a convention that is very rare in media publications but as the example above shows it does happen.

The language used is very easy to understand, it would be a stretch to call it casual, but likewise it would be a stretch to call it formal, it is straight to the point of the text.

Contents page

This is the contents page for the issue of Vibe magazine featured at the top.

The style in which ‘contents’ is written will grab anyone’s attention, it has been divided up into three segments which aren’t a clever way of making three new words as it would appear. This contents page is very minimalist essentially 3 colours and the contents themselves at the top in a very stylish simple order. This is definitely something I'm going to emulate. In this page the artist is the most important thing on the page, much like a front cover. This is quite plain which can be seen as a risk, but I think it works well and is solidifying itself as a convention of this magazine.

This is a billboard magazine contents page. it is drastically different to the Vibe one, reasons for this is that it has a lot of text and more pictures, it actually appears to list all the articles within it, rather than the major ones. it features a main image which is linked to a page as are the smaller images above, this contents is also one that has a specific colour scheme, but also features more colour than Vibe.

Double page spread

The Double page spread feature the main article of the magazine, which is often an exclusive with an individual or group. in this case it is Usher, way in which Usher is posed shows him starring off outwards while smoking and wearing a big wristwatch this is  a style exhibited by a number of black males. this appeals to the audience as they are likely to be black or those who are appreciative of the culture and style. 

Cigar that he is smoking is associated with success and wealth, as they are very expensive in comparison to cigarettes, and are either smoked on special occasions or just by the wealthy, which is what it is implying about him. in his quotation the word "Greatest" is highlighted in bold capitals as to draw more attention to it. which is obviously something this interview is aiming to relay to the audience, Usher feels he is doing extremely well in the music industry. the way in which he is looking off screen makes him look like he has something very important on his mind or that his is of a higher status when in combination with the cigar and the quotation, which can symbolize superiority.

There is an abundance of informal language in the text, this is so that the reader can associate with it more fluidly, if it was all formal it would not sound realistic, the informality gives it a touch of personality that readers will appreciate.