The document analyzes the cover and contents pages of the music magazine Q. It summarizes that Q's target audience is males aged 30-40 who want to keep up with the music world in a sophisticated way. The masthead, color scheme, cover lines, and images are designed to appeal to this target audience by featuring both established and new artists. The contents page uses images and page numbers in colored bubbles to clearly outline the articles and attract readers. Overall, the magazine is professionally designed and branded to engage its target demographic.

1. The masthead is where it is always positioned on Q magazine this
shows the target audience that it is exactly the same magazine and
people recognise the magazine because it is a well branded and a
well established magazine. It is always the same colours: Red and
White so this keeps to the code and conventions of having the
masthead the same on each edition and having it as the largest text
on the front cover also sticks to the codes and conventions.
There is a clear colour scheme of red, white and black; these
colours stand out against each other making it easy to read when
they are on top of each other. Black has connotations of rock music
and rock music is one the genres that Q covers in their magazine, so
by using this colour it attracts the target audience of the magazine.
The sky line “The stories
of the year by those who
made them” appeals to
the target audience
because it’s stories
about artists/bands that
they will be interested in
so they will want to hear
their side of the stories
and will want to get all
the gossip.
The cover lines talk about
both older, well known
artists such as Pink Floyd
and Wilko Johnson which
will appeal at the older
end of the target
audience as well as newer
bands such as Kasabian
and Royal Blood.
The main image breaks
the codes and
conventions of most
magazines by not using a
direct mode of address,
instead Ed Sheeran is
looking to the right not
at the reader. This is a
very unusual thing to do
as using a direct mode of
address is something
that appeals and attracts
the audience, because Q
is so well known and
respected they don’t
have to worry about
appealing to the
audience through the
mode of address as
much. The guitar shows
that he is an acoustic
singer and plays his own
music.
The cover lines in this
magazine show that Q
talks about important
news about people in
music, such as Wilko
Johnson, and how he
beat cancer.
The puff “Essential! 50
albums of 2014” stands
out because of the red.
The word “ESSENTIAL”
would grab the reader’s
attention and make
them want to buy the
magazine, as they would
want to make sure they
are up to date with their
music taste.
Analysis of Music Magazine Q
The main coverline tells the audience who is on the
front cover, it relates to the main image
(anchorage text) and to the main article in this
issue of the magazine. It is in Ed Sheeran’s font so
that his fans will recognise it and be attracted to
the magazine.
Q magazine’s sell line says
“Awards special edition”
this would attract the
target audience because
they would not want to
miss out on a special
edition.
The bar code is a legal requirement on a
magazine. Having the issue number,
date, and price on the front cover is a
code and convention of a magazine. It
allows the audience to know which issue
they are reading and allow them to
make sure they stay up to date. It also
allows them to know how much they are
paying for the magazine.
The footer bar tells the audience more
of the articles that are going to be in the
magazine. “War on drugs” would stand
out as well as “the return of AC/DC” as
they are an old band so would appeal to
the older range of the target audience.
The word “Plus” suggests that there will
be loads going on inside the magazine
which makes the reader feel as though
they are getting more than their
money’s worth which will encourage
them to buy the magazine.
The target audience for Q is for males in their 30-40’s who want
a sophisticated way of keeping up to date with the music world.
They are from a high social class.

2. The mast head is on the contents page exactly the same as it is
on the front cover but this time is on a black background
instead of red. This reminds the target audience of the name of
the magazine and therefore develops the branding of the
magazine.
The title of the page (code and convention) tells the audience
what the page is set to do – tell the reader what is in this issue
of Q.
Q sets out its features very
differently to any other
magazine I have looked at. It
tells you about each article
with an image related to
almost each article and then
also tells you the page number.
The page number is in a
colourful bubble enabling it to
stand out, making it clear the
reader what page each article is
on. The articles mentioned
relate to the cover lines on the
front cover.
The “Plus” implies that the magazine is adding even more in
just for the reader. It makes the reader feel as though they
are getting their money’s worth. It also shows that there is
more than what a first glances showed, to the magazine.
A code and convention of a magazine is
to have columns on the contents page.
The content page of Q magazine has
been split into 3 columns. This makes it
look structured, sophisticated and is
easy to read.
The contents page of Q
doesn’t include any links to
social media preventing it
from accessing its online
target audience. It also has
no adverts in the magazine,
however this could be
considered a good thing as
many people say that
magazines have too many
adverts in them. The Q
magazine also has no
editor’s message this could
mean the magazine lacks
the personal that other
magazines, such as Kerrang,
have.
This contents page has lots
of images on (more than
on any of the other
magazines I’ve looked at).
The images would appeal
to the target audience as
they are related to articles
in the magazine. A lot of
the images use a direct
mode of address which
would appeal to the target
audience as it makes them
feel involved in the
magazine. The images add
a visual appeal to the
contents page.

3. A code and convention of magazine is to
give credit to the person who wrote the
article and to the person who has taken
the photos for the article. However Q
has not done this in this particular
article.
The headline takes up about a third of
the left hand page; it is bold and stands
out on the white background. It makes it
clear who the article is about so if
someone was skimming through the
magazine it would stand out and catch
their eye.
Q has not used a stand
first to add an
introduction to the article
however they have used
another code and
convention- A large
quote! This makes the
article interesting and
allows the audience to
acknowledge that this is a
reliable article as they
have a direct quote from
Ed Sheeran.
The text has been split into two columns; this makes
it easier to read and makes it look more appealing to
read, than a big block of text. Putting text into
columns on the double page spread is also a code
and convention of magazines.
The main image takes up the whole of
the right side (it is usually the left side)
and is a very long shot of Ed Sheeran, it
shows him holding his guitar which is
part of who he is both as a person and
as a musician. The way he is holding it is
as though he will use his guitar to fend
off an “mobs” which links to the header
of the article.
The page number at the
bottom of the page
connects the article to
the contents page and
allows the magazine to
flow. The reader can find
the article again easily if
they put down the
magazine as they can
quickly turn to the page
number the article is on.
Having page numbers is
a code and convention of
any magazine.
Q have used a drop capital, however
instead of using it at the beginning of
the article, as a visual indicator the
audience that the article has started, it
has been used in the last part of the
article. By doing this it breaks up the
article and makes it more interesting to
look at and consequently more
interesting to read.