What type of magazine is it?
VIBE is a leading music lifestyle media company that publishes the magazine and aims to excel in reporting entertainment, fashion, politics, and culture features for a multicultural audience in print and online. VIBE magazine describe themselves as ‘the definitive voice of urban culture, influencing global music, life, and style for more than eight million readers around the world’.
From the front cover what kinds of issues/articles are going to be inside?
The main image depicts R. Kelly in what appears a moment of reflection; the masthead reads VIBE written in its signature font and font size, above the strap line reads “R. Kelly the Porn Charges the New Songs”. To the left of this is a button depicting “SPECIAL REPORT” therefore this implies it’s a unique story and gives us an insight to what the main article is. From this we can infer the article will explore the accusations R. Kelly’s facing, and his explanation as well as some of his new, up and coming releases. This idea is continued on towards the bottom of the front cover where the kicker and explanatory text reads “The genius king of R&B has yet to go to trial… Is he Innocent? Guilty? Or guilty of being rich, black and famous?” the rhetorical questioning suggest there is much controversy over the charges R. Kelly faces, however his reputation remains in tact, “The genius king of R&B”, this also entices the reader and is directed at the target audience to make them question . Another button in the bottom right corner cleverly uses a pun to suggest there’s an article about motorbikes/motorcycles; “Riding’ Dirty Summers sickest motorcycles” within the magazine. In the middle area on the left and right hand side lists other A-list celebrity names that are also featured in the magazine.
Who is the target audience for the magazine? What particular age group? What are their interests? How do you know all of this?
The magazine's target audience is predominantly young, urban followers of hip-hop culture, it primarily features R&B and Hip-Hop artist, actors or any other entertainers, its publications mainly attract younger readers of many ethnicities. I can infer this as famous cover subjects are Mary J Blige , TLC, Aalyiah, Brandy, Snopp Dogg, Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Keyshia Cole, Lil Wayne, The Fugees, Eminem , T.I, R.kelly, Michael Jackson and Ciara. There interests can range from bike riding, to listening to varied artist music.
What mode of address is the magazine using? What does this tell you about the type of relationship it wants with its reader?
There is a direct mode of address, the use inclusive language, such as rhetorical questioning allows the reader to question the article but also entices them into reading it. Therefore Vibe has a way of engaging the reader in order to gain a comfortable relationship, but also keeping them as a follower.
Who is on the front cover and why?
R. Kelly is featured on this particular front cover as even after plenty of allegations, denials, hearings, motions and countermotions, but no sign of justice of the Indicement on child-pornography charges, he’s still able to produce chart topping hits, collecting awards and touring the world. Despite the allegations he still remains to be known for his memorable music
What does the main cover line say? What does this imply about the artist/band?? What overall message is the artist/band giving?
The main coverline reads; 'The genius king of R&B is yet to go to trial. Is he innocent? guilty? or cruilty of being rich, black and famous?' this is important as it questions rape alligations currently heald against the star and suggestive it may be cruilty of circumstance. The fact he's referred to as the king of R&B suggests he is an extremely memorable artist amongst the genre, creating historical works that will be remembered by all. The overall message implies we are learning the 'true' story, allowing us to hear his side, but also his interpretations of his own music.
Are any (social/ethnic/political) groups being represented? How does the magazine represent them?
In this particular issue we are presented with a black american, most music artists use their music as a way of presenting the public with their individual life experiences. However R kelly
had a reasonable upbringing attending high school where his teacher inspired him to become a singer, he's not only a singer but also a music producer. He could be considered a positive male icon (despite the alligations) as he represents the postives of gaining an education, aswell as being black and sucessful.
Are there any ‘buzz’ words? What effect does it have on the reader?
The only buzz word on this article is 'sickest', this use of colloquial language is inclusive and addresses a specific age group and is lingo commonly used amongst the target audience. This therefore attracts the reader as it is language they commonly use and is contrasting to the rest of the text on the page which is formal therefore making is more appealing and eye catching.
What does the design of the mast head tell you about the magazine?
What does the title of the magazine tell you about:1. the readership2. Its image analysis 3. Its style?
The design of the mast head is extremely thick and bold, which suggest the target readership are bold and vibrant, and emphasises the style and genre of music. However its simplicity suggest there is no specified interest needed and therefore broaden the target readership as it doesnt exlude any type of person. To look at, it immediatly jumps out of the page and fills most of the top part of the page. Its of a simple black font and there is no specified styling.
what do the ‘kickers’ in the cover lines suggest will be inside the magazine? What does this tell you about the type of audience the magazine expects to get?
The main coverline reads 'The genius king of R&B has yet to go to trial. Is he innocent? guilty? or guilty of being rich, black and famous?' this introduces the main article of R.Kelly who is depicted on the front cover of the image. Therefore suggests to the reader the article talks about R.Kelly and the rape alligations he is currently facing, aswell as whether he feels a victim of discrimination purely because of his race, career and social standing. The other coverlines and kickers read music artist names such as 'Pretty Boy Floyd', as a reader we immediatly assume there will be features or articles based around these artists.
Is there a strap line/selling line/slogan? What does it tell you about the magazine? How does it help to attract readers?
In a button at the bottom right hand side of the corner there is a selling line 'Ridin dirty summers most sickest motercyles', the fact its at the bottom right hand side means its the last the reader will see and immediatly draws their attention. Its play on words are memorable R&B lyrics but also play on the fact the magazine has a features based on motercycles which are usually ridden on dirt tracks, hence the riding dirty. This therefore broadens the target audience as most of the music artist featured on the front cover are R&B artists, however this includes any person who shares a keen interest in motercyling as a sport or simply looking at bikes.
What colours are used? Do you find them attractive?
The background colour is a simple grey to white wash, with R.Kelly consuming the centre of the page, he's clothed in a red t-shirt which the editor has used to influence the choice of text colour. A selection of the cover lines, the button and the insert are all red. The rest of the text colour range from white, yellow and black. The text seen at top and bottom of the cover image have a theme of yellow and white, whereas the middle area of the front cover is a blend of black and red text. The arrangement of text and colour around the centre image, makes it all the more enticing and contributes to its attraction.
What strategies does the magazine use to attract the audience?
In the main coverline, the words 'innocent?' and 'guilty?' are yellow and slanted, and are also of larger font size, making them stand out, whereas the rest of the sentence is of a white font. This gains the readers attention, not only this but the image itself is cleverly taken, the artists positiong suggest his stress and anger over the issues raised in the article
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