Music Website Research

To help with my research and production for my music magazine, I have researched music websites so that I can analyse them to see what codes and conventions they have used and why they are suitable for the genre they are targeting.

NME:

The NME webpage is very information orientated, with the ratio of text being bigger to the ratio of image, especially compared to some websites such as mixmag. I would say that this website and therefore magazine is intended for a predominantly male audience, as the the colour scheme red, black and white, although being gender neutral does have a more masculine edge to it. The navigation bar at the top of the page shows that the magazine is not only interested in music, but also clothing suggested through the 'shop' option. Although the reader of the magazine would probably be quite up to date with new technology, as suggested through the advertisement for a laptop, the reader would also possibly be older than the audience of Kerrang! magazine, as the headline 'Best album of the last 15 years?' shows that the reader should enjoy older music.

mixmag:

The webpage for mixmag presents a clear target audience of people interested in dance music, suggested through the advertisements for a music festival. I would say that the magazine is intended for mainly females, as there is an image of girls at a party and although the colour scheme is similar to NME, mixmag has more of a feminine feel to it, and also the search bar gives the option of both 'fashion' and 'shop', activities most associated with females. The website also suggests that the magazine is intended for those between late teens to late twenties, as the website uses a large amount of its space to show Facebook comments.

Kerrang!

This webpage for Kerrang! magazine has a ratio of about 50:50 text and image, with images being of bands who are features as 'news' or 'access all areas'. Although the webpage does have a few colours, the main colour scheme is black white and grey, which leaves it looking less eye catching compared to NME which had the red colour to pop and compared to the sophisticated look of mixmag. The website is set out well, with all links to other sections of the site well labelled and under appropriate subheadings. The magazine name Kerrang! is well presented like the other webpages especially Top of the Pops and NME.



Top of the Pops

This particular magazine is intended for younger girls to mid teens, which is connoted through the colour scheme, which is very child friendly and more importantly appropriate for girls rather than boys. The website is very simple with no real purpose other than to get the reader to sign up to the magazine.

Comparing the Kerrang! website with Kerrang! magazine:

Both the Kerrang! music magazine and website use the same codes and conventions which they are associated with and commonly recognized for. The title Kerrang! is the same on both, as it represents the 'loud' music Kerrang! covers. both of the colour schemes are similar, as they both use the colours grey and black with the brighter colours such as yellow, blue and red being used to pop out of the page. The mix of bright colours could also connote an explosion, possibly of sound, and adds to the 'rock' image portrayed by the company. Both sources use promotional offers such as posters, clothing discount and discount cards to grab attention.

On both the website and the magazine have the logo which is the title at the top of the page, although on the magazine the title covers the whole width compared to the website which keeps it top right, because there needs to be room for the search bar. Whilst the magazine contains around 5 images, the website contains more possibly because it does not have one big cover image and so instead uses more thumbnails. Both the magazine and the website seem to have the same masculine look shown through the bold font and the fact that even though there are males shown, they are not shown looking provocatively. Because with the magazine, there is only so much information which can be featured each month as opposed to the website which can be continuously updated, the magazine looks more crowded and the website has more space, although this does not take away from the fact that both sources are obviously related and conveying the same ideas.