Music Magazine Cover Analysis

 This is a cover image for Q magazine. The main image is of the Muse front man Matt Bellamy in a destructive pose, this is portraying his manic personality and is even smashing the Q logo with his guitar. The title for his article is "Matt Bellamy is out of control", this links with his behaviour in the shot. Bellamy has been dressed in black with hints of red even the guitar is black, this keeps in the running  colour scheme of the magazine, the cover lines are also written in these colours. The image is an action shot as can be seen by the blur in his guitar hand and the guitar itself, this suggests aggression and speed which are both very threatening qualities; this all fits into the theme of Bellamy being 'out of control'.

 The difference in logo (to the standard 'Q' used in other issues), is not uncommon in magazines, frequently the image will overlap the masthead or cover it almost entirely. Magazines which are well established are able to do this as very little of the masthead has to visible for it to be recognised, examples of this are Rolling Stones and Vogue.

 The rest of the magazine; left third, skyline and cover lines, fit into the conventions of a magazine. The skyline is an advertisement for itself, giving the reader information about the magazine, this is done so the skyline is visible on the shelf above other magazines. The cover lines are built around the main image, barely over lapping it, this shows again that the issue is centred around this lead article.

 In the left third, there are three articles mentioned, each of the titles are separated by deep red lines, this gives definition to the left third and the reader can identify each article individually. In the right upper corner there are more cover lines, this time they are in white boxes, this is so the text can be written in black  and red against a grey background, it means they stand out more and makes the cover more interesting.

 Finally the lower right hand corner has the only other image on the cover, and uses three different colours for its title, the number 200 is written in the boldest colour to grab attention, the band's name, The Beatles, is written also in a bold colour against the background, but the more informative part of the title is written in a bland colour. This is done because the two key parts of the title will grab the reader, 200 and Beatles already gives an idea about the article so the 'things you didn't know about' will only be read once the reader is engaged in it.

Centre Number 18125