Front Cover Analysis - Mojo

The title is placed at the top of the page, in the centre, which is quite a dominant position to be in, however, as it is being obstructed, and only showing small parts of the word for the reader to see, it tells you that they are deliberately making it less obvious, and making the picture the main focus of the cover. The fact that it is being obstructed shows you that it is a well-established brand, and that people know what it is simply by seeing snippets of it’s name. There is no ‘Puff’ or strapline being used, this shows even further how they don’t need this kind of thing to entice their readers, and that the name alone will do this for them.

The use of dates here in ‘Nirvana 1991’, suggests that they are deliberately aiming at an older audience, people who can remember back to that time, and therefore be interested in the music from that era. Also, by using a picture that looks old-fashioned, and faded suggests it has been around for a long time, further implying that they are aiming at an older audience. The use of the word ‘Nirvana’, makes the reader think of it’s connotations, they associate it with relaxing, no suffering, and generally being very calm. This suggests that they are aiming more at the ‘hippie’ music root, which is also associated with being very calm and with no suffering or desire. This magazine could be aimed at both males and females, the colours, mainly yellow and grey, are very gender neutral. Although the band on the front is male, suggesting it would be aimed more towards males, as females generally purchase magazines more often than males, the ratio of males to females would be close to 50:50.

Dominant image:

The dominant image of the magazine is pictured above. Of the three men  on the front, the middle one is wearing sunglasses, blocking his eyes from the reader, this is suggesting that he is somehow being deliberately separated from the other two bad members. The other two are looking you in the eye, making a connection with the reader, as though they are relating to their fans, and being involved. Their body language is generally very casual, showing that they almost ‘don’t care’, which is currently believed to be cool. As they are wearing casual normal clothes, it makes them relatable to the reader. The picture doesn’t look posed, so it makes them seem even more natural and similar to the person reading the magazine. From the image, you would think that the magazine is aimed at the younger generation, perhaps mid-teens, due to the pose and the styles they are wearing, e.g. the backwards hat. This image appeals to the target audience because of the old fashioned look it has to it, as well as how relatable they are to the reader. 

This strapline is promoting an article inside the magazine by using a quote. As it sounds so dramatic, the readers instantly feel emotionally invested in it, and feel as though they need to read more. They may also find that by making it so dramatic, it interests people, and makes them want to read more information about it, discover what it is all about, and entice them to buy it.

The ‘freebie’ here entices the reader even more so to buy the magazine, thinking they are getting value for their money. It tells you that they are genuinely interested in music, and perhaps even music artists themselves. As many people may even buy this magazine solely for the ‘freebie’, it suggests that they collect this kind of thing, and maybe even the genre of music specific to the magazine. 

The layout of the front cover is fairly conventional. It isn’t all straight lines, and it doesn’t all fit perfectly together, for example some of the text is at an angle, and even the picture in the top corner is at an angle. However this suggests that it isn’t perfect or trying to be too impressive, and so it makes people more likely to buy it, believing that they aren’t trying to set any standards at who their readers are. The magazine doesn’t directly address the reader, and the use of the words ‘The Unseen Archive’ show that the tone of it is fairly formal.