Research and Planning: Contents page analyses

Contents page analyses:

Audience:
The audience the writers are trying to reach with this magazine contents page are metal/alternative fans between the ages of 18-25. I think this because the bands included within the contents page are hardcore classic metal and alternative bands who are loved by younger adults who have grown up with these bands. Bands such as Slipknot and Korn are notorious for having a reputation for drugs, alcohol and violence which are qualities that are associated with older teenagers and young adults. The topics of conversation within the content such as fighting and "dissecting dead bodies" are subjects which are too vivid and disturbing for young teenagers therefore the contents has to be hitting at least a young adult criteria. The text is in a formal setting, organised and in columns which creates a professional look which is more appreciated by adults as they don't care about flashy images and bright colours. However, the images are overlapping and slanted therefore still adding creativity which can still be loved by young adults as it is still aiming at there youthfulness.

Representation:
Except Slipknot who are known for wearing masks and scary clothing, the rest of the bands and their members are wearing normal formal clothing which is used to represent that the band members are down to earth and don't need no fancy clothing to represent their music.
The bands that are on the front cover are very popular bands such as Slipknot and Korn which are used to represent that this magazine includes information about all the famous bands and not just small unknown bands therefore influencing a customer to buy the magazine.

Layout:
The contents page is dominated by images which is used so that the images are the first feature seen by the reader on the page. The images of the bands will therefore intise the reader to continue to read the next pages as the reader will therefore know these bands on the contents page are included in the magazine and they may want to read about them.
The writing is placed in columns with page numbers creating a professional look which the target audience of 18-25 will appreciate as they are older and care more about the information in the magazine rather than how it is portrayed.

Genre:
There are some features included in the contents page that represent the metal genre. The first one is the bands themselves as a large image of Slipknot and Korn, the biggest metal bands in the world, portrays the contents page is about metal music. The second feature is the colour scheme. White, black and red are colours that are bland and colours which are associated with darker connotations such as demons and horror which relate to metal music. Also, pop and rap magazines associated with flashy colours and altered images of models with informal clothing therefore this contents page differs from the other features of rap and pop therefore leaving the rock and metal genres.