Shown above, I analyzed the front cover of the magazine ‘Mojo’. This cover highlights The Smiths, as the Main Cover Stars, along with a variety of other artists included, as shown on the cover lines. I annotated the cover stating all the key features of it; Masthead, Pug, Main Cover Line, Insets, Cover Lines, Captions, Barcode, Price, Date, Issue, and the Main Cover Stars.

Masthead – The masthead is the logo of the magazine, showing its name in big text at the top of the magazine. Memorable mastheads are key for people to pick up the magazine, and for them to keep buying the next issues. In this instance Mojo’s masthead has become so well known in the magazine industry, that they are able to obstruct their own logo with the main cover stars, and the magazine, and masthead will still be recognizable as theirs.

Pug – A pug is something that is commonly in the top left, or top right hand side of a magazine. It is often their to show something that is being given away for free as a part of the magazine, or advertising a giveaway which they magazine may be holding. It could also be displaying key, special information about this specific issue of a magazine. In the Mojo cover that I analyzed they are giving away a 15 Track CD for free with every magazine sold, and that it is their 40th anniversary.

Main Cover Line – The main cover line is a large subheading which refers to the Main Cover Stars, and mainly says who the stars are, and what they will be talking about in the magazine. The main cover line will always be eye-catching so people will want to pick it up to find out about their favorite stars. In the Mojo cover the Main Cover Line states ” The flowering of The Smiths” placed on top of an image of The Smiths holding flowers. This shows the planning and the correlation between the Main Cover Stars and the Main Cover Lines.

Inset – An inset is a smaller image of another star who has been interviewed for the magazine. This image will have it’s own cover line next to it, giving a brief summary of what this star will be talking about in the magazine, which will be phrased intriguingly so the reader will want to buy a cover so they can read on. In the Mojo magazine we can see this with Sinead O’Connor in the right hand corner of the page, with the brief cover line of “The incomparable rebel” which is inviting to the reader.

Cover Lines – Cover Lines are small sentences, or sometimes just a few words, to summarize the smaller stars who are featured in the magazine, and have been interviewed. Cover lines often have the smaller star in bold with what they’re talking about written smaller underneath. This can be seen in a column on the right hand side of the magazine in the Mojo cover. However, these cover lines will usually be placed on the left hand side of the cover so it can be seen and be eye-catching whilst its being hidden in a display rack.

Captions – Captions are small lines of text usually used to summarize a larger inset on the cover of a magazine. It will go into more detail than a cover line would, and will often include a quote given by the smaller star featured on the inset. You can see this on the bottom left hand corner of the Mojo cover, referring to classics from the 1980s.

Barcode – All magazines require a barcode for the product to be bought. However, the placement of the barcode has more thought put into it than one might think.  The placement of a barcode in the bottom right hand corner of any magazine cover is key because a magazine will usually be picked up from the spine on the left. This allows the barcode to be efficiently swiped through a cash register without having to give it a thought. This gives the reader the satisfaction of knowing how easily they can access their favorite magazine, making them more excited to come back for more.

Price, Date, and Issue – The aforementioned items will be shown above the barcode, and will give you all the key information you need. It tells you how much the magazine will cost you so you can decide if the magazine will be worth the price, which is why an eye-catching magazine cover is crucial to whether it may be purchased. The date on the magazine tells the audience how current the information that the magazine is giving is, and so they know what period of time it was when the stars where interviewed,  so it can be reflected on. The issue often tells you how long the magazine has been running for, so as a potential reader, if there have been lots of issues you know it will be a high quality magazine as it is a popular one.

Main Cover Stars – The Main Cover Stars are the first thing you can see when you look at the magazine cover. They will be the most popular star(s) to talk in that particular issue of a magazine and they will often cover the logo of the magazine itself to signify their importance. In the Mojo magazine in which I analyzed the four band members can be seen in a midshot, with the lead of the band clearly shown to be the most important, standing in front of the others, holding flowers.

By analyzing the cover of Mojo magazine, I now understand every single detail that needs to go into a magazine cover, why it’s there, and why it being there is so significant to convey the ideas, conventions, and genre of a magazine. By fully understanding this, I know how to craft all these components for my own music magazine. I also know how to craft these components in a way that will cater to my target audience, and to correctly portray the genre that I want to in my magazine.