Magazine Covers for Music

The magazine cover shows Michael Jackson, who was at the time an active member of the band 'The Jackson 5'. The band had taken the global charts by storm, this explains the lack of an explanation as to who Michael is on the cover.

The page is taken almost completely up by Michael, with small text in the bottom left. Several titles on the side and a large 'Record Mirror' as the header. Having Michael as the cover, along with the lack of text implies that particular issue is solely focusing on Michael. The red background helps Michael's colourless photo stand out, an effective tool utilised to help garner the consumers attention.

The title 'Rolling Stone' is red, similar to the text on the magazine. The red is bright and bold, grabbing the viewers attention. The magazine being cluttered and full of information is a design choice, which, as a result, makes customers want to purchase the magazine as they believe there will be a rich variety of content. The focus is on Prince, however, as the title on the left further enhances this. Having the only image as prince with 'Faith! Funk! Sex!' and 'Prince On Fire!' aids to perpetuate Prince's band by labeling him with valued traits. Prince breaking the fourth wall and staring right into the camera adds a certain intimacy with the piece, it suddenly seems so much more personal than the average magazine.

This cover has more going on than the last two. Daft Punk are clearly centered, with big yellow text advertising their name. The font and other images such as the stars are incorporated on the cover to reflect the enjoyment one would have reading it as bright colours and stars have connotations of joy and fun. The headlines placed at the side show that, whilst the magazine sole focus is upon Daft Punk, it is not limited to the stories revolving around them. Rather, it shows that the magazine has a varied amount of content, even though it primarily focuses on Daft Punk. This helps to reach a wider audience than being constrained by the sales of only Daft Punk fans. A wider range of content will aid the newspapers' sales as it'll more likely attract far more people.

The blend of colours, the font and the animation of the figure are all quite urban and appeal to a specific demographic of those who are fans of this type of branding. Along with the bold and wide font, the image portrayed is almost psychedelic in its' style. The main image shows an artist, the central point of the issue, in animated form. By veering away from the norm and incorporating this animation, the magazine company are implying that there is a lot more to expect from this issue than normal music magazines. Next to him are various other sub-headers telling you about different acts. This is relatively simplistic compared to a gossip magazine, for example 'Ok!' magazine.The large pink title reinforces themes of Sex, Lust and Soul, Jazz and funk are often affiliated with these labels and so, the magazine is subconsciously categories by the consumer who stumbles upon it. 

'SONIK' magazine has a black and white picture of Marvin Gaye with blue text surrounding him. This is a very plain and simple colour scheme, emphasising the laid-back vibe that the magazine has set out to portray. So, although there are a lot of things to read, the colour scheme presents an almost minimalist cover. The large title of 'Marvin Gaye' is to catch the consumer's eye. Having him look at the sky suggests a journey that he's gone through/is going through. Fans of Gaye would instantly be aroused by such a cover.