Research, Magazine Analysis 2

General

The company that produces GUITAR WORLD is a record company called ; NewBay Media which headquarters in New York City.There is no given target audience according to the publishers website in which affects the reliability of my study on the Magazine.The magazine costs £5.50 or $4.99 in the USA. GUITAR WORLD is published 13 times a year, (12 monthly issues and a holiday issue).The circulation is not revealed which also affects my research and the approximate monthly revenue streams from advertising and circulation are not revealed either.

Analysis of Front cover

The variation of fonts successfully contrast each other. The multicoloured spectrum of the main coverline compliments the title as it doesn't draw attention away from it. The coverlines are not typically placed on the left and right hand side of the magazine they are placed at the bottom meaning there is less space available for cover lines. As well as presenting originality this also presents a balance and lack of busyness on the cover which allows the vibrant colour scheme to work. This could also have a disadvantage as the reader is exposed to minimal information about the content but could also lure them in to look inside. The calm fade affect of the the background supports the busy patterned affect in the foreground. the black and white animation effects of The Beatles makes them merge into the rest of the cover rather than standing out and presenting an importance.

The Cover

The significance of the name of the title; GUITAR WORLD is similar to DJ MAG in addressing the target audience instantly and revealing information about the topic coverage inside.This title connotates music such as Rock and Roll as well as a relation to Guitarists. The masthead/title logo consists of a bold pink colour with a variety of bold colours below. This produces a mixed colour scheme. Unlike DJ MAG there is no relevant symbol such as a guitar to present a successful brand-identity other than the Title itself. The strapline is used to reveal the versatility of Genres inside the magazine; Maroon 5, August Burns Red and Bring me the Horizon.The main image reaches out to the reader by the recognition of the well-known legends of rock; " The Beatles." By using well known musicians for the cover this immediately has a higher likelihood of broadening the attention of more than just the niche market, fans of the band will be attracted the the magazine simply because of the Musicians on the cover. The medium shot of "The Beatles" is almost destroyed with the layers of pattern and the brightness and contrast of the graphics draws attention towards the image. Their clothing compliments the colour scheme. There is use of additional miniature images in the cover which merge into the background. this presents them in a subtle manor not making the layout of the cover look busy and overloaded.The vibrancy of colour on the cover doesn't continue throughout the magazine which can be perceived to be misleading.

The main content promoted by the cover lines;Guitarists guide,projects and reviews.
The connotations of typefaces, graphics and colour are presenting a modern trend and presenting an individuality with a hippy style feel. The language devices identified are the usage of language on the Sub-headings presenting an informality. 

The cover "talks" to the reader by ;

• presenting relevant cover lines; " The Guitarists guide to playing bass." 

• Suitable Artists whom are respected and have succeeded as Guitarists.

• Revealing the free music sheets inside.

• Mentioning topics that are only familiar to the niche market and would alienate others.

Due to the content about Guitars inside the Magazine there is a range of magazines in competition with GUITAR WORLD due to a large population of magazines supporting Guitar based music. A comparison of a rival is Kerrang.

The similarity between GUITAR WORLD and other magazines such as Kerrang are ;

• Same promotion of genres of Music; Indie/Rock
• Both Magazines have the foreground Artist/Artists covering the background font in which suggests that the recognition of the Magazines are so popular they don't need to expose the complete title.

• The "busy" layout of the cover lines  images and text.
• The type of advertising; both magazines promote music related things such as Artists, Albums and Concerts etc.
• GUITAR WORLD and Kerrang both have a medium-long shot.
• Kerrang is produced weekly affecting the amount of circulation in comparison to GUITAR WORLD which is produced monthly.
• Kerrang attracts a larger niche market whereas GUITAR WORLD is more specific.
• Both Magazines provide free items to lure the reader in. The December issue of Kerrang gives a 7 free posters and GUITAR WORLD gives free music sheets inside.
• Being a weekly magazine Kerrang costs £2.20 whereas GUITAR WORLD being a monthly magazine costs £ 5.50

Inside 

There are 179 pages.
There are 75 pages of adverts.

The different types of products advertised are;

• Guitars and Appliances e.g pedals and Amplifiers 

• Suitable Artist promotion that compliment the Genre 

The "types" of features and articles are; Music - Singles, Albums , Compilations. Learning- A guide to playing guitar as well as free music and transcriptions. Artists- Interviews with Artists about upcoming releases. Columns- Articles written by respectable journalists.

There are 12 spreads throughout the magazine which tends to fluctuate from 2-4 pages per spread.

Focus on an Artist- The most common spreads including discussion with upcoming Artists and Critic reviews.
USP-  I feel the unique selling point of GUITAR WORLD is the  daring colour contrast and meaning competition are not entitled to provide the same item. Also the use of an edited cartoon affect  on and original image on the cover is an original selling point.

 The topic content is harder to identify and locate in comparison to the features. The topics listed under  "Departments" are; 
 Woodshed, Sounding Board- Letters, reader art and Defenders of the faith, Tune-ups- All spreads involving Artists, Soundcheck- Guitar features and parts, Columns- Critic Reviews  and Last licks- how to play legato runs.                                                               

Usage of "advertioals" is successfully done because all the Artists mentioned either promote their equipment or upcoming album; " " I think this is a negative factor as a large majority of the magazines pages are devoted to advertisement.
The magazine presents a unified "housestyle" by unique layout and presentation of creativity throughout. The " house style" is appropriate for the target audience as it presents an edgy, rock style feel.