Textual Analysis - Uncut Magazine

Issue number: 155

Date: April 2010

Fonts – two different types

Colours - red, black, white, grey

Ratio of pictures to writing is approximately 2:1

Layout – text is either side of main picture

Buzz words – ‘free’ and ‘visionary’

Puff line – ‘exclusive new interviews’

Price - £4.50

Audience – Male aged 25-45.

The magazine Uncut is a monthly music magazine based in London, which focuses mainly on music of the Americana, Rock and Alternative Country genres. Issues have covered music legends such as Radiohead, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, The Byrds, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Pink Floyd, Queen, Led Zeppelin and more. Uncut is the main inspiration for my own magazine (Beyond) as it portrays similar ideas and themes that I would imagine my magazine to consist of. This magazine is aimed at a generally male audience of age range 25-45, with a male majority of 86%. This suggests that everything on the front cover of the magazine is attractive to that population, for example, the celebrity featured may be most well known to people of that age group. Beyond will differ considerably compared to Uncut in terms of audience as I will be aiming mine at both genders, of the 18-30 age range. I chose this age range because it is an age range I can most relate to, and therefore will have experience in what is attractive and relative to these ages. However, the genre of music that Beyond will represent is similar, focusing on Alternative Rock music. Referring to the results of my questionnaire (figure) I believe that Rock is one of the most popular genres of music for 16-20 year olds, and 21-25 year olds, so my magazine should fit well into the music magazine market.

I really like the colour scheme of this April 2010 issue of Uncut, which uses mainly black, white and grey with red items standing out the most. For example on the front cover, the title of the magazine is a bold red, and being surrounded by a less colourful background it is extremely noticeable and attention-grabbing. Even the main picture is in black and white. As my magazine will focus on a younger audience, I hope to use a similar colour scheme, but perhaps include another colour so to look a little more attractive for younger adults. There are two different style fonts, which allow the page to have a consistent theme and so not to look overpowering and confusing, which many different fonts and colours cause. The layout of most issues of Uncut consists of a main picture and a free CD, framed by text. A large area toward the bottom of the magazine is left for the free CD to be placed. This layout allows the picture to be seen whilst a large amount of text still being shown. The celebrity being centred on the front cover suggests that it is clearly a significant aspect of one of the most important articles inside. The anchoring text to the left of the picture explains the article briefly, and combined with the puff line ‘exclusive new interviews’ this part of the front cover is the key attraction to the audience. This puff line is attractive to the audience as it implies they cannot read about that interview in any other magazine, so it is worth the cost of buying it. Another example of a puff line on this front cover is ‘Welcome to her visionary world’, which welcomes the audience, making the article appealing because the audience feel they belong to a group that are allowed to view it. Buzz words such as ‘Free’ and ‘Exclusive’ are ‘short and snappy’ active, lively ways of attracting an audience who are looking for an interesting read. The layout of my magazine will differ greatly as I will not be including a CD, however it may include another promotion such as a competition, so I may keep an area on the front cover to advertise that. Another aspect of the layout of this Uncut font cover is picture coverage. There are only two pictures, the main picture and one small picture at the top as anchorage for one of the music artists’ names. The pictures take up perhaps 50% of the front page in relation to the text, and combined with the cover of the CD probably brings this figure to two thirds, making a picture: text ratio of 2:1. This is a considerable amount and signifies the attraction of pictures and colour (if only a little), and the power of information about a celebrity, someone the audience will admire. Therefore, when creating the front cover of my own magazine, I will certainly take this into account as an important aspect of magazines in attracting the audience.

The barcode is quite discreet in the bottom right-hand corner of the front cover, an appropriate size and once again placed at the edge of the cover, leaving space for the CD. Being black and white it does not attract attention to itself unnecessarily, and instead keeps the colour scheme of black, white and red, consistent. The barcode also has on it the price of the magazine. The price is a very significant part of magazine in terms of circulation and whether it appeals to the audience. The price of Uncut magazine is £4.50, expensive for magazines in general but for music magazines only just above average, as most music magazines range from £2.50 – 5. As it promotes a free CD as well as the magazine, to the audience this is good value for their money, as many magazines are the same price without the free music. As the audience age ranges from 25-45 year olds, they are more likely to be able to spend that sort of money monthly compared to younger people such as students. This I must consider when creating Beyond, because without a free item and with an audience of 18-30 years old, it is perhaps more realistic to price my magazine at the £3.50 mark, still suggesting high quality but at a reasonable price for the young adult age group.

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