Conventions of Magazines

All magazines wether they are Lifestyle, Fashion or Music, follow all the same rules. There are different types of magazines, the more expensive monthly "glossies" (Q, Marie Claire) or cheaper weekly magazines (NME, More). They will all include relevent images, logos and headers, modes of address, stars and celebrities, front covers, contents pages and feature articles.
The imagery included must always be relevent to the genre of the music and appropriate for the target audience, this also applies to the name (also known as the header) of the magazine. There will always be a set colour scheme throughout the magazine which will add to creating a "house style" and appeal to the target audience.
All magazines will have modes of address, this is the way that a text creates a relationship with its audience. Most magazines will use direct address, which is created when the person on the cover looks straight out of the magazine which gives the impression that they are inviting the reader in. Although, other magazines may use indirect address which is when the person looks away causing the opposite effect on the reader, this is not a convention though it has been used.
The main advertisement of a magazine is its front cover. This is why they will more than likely include celebrities on their covers, to attract the target audience and so increase sales and profit. Covers should be bright and interesting so they are sure to catch the readers eye. Not only should the colours and font types be attractive but they should be relevent and represent that particular genre of music. All covers should include a title/header, slogan, one main model.star photographed (though in music magazines it can be a group), a leading caption, subheadings and straplines. As well as these a date and barcode, sometimes a web address too should be included. Contents pages should be bright and colourful to encourage the reader to read on into the infomation of the pages to follow.
A feature article, also known as a double page spread, is uaually the most expensive article in the whole magazine. There shoudl be catchy headlines and subheadings to catch the readers attention. Feature articles should include one large image and multiple smaller ones, which are usually taken in a different location and setting to add depth to the article.