Website Analysis

 Website 1 – Rolling Stone 

On the Rolling Stone magazine website, there is a simplistic, minimalist layout, in mostly black and white, except for the iconic, recognisable red logo of the magazine that would draw in the main audience. The website mostly features stories about music artists of a mixture of genres to widen its audience as much as possible; however, the main story of the website at this particular time is about politics, as well as having sections dedicated to tv, film, and other aspects of popular culture. This allows the website to target a broader audience than the magazine does. There is also an option to subscribe to the print magazine, which additionally markets a discount. This would appeal to a younger audience who do not necessarily have much disposable income to spend on magazines. To further appeal to younger audiences, many of the artists mentioned are newer, popular artists that they would be familiar with – like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, whilst it does still mention some older artists for older audiences to engage with as well – like the Killers. 

Website 2 – NME 

The NME website contains a very minimalist layout, with a predominantly black and white colour scheme and little colour other than in the articles’ pictures. Whilst it does not feature much colour, it does still use the iconic and recognisable NME logo, which allows readers to engage with the website knowing that they can trust the brand. The website does not focus on music, but instead covers a larger range of stories from many pop-culture aspects, such as film, TV, and gaming. It does still contain a lot of content related to music, for example new releases and tour announcements, but by widening the contents covered, it broadens the audience of the magazine. In order to market to a younger audience, the content covered involves current celebrities, such as K-Pop artists and Henry Cavill, however, the majority of the articles concern older celebrities that would appeal to an older audience and promote brand loyalty, as readers can continue to purchase the magazine or use the website knowing that their interests will still be relevant for many years, such as Fleetwood Mac and Black Sabbath.  

Website 3 – Seventeen 

The Seventeen website is much more colourful than NME or Rolling Stone, as it is marketed to a younger female audience. This is a more general audience as it is not a specifically music magazine, but still carries articles dedicated to artists popular among teenage girls, such as Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo. It also covers pride, which would appeal to those who identify as a member of LGBTQ+ as they can feel represented in this magazine that is mostly dedicated to feminine girls – as can be seen through the colour scheme of pink, purple, and turquoise, with pink accents. There is an option to subscribe to magazine, which is £1 for 6 months and would appeal to younger teenagers as they may not be working yet or make a lot of money and therefore do not have a lot of disposable income.