Research into similar products

Here are two very contrasting music magazine front covers and I am analysis the effectiveness of the main cover image.

The first magazine is a Rock music magazine tailored to classic rock fans and as you can see it has a photo of a rock artist for its main image. This image is effective because the artist is wearing 'cool' 'edgy' clothing that tells the audience what kind of artist he is and also the fact that he has a bland facial expression gives off this 'not caring' vibe which stereotypically teenagers who are a fan of this music genre are. Furthermore the low key lighting used for the main image is effective because it gives off a dark aura which normally rock music is linked to therefore appealing to it target audience.

The second music magazine is a pop magazine targeted at young teenage girls. The main cover image is a photo of the famous British pop band One direction which automatically appeals to its target audience as they a very popular with teenage girls and also the fact that they are all happy and smiling in the photo of  them instantly gives off a positive vibe which the magazine is aiming for. Also high key lighting is used relates to the magazines ethos of it being bright and fun.

From looking at these two magazines you can see there is a distinct difference in main cover image styles and now when I come to create my own music magazine I can see that the main cover image makes a really big impact on the genre you are trying to covey.