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.