Comparing the front covers of existing magazines

After searching through several existing magazines I created an image in my head about how I wanted my own music magazine to look like e.g. the layout of my magazine and the type of images I wanted to use.

Kerrang has set out there layout with a main image used to catch the readers attention as a band they would enjoy to listen to. They have not used much writing on the front cover, however they have used a main headline portraying what the main storyline for this issue would be. They have also used smaller images at the bottom of the page showing other stories that will be inside the magazine. Although my magazine is of mainstream genre I would like to add something like this into my magazine, using one main image portraying the main storyline I am going to be using in my double page spread.

Q magazine is different from Kerrang within the way it has been layed out as all the selling lines have been placed on both sides of the magazine whereas within Kerrang there were only selling lines in the middle of the page and there were also not as many. However Q have also used one main image for their front cover which also portrays the main storyline of this issue. This has led me to understand that it is important to use an image that links with your main storyline for your music magazine.

The colour schemes within the two magazines are very similar with using black and red, these two colours are very vibrant in the way they represent each other as both colours are bold and are seen as block colours. I plan on using a completely different colour scheme as I am focusing on a more warm welcoming approach to my magazine, although I do feel that black and red are very effective in the way they have been used.