Analysis of Q Music Magazine

Front Cover

Q magazine is another magazine that specialises in the indie and rock genre of music. Q is a very popular music magazine and this can be seen through its conventions. The name of the magazine 'Q' is very short and snappy, so it is something to remember. The Q could stand for Quality and say to the reader that the music they feature and advertise is quality music. 

The masthead of Q is very recognisable and familiar. It is a bold Q with red background. The red is again the housestyle, like the NME, and this connotes anger and passion. However, this certain cover has a twist on it from the usual Q masthead. Although it is still their usual masthead, the main article features Muses' lead singer Matt Bellamy "losing control"so to add a twist and something unique to the masthead, the cover shows him 'smashing it up' with his guitar. This could show the feelings of anger that Matt Bellamy is feeling, but it cleverly remains appealing to the audience because although it is aggressive, it relates to the genre of rock. It also sticks to the music magazines conventions because he is holding his instrument. Overall, this masthead creates something different and very intriguing to the target audience and it is not the type of thing that would be seen on the front cover of "Smash Hits."

The main image on this cover doesn't follow all conventions as the eyeline of Matt Bellamy is not in the centre and is not the main focus. But this fits with the issue of Q as he is "losing control" and this could connote this. In the image he looks angry and impatient which is perfect in relation to his article. The clothes he is wearing fits in with the housestyle of the magazine, and so does his guitar. The image and the whole cover sticks to three main colours, black, white and red. This tells us something about the magazine as usually black and white and simple colours and can be quite classic - like the magazine itself. But with the red coming through it suggests anger and arrogance - in relation to the genre of music they advertise.

Again, the cover has a banner that reads "The UK's Biggest Music Magazine." The use of this gives the magazine a prestige and status within the market. It promotes Q and gives it a good impression to the reader. The readers of this magazine will be similar to other indie/rock magazines such as NME because it simply features the same type of music. But perhaps the audience for Q magazine may be a little bit older. We could get this impression because the magazine is more expensive, priced at £3.90. The magazine covers also have high quality gloss paper which gives a more classy and expensive touch. This relates back to the name 'Q' which could mean Quality.

Contents Page

This contents page is very similar to the NME contents page in its style of layout. It is again very structured and clear to read, which creates ease for the readers to find what they are looking for. The contents page includes a main story featuring The Courteeners. To the left of the main story, the contents includes "Features" and "Every Month" and also what looks like a one off "Oasis Special." Including a special feature such as "Oasis Special!" seems to quite conventional for contents pages as after analysing NME, they also included a Reading and Leeds festival special. Using these promotes their magazine and brings something exciting into the magazine. Also, under the main story is a "Review" section which informs the readers about new albums and live gigs. This is a very useful section as it keeps the readers up to speed with the latest music. The "Every Month" feature reminds the readers that Q is a monthly magazine.

The Q contents page stays within the housestyle of their front cover by using the same colours (white, black, red). Much like the NME, Q uses the vibrant red to indicate page numbers and make them clear for the readers. The Q masthead is again placed at the top left corner, the same as the front cover. You can see that the same colours and fonts have been used through the whole contents page and the cover which maintains the housestyle. However, the Oasis Special is presented in gold writing and with a much more sophisticated font. This impacts the "special" and makes it seem very worthy of reading.

The story featured on the contents page gives it more essence and an insight in to the magazine. It makes the page less routine and structured as, besides the picture in the review section, this is the only photo that can catch the readers eyes and interest them. The choice of band is the Courteeners who are maybe not known as globally as other bands, however, they will appeal to the readers of Q magazine as they are an indie band. Unlike the NME contents article, this story only has a sentence to represent it. Although this means we don't get much information as to what the story will be about, it will make the readers interested and wanting to read more.