Analysis of music magazine

“Q magazine” is an magazine which is published monthly in the United Kingdom by Bauer Media. I chose to analyse this particular magazine for my case study in AS Media Studies 

“Q“ magazine is part of a range of products published by Bauer.

These are produced and launched by different platforms; magazines, television and radio. This produces a brand identity, An example would be “Q”.  Platforms such as “Q” television help encourage give a brand identify for ”Q”.   It has  a lot of consumer by branded products such as  “Q” radio. Apple is another example of how the brand creates an  identy through a range of products, for example “apple ipad” and “apple computer.”.  Audiences now days are more likely to buy branded products. As “Q” has its own brand it will build awareness within the audience which will help the company  gain profit. Bauer Media created “Q “ magazine in 1986. It has been one of the  UK’s best selling music monthly magazines. The magazine it self does not consist of a fix targeted audience, in fact it has a much broader open minded audience. The issue is about the most exciting people in music therefore, the magazine focuses on three significant artist of different genre. “Q” is a brand magazine. 

Front cover :

Every magazine consist of a front cover. The purpose of a front cover is simply to attract the audience which the magazine targets. The framing of the images represented on the front cover of “Q” magazine is a medium to long shot. This is slightly unconventional as a medium shot is far more common across the whole range of UK music magazines. The reason it is produced this way is because it allows a composite of three images to appear together. The images are of Lady Gaga, Dave Grohl and Jay Z. They represent three different genre. This suggests the type of audience that the  magazine targets. Jay Z and Lady Gaga are two artist of two genres. core audience that buy this magazine would mostly focus on the Jay Z and Lady Gaga because  they represent hip hop and are portrayed as “cool” famous artists. Therefore, Core audience are influenced seek and gain ways of looking cool. However, audiences that look at all three artist have a much broader mind which implies they are an older audience. The image takes place on the right hand o centre of the magazine cover.

The front cover is the key to grabbing the audience’s attention. The image however, has a huge impact on doing this; it promotes the magazine and enables them to gain an idea of what the magazine consist of. This magazine attracts the audiences in numerous ways, an example would be, it includes direct eye contact with the camera which makes it more personal for the reader. This is one way it draws the attention of the reader as they feel the image is looking directly at them therefore, a language of communication starts to build. Furthermore, Jay Z, Lady Gaga and Dave Grohl are

standing confidently. The way they communicate through their bodies is known as  body language. Generally people  that are confident are very sociable people that enjoy getting to know new people and making friends. Therefore they are very approachable as the person approaching them will not feel nervous and rejected. The audience therefore, finds it much easier to feel a level of communication taking place.

The key selling point that tells the audience what the magazine is about is due to the people on the front cover. It helps them distinguish their genre of music.  This gives an over view of what the magazine will consist of. Information is portrayed through  cover lines,  and a text box which is located on the right hand side of the cover.  The masthead is in the top left hand corner, above it is a eyebrow, It is significant because it shows you the ten most exciting people in music today.

The magazine also consist of a barcode, this is situated on the bottom left corner. Furthermore, the majority of information is positioned on the left hand side of the cover. The reason behind this is because when magazines are stacked in stores they usually tilt a little therefore information can be easily seen which can attract the audience. Also, because the layout is clear the magazine looks mature. This is one way to distinguish their target audience.

There are four main house colour which has a significant reason represented in consistently throughout the magazine and on the front cover. This is made up of orange, red, white and black. The back round of the front cover is white, however, the main cover lines are neon orange, these are two contrasting colours.  Moreover, the banner that is located on the top of the magazine consist of black background with white text. The purpose of this is to make the text stand out, grabbing the audiences eye towards what the text says. This is an advantage because when the audience read the text it encourage them to read on which encourages them to buy the magazine. Also, because there are a lot of bold, bright colours used, it attracts people eyes towards as it is immediately in your face. Red and orange are represented continuously on the front cover a majority of times. One example where red is used is to present the brand image of the company. One reason why red has been chosen is because, firstly, it immediately draws attention, and secondly, it is an iconic colour. Red in this case, implies that the magazines is very “hot”, “spicy”. And “excitement.” Orange is  an  eye catching colour too. The colour scheme is one of the key factors of a magazine. “Q magazine” uses colours that contrast amongst one another to attract the audience. As mentioned before, the magazine consist of three artists that are of different genres. These artists are iconic musicians in the sense that they are famous. Therefore, there target audience is wide. Dave Grohl is iconic in the sense he presents rock, whereas Jay Z and Lady Gaga represent hip hop. Moreover, Lady Gaga also represents POP.  

The front cover consist of a range of symbolic sign, one way this is represented is through the artist Jay Z.  He is wearing baggy jeans, silver chain, a black top with his hand in his pocket. This is typically stereotyped as a “rude boy”. The clothes portray the hip hop culture. The black top represents that he Is very strong with his music he produces. The baggy jeans represents that he can offered clothes and is rich.

There are a few indexical signs show, one way it is shown is through Jay Z. He tilts his head up from the camera, this is one way that Jay Z represent he is confident with the use of his body language. The fact that he tilts his head also symbolises that he has a rude attitude and that he’s manly and powerful.  This influences the idea that the world is mostly male dominated and men are more powerful due to the fact that Lady gaga is standing behind Jay Z.

The signs appeal to types all different people. The reason behind is because the artist on the magazine are iconic musicians, the way they represent  themselves whether is through body language or not has a huge influences on the younger generation. The way Jay Z dresses “rude boy” type encourages teenagers to dress like that to portrays them selves the way he does. The fact that Lady gaga reveals a lot of cleavage also encourages teenagers to show more cleavage however, what they don’t realise is that by dressing up the way someone else does may cause a negative impact on there own image especially when it comes to culture.
The mast head has a red background with the letter “Q” written in white. This has a major impact on the magazine because it is an iconic colour that is representing their company. Also, the colour is used throughout the whole magazine. Since the “Q” stands out due to its colours it helps the audience instantly recognise the magazine itself.
The font used in the cover of the magazine is very hard; this emphasises the vold culture that is represents. Also the music that is featured in the magazine is very edgy; therefore the font stresses this factor.
The website the magazine shows in the front cover is http://www.qthemusic.com/, it is very easy to remember and read. The reason for this is so that people go onto their website as it consists of further promotions of their magazine company. The website also consist of a small background of the magazine and gives a chance for the audience to see all the other types of music that have not been presented in the magazine.
The price of the magazine is £3.99 The cost of the magazine is located on the bottom left corner inside the text box. The magazine is very expensive. This tells what type of audience is consisting of because teenagers are most likely to ask there parents for money. Moreover, the reason for this price is due to the advertisement and promotion in the magazine. 

 

Content page

The content takes up to two pages therefore it is a double page spread. The footer consists of details for example, the websites address. The footer also has the date, “Q” logo and page number.  The website address promotes the music magazine on the footer. The reason the website address is placed on the footer, is mainly to encourage target audience to access the website. This means “Q” magazine is constantly increasing the number of people that visit and go onto the website. Furthermore, the red banner across the page on the top has “Q” written.  The house colours are white, red and black. There is also on the left side page a number fifty the number of pages inside this magazine.  On the bottem left page, screen shots are shown of Llady gaga and Dave Grohl interview. There is close up shot of Jay Z head, this indicates that he is very important in the music industry aswell as famous and powerful.  The image represents no emotion which means he is very strong. One way that his strong character is emphasized is through the use of the background with the use of red which tells us he is a dangerous, powerful and angry man. denotative description of the layout of the contents. 

There is a number of font used which vary from big to small. This could indicate that there is a lot of music that the artist have made.

There image are of three artist that have three different genre of music which is hip hop, pop and indie rock. The reason for this is to engage a wider audience.

The way Jay Z has dressed up is like a “rude boy”.  The reason for this is because he is a rapper and it is stereotyped that rappers are most likely to dress up as “rude boys”. This encourages his audience to dress the way Jay Z does.

Language has a huge impact on the audience. With the use of language the target audience are captured. The language is formal however, it consist of informal phrases such as “Bonkers.” This targets the younger audience.

The colour that attracts the audience is mostly red because it is so bright. The headings, “Q”, subheadings, are also red. This represents danger which shows part of the artist characteristic and image. 

Double page spread:


The way in which the layout is represented and structured is, starting from the top of the page, a banner is present that says; “The most exciting people in music.” Moreover, on the right hand side, there is a shot of Lady Gaga and just across, it says “LADY GAGA WHAT I’VE LEARNED”. The footer portrays of both pages consist of the website address, “Q” logo, page number and date. The left side of the page is structured very simple, there is a title whereby the interviewers name is given in bold underneath. The centre of the page has a black red text box and within it, quotes are written in bold. There are also a range of questions in red that have been answers using the colour black.

The reason why Lady Gaga is portrayed on the right hand side is because she is well known,  this encourages the target audience to buy “Q” magazine, as it is very appealing for them. Also, the fact she is famous means she is an iconic musician. Moreover, the bold writing placed on the centre of the article, engages the audiences eyes because it standout from the other fonts. It tells the audience a bit about what Lady Gaga has said, therefore, this leads to readers being attracted instantly as they may find what they are reading is interesting. The title that is situated across Lady gaga’s image draws the audience attentions. The interviewers name is there to advertise their work and informs the audience that they are important.

The way Lady Gaga is standing is in a sexual pose. The image portrays a lot of skin, as she is wearing a lingerie. Her body language tells the audience she is in a very sexy mood, her fingers are situated in her mouth and her bum is poking out. The way Lady Gaga has represent herself  is very extremely stereotypical in the industry of hip hop.

.Lady Gaga’s image creates communication with the target audience by giving direct eye contact. Females, especially women are attracted and influenced to this image because they would want to act/portray themselves as a hip hop artist. Males will also be attracted to this magazine due to Lady Gaga’s body language as it is extremely sexual.

Red is the main colour that is kept consistent throughout this magazine. It is therefore known as the house colour. The bold font and red are used and kept consistent throughout this magazine for example, the quote that is used on the centre of the page and the name “Lady Gaga” There are many reasons why red is used continuously. Firstly it is an Iconic colour that represents “Q” . Second the colour is very eye catching therefore, attracts the audience. Furthermore, black is also one colour that has been used. The facts that black and red are two contrasting colours is an advantage because it engages with the audiences. Also, the black makes the red standout therefore much easy to read.