Magazine Cover
The main image of Paul McCartney centred on the splash immediately connotate’s the genre of the magazine as rock/pop (as this former Beatles artist specifies in this music type). The MCU shot of the famous idol is wearing a large black coat partially covering his face. This shows how famous this artist is as the audience can still easily recognise him, it represents the magazine in a well established and classy way, positively promoting the Q magazine as this global artist Is featured on their magazine. The model is deliberately making eye contact with the audience to make them feel included and targeted as the magazines audience. The audience would expect the subjects face to be clearly seen however the colour scheme and simple layout makes the image very noticeable anyway. The photograph has also been composed in black and white to promote the simple feel of the magazine and connotesa classy image. Q magazine does not feature other artists or articles as thumbnails on the splash possibly making it more dull and boring; however it does highlight the importance of this interview and is shown off to the audience as 1 main image presented on the magazine on shelves in a shop against its competitors. The mast head "Q" is positioned at the top right of the page, this is where the audience would look first and expect to find the title. Also it has been given a red block square background allowing it to stand out against any image used as a background (defiant logo for every issue of the magazine making it recognisable to the target market). Note the font face given to the letter Q is elegant and stylish. The "Q" represents the quality term of the magazine; this title is very effective, it connotate’s the pure class of the magazine to the audience and represents the magazine with its simple national logo. The colour scheme on the splash consists of four different colour elements: red, black, white and gold. The red text makes the quote bold and eye catching against the black and white themed image. The convention; an anchorage has been used to also promote the artist by featuring his name “PAUL McCARTNEY", it has also been highlighted with a gold square box making it stand out. Typically the colour gold is associated with royalty therefore the use of gold on the artists name connotate’s the international fame Paul McCartney has and how highly loved he is by his worldwide fans, it compares him to royalty. The quote dominates the bottom third of the splash, "It's impossible to live up the BEATLES", note how the Beatles has been formatted in capital letters to make it stand out against the rest of the quote giving it importance. Again the font given to the quote is simple, easy to read and promotes a classy and smart message to the audience about the magazine. A credit is presented below the quote telling the audience the photograph was composed David Bailey, this is an effective convention as it may result in the photographer’s fans also buying the magazine giving Q a larger audience. Finally in the top left corner the bar code, issue number and price of the magazine are presented as general information for the audience influencing them to buy the magazine after given the necessary data. As previously stated the magazines genre is presented from the featured artist Paul McCartney, the genre of the magazine could also be inferred from the clashing colour scheme including red and black giving a rebellious rock feel to the magazine. This contrasts the constant connotation of Q being a reputable magazine. The featured artist represents the magazine as well established and refined, promoting a positive attitude towards the rock/pop genre and Q's target audience.
Contents Page
At first glance the audience will notice the contents page layout covers a double spread page allowing more features and images from the various articles to be briefly presented to the audience. This allows the publisher to use conventions of both the double spread and contents page, overall making the magazine more interesting. The indent feature "Q" and colour scheme creates a house style effect throughout the magazine. The banner headline also states the issue of the magazine, this is unique contents page convention is a great effect and makes every issue the publishers produce recognisable as the Q magazine brand to the audience. Various Images of artists both posing and performing on set have been presented on the double spread to give the audience a visual image of the articles included within the magazine, this valuable convention allows the audience to become immediately interested in the article before taking time to read the features selection below. Also page numbers are used to direct the reader to the pages they are mainly engrossed by on the pictures, the page numbers have also been made easily viewable to the reader from the bold and loud format given to them. Half the double spread is partially dominated with the image of the band The Beatles, this relates to the subject image of Paul McCartney on the splash and the bold quote presented below the image “BEATLES". It is important the magazine creates continuity so the audience can understand why certain images and articles have been placed together throughout the magazine on different pages. A small image of the magazine cover has been positioned in the top right corner of the contents page to again link the magazine together, this idea is very professional and I will consider this convention when creating my own music magazine. The photograph of the Beatles has been composed to make them seem they are hiding away from the audience. This effect makes the audience feel hooked on the image and influences them to buy the magazine and find the article related. The features selection is positioned in the left third of the page and has clear, easy to read text. Also the subtitles of the main articles are underlined in red to show the importance of them, also in keeping the colour scheme throughout the magazine. The features section presents articles that are unique and only published in that issue, this makes the audience feel the article is exclusive influencing them to buy the magazine and not miss out. In the right third the "regulars" section is shown which targets the expected, normal target audience and shows the classical articles the magazine normally offers. The "Q Review" section at the bottom of the page gives the publisher’s opinion on different topics of music- another convention used making the magazine more unique. An internal advertisement has been positioned on the page eg “free music" however it has been given a simple format and been placed underneath the regulars section of the page. Advertisements and competitions do promote the magazine and influence the audience to buy the issue therefore I think Q magazine should have emphasised the competition by using the convention of a flash. This would have made it more eye-catching and bold, promoting the magazine.
Double spread page
A feature of the double page spread which is very noticeable to the audience is the large images presented at the top of the page which are verfy eyecatching to the audience. The picture quality of this medium close up is very good and clearly related to the rock genre of the magazine . The larger image on the left page has been given a headline which suggests its importance to the reader, I may use this convention on my double page spread as it clearly puts emphasis on the article you want the audience to focus on. As previously stated magazine continues a house style effect which sucessfully brings the magazine together. The image at the bottom of the left page is also effective as it doesnt have any sort of border therefore stands out on the page and adds to the realism of the magazine. The actual text on the double page spread also follows the continuous colour scheme which has allowed the publisher to contrast these bold colours allowing certain information to be given emphasis to the audience. Each sub heading has been given the colour red to make it stand out from the black information below. I think the layout of this double page spread could be improved as it almost takes the form of a contents page as the text looks like a list. Although this does
Audience and Institution of Q magazine
In evaluating the institution of the Q magazine I carried out background research about Bauer Media, the publishing company which advertises Q music magazine. This global magazine is quoted “Europe’s largest privately owned publishing group” and a “worldwide media empire offering over 300 magazines in 15 countries” The publishing company also promotes the magazine through TV, Radio and on line, the Q magazine has developed a worldwide reputation and premium quality amongst its target audience.
On the official Bauer Media it quotes its audience profile is: “composed of passionate, engaged and open minded music fans” Bauer Media’s opinion on its target audience is bias as the website is obviously promoting their music magazine to the audience. To find more truthful opinions on the target audience of the music magazine I browsed various websites. From different websites eg Wikipedia I found the Q magazine covers the current music scene while also including the trends from bands of past years. In concluding the unique involvement of both modern and old music genres of music means the target audience is quite diverse; both the older generation as well as young mature adults are Q’s audience. Statistics given on the official website of Bauer Media directly indicate the main target market of the Q magazine is the male population- “75% male to 25% female”.
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