Textual Analysis

Jaime-Leigh Harper

‘Q’ Magazine

• Circulation - 64,596 (Jan-Jun '12)• Readership - 371,000 (April–Sept '12)

Mission Statement: Q is the magazine that brings music alive. It draws together the biggest stars, the most exciting phenomena, the new artists that matter and a healthy dose of irreverence to create an unmissable widescreen picture of what’s really happening in rock and roll right now.Every issue features agenda-setting star interviews, the month’s biggest moments in music, and fascinating investigations into the wider world of rock and roll. Each month Q’s comprehensive reviews section gives the last word on all the most important new releases and reissues – and feeds Q’s readers’ hunger for new music to enjoy. Q’s reviews section is the ultimate critical overview of music. And magazine’s unrivalled access brings its readers up close and personal with the stars who set the agenda. Q is the ultimate rock and roll read.

‘Q’ Magazine Reader ProfileChris is 29 years old and lives in Leeds. Music is more important to him than anything else. It’s at the centre of his social life. It soundtracks all the best moments in his life. It’s his identity, his social currency and his world.

Chris lives for gigs, festivals, and those electrifying moments of togetherness that only music can provide. He is the one who sorts out gig tickets for his friends, turns them on to new bands and sets up the big festival weekend. His tastes are “mainstream eclectic” – the big stadium acts like Muse or Noel Gallagher mixed with the best of genres spanning rock and electronica, plus the finest discoveries from music’s past.

Chris works in a professional job and finally has the money and time to indulge his music habit to the full. He lives with a partner (no kids yet) who is similarly music- mad. He is “discovering quality” in all areas, from sound systems to deluxe reissues to cars, travel and clothes.

Chris loves technology – he was first with the iPod, iPhone, iPad and now streaming music services. He downloads music but still prefers to own CDs. And he spends more on music than anything else: a big-ticket gig every week or so, six albums a month plus a Spotify subscription and countless on-the-go downloads.

‘Q’ Publishers

Bauer Media Advertising

Other Music magazines they have:

BAUER MEDIA REACHES OVER NINETEEN MILLION UK ADULTS EVERY WEEK.

They have more than eighty influential media brands, spanning a wide range of

Front page

Contents page

Double page spread

ColourRed is the background to the main logo and name of the magazine as it brings text and images to the foreground.Red is used as an accent color to stimulate people to make quick decisions; it is a perfect color for 'Buy Now' or 'Click Here' buttons on Internet banners and websites. Therefore it is good to attract people to buy the magazine.

The orange hair on the model is a large part of the colour on the front cover, Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most important elements of your design. Orange creates a good mood for the magazine as it is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.

A lot of white is used on the front cover for the text and throughout the contents and double page spread for backgrounds, White gives the connotation of perfection and cleanliness which is good as it contributes to the magazine looking professional. I don’t think black is used for the font on the cover as opposed to black, white usually has a positive connotation and can represent a successful beginning which is appropriate for the front cover and throughout.

Layout and designIn tests carried out by Karl Borgrgrafe (cited in Favre and November 1979) to see which colours worked best together and black on white came up very highly on the list, Q magazine uses this colour scheme for there main feature

Images The photo on the contents page uses the rule of thirds, as the mans eyes

are on the top horizontal line which helps frame the picture better. The mans eyesight is also looking in the direction in the way you read. The picture also has no negative space but does have white space around it to avoid it looking busy or cluttered.

Pose, style, hair, makeup In this picture the singer is shown with a serious expression and

made to look like she has no flaws (most likely due to editing)

Composition and framingThe image used for the cover an the double page

spread is the same close up shot of ‘Florence and the Machine’ it has been cropped so her face with her hands raised to them in the main part and is centered with her brightly coloured hair working as a border. There is no background. It is done like this to make it clear that the main feature is on her and this issue is almost dedicated to her as she is on the front.

The cover stories start on the left hand side then on the right as we start reading from the right so therefore our eye move from left to right across the page as this is the most comfortable easy way.

Written codes- How words are used

The main part of the title cover line is bolder and bigger than the information underneath it. This makes it be abled to be read from a distance and to stand out on the shelf in a shop.

The ‘16-page gig blow out’ suggests that they are interested in gigs. This is backed up by the reader profile which says ‘Chris lives for gigs, festivals’

Language

Overall Impression

NME magazine

Circulation: 23,924Readership: 289,000

Mission statement: To Provide up to date and new information, reviews and listings of the best new musicTheir slogan is "first for music news”

NME Reader profile

NME PublishersIPC MediaHas more than 60 iconic media brands, IPC creates content for multiple platforms, across print, online, mobile, tablets and events. It is the UK's leading consumer magazine publisher they engage with 26m UK adults - almost two thirds of UK women and 42% of UK men. Their award winning portfolio of websites reaches over 25 million users globally every month.

Other Magazines:

• Country Life, Horse & Hound, Rugby World and Decanter,

• lifestyle brands: including Nuts, Mousebreaker, NME and Woman and home

• IPC Southbank is their upmarket women's division and comprises luxury fashion brands: Marie Claire and InStyle

• home interest brands: Ideal Home, Livingetc and housetohome.

Front cover

Contents Page

Double page spread

Colour

The colour used on the front cover of the magazine and the double page spread are vibrant and clash. This makes the magazine stand out and make a bold statement. The main feature of this magazine is a interview with Noel Fielding so the clashing bright colours reflect Noels crazy eccentric personality.

Layout and design

Images

Pose,style,hair,makeupThe photo on the cover gives an immediate

impression to a potential buyer of the magazine as it’s the first thing they see. This photo could actually exclude some readers as if people can’t relate to the unique dress sense of Noel fielding or his ‘crazy’ care free personality they would not buy this magazine. However this is okay, because the people it excludes are not the target audience they are reaching out to. This is a staged pose but it still reflects the character.

Composition and framing

Written codes- How words are used

Language

Overall impression

Theories

Maslow (1954) states that human behavior reflects a range of needs, ranked in order from basic needs to higher aspirations. One of these needs are Esteem needs (recognition, feeling worthwhile, respected) NME does this by on the front cover by asking a rhetorical question – ‘Who will you vote for?’ this makes it seem like the magazine value there audiences opinion and therefore leave them feeling worthwhile and respected.

Branston and stafford (2010) states stereotypes have the following characteristics: • That they involve both a categorization and an evaluation of the group being stereotyped• They usually emphasize some easily grasped or perceived features of the group in question and then

suggest that these are the cause of the groups position• The evaluation of the group is often a negative one• Stereotypes often try to insist on absolute differences and boundaries(‘us’ and ‘them’) whereas the idea of a spectrum of differences is more appropriate.

-This is linked in with NME magazine as image on the front cover and double page spread uses the stereotype of a ‘gothic’ rocker to create a boundary of who would buy this magazine and who wouldn’t- for example people who do not appreciate his clothing sense or ‘gothic’ looks.