Initial Genre Choice

Conventions:

Masthead's in Country Music Magazines are usually red, blue or green. They probably choose red and blue not only because they are bright colours which stand out on plain backgrounds but because they represent patriotism of America as they match the US flag. Green is probably used to symbolise rural living. The size and the position of the Masthead are usually 1/6th of the front page however can also break conventions like Nash does in the image in the middle by having a square masthead.

Sepia and black and white have been typical of Country and Western Magazines but as times change "the idea of audience is changing, it's getting harder to conceive media audience asa stable group". McDougall's theory supports Country Music because not all Country Music fans are stereotypically old and Americal. Perhaps a younger audience prefers a spectrum of colours on the front cover but as shown in the image of Johnny Cash on the right it is black and white to appeal to his older audience since there are more older people who enjoy his music.

The amount of cover stories vary from magazine to magazine but there is always a prominent font (usually bold or in a different colour) to signify the main article.

Almost 100% of Country Music Magazines have feature stories about other artists either giving concert dates or giving them a bit of a biography. Some even advertise competitions you can win to get free concert tickets or trips to a state. There are also quite a lot of critics choice columns.

Puffs are rare within this genre there is usually only one which is very small. Puffs are slogans used to inform the reader of the popularity or quality of the magazine, like in Maverick they have a banner-like puff under the masthead saying "THE UK'S LEADING INDEPENDENT COUNTRY MUSIC MAGAZINE".

Pugs are a convention of any type of magazine and include the barcode in the bottom right; the price, date and issue number at the top; and any other little extras like promotions or freebies.

At the bottom of the Maverick magazine shown at the top of this post a banner is used which adheres to the conventions of a Country Music Magazine "Embracing the best of country, folk, bluegrass and roots music". This just advertises all the magazine has to offer. Usually the banners contain information such  as email addresses and web addresses and sometimes hash tags in modern magazines.

Pictures / Photography:

As there are many different types of singers and styles within the Country and Western genre there are many different ways to take a photo. Usually in a group picture they are spread quite far apart from each other whilst holding guitars or other acoustic instruments. Individual singers almost always have a specific sign in the image with them which tells the audience that their music is definitely Country.

Props are almost always used in shots which make the layout look more natural. By even holding a Stetson style hat instead of a mask or an electric guitar it shows straight away that the magazine will be of a more acoustic genre.

Costumes are usually simple however recently conventions of the classic country image are being changed so artists are wearing more casual clothes. Most of the time artists are dressed comfortably in blue jeans, check shirts and cowboy boots.

Desaturation is commonly used in sepia.

Fonts:

Handwriting fonts are not typically used in Country Music. Large block font is typical since it stands out. Sans serif fonts are used a lot besides Times New Roman.