Mojo Magazine Cover Analysis

Mojo Magazine Case Study

Mojo Magazine uses media language and genre conventions to attract the target audience.

Mojo magazine has a mostly male audience, around 40 years old in the upper-middle class that takes music professionally and recreationally.

The main image would appeal to the age, gender and interests of the primary target audience as it is a cleverly edited low angle medium close up of the iconic band Fleetwood Mac. The image at the top is a picture of the band now (since they went back on tour in June 2019), while at the bottom an almost mirror image shows the band as they were 30 years ago; seeing the band like this gives the audience nostalgia and a 'god-like' view since they survived all these years and still can sing. The color palette of the image is monochrome, to attract the older audience that used to listen to Fleetwood Mac and to show how newspapers used to be like due to black and white having a lower cost and sounding more serious.

The masthead is big, bold and white and is overshadowed by the band, yet still seen. This is unconventional because normally mastheads are used to grab our attention, they use a different color than the background (almost like it's camouflage) also cleverly layout the main image over the masthead to be the main focus.

The magazine features a large minor image in the bottom left corner, Fleetwood Mac's new album, the image is golden and this connotes that it is new and great. It also tells the reader who will be in the album. This partigular magazine cover displays some clear differences from their normal Mojo cover.

• Shot type/Main Image/Star Vehicle- Mid Shot of Dave Grohl
• Colour Palette- White, Yellow, Black and Red
• Artist- Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters
• Masthead Style- Sans Serif/Block Caps
• Main cover line and minor cover line style- block caps, serif, western style
• Puff- 159 reviews
• USP- CD
• Placement of text- doesn't cover his face or the CD

The colour palette is mainly white, yellow, black and red. The colour yellow connotes happiness and intelligence. These are features that relate to the typical Mojo reader who loves the good things in life which we imply they have a high disposable income. The colour red connotes passion and love which are also appealing to the target audience who are passionate about good music and love the magazine. The white on the cover suggests a modern feel to the magazine. This along with the Western themed sans serif text creates an image that both old and new music if featured in the magazine. 

The Western San Serif text along with the cover star and colour palette are similar to those of Rock. Conventions of the Rock genre include colours such as black and red. The cover stars facial expressions are often serious. 

The modern style of masthead also brings new life to old artists that the target audience listened to when they were younger. This helps the audience identify with the artists as they are looking to bring new life to nostalgic memories of music in their youth. The masthead is in block capitals which connotes masculinity, this is mirrored in the magazines demographics as the audience it predominantly male. 

The main cover image is of David Grohl who was popular amongst the TA when they were younger. The minor cover lines feature old artists such as Nirvana and Lou Reed, which are familiar the older 'baby boomer generation' that the magazine is meant for. Dave Grohl and the other artists featured on the cover were popular in the 70s and 90s so would appeal to the target audience which are in their 30s-50s.