Article Analysis: Q Magazine

The artist chosen to feature in the magazine article is Cheryl Cole. This suggests that the audience are mainly males aged been 22-44 as this is the target audience for Q magazine. She is young and attractive and will defeintely appeal to the male target audience. The language is quite informal,which means it appeals to a wide range of people. For example, it says " Everything i do is scrutinised, evrything i fucking say". It is unusual to have swearing in a magazine and it is not something you would generally come accross by looking in any type of magazine. But the aim of Q is to be different and edgy. The tone the article gives the reader is kind of friendly. The article begins with them talking about Cheryl's life right away, as i fthe audience was a close friend and knew a lot about her: " Cheryl Cole is sick to death of looking at herself."



The text used is a simple black font. This is unusual for Q magazine, as they are known for being 'Rock-ish' and 'Edgy'. It sticks with the colour theme from the contents page and the front cover, which are red, black and white. It looks sophisticated as well as bold. The images also follow this pattern. Cheryl wears dominantly black, with red lipstick; it's as if she is making a statement. Three full pages are taken up by only images: two of Cheryl Cole, and one of an 'X' which could stand for her role in the X factor. On the first page, there is a large letter 'C' behind the article, on the other two pages about half the page has been taken up by imags also. There is not much text which shows that the magazine focusses on selling the article through images and that they don't do in-depth articles. They keep it short and straight to the point.

Cheryl Cole is presented as being very edgy and like a rock chick. This is different from what the public usually see her as ( a pop princess), it's as if Q is letting us see a different side of her, the new her maybe. She wears all black, but still manages to look cool and diva-ish, which is a hard image to portray. This image gives off the same impression as the front cover which looks very dark in relation to Sin City. The article does require a bit of prior knowledge, but lets us know brief information about her such as that she used to be in a group called Girls Aloud and that her debut single 'Fight For This Love' was the fastest selling song in 2009,h wever it does not give us any background information about her which suggests that the audience already know a bit about her.

Contents page analysis

Q Magazine Contents page:

1. The contents page uses several different images that are arranged on the page in a kind of messy way. But it still looks good. There is a large image on the first page which is on the left hand side, this is a picture of Cheryl Cole which relates to the stories inside the magazine and the front cover. It lets us know that this magazine is focusing on her. There is a montage of several images, which looks cool and egdey; this relates to the kind of message and audience that the magazine is trying to give off and relate to. The colours used are red, black and white which relate to the front cover. The main colours on the cover were red and black as they appear to seem very sinful and bold. From the cover and the contents page, we can tell that red, black and white are the main colour used by Q Magazine. it is organised very well. The different sections focus on different artists, for example there is a section subtitled '50 Cent' and 'John Lennon'. The 'Q' is at the top of the page in a header. It is white against a red background and it really stands out to the audience; it makes a bold statement and it is very dominant on the page.

Preliminary Magazine Cover

Proposal, Questionnaire & Results

The chosen genre of music for my magazine is R&B. It is aimed at mainly females, but could appeal to the male audience as well. It is aimed at ages between 16 and 25. They will be interested in learning about artists that sing and produce this type of music. I think that this type of magazine is needed because there are not many magazines out there that focus on mainly Soul and R&B, rather than hip hop and R&B.

What type of music are you mostly interested in (you may choose more tan one)?
Hip Hop: Gospel: R&B: Rock: Pop: Other:

How often would you like this magazine to be released?
Weekly: Fortnightly: Monthly:

How much would you pay for a magazine?
Up to £2: Up to £3: Up to £4: up to £5:

What kind of freebies would you like to come with a magazine (you may select more than one)?
Posters: CD’s: Stickers: Calendars: Other:

Do you like only well-known artists on the cover of a magazine?
Yes: No:

Do you prefer in depth articles or short ones?
In depth: Short:

Are you interested in the up and coming artists as well as the famous ones?
Yes: No:

What attracts you to a music magazine (you may select more than one)?
Celebrities: Freebies: Special price offer: Exclusive interviews:

Do you currently buy other music magazines?
Yes: No:

If yes, which ones:
____________________________________________________________

This shows that the majority of people do not enjoy reading in depth articles, so the one i make will be quite short and interesting.

Most people would like to receive free CD's with a magazine.

My magazine will feature an up and coming artist, as most of my target audience are interested in up and coming artists as well as famous ones.













The majority are interested in hip hop and R & B. This is good because R&B is the genre of my magazine.

My results show that about 90% of my intended target audience have bought music magazines before, so they know what they want.












Most people prefer to have well known artists on the front cover.

This shows that freebies and celebrity gossip attract young people more to a magazine than interviews and special price offers do.

50% the people would pay up to £2 for a music magazine. 30% would pay up to £3.

The majority woul dlike this magazine to be released fortnightly.

These are three images that could be used on my magazine front cover.

Image One:

Image Two:

Image Three:

Title block analysis

Target Audience is Males aged 24-44, (woman are aimed aswell), readership is older due to the fact the features are more in-depth and acts such as McFly wouldnt feature in the magazine. The single lettered title is prominent on the news stands, because usually magazines have a longertitle.
The colours used are red and white the background of red shows power and danger. This will make it stand out on the shelves. Also the read and white would appeal to the English readership as these are the colours of the national flag.
The 'Q' leans slightly to the left; this shows that the magazine not only covers mainstream acts but also 'left-field' acts that don't usually get coverage in the main news.

The target audience is males aged 15-24. NME stands for 'New Musical Express'. this is good for the intended target audience because it allows them to discover what kind of music they are really into. the lettering is bold and stands out to the young target audience. this also reflects the magazine as being a bold one. The boldness is also reflected bythe use of colours: red, black and white. The readership probably spends their time watching different artists at various different locations.

Mojo's intended target audience is also males aged between 22 and 44. The word 'mojo' means 'talent' and it appeals to a wide aundience because it reports on different music types. The colours used are very simple: black and white. The font is also very simple, but makes a stand because it is different to most other music magazines. The shadowing effect makes the reader think of night time and having a good night out.

The intended target audience for 'Kerrang!' is males aged between 15 and 24. The chances of anyone over the age of 30 reading Kerrang! is slim. The name of the title is onomatopoeic; it is supposed to sound like the violent strings of an air guiter. This reflects the genre of music that the magazine is based on: Rock. The font is edgy and relates to the readers. rock music is also quite edgy. The capital letters stand out and are very bold. The use of the colour black signifies the stereotypical readers of the magazine which would be 'goths' or 'emo's'-it could also signify them standing out as differenttypes of people against a plain white background.

magazine front covers

Q Magazine

Q is a music magazine aimed at males of the ages between 22- 44. It's for people interested in a variety of different types of music, but usually has its main focus as Rock. The target audience would also be interested in reading articles based on these artists.

we can tell from the puffs on the front cover, that the magazine will feature a range of different artists such as 50 Cent, Muse and Snow Patrol. Also, the puff "The 10 Best new Acts" attracts the audience because of the buzz word "Best". The buzz word makes the reader feel as if they ar getting something extra and exclusive that not everyone has. The central image is of Cheryl Cole; she has a direct mode of address which shows her connecting with the audience. Cheryl is on the front cover of Q so that she can help promote herself and her music, as she has just recently released her debut solo album. The anchorage text reads " 3 words... Cheryl Cole

Rocks", this is a reference to her album '3 words' and Q magazine made a clever approach in making the next words that followed literally three words. The word "Rocks" is in large capitals so it stands out, this also will make the reader believe that Cheryl is no longer a pop singer and is now a rock star! As the magazine is dominately aimed at males, the central image being a pretty woman like Cheryl Cole will make it look more appealing. From this image Cheryl is giving the impression that she has an 'edge' to her and the image is in relation to Sin City, a film which regular readers of Q would be familiar with.

The main colours of the magazine are red, black and white. These colours also match the Sin City and 'rock chick' kind of theme. Red is a very dominant colour, that can also be seen as sexy, stong and powerful. White stands out amongst the mainly black background and all the colours are quite sophisticted. The font used is simple block capitals because they are simple to read and don't take the main focus away from the actual magazine. The slogan is written along the top of the magazine, this is good because it means it will stand out and be seen even when the magazine is stacked on shelves behind others. It says "The UK's biggest music magazine". This shows that a lot of people read it and that it is a confident, well known magazine. Not many music magazines cater for all different genres of music, however Q magazine, is one of the few that does.

NME magazine

NME is aimed at young males aged 15-24. The magazine doesn't really contain in-depth articles about artists, but rather features in montages of pictures. The magazine is more of a newspaper than a magzine, and features reports on artists and recent shows. We can tell from the title block that the magazine is trying to attract a young audience. We know this because of the bold lettering as it is very bold and eye catching. The colours are also very bold (red and black). The title of the magazine is pronounced as 'Enemy' , it suggests that the magazine enemy is the popular culture.

The central image is of Gerrad Way from the band 'My Chemical Romance'. It uses a direct mode of address which shows that the magazine wants it to have a connection with the audience. However, his body is twisted away from the audience and only half of his face is showing. This shows that the magazine wants us to know him, but not fully; it makes it seen mysterious. He is on the front so he can promote My Chemical Romance's new album. He will also help to bring in a wider audience.

The anchorage text says: "My chemical romance on their punk comeback album"- this tells the audience that it is something new and they have come back with a bang! The colours used are red, white and black. These colours are very bold and also looks quite dangerous. They chose three main coloursto focus on because using too many would not make the image look as appealing to the audince. NME does its best to attract readers by featuring various artists and bands on the front cover, they also mention up and coming artists that do not usually get coverage in other music magazines.