NME The Cover Questions

The Title: why is it called that? What does it connote?

The title of the music magazine is an abbreviation; NME stands for New Musical Express. The company have abbreviated the name because New Musical Express would sound too formal for their target audience. NME is also a good magazine name because it is recognised easier because it has transformed from a simple magazine name to a brand.

What does the masthead show?

The masthead of NME differs according to the magazines contents. The masthead in this particular magazine is large yet simplistic, with no fancy effects to make it stand out. This simple masthead gives the magazine a more relaxing feel which is good as the interview inside is Florence opening up to readers and giving an insight into her life and personality in a relaxed and personal manner.

Is there a strapline?

The magazine does not contain any strapline. I believe that the magazine does not need a strapline because these are used to try and grab the attention of a reader and to make them remember the magazine better. The magazine NME however does not need a strapline as the title has become a brand identity and therefore creating a strapline could complicate the magazine. The NME brand has extended beyond simple music magazine into music television programs. This is known as brand expansion.


What is the main image?

The main image of the NME magazine is a medium shot of Florence Welch (the lead singer of Florence And The Machine). The image of Florence shows her with a vague expression on her face however this is not because she is confused but because she is preparing to talk into detail about her personal life. The camera angle used in the magazine shows us her face and allows her to show eye contact to the camera. On the magazine this shows her looking towards the reader and so makes the magazine feel more personal to the individual reader.

The posture of Florence on the front cover shows her as a confident and relaxed person. This is also good as it will allow the reader to believe and have faith in what is said during the interview. The crossing of her arm across her chest however shows that even though she is confident of what she is saying it is personal to her and shows her as a fragile character


The clothing that is worn by Florence is not typical of what you would expect from a rock artist. These colours are good for several reasons. The first of these reasons is that the colour of the clothing contrasts with the background so shows that she is the main figure on the cover. Her colour of the clothing is also good as its shows her as a typical female character and so it conjoins her with the lifestyle of an everyday woman and so identifying with the everyday people successfully.

What other images appear on the cover?

There is only one other image on the front cover of the magazine and this image is of Ian Curtis in a polaroid frame.The polaroid frame is used to show the photo as an example of the posters that are inside the magazine. The photo is being aimed at the niche market of Iconic Joys fans. The image intices these readers because the image of the main member would influence their decision on whether to buy the magazine.

What content is promoted by the cover lines?

The cover lines on the NME magazine promote content that includes a tribute to Steve Jobs, a list of the top 20 best tracks of the past 15 years and an album verdict on Noel Gallagher's new album. The Steve Jobs tribute intices potential customers because it was the largest news story of the year and many people idolised him so they would buy the magazine to see how his life was portrayed. The greatest track cover line attracts readers because all music fans will be interested to hear somebodies personal opinion on a musical matter so that they can be judgemental, it is also the type of article that would evoke a response from readers. The Noel Gallagher album verdict would interest readers because it is a feature which gives readers information and personal opinions and allows them to then make a final decision.


Connotations of typefaces

The typeface used to promote the headline is bold so as to better promote the interview with Florence. The colour that is used for this particular typeface is good because it is similar to the hair colour of Florence which allows you to see even clearer that the image and headline are directly linked. The colour of the typefaces for the other features is good as it is simple and does not contrast with the background colour. With some of the typefaces being black to highlight the important parts of the coverlines allows the readers attention to instantly be attracted to this. To allow the magazine to relate to its niche market effectively NME decided to keep all of it typefaces simple and so all the typefaces are sans-serif.

The style of language

The front of the NME magazine uses no colloquial langauge but one of the coverlines includes a less formal tone. By saying "AND,ER,QUITE A LOT MORE..." shows that the magazine is written from a normal everyday person and is written to the everyday person. All of the typefaces on the cover are in bold so as to allow for even the most simplistic of readers to be able to understand the content of the magazine.