Maverick Magazine Analysis (Task 2 of AS Media Coursework)

Front Cover Analysis:

-The masthead is bold and black, with a red M. The black letters of the masthead contrast from the pastel cream background, making it eye-catching to the reader and standing out. As for the red M which stands for Maverick,it stands out on the front cover as it is the most bright colour on the cover, as it contrasts from the black font and the pastel cream background. This also attracts the reader. The font of the masthead is sophisticated but also simple. 

-House style.

- 3 colour scheme consisting of white, black and red, but mainly black and white, bringing colour to the cover, making it more eye-catching and appealing, as the colours stand out from the background.

-Cover star attire: Attire consists of pastel colours as well as black and white. The look is innocent and simple, giving a feminine and sweet look to the cover star. The pastel colours (pink and cream) are similar to the background, adding to the feminine and sweet look. The cover star is also wearing cowboy boots which give us the genre of music she makes, in this case, country music. She is also wearing shorts, which expose her legs which  can draw the male audience. 

-Cover star face: Cover star presents a natural smile without baring her teeth, making her look calm . A full face makeup can be seen from the bronzing on her cheekbones and her lip colour is a shade of pink. The pink is similar to her attire, giving her a feminine and young look.  We can also see heavy, dark eye makeup, which also gives her a mature look but still looking feminine.

-Cover star pose: Sitting on the ground with one of her legs stretched out. This makes her look laid-back. By having her elbow laid on her knee makes her look confident as well as relaxed.

-Full body shot. Photo shoot probably took place outside. Since it's outside, there would not be a need for lighting, only having to use natural lighting.
-Cover lines:  "Plus" cover line shows us the other artists featured the magazine but by Kacey's name being the biggest shows us that she is the featured main artist. By her name being bigger in comparison to the other cover lines makes it more eye-catching, so readers interested in Kacey will buy it, showing us that the featured article is about Kacey. Also by having the name of her new song below her name shows us that she is promoting her new song.
-Additionally the cover lines also show the other articles inside the article (e.g. Kalamazoo Girls, The Gibson Retrospective). The fonts of the cover lines are all in caps lock, making them stand out and appeal to the reader. The font is the same for all the cover lines except for the Kacey Musgraves cover line, making the cover line about the cover star stand out amongst the other cover lines and catch the audience's eye, making them want to read the article.
-By there being a cover line that says "Exclusive free DVD & CD Zac Brown Band" draws the reader, either because they are interested in the artist or products which are free are appealing. This will lead to more people buying the magazine, as it includes a free product.
-"Embracing the best of country, folk, bluegrass & roots music" cover line at the bottom of the front cover shows us the genre of music that the magazine is based on. This draws people who are interested in country, folk, bluegrass and roots music, so people would want to buy it.
- The cover line "New releases" may interest whose who are interested in the genre of music that the magazine is based on. By having the "new releases" cover lines draws the reader's attention as they may be interested in the new country music that is being released.
-Top right corner shows the price of the magazine and the bar code is placed on the bottom right corner.

Contents page(1) analysis:

-2 pages for contents page.

-The title for the contents page is bold, big and white. The white text contrasts from the vivid purple sky of the background. The font of the contents page title has a artistic look.The font of the titles for "features"  and "lifestyle" as well as the text boxes on the images, are similar to the contents page title, by which they have a artistic feel. As for the font under the "features" and  "lifestyle" categories as well as the text boxes on the images, they are the same throughout, however there is a change in font size. This is to show the title of the article and a brief description of the article.

-The 3 colour scheme for the contents page consists of oxblood red, grey and white.

-Editorial features: The sections in the contents page are in columns and are aligned, making the contents page organised allowing the articles in the magazine to be seen, making it easy to find the chosen article.

-Images are scattered around the page,showing the different articles featured in the magazine. By being scattered around allows the whole page to be covered instead of having a blank page, catching the readers attention. The images have a white border around them. This makes the images stand out more from the colourful background. It also makes the contents page look organised. 

-The first contents page has the categories "features" and "lifestyle", so readers are able to look under the categories they are interested in and are able to find a article which fits to their interest. The categories are placed in grey text boxes, whilst the text in the boxes are white. This makes the text stand out from the grey boxes.  However at the bottom of the "features" category, the cover star article is in a oxblood red text box. This makes it stand out amongst the "features" category, drawing the reader's attention so they will read it.  

-The images on the contents show Kacey Musgraves, the cover star and images from the CMA Festival in 2014. The image that shows the cover star, Kacey Musgraves is medium shot. Once again, the colour pink can be seen on her attire, giving her a feminine and youthful look.A full face makeup can be seen from the bronzing on her cheekbones and her lip colour is a shade of pink. The pink is similar to her attire, giving her a feminine and young look.  We can also see heavy, dark eye makeup, which also gives her a mature look but still looking feminine. From looking at the image, we can see natural lighting being used from the window behind Kacey, as light from her window is being hit to her back.

-  The images have oxblood red text boxes on them, as if highlighting the images, making them stand out,so the reader would want to read them. By having white text in the oxblood red text boxes, makes the white text contrast with the oxblood, making the text stand out more, making it more eye-catching. 

-The page numbers are displayed in a unique way . Instead of 19, the magazine presents the magazine as 019. This suggests that the magazine goes up to 100. It also differentiates itself from other magazines.

-At the bottom of the contents page, there is another oxblood text box which tells us the issue number of the magazine, showing us how long it has been running.

Contents page (2) analysis:

-The title for the contents is bold, big and white. The white text contrasts from the vivid purple sky of the background.The font of the contents page title has a artistic look.The font of the title for "regulars" is similar to the contents page title, by which it is giving a artistic feel. As for the font under the "regulars" category as well as the text boxes on the images, it is the same throughout, however there is a change in font size. This is to show the title of the article and a brief description of the article.

-The 3 colour scheme for the contents page consists of oxblood red, grey and white.

-Editorial features: The sections in the contents page are in columns and are aligned, making the contents page organised allowing the articles in the magazine to be seen, making it easy to find the chosen article.

-The first page has "features" and "lifestyle" whilst the second page has regulars, separating the important/ popular articles from the unimportant/unpopular articles.  Furthermore, the images are all in the same area however they are not aligned. This makes the page organised and separates the information on the page, allowing the reader to identify the articles and images from one another.

-The categories are placed in grey text boxes, whilst the text in the boxes are white. This makes the text stand out from the grey boxes and makes it look organised.The images have oxblood red text boxes on them, as if highlighting the images, making them stand out,so the reader would want to read them. By having white text in the oxblood red text boxes, makes the white text contrast with the oxblood, making the text stand out more, making it more eye-catching. The images have a white border around them. This makes the images stand out more from the colourful background. It also makes the contents page look organised. As for the three images on the page, the three artists that are presented on the second contents page are Laura Bell Bundy, The Secret Sisters and John & Jacob.

Firstly, by looking at the image of Laura Bell Bundy, the image is a up-close image of her face, clearly showing us the eye makeup she has used. From looking at the background, we can see that the image is not a studio photo shoot. As for the lighting, the use of natural light is evident by the light coming from behind and above.  Similarly with the image of The Secret Sisters, a up-close image with natural lighting. From looking at the image from The Secret Sisters, the use of heavy eye makeup can be seen, along with the dark red lipstick and dark clothing, giving a Gothic look to the duo. As for the image of the band John & Jacob, we can see that the image was from a studio photo shoot , with lighting used. The lighting is evident by which the shadows of the band members can be seen on the background of the image. None of the members are wearing makeup and their attire is similar to a stereotypical band, consisting of casual, grungy clothing.  All the artists promote their new songs by having the title of their new songs under the images, in the oxblood text boxes.

-The page numbers are displayed in a unique way . Instead of 5, the magazine presents the magazine as 005. This suggests that the magazine goes up to 100. It also differentiates itself from other magazines.

Double Page Spread Analysis:
-The colour scheme of the DPS (double page spread) is black and white.The black contrasts from the white so it allows the reader to read the article with ease.
- There are two columns in this page of the featured article however this structure is not consistent, as the other pages featuring Kacey have three columns or 4 columns. Fortunately, even though the number of columns is not the same throughout, the columns are aligned, making the page organised and simple to read.

-The font size remains the same throughout the columns.This makes the double page spread look organised and makes it easy to read.

-The images make the article interesting ,as some readers prefer images instead of a whole page dedicated to text. The images make the article more appealing as a result. 

-The white pull quote on the image  and in the middle of the second column highlight  quotes from Kacey and makes it similar to other magazines which include captions and quotes from artists. The quote also gives us an insight to Kacey, showing us that she appreciates the support with her fans and shows us that she wants her music to make people notice and see differently. The pull quote in the middle of the article, breaks the organised structure of the column. Even though it breaks the column, it makes the pull quote stand out amongst the columns of text. As for the pull quote on the image of the second page, it stands out from the bright and vivid background, so the reader will notice it and would draw the reader's attention to read the article. Furthermore, the font on the pull quotes are different from the font in the columns.. This makes the pull quotes more eye-catching, so the reader will notice them. The font of the pull quotes is in caps lock. By being in caps lock makes them more eye-catching,as text that is caps lock can suggest something important or urgent. This makes the pull quotes more eye-catching.The pull quotes are presented in white text boxes, making it organised

- The font of the drop cap is similar to a font that is mostly related to the Wild West and cowboys. As for the font on the first page, which shows us a full body shoot of Kacey Musgraves, similarly with the drop cap on the second page, it has the same font. This is  due to the genre of music Musgraves creates as country music relates with cowboys and the Wild West. 

-The images both show Musgraves posing.Once again, the colour pink can be seen on her attire, giving her a feminine and youthful look.A full face  makeup can be seen from the bronzing on her cheekbones and her lip colour is a shade of pink. The pink is similar to her attire, giving her a feminine and young look.  We can also see heavy, dark eye makeup, which also gives her a mature look but still looking feminine. From looking at the first  image, we can see natural lighting being used from the window behind Kacey, as light from her window is being hit to her back. Her face shows no emotion, with her lips slighting open. This makes her look relaxed. However, her body language speaks differently. By having her hands on her hips makes her look confident.  As for the second image, she has the same attire and makeup. In this image, the background presents greenery and nature.  The plants in the background look similar to cactus trees, which would be found in hot climates such as in Texas, which is were Musgraves is from. 

-At the bottom right of the page, the magazine title can be seen, branding the magazine. Additionally, the page number can be seen, allowing the reader to find the article.

-The article is about a country artist called Kacey Musgraves.  The journalism in the article is refreshing and unusual ,as it starts by giving some information about her tour in the UK and also gives us some information about the awards she had earned. Then the article becomes a sort of interview without the questions, just quotes or responses. Throughout the text, the tone of voice in the biography and interview is conversational, as the language used is not complex and informal (e.g. "This time I'm getting to play some of the venues that we played last time but some of them are bigger. So it's cool."). Despite her Texas origin, the text shows no sign of slang or incorrect language due to her accent. 

These CD's came along with the magazine for free. By having a free CD attached to the magazine appeals to customers as some may be interested in the genre of music that the magazine is involved in  or they are interested in the band ( Zac Brown Band and Maverick Music) and enjoy the music they make. This will make more people want to buy the magazine and will increase the sales. Additionally, by having the CD's on the magazine, it will help to promote the bands more, creating an increase in fans and make there music more popular, allowing them to make money.

Maverick is published by Hands Media. Hands Media also publishes: Security Buyer, Fire Buyer,  ITM, Showhome magazine, Newhome magazine and ME19 magazine. Maverick has it's own Twitter page, consisting of 1,786 followers  and 1758 followers on Facebook. 

Hands Media's description from Maverick official site:

"Hand Media is independently owned and operated. We currently publish seven titles, three consumer and four business-to-business, as well as producing publishing solutions for a diverse range of clients."

"Hand Media is different from other publishing companies as we have nearly two decades of publishing experience, producing a stable of successful titles that operate in a number of UK and International marketplaces. These encompass both consumer and B2B arenas. Our hardworking, flexible and creative working environment allows us to meet the needs of a diverse range of disciplines for ourselves and our clients."

Source :maverick-country.com

Audience & Institution:

Due to the Maverick media pack being from 2008/2009, I found it difficult to decide whether or not to  put the information from the media pack onto my blog, as the information may have been out-of-date and unreliable. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a media pack from 2014. Furthermore, the information in the Maverick media pack did not include much  information about the audience and it did not provide many  statistics and facts about the audience (e.g. the demographics of the audience, the genders of the audience).

The only statistics I was able to draw from the media pack about the audience of Maverick is that the magazine is read by around 15,000 dedicated music fans and enthusiasts, being sold in stores such as WH Smiths, Borders book stores, HMV and Zavvi music stores, as a way of broadening readership and appeal to a larger audience in other countries. They appeal to a larger audience by also taking over the subscribers of No Depression Magazine and now provide Maverick to readers outside of America, such as the UK.  The media pack also tells us that over 80% of the readers attend a live music gig or festival at least once a month, supporting the first statement made on the list. This information was discovered by a survey. From another survey, the media pack tells us that the readers enjoy a variety of genres, ranging from traditional country, pop country and alternative to acoustic, indie and nu-folk. This information shows us that the magazine does not involve mainstream artists or music, showing us that it may only  appeal to a smaller audience in comparison to other magazines which are involved in RnB and pop music, since RnB and pop music are the most dominant in the music industry.