Textual Analysis of Billboard magazine.

Denotation:

The magazine cover consists of a medium close up shot of a womans face being supported by her left hand exposing her wedding/promise ring. We cannot really see the background of the image as the womans hair has been blown out and left in loose curls that make it look bigger and fuller and covers most of the page. In the image the woman is looking directly at the camera as if she were directing to the audience. Across her forehead there is a title and a masthead. Like the 'Vibe' magazine there are only three main colours used, these are light blue, yellow and white. However the masthead has an extra colour of red is it. There are seven cover lines on the page and a bar code is also visible on the bottom left hand corner.

Masthead:

Billboard magazine uses a very distinctive masthead, It uses the Candara font and has three coloured circle fillers, these are blue, red and yellow. The typetography is very colourful and stands out which suggests that the magazine may be aimed and a more youthful and pop audience. This tells us that it's aimed at people who listen to pop music and are lively.

Character:

The model for this cover is the English/Sri Lanka singer M.I.A.

Composition:

The photographer has directed M.I.A too look directly at the camera and rest her head on her left arm exposing her ring finger a bit more than the others, giving the audience a glimpse of her wedding ring. In this photo she looks very calm and natural which goes against the sound of her controversial loud music.

Costume:

We can see that she is wearing a denim jacket but it is not clear, the only other costume she has on would be her make up which is subtle and natural. We can also see her wedding ring which may also be considered costume.

NVC:

her non- verbal communication is very calm and inviting, she looks shy and a bit fragile too in this shot.

Lighting:

There is high key lighting in this image, as there are no shadows cast on her skin and her face looks flawless and well lit.

Setting:

This image seems to have been taken in a photographic studio.

Cover lines:

the main cover line is in reference to the model in the cover as it reads 'Exclusive! M.I.A. on her new album, trufflegate and the art of controversy.' I say this because I know her name is M.I.A. and it is the boldest coverline on the page. The cover lines are in the same font as the masthead but just blue instead of white, (this may be the magazine's house style). By having this cover line in bold it draws the attention of the readers and tell us who the woman on the front cover is. The other cover lines are placed on the right hand side in a column. their titles are also written in blue but unlike the main cover line the briefs are written in white. These short coverlines give us an insight to what other major articles the magazine is focusing on in the issue. There is also a circled coverline above the main cover line which may suggest that it's being brought from a past issue and is updating the audience. All these coverlines tell us that the magazine is packed with gossip and entertainment.

Title:

The title placed above the masthead is a reminder of an event the magazine are hosting in New York. It targets those interested in music and advertising and gives a website readers can look up if interested. 

Target audience:

Overall, having gone over all these points it seems that the target audience for this magazine is teenagers aged between 15 and 20 who are interested in pop music and gossip about musicians.