Indie Music Magazine Double Page Spread Analysis

In this feature article it is clear that this is more the stereotypical view towards the indie music society. Almost taking it to the extremes of a recklessness lifestyle that is led. The layout is interesting in the sense that it is very image heavy, the amount of text is small, the text is compressed to one side of one page as well as the title of the story, this is very unconventional for double page spreads as they are usually the most in depth and interesting article within the magazine, however again this break in conventional layout may again be a representation of the breaking of convention within the indie society. The use of colour is playful and modern, it is a common convention within indie and rock magazines to use a reverse, white on black or black on white however I think because of the colour and nature of the image the light blue works, it is a feature spread and so needs to be different to other articles within the magazine in order to be recognised as a highlight.

The typography of this particular feature analysis is very basis and simple, the text the institution want you to clearly recognise in order to be attracted into reading the story below is clear, the world "fat white family" "the Lexington" and "London". It is an effective way of getting the main point of the article across to the reader, from this we can gather than the band is Fat White Family, the venue is The Lexington which is situated in London. The use of reverse also emphasises this simple method of attracting potential readers of this particular article.

The image is of a leading band member, again a middle class white male with a sense of unconformity and recklessness to his look, his shaved head is clearly a statement towards his unhinged strangeness which makes him easily identifiable to the indie society. More primarily the image is of a band member, someone who leads a particular fan base and who particular males in the indie society may aspire to be like. It is representative of the indie lifestyle as the setting is clearly at a gig, live music is preferred over over produced mainstream music in the indie lifestyle as it proves that those performing can actually sing and entertain. More importantly it supports Marxist's theory of white middle class males are the ones who control societal norms and are in control of the media in general.

Overall I think that this feature article has a reckless feel towards it and the bold choice of such an image heavy feature is going against convention in a sense that a feature is usually something lengthy and interesting at the same time, such a short amount of text makes you question whether this story is an interesting as it is made out to be, given its state in the magazine, a feature. It is original and unique in its style which arguably is an effective move for the institution regarding the indie genre and lifestyle.

The second feature analysis is taken from Q magazine, a magazine have both analysed and critiqued previously. Q magazine is different to both NME and Kerrang, and other popular indie music magazines, it has a higher sense of professionalism about it, due to a number of factors that are also clearly representable in the double page spread below. Is it the bold use of contrasting colours on a minimalistic background and image? Or is it simply down to the elegant and formal layout and typography? All of these factors make Q magazines stand out as an individual and successful indie magazine

The image used below is of the hugely successful pop/indie artist Lady Gaga, who arguably could be seen as having a much larger impact on the pop genre of music, however her eccentric and unusual lifestyle and many of her less popular songs easily class Lady Gaga into the indie genre. She is staring into the camera lens, creating a connection between her and the reader, also giving off a unsettled vibe. The image is simply been given a black and white filter, adding to the simple and minimalistic design of the double page spread overall, I do not think the image would work as well if it was in colour as it would distract from the feature article to the right side of the page. Overall the mise en scene portrays a minimalistic and provocative vibe, Lady Gaga's explicit posing portrays this well. She has obviously had her hair and make up professionally and meticulously groomed, adding to the sense of professionalism that Q magazine reeks of. I do not think that her posing is an attempt to support Laura Mulveys theory of woman simply being used in order to attract males. I think that both males and females equally enjoy Lady Gaga and therefore she is not being sexually exploited in order to gain male readership. At least not intentionally.

The layout of this double page spread has a professional look to it, it is clear where the boxes of texts are and everything is rather conformed to the boundaries of the page, the image takes up one side exactly and the text, the other, through my analysis of other indie music magazines this does not seem to be the case, an image in the centre of the double page is a popular convention, however this change in layout may simple be because of the professionalism that Q magazine strives for, where as magazines such as Kerrang and NME have a more reckless design and vibe to them.

The typography of this double page spread is similar to what is found throughout Q magazine, standard and arguably elegant fonts. Pointing out the elephant in the room, the large "L" obviously standing for "Lady" in "Lady Gaga" is coloured red in order to make the page stand out, with out it, realistically the double page spread would lack colour entirely, the use of colour at all on such a minimalistic design is an effective and bold decision. The word "lady" at the top of the page is in italics, making it look less important against the bold and capitalised "GAGA" however I think the use of the large red "L" makes up for this minimisation of the importance of the word "lady". The article itself is written in very small text which gives it a sense of daintiness and elegance, it also makes the article look interesting due to the amount of text written about it.

The colour palette, or lack of it, is an effective decision, it is unique and the use of red really is attracting to look at on such a faded and minimalistic background, as previously mentioned this particular colour represents sex, love, anger and hatred, playing on the thought, feeling and emotions of a potential reader.

Overall I think Q magazine has a much more professional feel to it and also is more conformed or less reckless in design compared to other leading indie music magazines such as Kerrang and NME, I think possible larger text in places where the article is simply stated and not described in the same font size would be an effective change in order to clearly give the reader an idea of the story within the incredibly small and arguably hard to read text with no guidance as to whether the reader would be interested in this particular article.