TEXTUAL ANALYSIS 1.

MOJO

Front Cover Analysis

Mojo music magazine was first published on 15 October 1993 by Emap. The launch editor of Mojo was Paul Du Noyer but is now Phill Alexander.  Mojo is a classic rock music magazine and it regularly includes a covermount CD. 

This edition features The Rolling Stones, this is fairly obvious because Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are on the cover and also a large headline/banner accross the page states "The Rolling Stones". The image of Mick and Keith is fairly simple  - it is clearly taken in a studio as it has a plain backdrop that has a slight gradient. The Masthead is behind the image and so some of the word is hidden, for a newer magazine this could be a potential problem because people may not recognise the branding, however as Mojo is such an old, classic magazine it doesnt really matter that some of the word is cut off because buyers will recognise it wherever they go.
Most of the cover lines in this issue are related to The Rolling Stones because it seems to be a themed issue of the magazine. The colour scheme clashes with the very loud colours. The image and Masthead is quite dull and natural whereas the cover-lines and main heading are red, white and yellow which are bright colours - giving the magazine a lighter, more exciting overview. In the top left corner there is a graphic that looks like a peeled off sticker which states a free CD is with the mag, another graphic of The Rolling Stones sticker also tells us that the issue is themed around them. There is also a graphic which states a free audiobook worth £16.99 which would be very appealing to Rolling Stones/Keith Richards fans. Some of the cover lines have lures which tempt the reader to buy the magazine, however not all cover lines have lures as they seem to be stating the column quite well, for example:

In the top right hand corner there is an image, representing the 'Ultimate Review' which inclues the Top 50 albums, this is eye-catching to the reader and may persuade them to buy the special issue just for the mini magazine inside this one. In the bottom left corner there is some fine print which tells you what to do incase your CD is missing. This is especially for customers and very useful incase the CD is missing. It also states some institutional information about copywright. This is the January Issue and is worth £4.50, not a cheap magazine but as of its status, we would not expect it to be £2.

Source:  http://www.mojo4music.com/blog/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojo_%28magazine%29



Contents Page Analysis

This contents page was actually a number of contents pages, so i have chosen just one of them to analyse. The masthead appears on the contents page in a smaller and different colour font, this would be because the background for the main image is black, and so compared to the front cover - the colours have been inverted. There is a banner across the page stating the month of the issue and the issue number, this tells us some more information about the magazine. Also helpful for collectors as they can keep track of which issues they have and have not got. This contents page shows the Featres and the Cover Story, it is a clever way to set out the contents like this as the 'FEATURES' now have more space allowing a brief over-view of the article. The page numbers are in red whilst the Features are in white. Both colours boldly stand out on the dark background, drawing the readers attention straigh to them. Most text on the page is Sans-serif, making it more chunky and easier to read, in the bottom right corner there is a quotation and comment in Serif relating to the main image, the use of different type-face helps differ the topic of writing from the rest of the page.
The Cover Story is separated off from the rest of the Features with a single red line. This graphic is simple and classy, it gives the page a minimal appearance compared to if a text box was used - where the page would start to resemble a completely different genre of magazine. There is a text wrap around the 'sticker' graphic, the same one that appeared on the front cover - this gives a visual link from what may have caught the readers eye on the cover to what is now being displayed on the contents page. In the very bottom right corner there is a page number, along with the 'MOJO' masthead logo, this tells us that the masthead will appear on every single page, constantly advertising the magazine.


Double Page Spread Analysis

There are 4 columns in this double page spread, plus a stand first. There is use of Dropcap, twice: once on the first page which is relatively noticeable, and again on the second page: much less noticeable but still larger than the rest of the text. The use of white space is fairly minimal, the only white space visible is that which is not covered by text - there is no intentional use of random white space in the double page spread. There is no headline or subheading on the page, which is unusual, although the main image acts as a clue to what the article is about. The font-face is Sans-serif all throughout the article however the direct quote in red on the right hand page is in Serif, to make it stand out more. As with the contents page, the masthead appears at the bottom of the page enxt to the page number, this is a constant reminder of the institution and advertising of the magazine. The text to picture ratio is about 50:50, the main image takes up almost half of the page, horizontally plus the two smaller images on the rigfht hand spread, would conclude to an equal amount of text and image ratio.
The main image is a mid-long shot of the band, it is wide angle to fit in the whole scene. The image is quite dark, a sort of dingy - small venue gig type image which looks very old. The caption states the date of the image as 1971, this tells us that the fashion of clothes the band is wearing is out-dated. The shot is quite balanced, there are two people on the left hand spread, and three on the right. There in no text wrap on this image however there is on the two images that are underneath.
The text is in the 3rd person, with the writer talking about the band including quotes from some of them to tell the story. The semantic field is that of a musician, words such as "The VU meter". There are no questions shown, the article is not in the style of an interview and therefore if questions are answered, the actual question itself is only implied.