Music News, or Just News?

Rolling Stone and Spin Magazine are two of the foremost Rock-and-Roll publications of the past twenty years. With its first issue printed in 1967, Rolling Stone instantly became the leading Rock-and-Roll magazine of the United States. Overflowing with gritty news articles and classic rock icons, Rolling Stone attracts highly educated and mature audiences. Introduced little over 20 years ago, Spin is geared towards a younger generation and focuses on their interest in music and current events. Though Rolling Stone and Spin are both Rock-and¬-Roll publications, they implement different ideas of magazine size, articles, and cover art to reach their audience.

The first eye-catching difference is the size of the magazines themselves. Spin takes a more conservative approach to the publication's size. It is printed in the standard eleven-by-eight inch format used by most magazines in The United States. By choosing this size, Spin gains advantages such as portability and attraction. Rolling Stone on the other hand, has taken a quite different approach. With its massive size, almost double the size of a standard magazine, Rolling Stone draws prospective buyers in their direction. It is obvious that Rolling Stone's unique choice makes them stand out in a sea of clones. Whether readers think out of the box, or conform to the norm, they will find that magazine size is essential to publication sales.

News, political satire, films, and current events might lead readers to believe that they are reading The New Yorker; but in fact, all are present in today's modern day Rock-and-Roll magazines. Rolling Stone, being a very diverse publication, covers many topics in its articles including photos, film reviews, and up-and-coming musical artists. However, their intense reporting on current events and political satire appeal to a generally higher-educated and a more mature audience. Spin also includes film reviews and photos in its publications articles. Yet it focuses its attention on a younger crowd, with articles including comedy and musically-related news. Spin's attention to comedy and chart-topping musical acts draws the attention of single, undergraduates around twenty-something.

From sleek new photos of today's hottest bands, to ultra gorgeous supermodels, the covers of today's Rock-and-Roll magazines are sure to catch a reader's eye. Rolling Stone, with its huge magazine size, has opted to take a direction toward a more modern-like feel to their covers. With supermodels and classic rock bands draped across the front, consumers cannot help but snag it off the shelf. The larger than life photos definitely give Rolling Stone an edge.