Front Cover Analysis- RWD Magazine

Analysis of RWD Magazine “Rule Britannia” issue
TITLE OF MAGAZINE
The term “RWD” is slang for rewind. This highlights the fact that this is a music magazine. The word rewind means going backwards perhaps into the week and focusing on events that happened that week. This suggests people may read the magazine to catch up on the week’s coverage. The RWD masthead further emphasizes the point of going back and rewinding back by featuring a rewind button sign. The word “rewind” can also mean relax as suggested by the phrase “rewind and relax,” indicating the magazine offers a “chill-out” factor.

THE PUBLISHER OF THE MAGAZINE
The editor is Hattie Collins. The publisher is Nigel Wells. The magazine is published monthly. The magazine is free in most stores however it states in the magazine that where the magazine is sold, it should be priced at 25p. The magazine can be found in urban clothing shops and is rarely available in supermarkets, bookshops or normal retail stores. This is probably due to the target audience being mainly people who have an urban lifestyle and visit urban style shops.
The magazine has a website http://www.rwdmag.com/. It is now published internationally in the US and it features different genres of the magazine. There is a house, USA and alternative music genre of the magazine and on the website you can navigate through the different genres. The magazines are very different in the style and the artists featured. The UK WRD magazine features British artists such as Kano, Ghetto and H Two O & Platinum whereas the American RWD features artists like the Pussy Cat Dolls.


TARGET AUDIENCE FOR THE MAGAZINE
The core audience is listeners of Grime, Hip Hop, UK Garage, Drum & Base & House music. However the magazine is also targeted at young people particularly young aspiring artists who are perhaps looking for advice and inspiration from successful artists. The magazine is also targeted at young black youths perhaps to distract them from anti-social behavior.
Although the core audience is urban music fans; beyond music, Collins has introduced lifestyle coverage into the magazine. This means the magazine also targets people into fashion; particularly urban fashion as some clothing labels are advertised in the magazine. This particular issue also features articles aimed at British people or fans of British music due to the heavy focus on the “Rule Britannia” theme. There are also articles on inspirational UK people which may be aimed at general UK citizens.
The British flag at the front may also attract proud British citizens who are keen to find out about the nations music regardless of its genre.
THE COVER OF THE MAGAZINE
There is a strong theme of representing Great Britain. The entire background is the Great British Flag and the some of the band members of H Two O & Platinum are dressed accordingly with some item of clothing matching the flag. The British flag is probably used to familiarize the reader with the theme of the magazine which is “the rule of Britannia.”
Furthermore because everyone is familiar with the British flag, the magazine is likely to attract a wider audience as everyone will be keen to learn about the nation and British music.

The main image shows the band standing tall and looking proud. It is as though they are proud to be representing Britain. The image of the band would attract fans of the band itself or listeners of baseline music. The band members are dressed quite fashionably with some of them wearing well known brands like Adidas and looking quite urban and hip. The band members fit the description of what a typical British youth might wear which relates to the target audience. The way the band members are dressed could attract a certain target audience as some readers who are into fashion may like the dress sense of the band members.
The fact that there are only two females may be suggestive of the fact that the men have an upper hand in controlling Britain. The females are standing quite far back in comparison to the lead alpha male who looks in control.
MODE OF ADDRESS OF THE MAGAZINE
The magazine uses informal language. It contains a lot of street slang and terminology.
This issue features articles on successful British artists and aspiring British people as the issue is based on Britain and its people.
There are a lot of “One 2 watch” articles which feature aspiring artists who are likely to be successful in the future. The articles introduce them to the music scene.
“The Inbox” is a section of the magazine that allows the reader to address the magazine. It features letters from readers to the editor. Letters can also be from aspiring artists seeking advice on musical/fashion careers.
“The rule Britannia issue”- theme of the months issue
RWD logo
Instructions on how to subscribe to the magazine-encourages readers to subscribe to the magazine.

Month published
“March 2008”
Great Britain flag in the background highlights the theme of the months issue which is the best of the British. Further emphasises that the band represent Great Britain.
Red,white and blue colour theme represent colours of the British flag.
Some band members are dressed in the colours of the British flag further shows that they are representing the nation.
Image of H Two O & Platinum stood in the centre looking proud of representing Britain. The band stands in a typical music band pose. The lead singer stands in the middle of the 5 and he is slightly standing forward to highlight he is the main singer
“Flying the flag for bassline” -suggests the excellence of the band. Shows how the nation is proud of H two O & Platinum and that they represent British bassline music