How are artists normally portrayed on the front of Music Magazines?

Artists are portrayed in a myriad of ways on front covers. Some have Artists face the camera, showing specific emotions, such as shock or happiness, where as others show a specific body pose, and certain body language. To help me understand what constitutes a good front cover picture, I shall look over previous magazines and work out what kind of photo will allow me to access or attain a high grade.

Kerrang!

Firstly, I shall look at the magazine Kerrang!, which is one of the most readily available music magazines in the UK. The issue I have chosen to look at shows the lead singer of the band Paramore turned slightly to her right, holding a photograph of herself. The clothing that is being worn is very simple, though that is more to do with the style of the artist rather than the style of the magazine.

The body language is closed, with her arms being drawn across her chest, to hold the photo next to her face. She has her head turned to one side, and is displaying a look of disgust, and or shock to the reader. Whilst I will not be utilizing a story such as the one featured on the front of this issue of Kerrang!, I might utilize something to do with another photo, as this seems to stand out above everything else on the page, even though there are larger, and more obvious pictures on the front cover.



NME

On the front cover of this NME magazine, the main image is of the lead singer of the band Oasis. His is directly facing the camera, with his head turned slightly to one side. His body posture is very open, and his hands are out in front of him, holding a cup of tea.

The reader's eye is drawn to his face straight away, as it contrasts well with the deep crimson coloured background. He is also wearing a white suit, which is of the same colour as the tea cup, which makes the central image stand out even more. There is also a crimson ring, the same colour as the background located on the right hand.

The main picture only has to contend with a few other smaller photos for the reader's attention. The contrast in colours is something I shall try to take into consideration when I am taking my photographs. I shall only use small photographs to promote additional stories on my front cover.

On the front cover of this NME magazine is the artist known as Mia. The main image is of Mia, sitting down, with her hair blowing back, whilst she is smoking a cigarette.

Her gaze is almost looking down on the reader, as if to show a look of either disapproval, or disgust, which links well into the magazine's main story. Her body is slightly hunched over, which reinforces the idea of disapproval, and suggests to the reader a look of defeat, or futility, once again relating back to the main story of the magazine.

The clothing is a union jack style dress, with a denim jacket over the top. This plain coloured jacket draws the reader's eye to her face, so I shall attempt to utilize a plain colour,as to make my artist's face stand out. I shall also attempt to use pale lighting, as that is utilized in this magazine to good effect.


Q

Here is the front cover of the magazine Q. The artist featured on the front is Matt Bellamy from the band Muse. I really like this front cover, as it seems to be drastically different to all the other covers I have looked at.

The main image, which takes up nearly the entire cover, is of Matt Bellamy smashing the Q logo with his guitar. He isn't looking at the camera, but instead at the logo of the magazine. His body is bent over, as he is finishing swinging his guitar round.

He is wearing a black jacket, which is covered in red lines/linings. This, once again, is more to do with the style of the artist rather than that of the magazine. The look on his face appears to be one of either intense concentration, or one of anger, which would explain why the logo has been smashed.

The background is also fairly plain, which is something I shall take into consideration when taking my photos, for my magazine. I shall also, as with Q and NME, give my artists a unique style, that makes them stand out, like the jacket in this picture.

BBC Music Magazine

Here is the front cover of an issue of the BBC Music Magazine. The artist featured on the front is Sarah Chang. I am not particularly fond of this cover, as it the colouring is too plain for my liking.

Her gaze is directed at the reader, or as though she is looking off into the distance. She is wearing bright colours, which do contrast well with the background, as it is rather plain. She is also holding a violin, which relates to her music.

There are also very few other photographs on the front cover, which doesn't distract from the main image. This is the only thing that I find to be to my liking about this cover, although it is also a feature of a number of other magazines, so it isn't unique to this magazine.