Textual Analysis: Music Magazine

Textual Analysis: Gospel Magazine.

Masthead:

Heart & Soul’s masthead is unique as it is all White. Usually other magazines have their mastheads in other bright and bold colours that catch the attention of the target audience. The font that is used is a Gill Sans MT font. This makes the magazine front cover appear classier; rather than just making it look like just any other music magazine.

The White colour that is used for the masthead can imply that gospel music is pure and brings light for its listeners; as the colour White signifies purity and light. The colour White is also mainly used in decorating and fashion because it is light, neutral and goes with everything.

Denotation:

The image on that is used on the front cover is a medium long shot, showing their head, arms and waist. The background of the photograph has the setting of the sea and this covers the whole magazine front cover. Above their head is a “Hear & Soul” masthead and in front of the image are 6 different cover lines in White, Yellow and Blue. The photographed women have their name on the top left of the front cover, in White. Above the masthead are 3 different cover lines in Pink, Blue and Orange; the Yellow dots are used to separate the issues.

These 3 colours are used because they are eye catching colours. Yellow is seen as a summery and optimistic colour in this case, it is used to brighten the cover page. Blue is used because it corresponds with the colour of the ocean. Orange is also used to catch the eye of the reader as it is another bright colour. Under the 6^th cover line on the right side of the front cover are Blue arrows to separate the different issues and topics. Below the masthead are 3 words “healthy, wealthy and wise.” This is referring to the artists and the reason of their come back; they feel healthy wealthy and wise.

 They also want to inform their readers and fans about ways in which to be healthy, wealthy and wise. There is also a dateline which is June/July 2009. The website of the producers of the magazine is highlighted on the masthead in Blue. A barcode is in the bottom left of the cover.

Characters:

 The photograph on the front cover is of the successful American gospel singers, Mary Mary.  Composition: they are both posed in a very calm and welcoming way. Their clothes, body language and facial expression brighten the magazine front cover.                                                                Costume: Erica is wearing a Yellow and White V-neck style top which is mainly Yellow on top of Blue jeans. Tina is wearing a round neck Yellow and Pink top.  This costume has been selected to appeal to their audience who are most likely to be female than male.                                                                N.V.C:  Their non verbal communication is very friendly and warm. They both smile and look directly into the camera.                   

Lighting: The lighting that is used is high key as the photograph is supposed to show daytime/sun-set.                                                                                                                                                                   Setting: The photograph is set outside on the beach. The sea is full of waves and the characters look like they are seating just at the edge of the water on the sand.

Cover lines:

The main cover line that relates to the main photograph “Sister Act: Mary Mary works it out.” This is making reference to the fact that the sisters are back at releasing their gospel records. In this magazine, they discuss weight loss and exercise. The cover lines also tell us that the magazine doesn’t only focus on “gospel” itself. However, they also discuss family life; marriage life and how to be healthy. The cover lines in White are made bold to stand out as the main issues in the magazine.  They are in different fonts which suggest that they are different issues.

The cover line in Blue stands out as it is in a different colour to other colours that were used on the front cover. This suggests that it is the main reason of Mary Mary’s come back and weight loss. The other cover lines with different colours are in Light yellow and Golden yellow. This matches with the clothing that the characters are wearing. This suggests that these issues relate to the characters in the image as they are “mums” and “sisters”.

Target Audience:

The target audience would be mainly females aged 25-45 that have an interest in gospel music. They would also have an interest in such issues; For example “beauty foods” and “what men wish you knew.” They are likely to be well read and have an interest in Mary Mary and American gospel music.