Better known as the NME, the “New Musical Express, is produced by IPC Media. It is published weekly for a price around £2.20. After looking at this particular front cover I would say the NME is aimed at older rock fans, mainly males, but other editions would show the targeted age group is around 20 – 35 year olds. In 2005 the magazine had a redesign in order to attract older readers. They may also look to attract younger indie fans (15 – 20), but I would say this is not their intened target audience.
The NME’s first issue was in March 1952 and int hat year it also set trends by becoming the first paper magazine to include a singles chart. During 1972 and 1976 NME was particularly associated with gonzo journalism, it then became closely associated with punk rock. NME also covers other genres including indie and mainstream rock.
Even though NME remains to be a market leader since 2003 where its circulation figures were high they have declined ever since. This is not just evident with the NME solely but also with the rest of the magazine industry and its close challengers like Kerrang. In 2003 NME’s circulation was 72,442 but in the first half of 2010 circulation figures was at 33,875, this shows a 53% decline in circulation figures since 2003. Despite this NME have tried to retain some fans with ever growing new media, this has been achieved by convergence with internet presence and creating a website.
The colours used ont he front cover are red, black and white, this may suggest that these are the house colours. You also have light blue and bits of yellow that blend in. The masthead is outlined in the three house style colours against the light ice blue background, making it stand out and more prominent. While the magazine’s main colour is red, they don’t over do the use of the red, this wise use of the red enables the magazine to maintain the mature rock status that it intends to appeal to.
The NME is laid out in a conventional way keeping to the traditional codes and conventions. The magazine has a strap line that says “BIG GIG SPECIAL ISSUE” this lets the audience know that something big is happening in this issue. It also contains the more traditional codes and conventions like sell lines, slugs, barcode, price and date. In addition to that, in modern times since convergence is occuring more and more, including the website address is now seen as something that just happens now. However, while the magazine has sell lines and promotes them using ‘special guests’ instead of having a striking phrase near them it just uses the logo’s of the band.
The band on the front cover is ‘Manic street preachers’, they was popular in the 80’s suggesting that the target audience os for older generations. From the main picture all 3 members of the group look directly at the camera, this gives us a direct mode of address. While it giuves the direct mode of address, it also portrays enigma. All the memebrs of the group are dressed with a shade of black. The member in the middle has a Welsh flag on his cheek which implies that he his Welsh and possibly the band is Welsh too. To add to the mystery of the band there is a gap on the right side of the page, while the other 3 members are close together. The story behind this is that one of the members from the group went missing, the positioning of the members re-enforces that. In addition to that the guy in the middle has 3 heart badges, but no fourth, this may show they felt abandonded by the fourth member. The mise en scene of the picture differs, two of the members are wearing military jackets while the one on the right is wearing a causal jean jacket. This makes the band look mature and serious while also keeping up with modern times. This emphaisies the fact that the band was from the 80’s. While also creating a look of enigma the lighting in the photo shows another side to the band. The icey blue lighting behind their heads shows that the band isn’t full of mystery and enigma, but it also holds quality and truthfulness to them.
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