The header advertises what else would be inside the

magazine; this includes exclusive posters and underneath,

goes on to say the bands that fans can get posters of. The
bands that are to be featured in the cover mount are rock
bands or punk bands, this shows that AP has a rock/pop-punk
fan target audience. A header runs across the top of the page
and attracts the audiences attention to the features that is
inside the magazine.

The masthead of the magazine is Alternative Press (AP) and

is placed underneath the header and layered behind the
main image. A masthead is the name of the magazine and
this one is in a unique, white font - allowing it to stand out
against the greyish background.

The Main Image is of pop-punk band 5 Seconds of Summer.

The image is medium long shot as you can see a large
proportion of the bands bodies. 5 Seconds of Summer cause
a riot in the pop-punk/rock world with constant arguments on
whether they are pop-punk or just pop, this may not fit the
main target audience of the magazine, assumed to be rock
due to other features. With having 5 Seconds of Summer on
the cover, AP is branching out to a different audience as some
of 5 Seconds of Summers fans are into pop music not
rock/punk. This could show that in this issue of Alternative
Press, the writers and editors of the magazine are aiming at a
slightly different target audience of pop-punk instead of punkrock as this would be the genre of music that 5SOS would
come under. This issue also shows that AP is subverting the
general codes and conventions of a magazine (seen on the
double page spread). A Main image is the largest (sometimes
only) image on the front cover; the image on this issue
overlaps the masthead, and shows direct address as the band
as looking directly at the camera. With the band looking at the
camera, a sense of intimacy is displayed so the readers feel
like the artist is looking directly at them influencing them to
possibly purchase the magazine.

The main cover line is an anchorage of the main image as it

shows the audience who the Main Image is of. A main cover
line is the cover line that stands out most against other cover
lines and expresses to the audience who the main article is
about inside the magazine. The text is in big, bold letters and
has a faint black shadow allowing it to stand out against the
picture. The magazine cover has very few other cover lines,
but those it does have as in similar font and colours as the
main sell line, however it is of a smaller font, these allow it to
stand out and show it is the main part of that issue of the
magazine. The font has a slight edge to it which represents
the genre as punk and rock is seen as being edgy and unique.

This issue of AP has a main colour scheme of white, black,

red and yellow. The main text on the cover is in white and
some of it is in red and yellow. The four colours contrast each
other and allow each thing to stand out against the rest and
also make the one band members hair stand out as well as it
is a bright green colour.
The colour red connotates strength, energy and power
three things this band is seen to have when on stage and
performing. Yellow has connotations of freshness, joy or if
placed against black; often used to issue a warning which
aligns with the genre of the magazine as that is seen to be a
dangerous genre.

Barcode, issue/date line and price. These are all elements that must be on each and
every magazine cover if they are to follow the codes and conventions. A barcode, a
block of black and white lines to be scanned at the checkout, is normally placed in the
bottom right hand corner, out of the way from the main image and copy. However on
this edition of the magazine, the issue number and date line are positioned within the
masthead and the barcode is going away from the codes and conventions as it is not
anywhere on the front cover.

The magazine uses the Rule of Thirds to make certain things

on the magazine front cover stand out and catch the target
audiences attention.
The cover has a plain and empty background to allow the
main focus of the readers attention to be on the main image
of 5SOS. Also, the lead singer is the main focus of the main
image as he is positioned to be stood in front of the other
band members.

This issue of AP subverts the

general codes and conventions of
a music magazine. Typically a
music magazine has a single page
as a contents page; AP however
has a double page spread.

The masthead is placed in the top

left corner of the magazine. This
continues a consistent layout and
house style throughout the
magazine.

At the top of the page, next to the masthead is the issue number which shows the readers which
issue of the magazine they are looking at so they can easily refer back to this issue in the future if
they need to. This issue number and masthead is in a consistent font and colour scheme (red),
giving the readers comfort in the magazine they are reading and that they can keep a colour
scheme and layout throughout the issue of the magazine. This also creates branding.

The contents page also displays a

main image. The main image is
another image of the band 5
Seconds of Summer. The image is
a long shot of the band you can
see head to toe. With this, you
assume that 5SOS are the main
focus of the magazine. On the
main image are a grab quote and
the page number. The grab quote
is a question to the audience,
however it is also seen as a
rhetorical question as they do not
expect you to answer it - they
expect you to read on. Also
includes a by-line.

The contents follow the rule of

thirds to some extent. The page
allows the hotspots to fall on the
main image, grab quote and then
near the contents lines. This
allows the audience to be able to
see features of the magazine
without thoroughly reading the
contents. Having a hotspot
position on a grab-quote with the
page number allows the fans of
5SOS to quickly flip to the page
that the article about them is on.

The contents page includes

subtitles. These subtitles
help separate the stories
that the magazine publish
into categories. This allows
readers to quickly find what
there is to read in each
section of the magazine
and what is being featured
in this issue these are
normally the articles
related to the is to read in
each section of the from
the cover page.

The contents lines are the

focus of each article on
each specific page.
Underneath each contents
line is a grab quote from
the article itself or a
sentence giving an
introduction to the article.
Each feature/contents line
has a By-line this gives the
audience quick information
on who wrote the article
and who took the photos
for the article they will read
if they are interested in
that piece.

A puff has been used to draw the audiences attention to the special editions
of this issue. AS this is seen to be a special edition of the magazine, there is
more than one cover available to purchase. This allows fans to get both
versions of the magazine for collectors and/or for the photos included and
shown on the front. The other cover image allows fans or just other readers
to get a profile photo on each band member. It also tells the readers where
they can find the other cover if they dont already have it. This has been
placed in the bottom at the middle of the contents double spread.

The contents page has the masthead, web-address and page number on the
bottom of it. This gives awareness to the audience on the page they are
currently on and where else they can find the features + more of this
magazine issue. This creates branding as a consistent font has been used each
time the words (or letters) Alternative Press (AP) have been printed allowing
it to become recognisable to the audience in not just in this issue but
whenever they see the words/letters in that font they become aware that it is
for that magazine.

The double-page spread completely goes against the general codes and conventions of a magazine. Usually a double page
spread is the start of an article on a featured artist, however in this issue that is not the case. This is not to be seen as very
unusual though, this issue of AP is seen to be subverting its usual codes it follows and who it usually features in the
magazine. 5SOS allowed Alternative Press to subvert their usual magazine to a newer/wider range of audience and fans.
This was usually a U.S music magazine aimed at men or male teenagers (seen through the typical dark colour scheme used
on all its issues. However this issue can be seen as being aimed at a more female friendly audience due to the band who is
featured.
The main image is a black
and white image of the
featured band 5SOS. Using
black and white imagery
allows the photographer to
show a contrast in the
colours and allows for an
organisation within the
photo as with more than one
person being the focus of the
image it couldve looked
messy or out of place. In the
corner of the image there is
the AP masthead which
shows the consistent
branding throughout the
magazine and the issues.

The double page spread

follows the rule of thirds. The
page allows the hotspots to
fall on the main image and
article. This allows the
audience to be able to see
the main image of the band
from the exclusive
Alternative Press photoshoot. Also on the double
page spread is a photo of the
lead singer performing on
stage at one of their shows.
This is not the main image
but it gives the readers an

The column of the article is evenly spaced across the A4 page. The double page spread also consists of
the same colour scheme that is on the rest of the magazine. This allows the text to stand out against
the background and the audience to read the magazine clearly. The positioning of the article allows
the article to be positioned on the page so that the other page for the spread can have an A4 poster
of the band that is being featured.

On the black and white image, there is a 5 that has an old style
microphone blended into in, as well as 4 stars of different colours with
skulls inside them. The 4 stars with skulls on could show how there are
4 members of the band and they are somewhat of a rock genre.

Page numbers are at the

bottom of the pages to show
the audience what page they
are currently at within the
magazine. Positioned with
the page numbers are the
masthead and the webaddress this creates
branding which creates an
image in the audiences mind
to allow them to easily
recognise the magazine title
wherever it is advertised
throughout the internet.