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Appendix 1: The Generic conventions of a music magazine
This task fulfils Assessment Objective 4. This is the cover page for DJ Mag, a popular
dance music magazine, which I will be analysing in this video. It contains many generic conventions
which I will be going over. The first feature is the masthead, which includes
the logo for DJ Mag, and represents the magazine’s house style, which is small and uncluttered.
The magazine’s slogan “living and breathing dance music” is displayed underneath the
logo, and the website link is shown inside the logo.
Next is the cover lines; there are about 8 of them on this cover, most of which include
subheadings, giving more information about these specific features of the magazine. The
main part of the cover line is in bold, usually emphasising the title of the article.
The main cover line is situated in the middle of the page, but is larger than the rest of
the text on the page, displaying more emphasis than the rest of the cover lines. It informs
the reader of the double page spread of the magazine. The artist name, in this case Pete
Tong, is always displayed in a sans serif font, like the rest of the cover, as it is
clearer for people to read than other elements of the cover page.
The main cover line is anchored to the main cover image; it is usually a medium close
up of the artist or subject in portrait orientation. Here, the subject is looking directly at the
camera in a ‘direct gaze’ which makes direct eye contact with the reader.
Other features on the magazine cover include the barcode; this includes the issue number,
date, price and the price outside the UK. There are also banners situated in various
locations of the magazine; this banner at the bottom of the page includes other artists
featured in the magazine. This again follows the magazine’s simple house style. Although
not displayed on this image, there is also a small banner at the top of the page referring
to the cover mount CD included with this issue, which will encourage more people to buy the
magazine, knowing they are getting a free gift.