Analysis of Music Magazine names

 

 

Originally it was to be called Cue (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in Q's 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would be more prominent on newsstands. Indeed, the logo is very eye-catching as the red and white contrast well together. The font of the masthead is very simplistic, however it shows maturity and effectiveness with the flick of the 'Q'.

 

 

Its name was chosen as a reminder of the magic at the core of music and as a demonstration of respect to Delta blues mythology. "Mojo" is also a word that relates to middle-aged people as it was a common phrase used in the 1980s. Usually, the colour of the masthead is white or black, which extends the target audience as these are quite neutral colours, meaning that the magazine is aimed at both females and males.

 

 

Kerrang! is named after the onomatopoeic word that derives from the sound made when playing a power chord on a distorted electric guitar. The dramatic font style gives it a broken glass effect which could suggest rebellion. The use of the exclamation mark also helps to give it a more dramatic feel and makes the title seem 'louder' like rock music.

 

 

 

Originally, Billboard was named Billboard Advertising as it was created as a trade publication for bill posters by William Donaldson and James Hennegan in 1894 - this makes it one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. Unlike other magazines, the masthead isn't incorporated into the house style and therefore stays the same for each issue, allowing the magazine to be easily identified without any confusion. 'b', 'o', 'a', and 'd' are filled in with a variety of different colours which gives the masthead flexibility with each magazine issue. The variety in colour is also a denotation of Billboard as a magazine as it covers a huge range of entertainment.

 

 

 

 

NME stands for New Musical Express. The masthead is usually positioned on the top left hand corner of the magazine which makes it more recognisable to the reader. The use of an 'Impact' font without any embellishments, and bold and capital letters, creates the impression of strength within the institution of NME. Furthermore, the fact that the masthead of New Musical Express only incorporates the abbreviation of the words suggests the high stature of NME in the music magazine business, as they can be identified by just their abbreviation.