Music magazine research ideas

I have been looking at an range of different music magazines which are the same genre which i want to do as my own music magazine. I have been doing this so i can get an good understanding of how they are set out what styles are popular and what the target audience are interested in. I have especially been looking at the way in which the front cover is set out and interesting ways which i can pose my model for my own magazine. such as in the way that Nicki Minaj is posed on the front of the Complex magazine cover, she is crouching down very casually and her back is slightly bent over her face is looking straight on to the front looking directly at the person who is taking the photo. The pose that she is doing is an very high fashion pose and suits what she is wearing and the character which she is trying to portray.
Looking at keyshia Cole on the front of Vibe magazine, the style is very different and is just not a simple photo that has been put on the front of a magazine. It looks to be as if a photo has been taken using probably a digital SLR camera, then would have been edited using an photo editing software. Photoshop could have been used and then a effect would have been put over the top of it so the colour looks as it is merging together and the blending options such as the opacity could be changed so that it looks like it is just coming of the white background or even as if it is floating.