Front cover analysis - Rock Sound

The main thing I notice when I first look at this cover of Rock Sound magazine is the image, as it takes up most of the space. Second to this, my attention is taken by the masthead, which is a vibrant pink colour, contrasting to the bright yellow background, making it stand out. The cover line layout on this magazine is quite random, they are all around the edge of the image and at varying angles, making it look less structured. Some are in round boxing devices and others have a white background colour, but they all follow the same blue/pink/black/yellow/white colour scheme and have similar font styles, ensuring the magazine follows a fixed style and doesn’t look too messy. It is suggested that ‘All Time Low, Don’t Panic… they’re back!’ is the main cover line due to the fact it is the largest of all the cover lines and takes up the most space on the magazine, second to the masthead and main image and so this ensures it is your main focus over the others. Language such as ‘exclusive’, ‘special’, ‘now’, ‘dramatic’ ‘need’ all have high impact on the reader and suggest it is a must have. Similar to Kerrang!, the dateline, issue number and price are all positioned in the bottom right hand corner along with the barcode which is helpful to the reader as they only need to look in one place to be informed of that type of information. However, it doesn't take up much space on the magazine and so doesn't detract from the actual magazine content. Similar to the previous two magazines, the layout of the cover lines does not follow the traditional left third format taken by most magazines selling in western countries, but this may be because the magazine is trying to look more edgy and unusual. The overall layout is quite busy, and there is a lot going on, but I think this reflects the genre of music the magazine is representing, rock.

The main image on this front cover captures all four members from rock/pop band All Time Low. The lead singer of the band is positioned in front of the other members, as well as being enlarged. The image itself is a medium close up shot and does not cover the whole background of the magazine - it is in fact presented as some sort of cut out on top of the magazine, giving it a collaged style. The people featured in the image are wearing casual attire (hoodies, T-shirts and jeans), their style has a cool vibe and would be appealing to a young teenage audience. The main image helps the magazine appear young and fun, due to the styling, facial expressions and hand gestures.

From looking at this cover I would say the overall style of Rock Sound magazine is youthful and hip. I would say the target audience of this magazine is 15 years or younger, due to the unstructured layout of the magazine, bright and vibrant colour scheme, and the styling of the main image. The pink and yellow from the colour scheme does suggest that the magazine is trying to appeal to more of a female audience, but there is no obvious indication that it is aimed at a female only audience. I would say this cover of Rock Sound magazine appeals to young people with an interest in current mainstream rock bands and alternative music.