Billboard Magazine Covers Analysis

By analysing these front covers I am able to have a deeper understanding of the magazines house style, their target audience for different features and how they layout and portray language and images to suit different images.

Billboard (stylised as billboard) is an American music magazine, headquartered in New York City, and is owned by Prometheus Global Media. It was first published on November 1, 1894, and is distinguished as being the oldest trade magazine in the world.

This is a new modern masthead for ‘billboard’ magazine, it’s simple lower case letters with a plain san serif bold type face which is vibrant red colour. When changing the logo/masthead the company didn’t make drastic changes, as they believe "Billboard has a more central role in pop culture than any mere trade magazine. It's an American icon, like the Coke Bottle." Therefore we as the reader will easily notice this magazine from its bold colour and simply read typeface, we are expected to recognise such an iconic magazine just by the masthead.

For each issue of the magazine they place the masthead running along the left hand side of the magazine, also depending on the background or feature they display they alter the colour of the mast head, this is done to show more versatility in the house style of the magazine, that minor changes can be made like the colour and the magazine can still be easily recognisable. The main image is a low angle mid still of four young males apart of the pop punk band ‘5 Seconds Of Summer.’ Each individual within the image are enhanced by a bright white luminous background, which helps to create focus on the main image. They are all looking directly into the camera each with different facial expressions that parallel to their different personalities, this laid back, cool, contemporary feel entices young readers as they feel directly ‘pointed at’ by the top left image or directly ‘seen’ by the band creating a personal impact upon the reader which will make them want to read the magazine and find out more. The font on the cover is plain, simple and easy to read; the colour scheme of black and red dominate outwards from the pure white background. The white background may suggest that this band are new, fresh, upcoming talent/music and the red and black is used to correlate with the band own colour scheme and for a more masculine feel to the magazine which will also entice a male audience to read it, this therefore opens up the magazine readership to a wider audience as there is nothing on the cover colour wise or representation to suggest this is a magazine only for female readers.

Published on a monthly basis, Billboard magazine aims their target audience to all lovers of modern music of all genres. Connotations of the name Billboard would relate to Billboards which are used to display or advertise different artists to the public or the Top Billboard 100 or 200 songs list which is based on digital sales, internet streaming and radio play regardless of genre. In this issue of the magazine the Australian based pop/punk/rock band ‘5 Seconds of Summer’ are the main image and the main feature, this new upcoming band are extremely popular with young females between the ages of 8 – 20, therefore for this issue young females would be their target audience. 

The cover is mainly focused on the image and feature of the band, the language code of the magazine is very simplistic, used for younger readers - the colour scheme runs throughout of red, black and white, these colours are used as they will be dominating over the white background. The bold san serif typography again is used to be easily read; '5 Seconds Of Summer... and counting' this feature title uses pun to make it fun and energetic for the reader using the bands name with a coming saying, they may suggest they are are 'counting' on the band to become bigger and better. 'Screaming fans, sold-out shows and No. 1 album: inside the wild European with a pop punk band of boys [Just don't call them a boyband] this anchors the feature title which tells the reader little about the bands achievements, this relaxed, chilled vibe lets the reader feel the same. The text consists of  three cover lines on the cover and they all include elements of colloquial language relating universally to all ages, they are extremely brief with no linking images for the reader, this is done purposely as a enticement technique as readers will want to look inside the magazine at the other features with are included as the cover give no hints or indication of the content within.

The cover overall is extremely plain and defiantly has a complete focus on their title artists as majority of their covers the image of the feature takes up to 70/80% of the page. The simplicity of the cover is a running theme throughout all issues of the magazine which gives off a polished, clean cut magazine that is relatable to all music lovers.  

Billboard (stylised as billboard) is an American music magazine, head quartered in New York City, and is owned by Prometheus Global Media. It was first published on November 1, 1894, and is distinguished as being the oldest trade magazine in the world. The magazine also published sectors to Entertainment Weekly, Vibe Magazine and Complex Magazine. An issue of the magazine is published every month. 

This magazine is called ‘Billboard’ which holds connotations to the Top Billboard of 100/200 songs, and also billboards which are used to steam media to a wide audience. This magazine is focused on all genres of music, from old vintage rock to more modern R&B – the wide range of genres this magazine showcases allows to create a large readership and interest for majority of music lovers could find something tasteful to them. 

The front cover of this issue of Billboard magazine is famous American No. 1 recording artist, dancer and actor Chris Brown. He has a world wide fan base of males and females from the ages of 12+, hence this would be the magazines target audience. They shoot Brown in an attractive way to entice female readers, but also have a male gaze upon the magazine as the colour scheme is based on quite masculine neutral colours. This balance of gender representation will entice both sexes and increase readership. 

The cover has a very neutral colour scheme, the outside of the cover is edged with a dark musty green however it fades inwards to a creamy lime green, the artist is also dressed in this colour scheme with white shirt an combat green jacket with a black hat. His tattoos are a stark focus within the image, we are drawn to them as he displays his chest, we also get a sense of his style fashion and music by his body art and accessories (eg - hat, necklace, nose ring) this quikery style is intriguing for readers as it is unique to the artist. His face is facing the left with his two hands grasping his shirt open, his eyes shut – this may be a mid shot taken in motion, perhaps when he was dancing. The portrayal of this still is quite ‘in the moment’ through his dance he conveys expression of passion and concentration hence why the eyes are shut. Chris Brown is also the main focus of the magazine as his image takes up 80% of the cover and is in front of the mast head text; the audiences first impression of the issue will be on him, however the mast head or magazine will not be damaged as this is an iconic magazine that has been running for over 100 years therefore people are obliged to recognise it instantly.

The san serif type face of all the text featured is extremely simplistic, easy to read and organised. The mast head is a translucent white shade so we can see the foreground of the magazine whilst the text surrounding the image is a crisp pure white which juxtaposes well from the dark neutral colour scheme. The text on the cover is very minimalistic, there is not much more features on the cover as the magazine publishers want this issue to be highlighted and recognised as an [EXCLUSIVE] – this exclusivity is created to inure readers and audience numbers, clearly Chris Browns actions in the past had high speculation, by the magazine getting an interview with him is bond to increase sales as people want to know the inside story. The magazine headline the feature with a pull quote from his actual interview – “Maybe I Was Out Of Control” this lets the reader have a taste of what to expect within the article, we get an understanding of his attitude and personal feelings toward the subject. ?The reader feels that he is speaking directly to us and therefore they feel a personal obligation to read the magazine. This is continued by the small cover line blurb explaining more context of the piece - ‘Chris Brown on Rihanna, life behind bars, his growing faith and facing – finally – his demons in his first post-jail interview’ by adding this in it raises questions within the readers mind which by reading the article they shall be answered. The language used in this feature can be understood by all, extravagant language is not used as this magazine wants to speak to a wide variety of people who are interested in music, by having the language colloquial it allows the magazine to be accessible to all.

There are no other images/graphics on the cover, this is purposely done to create a visual sense of professionalism, the simple layout and minimalistic features all the magazine to look expensive, clean cut and slick. However they do include two noticeably smaller features at the bottom left corner of the cover - ‘Whats behind Cee Lo’s downward spiral?' and 'Inside Taylor Swifts best week ever’ by adding these it will create depth to the magazine so not only Chris Brown fans can be enticed but also members who like Cee Lo Green and Taylor Swift who are also world wide recording artists, by using different types of artists this highlights the vast variety of music that the magazine deals with (Soul to Country Pop).