'Q' Music Magazine - First Front Page Analysis

The Masthead/Title

The masthead/title of the magazine that I am analysing is 'Q'. Originally, this magazine was going to be called Cue as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play, but the name was changed so that it would not be mistaken for a snooker magazine and also they thought a single letter would stand out more and be more prominent in shops and on newsstands. 

The 'Q' is white and in a red box and on the front cover it is partly hidden, showing that it is still recognisable even if it is partly visible. 

The Headline

The headline features the name of the band on the front cover which in this case is the Arctic Monkeys. The style of the font is sans-serif and it is very bold, ‘Arctic Monkeys’ is written in white and that contrasts well with the dark background. Furthermore, this will enable the reader to gather an idea as to whether the further content of the magazine appeals to them and gives them idea of what will be in it. Above this is 'The 'Q' Interview' this is in a white rectangle so that this enables it to stand out and it is relevant to the headline as it informs the reader why the headline is the 'Arctic Monkeys' as they are being interviewed. Moreover, the text is in sans-serif again and is written in black apart from the 'Q' used in this sentence as this is written in red and it sticks to the house style.

The Main Image

The main image is of the Arctic Monkeys. The front cover is not too complicated and this image works really well creating a charismatic effect. All of the members in the Arctic Monkeys are dressed in black and this works really well as quite a lot goes with black, therefore the producers of the magazine have allowed themselves a good range of colours they could use. In the end they decided to keep it fairly simple using only, black, white, red and white, which in my opinion work well, as the white writing which goes over some of their black clothes is a good contrast. Each member in the group look very well groomed, smart and they are almost expressing their character through their unique hairstyles. Furthermore, each member is looking in different directions except for the male at the front and this suggests that he is the dominant one of the group.

The Strapline

The strapline is at the top of the cover and it is framed in a blue box which stretches across the entire width of the cover. On it reads ‘Manic Street Preachers’ which is in serif font and underneath this written in san-serif and in white reads ’25 years of triumph and tragedy by James , Nicky and Sean’. Furthermore, in the left hand corner in a silver circle reads ’17-page special!’ Now along the top is not that bold but it does draw the reader’s eye upon itself and if the reader is really interested in this then they will then got to this page and read more about it.

The Cover Lines

There are not many cover lines but the cover lines that are on the front cover are as follows: The first cover line reads ‘White lies on beards, booze and baking cakes for muse’ this is written in white sans-serif writing. This is an interesting cover line and it has been cleverly worded as it appeals to its entire target audience which is both male and females as ‘Beards’ is targeted at men and ‘Baking Cakes’ is more likely to be targeted at women and booze which is another term for alcohol is aimed at both men and women as it is a common interest that they both have.

The next cover line promotes the famous entrepreneur Richard Branson as it reads ‘Richard Branson “I’m choosing which band to send into space” This will automatically draws in the audience as this is such an unusual thing to say and not only will they want to know why he has made this decision, they will want to know how he is going to achieve this.

The third cove line reads ‘Arcade fire, green day, Nirvana, Haim, Rizzle Kicks’ this is very short and snappy and although it may seem a bit too simple to just be placed at the bottom of the front cover in the right hand corner it may have a better chance to enable them to relate to a wider audience.

The cover lines are grey and white and they are written in sans- serif font. This completes the sophisticated look that is carried throughout the whole of the magazine but as it does not stand out that much it does lose a lot of attention. The cover lines are interesting and although they are quite short and snappy this could enable a whole new range of readers to become interested in the magazine that perhaps would not have been before hand and they were clever as they used famous icons such as Richard Branson to grab readers attention further. Even though the cover lines don’t shout at you they do follow the colour scheme and they fit in well.

What Makes the 'Q' Magazine Unique?

This magazine has a very simple design so this is hugely different from the front cover of the magazine ‘Kerrang’ for example, however it is a similar design to the magazine ‘NME’ and a few others. But what makes it unique in itself is obviously the chosen fonts and the fact that there are selected points that they have made to look more important e.g. the ‘Arctic Monkeys’ rather than everything shouting at you like it is on the front cover of ‘Kerrang’. 

Inside the Magazine 'Q' and General Information

Inside

 How many pages are there and how many pages of adverts are there?

In the magazine there are 140 pages in total and the number of adverts is 24.

How many double page spreads are there? 

In total there are 41 double page spreads and often they are about different types of music and bands that are currently playing at various places. But also popular brands such as Hugo Boss and boots are also being advertised on these double page spreads.

How does the magazine achieve a unified house style and is this appropriate for its target audience?

The magazine achieves a unified house style by the use of colour, language and fonts. The main colours used in the magazine are red white and black which are used consistently throughout the magazine. The language used is also fairly formal inside the magazine and this is also consistent throughout as well. This house style is appropriate to the target audience as it shows that the magazine is for wealthier people, as for example ‘Hugo Boss’ is fairly expensive and it has an good range of adverts, articles and other interesting facts throughout the magazine also.

General

 Which company produces the magazine?

The company that produces the magazine is the Bauer Media group, and it was first published in October 1986.

What is the target audience?

The target audience for this particular magazine is for 25-40 year old males and females who like alternative music; however it’s not that specific due to significant amounts of people below that age range buying the magazine. It’s thought that the creators of the magazine in 1986 thought there was a niche market for the older generation plus it stood out due to its high quality printing.

How much does it cost and how often is it published?

The magazine ‘Q’ costs £3.99 to purchase and it is published on a monthly basis.

What is its circulation?

This magazine’s circulation is 59,980, “Mag ABCs: full circulation round up for the first half of 2013”, Press Gazette, 15^th August 2013 and it is retrieved 17^th August 2013.

Approximate monthly revenue streams from advertising and circulation:

The approximate monthly revenue streams from advertising and circulation is £239, 320, 20.

Research Mindmap

Preliminary Task - Contents Page

Preliminary Task - Title Page

Formal Brief

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate your grasp of DTP.


Main task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine (if done as group task, each member of the group to produce an individual edition of the magazine, following the same house style).