'Q' Readers Demographic Profile

Q magazine is the legendary monthly magazine which was launched in 1986 it celebrates the biggest stars therefore reaches a broad audience unlike NME who focus on more rock and roll music. It is produced by Bauer media group.
The audience profile is with a 68:32 % male to females and 35% of the readers are aged 15-24, 26% 25-34 and the rest 39%. This shows the Q has a huge ability to reach a vast audience range.
 

Q Double page spread

 

 

The left side of this double page spread is a mid-shot of Lady Gaga whom is the subject of the article and the title of her first name is also the background of the right side of the page, this allows the audience to easily identify who the article is about with support from the picture and text.
The shot of Lady Gaga is in black and white and is a seductive pose which is also similar to the front cover I've annotated of Cheryl Cole of female icons trying to lure in the audience.
The large red 'L' follows the house style of Q however it also connotes love, sex and danger which all relate to Lady Gaga as she love her music, is posing in a seductive way and is very dangerous in a sense when it comes to her fashion choices and song lyrics.

Q Contents page

 

 

 

The contents page is split into two major sections the left side being text and the right the main image which in this case is 'The Courtneers' and English indie rock band who  will appeal to the magazines audience.

The page layout is very organised unlike other magazines where the page is shaped in more of a collage with pictures and headline stories overlapping.  However for my magazine as the genre is pop and the target audience is for a younger generation I will use overlapping pictures as I think it looks very aesthetically pleasing and is effective at drawing peoples attention in.

The 'Q' in the top left corner also helps anchor the brands image and house style with the red, black and white colour scheme which is used throughout the magazine. There is also the magazines website address in the top corner which shows that the brand is keeping up with trends as many people now use and can access the internet easily. Also another aspect of the contents page that supports the magazine house style is the 'Every month' section as this is repeated in the magazine and includes subscriptions which shows that Q magazine is a multi-platform magazine.

The main image dominates the page using a extreme long shot of the band, there facial expressions are straight however they are making direct eye contact with the audience. Underneath the caption 'The Courtneers' is a quote from the band themselves which adds a personal touch and may engage the reader to read the interview and find out why he said the quote.

The text on the left hand side includes some of the main page titles and numbers, these may have been chosen as they are either exclusive interviews so the audience feel like they have a personal relationship with their favourite band/artist. Also it makes the magazine easier to navigate and you know on what page you can access the information. The titles are in bold which allow them to stand out against the other text.



Q Front Cover

 

 The Masthead 'Q' is simple yet powerful, it is a large image that attracts the eye. The white and red contrast well so it stands out and let the brand 'Q' be easily identified. The one letter title is a USP in comparison to other magazine including NME and Kerrang, this may give it a competitive advantage when on the stalls as it will stand out in comparison.

The Cover line  'THE UK'S BIGGEST MUSIC MAGAZINE' this strap line supports 'Q' because it is such a popular magazine, it is in capital to show the importance of the fact and the publishers want to ensure the audience that this is the best magazine and they should buy it.

The Main Image - Is a close image of Cheryl Cole who is a famous pop star however in this light she is portrayed as a rock star to be suitable for the magazines audience. Cheryl Cole is making direct eye contact with the reader making the magazine feel more personal. Cheryl vibrant lips stand out, the colour red goes well with the other text on the magazine, also the colour red connotes love, danger, passion which Cheryl looks to be portraying threw her portrait as she is playing with her lips and look quick seductive which may lure the consumer in to buying it.

The Anchorage text  -

The Colour Scheme - Red, Black, Grey and white all connotes rock, love which is what the magazine portrays as the anchorage text is 'Cheryl Cole ROCKS'. Red, black and white supports Qs house style and is continued throughout the magazine including the contents page.



 

'Top of the pops' readers Demographic profile

The main sex audience is females, majority young girls in the pre teenage stage 10-15 as the majority of the contetn of the magazine includes pop music,posters, star gossip,beauty advise and quizzes. Those who have a low to mid income as the price is £2.99 and is a weekly magazine.
The target audience is females however a small minority of those will be boys the percentage ranges from girls to boys 87:13 %


Top of the pops double page spread

 

 



 

 The left side of the page is a long shot of Cher Lloyd, posing in a silly way with her hand over her mouth doing a shocked expression, this will appeal to he target audience as she its not a serious shot. The colour scheme coincides with Top of the Pops house style of girly colours such as pink. The quote suggests that Cher disagrees with the statement and is going to share her side of the story. Quotes from the star make the magazine personal and can help Cher build relationships with her fans. Also the image of Cher could be used as a poster which would be an extra for the reader.

Top of the Pops contents page

Top of the Pops contents page follow the normal codes and conventions which include page number, images and page titles which give you an insight of what is included in the magazine.
The front cover is the large image to the left, this anchors the magazine image as the text on the front is related to the text in the magazine
The subtitles font is a girly style with swirly letter including icons such as the love hearts which will appeal to the target audience also the fact as what Is known as the contents page is titled as 'Inside the mag' as this is more appropriate and not as formal as contents page. Furthermore the subtitle 'All about you' engages the reader and allows the magazine to feel personal to them as the use of the word 'you'
The Images, there are lots of images all of which will appeal to the target audience, as this audiences  demographic profile consists of many young teenage girls they mostly prefer visual and aesthetically pleasing pages not of those full of text which you may find in Kerrang a music magazine based at adults.

 

 

Top of the Pops Front cover 

 

'Top of the Pops' is a monthly pop magazine published by Immediate Media Company.The magazine was launched in 1995. I chose to do research on this magazine as it is a genre I will focus on and the audience demographic profile is young teenage girls, which i hope my final products audience will also be.

From the offset you can tell that the magazines target audience is young girls as of the colours used, pink,purple, and blue all are bright, vibrant and colourful, these words the colours connotes portray the pop genre. Furthermore the  context on the front page enables the magazine genre to be identified by the topic titles such as love, confidence and shopping

 

The Skyline shows the brands company and makes the brand easy to identify, BBC is a well know broad coaster and is popular.

 

The Masthead  is a bright pink which is suitable for the target audience whom are mostly young teenage girls. The curly font helps top of the pops, become a recognisable brand which is important,as it will give the magazine an edge when in a store amongst its competitors.

 

The Main Image is Cher Lloyd making direct contact with the audience, this will entice the reader in to picking up the image and reading it

 

The Flash 'Are you ready for summer love' is in a different colour to stand out and contrast with the pink and the white , it is also a rhetorical question and a direct mode of address, this may engage the audience and they will want to find out if they are ready, and if not why?

 

The Sell Line, is 'I've got major confidence issues'. A major worry amongst everyone and especially young girls is confidence, The article will appeal to the audience as they may be able to seek advice and help from reading it and help identify themselves through reading other peoples stories and learning how they solve them. As Cher is a well known singer, young girls will appreciate that everyone has their own issues and therefore would like to know what issues she dealt with them, it also appealing for young girls to be able to relate to their stars, so they know that they're not on their own and tat they are the only one that goes trough problems.

'Amazeballs posters including...' will attract the reader as they feel like they are getting something for free as they are included also some may buy the magazine just for the posters if they are huge fans of the artists/celebrities. As the target audience is young females, a likely scenario may be that with their pocket money they purchase the magazine, therefore they will appreciate getting extras such as a poster. Also a common thing to do is for youngster to keep their posters to either create a collections or do decorate their rooms etc. Free posters will enable magazines to differentiate themselves from competitors and is a common marketing technique, therefore i will use it amongst my magazine, especially as it has a similar target audience.

 

The Layout of the front cover is very busy, there is not formal structure this presents the idea that it is a fun magazine with fun topics and is not a serious magazine with lots of information instead it has little bits of information about a variety of stars. A lot of the context is included in the front cover, but in a neat way fro examples the three stories on the boys are to the left of the page underneath each other and all follow the structure of the name in bold, image and an introduction. Amongst the bottom, are the posters included, as the consumer looks at the price of the magazine they are also reminded of what they are getting for their money.

Preliminary task

Preliminary task

 

The task was to create a school magazine front cover and a contents page I developed my idea through research. I wanted to come up with an original name but relatable therefore 'The Next Step' was a good choice as the purpose of the magazine is for students who are in education and are going on to their next step such as the GCSE to A-Level transition.

 

 

 

 

Evaluation of my front cover and contents page 'The next step'

 

 

 

Research for my Preliminary Task

 

 

Introduction

The brief I have been set is to start my own independent research into current music magazines in order to help me construct my own music magazine. I will gather a variety of front covers, contents pages and double page spreads which i will analyse and comment on their codes and conventions.
 My magazine will follow the traditional codes and conventions which include a main image, sky line, buzzwords etc on the front cover. I will closely analyse the language and register used on the magazines i have found through my research therefore i will know what will appeal to my target audience.
 The genre i aspire my music magazine to be is 'pop' as i have an interest in the genre and am a fan of many pop artists. I feel i have an in depth knowledge of the genre which i can hopefully portray in my magazine. Pop has a broad audience not a niche such as 'hard rock' therefore i know their is a broad target audience who my my magazine will appeal to.
The music magazine i decided to analyse closely were Q, NME, We love pop and Top of the pops i choose theses in particular as two of them are my chosen genre but the other two are different genres including indie and rock. I chose a variety which in can then compare and contrast all of their features.