MOJO front cover analysis

MOJO Magazine Front Cover Analysis.

MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music. MOJO was first published on 15th October 1993; in keeping with its classic rock aesthetic, the first issue had Bob Dylan and John Lennon as its first cover stars. Noted for its in-depth coverage of both popular and cult acts it acted as the inspiration for Blender and Uncut. Many noted music critics have written for it including Charles Shaar Murray, Greil Marcus, Nick Kent and Jon Savage. The launch editor of MOJO was Paul Du Noyer and his successors have included Mat Snow, Paul Trynka and Pat Gilbert.

 All or most of MOJO magazines can be easily spotted or distinguished by it’s very popular house style. MOJO magazines masthead tends to always take up the top third of the page in large white block capitals which allows it to be easily seen from a distance. The use of the slogan, “The music magazine” in italics with a grey font running through the main masthead allows it to clearly see and will instantly let the reader know before reading any of the cover lines that the magazine is a music magazine. The way the layout of the front cover is created is very original and the use of the main image of the three men is placed slightly on top of the masthead allows the reader to see that this magazine is so well known and recognized universally that the whole name of the mast head doesn’t need to be shown. As the use of the large white writing is easily distinguished many buyers of the magazine will know just from the font colour and style that they are buying MOJO magazine.

 The main image is very easy and clear to see this immediately allows the reader to establish who the main artists featured in this magazine are going to be, in this case it’s extremely easy to see that “Pink Floyd”, are December 2014 biggest scandal in the music industry according to MOJO magazine producers. The use of the black and white effect on the image gives the image a more friendly and unserious approach. The way the members of “Pink Floyd” are looking directly at the camera creates a more personal effect into the magazine and it makes the reader feel that they are looking directly at them. The use of the two smaller images placed at the top of the cover tells the reader that there is more than one feature in this magazine and there are people who may not be the main focus but they’re going to be focused on in this magazine. At the left hand side of the images there is the name of the artist that is going to be featured and the cover line give the reader and insight into what the story is going to be about. This can be seen as an enticement as people will want to buy it as they know that the story is going to be about so they buy it too read on.

 As the CD was placed on the front cover of the magazine it is thought and proven that this increases sales and increases profit for the magazine company itself. The use of the Puff saying “FREE mind bending CD!” will also make people buy the magazine as they see themselves as getting something free. Puffs can be a big seller for music magazine or for any magazine making it nearly vital that your magazine price range is making you enough money to be able to include a puff on your magazine.

 The use of the exclusive story being shown on the front page as “exclusive Means that the reader isn’t searching around the front cover in order to find what the main story entails; this allows easy navigation of the front cover for the reader. The use of the pink writing also allows the reader to focus on the main parts of the story and what the story is going to be based on or what it’s going to be about.

 The repetition of pull quotes used throughout this particular front cover gives a more personal approach to the magazine itself. The use of the white block capitals in the same font as the main masthead itself in contrast with the black background allows the white writing to be easily distinguished from a distance. The use of the quote being in smaller light grey front is also a nice touch as it blends in with the background well and is also easily distinguished. As this writing is inside quotation mark in italics it easy to differentiate with the cover line from the quote itself.

 The use of the vibrant pinks throughout signifies the importance of the points highlighted in this colour. And this is used so that the reader’s attention is drawn to these particular points of the magazine. The use of the prices of different currencies allows other countries to be able to buy this magazine as well as just the UK and Ireland; this also shows that the magazine is universal. The white background on the barcode also features the month and the year in which the magazine is issued so buyers are aware of the issue date when buying the magazine.