ANALYSIS OF MUSIC MAGAZINE THREE- Q MAGAZINE

Analysis of front cover, contents page and double page spread

Front coverMastheadThe masthead is placed at the top in the left hand corner as this is the way the audience will read the magazine. When the magazine is in the shop on a shelf this is the part that you will see, so you will know what the magazine is. The masthead is included in the left third as this is where all the main information is, that the reader might want to see. This is the main information as that is the way the reader will read the front cover. The masthead on ‘Q’ magazine is read and white. The connotations of these colours links with tabloid newspapers, as normally in these the masthead will also be red and white. So this means the colours suggests news and that information that people might wants to know will be inside.

Left thirdThe left third of the magazine is the most important part as that is where the reader starts reading from like in a ‘C’ shape, so the publisher /editor writes all the most important information on this side so the audience definitely reads it.

Date/Barcode/priceThe date, barcode and the price are all small on the side of the magazine. This is showing key information you will need to know if you want to buy the magazine, however the way they are small and you have to look closely to find them suggests that the magazine is sold for the quality of it and the pleasure it will give to people that like music. So this shows the magazine is about the quality and not the price, so people will buy it whatever the price is because its about what’s inside. However it is placed in the middle so it is visible and not too hard to find for the reader.

Main cover lineThe main cover line is in a very large font and takes up quite a lot of the front cover. It also goes around the shape of the top and the bottom of the guitar. This draws you into the main cover line (who the artist is) and the main image which the main cover line anchors as it is labelling who he is. Also the way his name is written on him, clearly shows the audience that is who they are talking about.

Main imageThe main image on this front cover takes up most of the front cover but has writing on top and surrounding it.But you can see all of Jake Bugg’s face and also his instrument which helps the audience to see what type of music he creates. The way the text is positioned around him lets the audience see the main image well. The use of the prop in this image draws you into the magazine as it shows the audience what type of music he makes and what you can expect. The prop also draws the audience as specific people will like this meaning it is targeted at people that like string instruments for example.

Flash/strip of informationThe flash makes a point about something and gives you extra key information about the magazine making the audience want to buy it even more. This gives information that the magazine is a ‘Bob Dylan special’ which will draw an even wider audience in as his music is not the same as Jake Bugg;s

Audience Who is the target audience for Q?The target audience for Q music magazine indie/rock music fans. Q claims to ‘celebrate

everything that’s great in rock and roll’. However this magazine also has a wider audience too depending on the issue that it is. Q magazine includes information and has cover artists that are not just from the indie/rock genre like pop and r&b too because this attracts more of an audience. Q states ‘Q has featured the world’s biggest artists - from U2 to Adele, Oasis to Rihanna, Radiohead to lady Gaga and more - on its landmark covers’.

How does Q magazine attract it’s audience?Q attracts its audience by putting what its audience will like on the front cover and

because it puts such a variety of people on the front this means more of a variety of audience. The language that Q uses on the front cover persuades te audience into buying the magazine and reading it as it talks a lot about how much is inside making it worth your while to read.

Contents pageMasthead/contentsThe masthead on the contents page links in with the running theme in this magazine as red, white and black colours are used again like on the front cover which again suggests musical news. It also includeds a ‘Q’ on the side which is the name of the magazine so it keeps reinforcing this so the reader can buy it again and know what to look for.

Main imageThe main image is almost in the centre of your page and it draws you is as it is on the contents page and it makes you want to read on to find out more if you don’t already know who she is, and if you do you will also read on.Contents/headings/subheadings

The writing for the contents/headings/subheadings is red which again links all the pages in the magazine together. The page numbers are in black making them stand out from the rest as they are also quite big and this makes them stand out from the page so people turn to the pages that they want to read quickly and easily.

Double page spread

Main imageIn this main image Jake Bugg is wearing plain black clothes to show that in his genre of music it is not about the appearance and is more about the music which is then highlighted by the fact that he is holding a guitar to go along side his music.His facial expression appears quite simple showing that the indie genre is all about the music and has different emotions involved in it. The simplicity of the images highlights the type of music that Jake creates.

DropcapA few drop caps have been used in this double page spread (the big letters at the starts of the article). Most magazines follow this simple theme so it allows the reader to know when each bit of text starts of just when the article starts

TaglineThis tagline is something that the artist (Jake Bugg) has actually said himself showing that this anchors the image as it is about him. The small quote suggests that his music has changed him as a person yet the image suggests he has remained simple and not got ahead of himself.

The elements that connect the 3 different parts of the magazine:

The fonts and the colours used for the words connect all three of the different parts of the magazine together as the colours black, white and red are used throughout all of the different sections so that the magazine is more effective and keeps to a certain theme that the magazine has picked.

Background History of Q

• Q is a popular music magazine, which is published monthly in the UK.

• In this magazine’s earlier years, it was subtitled "The modern guide to music and more".

• Bauer media group publish this magazine.

• The founders: Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, made this magazine because they were dismayed by how little music press there was at the time.

• Alot of the magazine is devoted to interviews with popular music artists.

• The magazine includes a long review section including new music releases and also includes radio and TV reviews.

• Q has a history of associating with charities and in 2006 the British anti-poverty charity ‘War on Want’ was named Q’s official charity.