Music magazine cover

LIIAR Analysis of Billboard magazine cover

Language - The people on the front, the Glee cast and the artists whose songs they have done covers of, are looking straight at the camera, which makes the viewer feel like they're looking right at them. This makes them feel involved and is supported by the sheer amount of eyes looking back at them. The long shot makes the scene seem quite impersonal, which isn't really a good thing . The coverline 'The Power of Glee' is actually a bit of a play on the fact that the Glee Cast made an album of Madonna songs called the 'The Power of Madonna'. The white that 'The Power of' is in matches well with the white of the masthead, which gives it a sense of unity. The fact that the word 'Glee' is in capital letters, boldened and in bright green makes it stand out really well against the rest of the cover. The little subheading underneath the main headline says 'from smash hits to a sold-out tour, how a TV musical about high school geeks became a singular success', which is a good summary of the story and the word 'singular' is really effective because it has the word sing in it, what the Glee Cast do. Most of the people are smiling on this picture, which makes them all seem very cheerful and friendly and you want to read more about people who are nice. The pictures have all been superimposed together due to the fact that all the people on it are quite popular people and it would be very hard to get all those people available for a cover shoot on the same day. Plus some of the pictures, like the one of Madonna, are from a long time ago and literally couldn't be reshot. The pictures look like they've taken a long time to find because they're all very meaningful images. Like the one of Cory Monteith, it's important that they capture his character exactly right so they've scoured and found a picture of him holding his football helmet to show that he's a football player.
Institution - The institution is Billboard magazine, which in turn is owned by the institution of Prometheus Global Media. Prometheus is an American publisher, as is Billboard magazine, and also publishes The Hollywood Reporter, Back Stage and Film Journal International, which are all magazines that have something to do with show business. Due to this, I assume that Billboard is also quite a bit to do with show business. If it isn't then it doesn't really fit in with the theme of the brand. However, I do think that this magazine is to do with that because the Glee Cast is on the cover and she is a huge star internationally. Due to the fact that the magazines published by Prometheus are all to do with one main aspect, we can see that they are not very diverse and maybe do not cater for all tastes.
Ideology - The fact that there's a person in a wheelchair on the cover really emphasizes the fact that the magazine is very much a believer in everybody is equal and nobody should be treat differently just because they are in wheelchair. There's also an Asian on the cover, which rids of any doubt that the magazine has any problem with race issues.
Audience - Due to the fact that Prometheus (the institution that owns Billboard) sells lots of show business related magazines, I assume that this magazine is also to do with show business. If it is then the audience of the magazine will be people who are interested in that kind of thing just as a spectator or who are interested in pursuing a career in show business.
Representation - The magazine using the Glee Cast as their cover models is very good publicity due to the fact that the whole idea of Glee is a group of people who are outcasts, but can be something amazing. It gives out a good message to people and tells their readers that they support people being themselves. This gives them good publicity.

LIIAR Analysis of Kerrang double page spread

Language - The lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong, of the band, Green Day, is looking straight at the viewer, making them feel involved. The bassist and backing vocalist, Mike Dirnt, is also looking straight at the viewer, which creates double the effect. The fact that the drummer, Tre Cool, is not looking attracts attention because he is the only one who isn't, which is intriguing. The same effect occurs when you notice that Mike is not holding a grenade like the other two. The image is a medium shot, which is quite a neutral shot as it creates no statement, unlike a close-up which suggests intimacy. Even from this far away, however, we can see that the band are all wearing makeup on their eyes, which does make a statement. Makeup on men is uncommon, which is why it's so shocking to people when men do wear it. The fact that the trio are wearing makeup tells us that they like to be controversial and like to be unconventional. Most men would be embarrassed to wear makeup in public, but these three flaunt it because they are not ashamed of what they do. The fact that the magazine chose to feature this band even though they're wearing makeup tells us that Kerrang magazine likes the controversial, unconventional kinds of people that others would shun. It also tells us that Kerrang like the shock the reader by using people most people wouldn't think about hiring to be in the magazine. The magazine no masthead due to this being a double page spread as opposed to a cover, however, it does feature a title which reads 'Foxboro Hot Tubs'. The title isn't really that interestingly named, nor is it that eye-catching due to the boring colour chosen for it.

Institution - The institution for this particular magazine is Kerrang, which is part of the bigger institution of Bauer Consumer Media. Bauer produces lots of magazines, from sport magazines to women's weeklies, which tells us that they are quite a diverse company, either that or they know that they can make more money if they make more different types of magazine.
Ideology - The fact that the main image is a picture of a group of men all wearing makeup tells us that this magazine does not turn its nose up at people who do not stick to the usual conventions. The men know that they don't look like people want them to, but they don't care about what other people think because they know who they are. The magazine feels the same way - they know what they are like and don't want to compromise that to suit other people.
Audience - The audience is basically anybody who likes rock music, though more specifically it's aimed at younger people. You would expect it to be students or people who unemployed people due to the price, which is £1.80, as it's not too high for people from the E social classification to buy.
Representation - The people in the main image tell us that the magazine tends to feature those who don't comply with normal rules and regulations and do what they want, for example men who wear makeup. The magazine accepts those members of society who nobody else would, the oddballs so to speak, and moulds them so that they fit into their magazine. They don't change them, they let them be who they want to be, they just help them in reaching their full potential by featuring them in the magazine that lots of people buy. In return, the people featured pay back the favour by promoting the magazine. This is an example of synergy.