The target audience for rocksound are people that listen to rock, the sub genres spread from heavy metal to punk rock music, with bands such as Placebo and Sepultra.The magazine does not particular aim its work at either males or females, however the magazine does seem to be male dominant and is made up of dark colours. There is no particular age group because the magazine is music taste dependent, not age.
Finally Rocksound is a niche magazine, even though it is sold world wide, it is aimed at a smaller audience.
Front cover
Only one image used on the cover to be used as the cover image. The image is of the vocalist from The Gallows.
The image has been taken from a low angle, indicating that he is more dominant and superior to the reader. His facial expression is telling the readers that he ‘doesn’t care’.
His head is raised above the camera despite the fact the image has been taken from a low angle, this represents further his dominance. He is wearing a vest top, which allows us to see his arms and shoulders, from this we can see a vast amount of tattoos. This tells us more about him, it makes him look very aggressive, as it adds to his facial expression. Another key feature to his body language/movements, is that he is giving an obscene hand gesture. This also signifies the aggression from this particular character, this way in which he has been mediated means that he is a threatening person.
The use of the rule of thirds has also been used in order to create more impact, his hand gesture is in the centre of the ‘rule of thirds’ grid, because of this it draws attention straight to the gesture. The hand gesture is not completely in focus, but his face is, this is then to pull attention from his hand, to his face.
The masthead has been placed at the top of the page, bold and white against a black background. This makes the masthead stand out from the rest of the page and makes it easier to see than if it was a darker colour. The masthead name itself is very simple, Rocksound. This obviously means the magazine, is aimed at the rock sound, rock music. The S in the sound is covered by the male features head, this is possibly because the magazine is well known, and does not need to be fully seen.
The mode of address for this magazine is ‘teacher student’, this is because of the professional look and how the front cover has been mediated to show that the person on the front appears to be much more dominant than the reader.
On the front page we can see that the headings and the quote are all yellow, and the rest is white. This becomes the house style throughout the front cover. For example, the world ‘Plus’ on the left hand side of the page is in yellow, and the list of bands underneath is yellow, and in the same font. However at the top of the page ‘FREE CD’ is yellow, but is in a different cold, bold and underlined. This is used as a bribe for the reader, that if they buy this they will get a free CD.
The house style in the rest of the magazine does not follow the house style of t he front cover, it mainly has black backgrounds, with white writing and additional one other colour font. This does still fit the general house style used.
Underneath the masthead there is Rocksound’s sell line, New Music First. This simply connotes the fact, that Rocksound will get the new music to you before anyone else. On the left side underneath the masthead, ‘we’re putting the boll*cks back in rock” is used beside the image of the main feature, as the pull line. The use of the swear word is also connoting the aggression coming from the male.
Near the bottom right hand side of the front cover there are two images, the anchorage clearly tells us these are going to be the ‘giant’ posters within the issue. The images also anchor the text too. The two images are overlapped, this symbolises the ‘rock’ attitude look. Also there is a white circle with '110+' within, this circle is shaped like a sticker, making it seem like a sticker that belongs on the front of a CD cover.
Contents PageThe contents page is broken up into sections which make the pages easier to find. In Rocksound there are the feature articles at the top.
these are much more clear than the rest of the page. This not only to make sure these are the first seen, but because the main features are what they're trying to sell.
The image used beside the features section of the page, is an image of a male using the 'metal fingers' with both hands. And on him there is a number 22, page number. The hands signify metal music, and that the article/articles that are going to be on the page, are to do with heavy music. The image is also anchored by the contents and the page number to show that this image is to do with the 'readers pole'.
The house style is different on this page than from on the front cover, however it is still similar, using simple colours and easy to read structure. The colours used are red, white and black, throughout the magazine they're used often.
The left hand side of the page is the contents, and these two sections are split up into two. The first one being the main features of the magazine, and the second, the regulars. The right side of the page is written by the editor, and underneath that section, people who worked on the magazine.
The features part of the contents has two images, this is to attract the readers to be looking at the main features of the magazine. The three people used within the two images are all looking at the camera, this makes the coming articles seem much more personal. These images also show what is going to be on the specified pages.
Double Page Spread
Straight away looking at this double page spread, you can see that image is very dominant, taking up the left hand page and also part of the right side. The image is of the band Architects. The image is taken from a low angle, symbolising that the band is more dominant than the reader, just like with the front cover. Showing this magazine's mode of address is shown strongly to be teacher to student, by being professional and dominant.
The facial expressions of all the band members are stern and serious. This connotes the fact that the following article will be a serious one, possibly about their career. The low angle shot shows most of their body, from below the waist and up. This shows further the pure dominance the magazine is mediating towards the readers. You can tell by looking at the image that it is edited, contrast is strong between the dark and light. This makes the image look almost artificial, however because of this it makes the band appear much 'darker', fierce and unpleasant. We can clearly tell the frontman of this band, as he has been centered and also infront of his fellow band members. The two members at the back have been mediated to look like they're not as important at the front three people, especially the frontman. The clothes the band are wearing are simple colours, nothing too bright or shocking. This links to the fact their facial expression are bland, and it illustrates to us again that what is going to follow is going to be serious. The background to the image is the sky, however the sky is dark and there are clouds, this connotes further to us that the band and the article are going to be dark, not cheerful.
The image is anchored by the text in the write box in the top left hand page on the left hand side, this is also an advertisement as they use their new album as anchorage, the font in the box fits with the house style from the rest of the magazine as it is used frequently. Also in the bottom left of that page, there is another small black box that shows who is in their image. Above the main article on the right page is the bands name, and also in the bands own font, like their trademark, this makes the magazine more personal with the band. Underneath that is the heading of the article 'STATESIDE STORY' this is also done in the font that Rocksound use for their house style. Underneath the heading is the by-line, which tells us who wrote this article, and took the picture of the band. Sticking out from the rest of the text on this page is the pull line, once again this is in the repeated font used in the magazine. The font looks like it has been written, therefore this seems more personal to the readers.
On the far right hand side of the right page there is a column listing other bands that are called a profession, this is not essential to the article, however it is something the the reader. Underneath this column there are a few images that are anchored by the band names, as they are jobs. We are shows a grave digger, a carpenter, a demon hunger and a pilgrim father.
The guttering between the columns are only small, this makes the text very cramped, and allows the text to be tight together, letting more fit onto the page. Because this has been all the information and images have easily fit onto a double page spead.
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