Research & Planning: MixMag Double Page Spread Analysis

Double Page Spread © MixMag Publications

This is a double page spread taken from popular music magazine, MixMag. I have chosen to analyse this example as I think my own music magazine will have a similar feel as this one. I also feel it is appropriate as my magazine's genre is 'Indie Pop', which is very similar to MixMag's genre, although they have focused more on the 'Pop' aspect of the genre (which is more broad) as well as dance and 'clubbing' music. I will analyse this for it's use of genre, audience, layout, shot type and representation.

MixMag describes itself as "The world's biggest dance music and clubbing magazine" [1]. There are several tell-tale signs that correspond with the genre the magazine is focusing on that are visible on this double page spread. One of these is typographical aspects of the design. The font used, for example in the headline "Slave", is very fresh and modern, almost futuristic. This text is accompanied with a 'deck, which is displayed in a sans-serif font; again to emphasise the modernism of this music magazine. I say this because traditionally, serif fonts were used in literature when presses were first introduced. With the advent of the internet and digital presses, sans-serif fonts have become more and more popular and are seen to be clean and minimal - which reflects it's genre's audience stereotype.

The audience of this magazine is described as "the opinion formers and leaders in clubbing. They are the ones who make the happening music happen and the cool products cool within their peer group" [2]. Their demographic "spans across young budding bedroom DJs through to accomplished producers" [3]. The majority of it's readers are male (72%), and the median age of these readers are aged 24 [4].

The layout of this double page spread is pretty typical of a music magazine. There is a headline, "SLAVE", and beneath it is a byline and beneath that, a deck. The lead has a dropped capital to emphasise the article and attract the readers attention to it. The art (photograph, in this case) is accompanied by a short caption. At the bottom of the page, we can also see a short folio with the page number and genre.

The shot type used for the photography is a medium-long two shot - this has been used to emphasise the subjects in the image. The picture itself has has had a sepia effect added onto it, so it fits in with the three colour rule used throughout the page. The picture is an action shot of the two people walking, this adds interest to the picture.

Throughout this double page spread the magazines readers have been represented as club-goers and dance lovers. The deck's first few words read "Drink, drugs" - this pretty much sums up the target audience for this specific piece. Unfortunately, the magazine has stereotyped it's readers as those that regularly drink and possibly use drugs and so they have used these words to try and relate to it's audience as it believes they are interested in such subjects.


References:
[1] MixMag Advertising/Media Pack: http://www.mixmag.net/node/111 20/10/2012
[2] MixMag Advertising/Media Pack: http://www.mixmag.net/node/111 20/10/2012
[3] MixMag Advertising/Media Pack: http://www.mixmag.net/node/111 20/10/2012
[4] MixMag Advertising/Media Pack: http://www.mixmag.net/node/111 20/10/2012