Maverick front cover research country 12

 The masthead of the magazine is in San Serif with the first letter in red. The colour red is associated with power and desire, which tells us that this is a powerful magazine. Also it is the only bit of colour used on the front cover, which suggests that the writer wants it to stand out. They have used a puff at the bottom right of the page to advertise the gigs and new releases.

 At the bottom left corner it informs us that there is a freebie inside the magazine, this draws the reader in to the magazine. Overall there are 13 advertisements on the front cover to inform the reader about the stories/articles inside the magazine. It has a barcode, dateline, and price on to tell the reader the date that it was published. I think that it brakes conventions because country magazines are usually bright and happy, but this magazine seems more serious and is in black and white, which makes it look more vintage instead country. It also has a banner at the page to advertise things inside the magazine. The model is using the theory of Mulvey 'the male gaze', because the model is forming direct address with the audience by looking straight at the camera,  so this suggests that it is for a female audience.The picture is a close up shot on the models face and the model has a serious pose to try and attract the reader. The photo has been manipulated because it is in black and white and the colour of the artists beard blends in with the image and the colour scheme of the front cover. I think that about 50% of the cover is filled with text informing the audience about what is inside the magazine. The background is plain and hardly seen, suggesting that the model is the main feature of the front cover and the writer wants the reader to focus on the model.

The model is holding an acoustic guitar however you can only see the head of it, suggesting that the writer could be advertising the name of the guitar "Taylor". I know that this is an acoustic guitar because it has tuners either side of the guitar, which are usually only associated with acoustic guitars.
I feel that the beard is the most outstanding feature in the image because it is unusual for a country magazine, also I think the beard shows power and masculinity, because it is very neat and the colour of it blends with the t-shirt the model is wearing.

The masthead is at the top of the page in big text to stand out to the reader, it covers about a 15th of the page. The main colour scheme for the magazine is black,white and grey which are all usually associated with vintage so it does not follow codes and conventions. The magazine has a slogan "in session with their musical idol" This captures the reader by making the audience think that he is very good or important because they use the word "idol" to describe him and an idol is someone who people look up to.



How this has influenced my ideas

• I like the idea of the first letter in a different colour
• I like the idea of the male gaze
• I like the black and white
• I like the puff showing advertisements