Evaluating A Smash Hits Front Cover

Currently, the only pop magazine aimed at a young age group is Top Of The Pops. I have carried out some research in to why there is a limited market.


'The move follows the closure of Smash Hits magazine in 2006 after 28 years. Its publishers said teenagers were increasingly turning to new platforms like the internet to satisfy their interest in music.'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6571291.stm

This extract is from an article about dramatically low sales for a new pop magazine, the magazine was axed after one week. It had an initial print run of 130,000 copies but only sold 9,000.


'First, there were fewer mediums available when the magazine came out in 1977. There was no internet, digital TV etc. So the main sources of pop music were radio, the chart show on Radio 1 and Top of the Pops.'

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070507081135AAEciFm


This extract is do to with technology changes being a reason for why the once very popular 'Smash Hits' magazine got axed. One of the reasons is that the internet has a massive impact, I agree because teenagers and children enjoy looking at music on the internet. Popular socialising networks such as Bebo and MySpace have their own official pages for music artists. Also, it's very common to download music on the internet and browse websites or watch digital music channels to get information on music gossip such as the charts, pictures and changes.

I am going to analyse and compare an old Smash Hits cover...





The fonts used on the front cover are bold in sans serif. A majority of the fonts are squared/blocked, compared to Top Of The Pops cover fonts which are mostly curved. The suitability is more masculine, but because the font colour is pink, it's more aimed at females. The suitability gives a slight sense of maturity, therefore I think Smash Hits was aimed at teenage girls, compared to Top Of The Pops which was for before teens as well as teenagers.


The Smash Hits cover also uses pink and yellow as it's main sources of colours. The main cells and main flashes are different shades of pinks, therefore the main cell in the yellow boxing is particularly eye catching. The colours also have a connection to the target audience. But do not have a mixture of eyecaching colours together like Top Of The Pops, this also supports my belief that Smash Hits had an older target audience range. As Magazines aimed at adults are kept simple, so it's a step colser.


The week the closure was announced, a copy of the first issue sold on Ebay for £30. The seller, Ruth, said: 'I bought it. Smash Hits! was the best pop magazine of its time. I'm 35 now and I used to buy it regularly from about the age of 8 to 13. I remember tearing out the posters to cover my walls and singing along really girlie to the songs.'
http://www.magforum.com/glossies/music_magazines.htm#sma

This gives a little more indication to the target audience, it's hard to determine the exact age groups as the magazine was axed.


The main image is on the left side of the page is of 'Preston' who was a house mate on the popular reality television show 'Big Brother'. The programme increased Preston's popularity in the media. He is in a band called 'The Ordinary Boys' and he is also famous for his good looks, style and celebrity girlfriend 'Chantelle', who he met on BigBrother. The image is a midshot and Preston has direct eyecontact with the audience. There is a white background behind Preston and the main flash, which combines with the image, is in the largest font. So you can tell Preston is the main feature on the cover. However, the image of the 'Jonas Borthers' on the cover of Top Of The Pops has more impact because it's larger and in the middle of the page.

Evaluating a TOTP Double Page Spread

This is a double page spread from Top Of The Pops magazine which I have chosen to analyse. The article is about the upcoming film 'High School Musical 3'. The first two High School Musicals were screened on the Disney Channel and they became a massive success world wide with a huge fan base. High School Musical 3 is going to be coming to the cinema soon and this article has vital information for fans. It shares the on and off set secrets of the main stars, a list of the songs from the film to download and exciting features in the film. High School Musical is extremely popular amongst many age groups, in particular the target audience of this magazine. Top Of The Pops features many articles on High School Musical and the actors in the film, so it definatley sells as there is a huge market.

The same colour scheme is used, the majority blue and green, and other details are in yellow and white. Green is the most eye catching colour on the page and most of the important information is conveyed via this colour. For example; the background of the word 'secrets' in the title, the border of the images of the characters, the background of every other column containing character info and the background of every other box of info at the bottom of the pages. The rest of the background is in blue which is another attention grabbing colour. The background of the bottom of the pages is white, this looks like it's been divided from the rest of the page and gives the effect that they are providing alot of extra information. White is the font colour used for the texts, apart from on the white backgrounds. White looks very clear against the blue and green, so it's legible for the reader. Yellow is used on important parts of text, like sub headings. For example; The outlines of the characters names, the titles of the boxes of text at the bottom of the pages and key words in the title such as 'secrets' 'revealed' and 'official'. Every page feature on the double spread has an element of yellow text on the green background. The bright colours combined are extremely eye catching, so the readers drawn to all the features on the page, this makes the double page spread look packed with information.

On a double page spread for the specific target audience, alot of images are present. Mid shots are used in the images of every character and they all have direct eye contact with the reader, they're also smiling or showing positive facial expressions. The reader shares a connection with the images from the first glance and the fact that they are smiling creates a sense of them inviting the reader to learn more about them. A fun image had been placed next to some of the characters. They confirm character traits and give connotations eg; 'brainy' 'sporty'. The image of Zac Effron, who plays the lead male role in the film, is slightly larger than the other characters. This emphasises his importance as many young girls are crazy about him. The images in the boxes at the bottom of the pages are roughly the same size and are screen shots taken from the film.

The smallest font is a simple legible style and is used for the text in articles through out the magazine. The characters names are in sans serif and have a feminine suitability, this font is only used for that purpose on this double page spread. The sub headings are in bold, capitals and are larger than the smaller text. This makes it very clear and allows the reader to read it quickly. The fonts schemes are repeated on this double page and through out the magazine.

The language used appeals to the target audience. Although the text is quite formal and informative, there are puns used for sub headings. For example, underneath the characters names; 'Beauty & Braniac' 'Drama queen' 'Wild Cats star player'. This gives the association of the characters, but words such as 'brainiac and drama queen' are typically descriptive words said by the target audience. Also, there is a feature at the top; 'WARNING! PLOT LINES REVEALED' This makes it more exciting for the reader as it's secretive information.

Top Of The Pops Music Magazine and Evaluating the fron cover

The genre I have chosen is pop music. The most popular pop music magazine is Top Of The Pops. The fonts used on the front cover are mostly modern and sans serif in large font sizes and bright colours. The suitability of the type face creates a sense of femininity as the font is curved, compared to a masculine font which would be blocked or square. The main sources of colour used for the fonts are pink and yellow, these are very eye catching colours and draw in interest. This suggests it's informality, the context and the audience it appeals to.


I predict the target audience is young girls, roughly between the ages of 9 and 13. I think this because all the features on the front cover are linked to girls interests. For example; all the images are of boys that girls of that age group like. Also, the use of pink, as this is a popular colour associated with young girls. I carried out some research to ascertain the gender of the readers, statistics show that the number of females that buy the magazine is 116,000 compared to 66,000 males.

The brand logo 'Top Of The Pops' is in a 'funky' curved bubble writing font. The logo is so established that an image can cover some of it and it's still easily identified.

The text is kept to a minimum but because the fonts are large it creates a big impact. The language used is also aimed at that age group. For example; 'OMG' 'Eeew' 'CUTE!' wouldn't be used on the front cover of a magazine aimed at older teens or adults.


The main image on the front cover is of the 'Jonas Brothers' who are very popular internationally and appeal to a young audience. They have released music in the charts and starred in the majorly talked about Disney movie 'Camp Rock'. This is why it is a very appropriate image for the front cover and will have no trouble in selling. The image of the Jonas Brothers is a medium shot, they are face on and have direct eye contact with the audience. This is important as the reader shares an immediate connection with the image from the first glance.


The main cells are by each side of the focus image and underneath it. The images and text used on the main cells are enticing but not very revealing, therefore the reader wants to find out more. Also, the colours and fonts are similar in each main cell but have obvious differences, this gives a busy impact which creates the effect of thinking there is lots of information inside the magazine. They are the second thing the reader looks at after the main flash.


The main flash stretches across the middle of the page. The words 'Jonas Brothers' are the largest font size on the page and particularly stand out because it's bright yellow text on a pink background. The use of hearts almost imitates a young girls diary or doodles. The main flash is the most eye catching feature on the front page and this because the Jonas Brothers have a huge fan base who will immediately pick up the magazine.


Other information present:

- In a small font above the title is the website for the magazine.

- There is a white strip along the bottom of the page, underneath the main cells, it shows the bar code, issue number, date and price. These are must have features on a magazine, even though the readers attention is drawn to them last because of where they're placed and the font size.

- In the top left hand corner is the BBC logo, which is immediately recognisable and associated with Top Of The Pops.

- The magazine contains 42 pages in total.