Looking at the flat plan for the magazine's structure, the said magazine at first appears to be a chaotic mismatch of adverts and articles with no coherent structure.
The magazine is dictated by an editorial on the first page, which tells the reader about the regular features or interesting articles, and also contains a table of contents to direct the reader to their desired article/feature.
On the opposite page, the back of the front cover, are several adverts, including an ad for HMV and one for Razorlight. The adverts are in keeping with NME's music-oriented target audience, and as such are much more appealing than an ad for Red Bull.
At the bottom of the editorial page is an ad for NME magazine. This kind of self-publication is popular in a lot of magazines, because it often reveals snippets of upcoming features, keeping current readers hooked and encouraging new readers to keep with the magazine.
After the contents page are several pages of news, revolving around the magazine's musical theme, including stories about artists, bands and upcoming tours.
The news section goes on for six pages, with a break after page four to allow for a page of adverts.
Inter-spacing ads with features in the magazine is a ploy used by NME to attract audiences to the products being advertised. By vaguely relating the ad to the feature it is with, the magazine is establishing a link between the two that the audience will take note of.
This ploy is most commonly used in NME with reviews and albums.
Having an advert of the album next to the review helps to establish it as something the reader wants to buy.
Following this are two pages of letters sent in by readers of NME, mostly discussing trivial matters to do with bands and the music in general.
In a strip down the side of this page is another ad for the magazine, which NME use for the same effect, but this time going into more detail, using text to advertise next week's issue in the form of a miniature article, this is called an Advertorial.
More adverts follow this, along with features regarding upcoming bands. If the magazine follows the band's progress, then this may be used to attract audience interest, enticing the reader to keep reading.
The middle of the magazine is mostly filled with regular features and articles, which regular readers will be familiar with and will actively look out for. Mainstream bands like My Chemical Romance make common appearances in NME.
The showing of yet another HMV ad suggests at least a minor partnership with the company, a view which the ad shows with the line 'HMV recommends', giving a listing of suggested albums which will appeal to NME's mainstream audience.
More ads follow, interspaced with reviews of concerts, tracks and albums. This is an effective example of the ploy mentioned earlier, where adverts and articles are interlinked.
Towards the rear of the magazine are several pages of adverts for both products and gigs.
Putting the majority of ads towards the rear of the magazine is a ploy commonly used by magazines. The audience doesn't want to see too much bland information without anything to interest them, and thus only dedicated readers ever reach the ads at the rear of the magazine.
Following this is a mix of ads, guides and competitions to keep any of the more fanatical readers occupied.
The back cover consists of an advert for an upcoming album, a last nag at the reader to buy the advertised products.
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