Task 6: Magazines in a Shop

The amount of music magazines seen here in Asda is quite a lot, but the Co-operative's sale of music magazines isn't much - as we can see from here, the average amount of music magazines on a stand usually differs between three or four magazines in the Co-op. This shows me that stores like Asda are quite interested in music magazines - this is probably because they are one of the biggest companies in the UK and so need something to keep on top of the other businesses. Therefore they choose magazines of different kinds, including music to appeal to the audience - and the Co-op doesn't have much of an interest in music magazines as much as they do in other genres, like food and lifestyle - there seem to be at least a dozen other magazines about these genres.
Asda have positioned their magazines at the upper part of the stock as they are easily visible for the audience searching for music magazines. The Co-op, on the other hand, have their magazines only at the very top - this style of placing magazines, and the fact that there are so few of them, supports my earlier theory that the Co-op isn't exactly trying to advance in sales of music magazines as much as Asda - they seem to be more at the back of the stand and are replaced by other genres of magazines.
Asda have placed theirs at the front, along with other, less popular music magazines. The main features that seem to try and stand out in the music magazines are the large titles on top and the unique colours of these titles. At Asda, some of the prices are glued to the front of the magazines covers, but some are hidden - this could be due to the higher prices that they are trying to cover, perhaps. Some of the features of the artists, especially their positioning contributes to the eye catching effect. Some are looking at the camera, while some are looking away.

This task has helped me to understand the manner in which stores treat music magazines, how they are placed and which features to hide and make stand out. This is sure to help me when designing my own music magazine as I will know how to persuade big companies to buy my magazine.