Q Magazine is a monthly music magazine published in the UK since 1986. It is currently owned by Bauer Media Group, Europe's largest privately-owned media company. The magazine focuses on promoting new and upcoming artists as well as providing exclusive interviews. It targets readers over 25 years old. The magazine aims to connect deeply with readers through revealing details about artists and their music. It publishes articles on indie and alternative music. The document provides an in-depth analysis of Q Magazine, including its ownership structure, target audience, competitors, and regulatory issues. It analyzes various elements of the magazine such as its front cover, contents page, double-page spread, and website. The analysis examines the magazine's genre, brand, purpose

1. OCR –
Level 3 Cambridge Introductory Diploma in
Media
Unit 01:
Analysing Media Products and Audiences
Evidence
Name: Nicole Mukonjo
Candidate Number: 3091
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
Set Brief - Print
Project/Brief –
Music Magazine & Promotion

2. Contents
1. Focus Publisher and Product-slide 3
2. Genre-slide 4
3. Brand ideology/ethos- slide 5
4. Purpose- slide 6
5. Ownership Structure- slide 7
6. Operating Model- slide 8
7. Associated Products- slide 9
8. Market Positions- slide 10
9. Competitors(magazine)- slide 11
10. Competitors(Publishers)- slide 12
11. Front cover analysis- slide 13
12. Contents analysis-slides 14+15
13. DPS analysis Part 1+Part 2-slide 16+17
14. Webpage analysis- slide 18
15. Form and Style-slide 19
16. Technological Convergence- slide 20
17. Production Process- slides 21,22+23
18. Synergy- slide 24+25
19. Target Audience- slide 27+28
20. Demographics-slide 29
21. Spending Power- slide 30
22. Primary Research- slides 31-36
23. Secondary Research- slides 37+38
24. Distribution- slide 40
25. Product advertising and marketing-
slide 41, 42+43
26. Q magazine’s impact and effect on the
audience-slide 45
27. Relevant issues of representation-slide
46+47
28. Copyright-slide 48
29. Legal issues-slide 49
30. Role of relevant regulatory bodies-
slide 50
31. Ethical issues- slide 51
32. Royalties- slide 52
33. Complaint-slide 53
34. Regulatory issues-slides 54+55
35. Q’s complaint procedure-slide 56
36. Q’s complaint policy-slide 57+58
37. Regulatory issues(Data Protection
Act)- slide 59

3. Focus publisher and product
Q Magazine
it is a well known magazine that is usually published monthly, originated from the United Kingdom and was
founded in the year 1986 by Mark Ellen(magazine editor) and David Hepworth(music journalist). In October 1986,
the music magazine firstly was published by EMAP Media Group until 2008 In which Q magazine was sold to Bauer
media Group. Q is known for discovering and promoting new artists and music. It also connects with the readers
on a deeper level to reveal more about the artist or band and connote how important the artist is to them. So far,
the circulation of the magazine is about 130,179 as of June 2007. the target audience for Q magazine is over 25
year olds for both genders as the founders of Q felt that the older generation is being ignored and as the older
generation is the target audience, this meant that the magazine was made a bit more expensive as the older
generation can afford that.
References
http://www.slideshare.net/joetrost/q-magazine-5611560
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/brands/q
Bauer Media Group
It is Europe’s largest company that is privately owned in 2008. in 1875, it was founded in
Hamburg and from now, it operates in 19 countries in which those include the United
Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and many other Countries internationally. So far
in the UK, they have got 25 million consumers and these include Kiss FM, Absolute Radio and
Magic. Since 2010, the CEO of Bauer Media Group is Paul Keenan.
References
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/about/our-company

4. Genre
• Q magazine is known for promoting upcoming artists
and new releases of music material from well known
musicians and new artists. They are also known for
exclusive interviews with artists that they are able to
share with readers through the magazine which makes
them more intrigued to analyze more about the artist
and get to know them more through their music and
through themselves as people, that’s how the reader is
able to connect with the artist/band through their
music and who they are as individuals. The genre of Q
Magazine would usually be indie and alternative due to
the fact that’s really what the magazine bases all their
articles on and the artists which are ranged in the two
genres.
References
http://lauranatmason.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/analysis-of-q-magazine.html

5. Brand ideology/ethos
• The denotation of the verbal code of the slogan for Q Magazine is
“The world’s greatest music magazine”, which connotes how this
magazine has exclusive interviews and promotions of new music and
artists which are more worthy of reading than its competitors. It also
implies how it is well known all over the world than its competitors
and illustrates its popularity to its target audience and those who are
fans of alternative and indie music.
• The slogan for Bauer Media Group “We think popular” connotes how
Bauer Media group has consumers which are very well known to the
public and use logos which have bold and bright colours to help
people recognize the consumers and remember them.
References
https://www.bauermedia.com/en/company/

6. Purpose
• The purpose of Q magazine is to provide the audience with exclusive
interviews, promoting new artists and advertise new music releases
which engage the reader into discovering more about Q and what they
offer in the magazine.
• Q also uses knowledge that is used by a music expert in order for the
reader to take this magazine more seriously and for the writers of the
magazine to be proud of what they have produced that engages more
readers to find out more about Q.
• The strapline for Q magazine can vary as they use superlatives like
‘great’, ‘greatest’ or ‘biggest’ to emphasize how they are the best music
magazine and how they believe it is better than any of its competitors.

7. Ownership Structure
• Bauer Media Group is a entertainment network which was founded in
Hamburg in 1875 and now operating in 19 countries which includes
the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.
• It has at least 11,000 employees worldwide and in the UK, So far, it
has 25 million consumers like Kiss, Absolute Radio and Magic.
• They are also Britain's biggest magazine publisher as they publish
magazines like Q Magazine, Closer, Kerrang! Magazine, Mojo
magazine and many other magazines all from different genres.
• Reference- http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/about/our-company

8. Operating modelReference
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/about/
our-company
This image was screenshotted
from Bauer Media site and it is
the operating model of the key
people that work within Bauer
media to produce the material
that they release on specified key
dates.
As shown on the image, Paul
Keenan is the CEO (Chief
Executive Officer) of Bauer Media
so he is in charge of making sure
everything goes according to plan
in Bauer. There is also a big
number of group managing
directors but a few of them are
set different tasks as they are
GMD in certain ways such as
advertising, magazine media and
digital.

9. Associated Products
• Bauer Media group isn’t just associated with magazines, it also has
other consumers that fit into the categories of TV, radio and digital in
which they are linked to as they broadcast these. Some examples of
their radio stations are Kiss, Absolute, Magic and Kerrang!.
• Q magazine has a circulation of 44, 050 which has decreased by
12.2% even though it is purchased actively by 97.5%. Every issue costs
£4.90 so the profit would be about £215,845 due to the price
increase in the issue.

10. Market Positions
145,183 145183
266,369
138,992
Film (Empire) Music (Q and Mojo) Celebrity weekly(
Closer)
Womens weekly
glossy(Grazia)
Bauer Media Magazines
Film (Empire) Music (Q and Mojo)
Celebrity weekly( Closer) Womens weekly glossy(Grazia)
References
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/newsroom/press/bauer-
media-july-december-2015-magazine-abcs
This bar chart displays how many
issues of magazines from a different
genres that are published by Bauer
Media have been sold between July
and December 2015. the magazines
are named in the brackets which are
represented in the bar charts. For
example, the music genre magazines
which are Q and Mojo have sold in
total 145,183 copies digital and hard
copy.

11. Competitors(Magazines)
Kerrang! Magazine
Kerrang! is a music magazine based in the UK and its publisher is also Bauer Media. Group. It was first published on
the 6th June 1981. Kerrang! is well known for promoting British heavy metal and introducing hard rock artists and
by early 2000s, it was the best selling British newspaper as it was first known as The Sounds newspaper. It was first
launched as a magazine which was released monthly which started to appear on a fortnight and by 1987, the
magazine began to be released weekly. Its first publisher was United newspapers which was soon sold to EMAP IN
1991 that was soon taken over by Bauer Media Group .
References
http://www.slideshare.net/fordn1/kerrang-magazine-analysis
MOJO Magazine
MOJO is a music magazine which is also based in the UK and was first published on the 15th October 1993 by EMAP
which was initially taken over by Bauer Media Group since January 2008. its frequency is around monthly and its
circulation is around 70,445 copies of the last 6 months of 2015. The target audience for mojo would usually be around 35 and over
which can be read by both genders. Mojo is more targeted for those who like rock music but mostly for those who are into
classical rock. Usually Mojo would feature more wise and older artists so those who have been in the music industry
long enough to know more about it.
References
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/full-2015-mag-abcs-breakdown-cosmopolitan-bucks-trend-uk-magazines-decline-average-4cent/
NME Magazine
NME(which stands for New Musical Express) focuses on giving the readers and users of NME.com the news from the world
of music whether it gives you news on upcoming bands, album reviews, gig reviews, album announcements, band/artist
news and festival announcements. As NME has been running since 1952 and is the worlds longest running music weekly
magazine, readers would trust the magazines judgement on albums and artists and would buy the magazine on a regular
basis.
NME focuses mainly on rock, alternative and indie music and artists. At their live shows, they have hosted The Rolling
Stones and The Beatles so they were responsible for bringing punk into the wider generation. The circulation of NME is
about 307,217 of the last 6 months of 2015.
References
http://www.nme-magazine.com/about_us/
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/full-2015-mag-abcs-breakdown-cosmopolitan-bucks-trend-uk-magazines-decline-average-4-cent/

12. Competitors(publishers)
Time Inc. UK
Time Inc. UK is a leading publisher which is based in the United Kingdom and publishes digital and print
content of well known brands. There is over 100 brands that Time Inc. UK creates content for on many
platforms through print, online or mobile which includes Ideal Home, Woman’s Weekly, PEOPLE,
Entertainment Weekly and many more. It was founded in 1963 and was formerly called IPC (International
Publishing Corporation Ltd) until 2014 in which it was renamed its current name. Marcus Rich is Time Inc.
UK chief executive officer and has been this position for the leading publisher since been appointed in
2014. References
http://www.timeincuk.com/about/company-profile/
http://www.timeinc.com/about/
http://www.timeincuk.com/about/history/
http://www.timeinc.com/about/leadership/marcus-rich/
Anthem publishing
Anthem publishing is a UK based publisher which was founded in 2002 by Jon Bickley, Simon Lewis and Paul Pettengale .
The main target for Anthem publishing was to create a leading publisher which publishes the most magazines specially
those that are market-leading magazines. It launched its first magazine in 2003 which is called MusicTech
of which its content is mainly about elements of music recording and production.
References
http://anthem-publishing.com/about/history/
Immediate Media Co
Immediate Media Co. is a company that specializes in interest content and platform company which Was founded on the
1st November 2011 and it has 1,300 staff working with them over 8 divisions across the multi-platform media company.
They engage 18 million consumers by offering them brand new products and services that are able to satisfy them. Their
mission is based on three words that are ‘Content. Passion. Engagement’ as their main goal that they want to achieve is to
help their audience try to get the most out of the things that do and what they do in their spare time. A few
examples of brands that are within Immediate Media Co. is Top Of The Pops, BBC Music, BBC Good
Food and Radio Times Magazine.
References
http://www.immediate.co.uk
http://www.immediate.co.uk/business/

13. Front cover analysis
Convergence, Barcode, month and price of issue
the convergence is a web address that leads you to the main website for Q magazine so
suggests to the reader that a magazine isn't the only platform that they can find more
information about Q and other artists but also on other platforms .
Anchorage text
it has a link to the main headline
so what the article could be
about. So it is implying how the
whole article is about noel
himself using the words ‘HE’ and
‘HIS’.
Strapline
The strapline ‘Mission Accomplished!’ connotes
how Noel made it big into the music industry by
going through with it in his own way which
suggests to the readers that they shouldn't’t
follow what people tell them to do to make it
big, they have the chance to do it themselves.
Masthead
the ‘Q’ is a capital letter to connote how big and
important this magazine is and connotes it has
authority so a lead role. The red background could
symbolise how much aggression this magazine has
due to its genre and makes the logo stand out to the
reader.
Main image
The main image of Noel Gallagher stood up
straight with his arms crossed and leaning
on the speaker implies how he is better
than the rest and how he knows to stand
up for his right to get his way into music, so
following what he thinks and not taking
anyone else's ideas.
Main headline
‘NOEL’ is based on the singer that is the
main image and implies how he is the
main subject of the issue that the readers
should be paying attention to.
Coverlines
The bands and artists in red and black
bold text connote how these are well
known to the readers and suggests
that if the readers know these artists
and bands well, then they would want
to read the issue.
Strapline
The superlative ‘greatest’ conveys how
the magazine is the best it can be and
implies how much work the publishers
have put into the magazine to make it
the best it can be and for the reader to
be entertained and enjoy it.

14. Contents analysis
The main image for this
contents page is take that
members tumbling on top of
each other which could suggest
how they are making a friendly
approach to the reader and
how the magazine does its best
to satisfy people when they
first open the page.
It also mentions about the Q
awards which is an event that
people would be interested in
reading about if they missed
out on watching it and would
like to find out more about it
and the winners of it.
The number ‘48’ in bold black
writing is relating to the first
image you see on the contents
page(take that) so they are
encouraging the reader to have
a look at the article and read
more about it.

15. Contents analysis continued
It is titled ‘issue 293’ which
conveys how long this
magazine has been published
for so they make themselves
sound wise and that they
know more about music and
are experts at analysing and
finding more about music on
a deeper level.
There is also an image of
Rihanna gripping onto the
megaphone which suggests
how Q are appealing to the
audience to ask them
questions for cash and by
using a global superstar’s
image, it is making it
convincing to the reader that
they should let their voice be
heard.

16. DPS Analysis- Part 1
Quote from
interview- “I’m
bringing ginger
back” implies it
is sounding
comical as well
as he is making
a statement
that he is
making a
comeback and
a new Ed is
back.
Stand first- it implies where the
reader should start first before they
read the article to make sure if they
want to carry on reading the dps or
move onto the next page, it also
gives the reader a small description
of Ed Sheeran to give them more of
an idea of what genre he fits in
Drop capital- this suggests that is
where the reader should start reading
from so where the article starts and it
has a red background with a white
bold capital letter to make it very
similar to the Q logo but make it eye
capturing to the reader to let them
know that is where they should start
reading the interview.
Page number/web address- this connoted that Q isn’t only in magazine format,
so more information about artists and exclusive interviews can be found on the
website in more detail and also encouraging the reader to subscribe to the
magazine on the website.
Magazine credits- in order to make it clear to the reader that Ed
Sheeran didn't’t type up the whole article, they are giving credits to
those who made the effort to talk about Ed Sheeran as he is the
subject of this dps and in order to not confuse the audience

17. DPS Analysis- Part 2
Differentiated questions and
answers- this is what the audience
want to know from reading the
article so this is the part where they
get to know more about the
artist/band and see what similarities
and differences they have between
themselves and the reader The
questions and answers are presented
differently through the bold of the
text and the colour as the name of
the person who gave in the question
is highlighted through the colour of
red to indicate to the reader that the
person who wrote the interview
didn't come up with the question,
they are giving credit to the readers.

18. Webpage analysis
What appears on the Q
magazine website- the main
image is the latest issue of Q
Magazine which is for October
2016 issue. This suggests how
much Q are doing to promote
the magazine and how they are
encouraging readers of the
magazine to read the magazine
either physical copy or digital
copy that can be downloaded
onto smart phones.
Social media links- Q magazine also
have social media pages in which the
audience can also find out more
information about the magazine,
when the next issue is going to be
released and suggests how Q are also
interactive and giving the readers a
chance to take part in events or any
other interactive activities which are
organised by Q magazine. All the social
media links are located in the top right
corner of the webpage.
Layout- the layout is very
simplistic and they also seem to
stick with the same house style as
the magazine. The reason for this
could possibly be due to the fact
this will make it easier for the
readers to find the similarities and
recognise the website just as
when they look at the magazine.
Information that the website
provides- it gives users more detailed
information about the artists/ bands
and exclusive interviews that they
have mentioned in their issues. It also
tells you what is track of the day to
encourage the user to listen to it and
get a feel of the genre Q magazine is
based around.
Similarities with the magazine
It has the same articles that would be found in the issues, it would also have the
same exclusive interviews that would be found in the physical copies and digital
copies that allows users and readers to see the article from different platforms.
Differences with the magazine
It doesn't have playlists which is featured on the website but not in the
magazine. It doesn't have videos in the physical copy of Q but it does on the
digital copy of Q as there are links that leads to certain pages.
Subscription offers- once you click on this button, it redirects the user to the website Great
Magazines which offers them great deals and good pricing ranges into subscribing to Q magazine.
Once subscribed to Q, new issues will be sent to you through the post, online or both depending on
which option you chose in terms of how you want to receive new issues of Q magazine.

19. Form and Style
• With Q Magazine, they keep to a simplistic and recognizable form and style, by doing this,
they use colours like red, white and black to make the magazine more notable to the
reader that it is Q magazine and has a distinct format to make it look more noticeable.
• Also, it seems to be set out in the same way inside the magazine and on the front covers
as they always have the Q logo set out in the top left corner of the front cover and always
has the page number and web address to the Q website so that readers can discover more
information about other artists and have access through exclusive interviews on the
website. By the magazine appealing to the reader, it keeps to a simple format so that it
will not be hard for the customer to read it and it will be carrying on with the prominent
features that they have continued on using for each issue of the magazine.
• The language presented in the magazine indicates to the reader how much of an impact
the content presented to the reader is meant to be intriguing, informative on the British
Rock and Alternative culture and how much of an influence it has on each of its readers.
• Lastly, Q allows artists and bands to put their opinions across through their interviews for
the magazine and this is cited as the reason as to why the magazine is more for the older
generation than the younger generation due to the language emphasised throughout
interviews.
• Based on information I found on dimensions of Q Magazine, on a Special edition of Q
magazine that was released in 2002, its dimensions are 27.6 x 23.2 x 0.4 cm.
References
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magazine-Special-Greatest-Rock-
Photographs/dp/B000S6TCVO/ref=sr_1_26?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492503689&sr=1-
26&keywords=q+magazine

20. Technological convergence
• As Q magazine is sold as a physical copy in its retail
outlets, Bauer Media do not publish copies online but
users are able to subscribe to Q Magazine in order to
be sent a copy of the recent issue through the post
direct to their home.
• By using synergy which is all the social media
platforms that Q magazine have, they are able to
promote the magazine and get more readers and
users to know more about Q and be able to boost
their sales by letting their audience know more about
Q and all the topics that are covered in the magazine.
• There is evidence to back up there is technological
convergence on the Q magazine website as they
provide video content such as music videos and video
playlists on their website. This is provided so that
their readers can enjoy viewing their video content
from the screen as well as Q providing music content
in the magazine.

21. Production process
• As shown above, this is the email I have sent to the advertising team of Bauer Media group
regarding about the production process and asking for their permission to send some more
information about the production process in detail to get an idea of it. I didn’t get a response from
Bauer Media so I had to do some research into the production process of a magazine. From the Q
Magazine media pack (http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/uploads/QMediaPack2016.pdf), it tells us the
editor in chief is Phil Alexander, the senior editor is Matt Mason, production is Simon McEwen and
lastly, the digital editor is Paul Stokes .

22. Production process (continued)
1. Firstly, you need to decide on the date of publication of the magazine, this is important because
this is the date the issue so when the issue is completed is set to be released to the general public
for them to purchase it. Once this date has already been set, this means that a schedule should
be set. The schedule is the plan in how the production process should go to be successful and
how each process in the schedule will go to move forward with the magazine.
2. Also, you need to manage the schedule in order for the schedule to go to plan, this is the most
important step of the process and should not be taken for granted when the production of the
magazine comes into place. In order for the magazine to be produced efficiently, you need to
manage the schedule in a sufficient way. To meet the deadline, there should be ways to solve
issues that could possibly be an interruption to the production of the magazine so that it can
easily meet the deadline if those issues are resolved.
3. There is also editorial and budgetary decision which is when the magazines editorial team have
to decide what topics should be covered in the magazines next issue for it to be published. The
editorial team discuss about the important contents that will be featured and make up the
magazine. As soon as the topics, photographs, stories and illustrations are decided for the next
issue of the magazine, the team have to make the budgetary decisions of the magazine. They look
into how much the production of the magazine will cost and the money that will be available for
them when it comes to producing and publishing the magazine.
References
http://hosbeg.com/the-magazine-production-process/

23. Production process (continued)
4. The next stage is content acquisitions, which is when the topic decisions for the magazine are
finalized and also when the artwork(illustrations and pictures that will be used for the magazine) and
graphics(images that are edited on a computer program like Adobe Photoshop) for the issue of the
magazine are also worked on in order to publish the next issue of the magazine. Also, more research
in detail about the topics and events that will be covered in the magazine will be done by journalists
or reporters of the topics, research can be done on the internet and news which covers similar topics.
5. Sub editing is the quality control of the issue of the magazine, this is checking if all facts used in the
article are accurate, being sure that the words are spelled properly, making sure that grammar and
punctuation is correct, if all articles follow the same house style and working on how the page should
be laid out.
6. Page layout is how each page of the issue should be laid out so the layout decided by the layout
team do this on many pages in order for the magazine to come together.
7. The next step is proofreading so the editorial team print out a hardcopy of the issue in order to
find the mistakes easily whereas with a softcopy it will be harder. They keep proofreading if they are
satisfied that all the mistakes are no longer visible.
8. File emailed to printer is once the magazine is proof read, the dtp( desktop publishing) file of the
entire issue of the magazine is then printed and pre-pressed so sending the fonts and images that
have to be used in the magazine with the file. As soon as this is completed, the company that are
printing the magazines take over but before that, the company prints out a few copies and then sends
them to the publication editor to have at least one more check over the magazine. Once the team are
pleased with the printers proof, then they are able to print out hundreds and thousands of copies of
the magazine which will be the finished product that will be sold to the general public.
9. This is the final stage of the production process which is distribution, once the printing company
have finished printing out all the copies of the magazine, they are able to package them nicely and
send them to the warehouse. After being sent to the warehouse, the magazines are then distributed
to the retailers and then sold to the general public.
References
http://hosbeg.com/the-magazine-
production-process/

24. Synergy
Social media sites that Q have for users to interact and
have exclusive access to interviews are
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pinterest
By using these social media sites, this allows those who
read the magazine have access to the latest videos, get
notifications about announcements about any festivals
or concerts that are coming up and alert the user about
their favourite artist/band to give them the feeling of
being with them.by also providing the users with
reviews about the concerts or festivals, it gives them
the feeling of what the atmosphere is like at it and
connotes how the users have a close bond with their
favourite artists on a deeper level.
On the official Q website, it has the icons of what social media
websites they have and they each have a hyperlink on them
that sends the user the websites. This makes it easier for the
user as they wont have to search for the Q magazine page
when instead they can just click on the icon which has the link
already that takes them to the page.
References
http://www.qthemusic.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/Q4music

25. Synergy(continued)
• Based on Q’s facebook page( which has 126,567 likes) and their
YouTube channel(which has 4,243 subscribers), this connotes how Q’s
fan base is continuously growing and how more people are intrigued
into reading more music material especially from them.
• This also suggests how much dedication readers have to Q as they
value all the material that is provided especially to them, they know Q
targets mainly those who are into indie, alternative and rock music
but simply, it provides news about mainstream music, artists and
exclusive material that readers will not find in any other music
magazines that Q compete with based on its circulation.

27. Target audience
Hartley’s 7 subjectivities
Age: It would appeal more to 30-40 year olds who are interested in indie and alternative music as the artists are based around
them and the price increase means that people within that age range can buy an issue.in addition, based on the content
presented in the magazine and the impressions the artists give the reader through the front cover connote that the magazine is
aimed towards the older generation.
Gender- male as Q can display women as seductive objects on the front cover, making it more likely for men to buy a copy and
relates to to the theory “men act, women appear”-John Berger(1972)
Class- it would usually appeal to people who are in middle and upper class as through the figures displayed in the demographics
on the nrs website, this implies that 0.5% of those within the ABC1 social classes read Q magazine compared to those who are in
the C2DE social classes that has 0.2% of people within these social classes reading Q magazine.
Ethnicity- as the magazine is based in the United Kingdom, it would be for those who live in the UK and have a British nationality.
The race of artists they tend to cover more is mainly those who are from a white background who were mainly brought up in the
UK.
Katz 'uses and gratifications theory
inform and educate- it helps the reader understand more about Noel Gallagher on how he stands up to those who change things
that he wants to follow, so he does what he has told himself to do, not let others get in the way and change the way he thinks
everything.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Caregivers- readers of Q magazine will be emotionally engaged by the matter and because of the age range, this implies that they
will have a better understanding of the matter and stories that could relate to the magazine.

28. Target audience (continued)
Psychographics
Psychographics splits up those based on the life style, social class and
the personality of the consumer. This is also based on how the
consumer acts like on a daily basis and what their appearance is like
compared to other individuals. Q magazine would be targeted at those
who are aspirers as Q magazine is the genre of indie and alternative so
their appearance, image and personality is based upon the genre. Q
magazine conveys to the reader how they promote a grunge rock
theme and how this can influence their audience based on their music
choices and the image they present to other people.
References
http://www.slideshare.net/BigDproductions/d
emographics-and-psychographics

29. Demographics
This table displays the percentage of the audience based on socio economic needs and gender who read general monthly magazines, these statistics were found on
the national readership survey website. This also displays general magazines that are released monthly.
It displays for Q on ABC1 social classes that the percentage of those who read Q magazine within these social grades is 0.5% and around 137 people within these
social classes.
In addition, on the C2DE social classes, about 0.2% of these classes read Q magazine and around 51 people within these classes.
It also displays the percentage of men that read Q magazine compared to the percentage of women who read Q magazine. It comes to the conclusion that there is
more men that read Q magazine by 0.6% compared to women that read Q magazine in which there percentage is 0.2%.
References
http://www.nrs.co.uk/latest-results/nrs-print-
results/general-magazines-nrsprintresults/

30. Spending power
Spending power means how much money the customer has in order
to buy products and services so this is based on the amount of money
the customer is able to spend the product on.
The cover price for an issue of Q magazine is £4.50, this is a high price
for a magazine compared to other competitors due to the fact Q
magazine is aimed mainly at adults so those within the age range of
30-40 year olds and those in social classes ABC1 as they are in
employment and have jobs which pay a profitable price that allows
them to buy an issue of Q magazine.
This screenshot which is sourced from the Whsmith website displays
the price of each subscription of Q magazine depending on how long
the subscription lasts for, how many issues will be sent out through
the duration of the subscription and how much each issue of Q
magazine is.
For the subscription which is priced at £29.99, it posts 8 issues to the
subscriber which lasts for 7 months in which the price of each issue
that is posted is £3.75 whereas with the other subscription which
costs £44.00 posts 13 issues to the subscriber which lasts for 12
months with each issue posted priced at £3.39.
Its frequency affects the spending price of the magazine as the longer
it takes for it to be distributed, the higher an issue of the magazine will
be priced at.
References
https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/q-magazine-
subscription/9018000030623
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purchasing%20power

31. Primary research
The screenshot of the feedback for the first
question on the survey connotes what age
range those responding to the survey are
categorized in.
The majority (84.62%) of the respondants are
within the age range of 11-20 years olds and
these are the most who took part in this
survey.
This is based on the artists that are the main
image of magazine front covers, how the
magazine has star appeal to the audience for
them to buy the magazine and what age the
artists on the front cover appeal to based on
their music genre.
This applies to Q magazine as this is in
contrast to the age range that Q magazine aim
to sell their issues to through those within
their target audfience based on the content
presented in the magazine.

32. Primary research continued
The screenshot of the feedback for the second
question on the survey helps me to identify if the
respondent of this survey is either male, female or
they prefer not to mention their gender.
The majority of those who responded to this
question were male (53.85%) compared to
female(38.46%) and prefer not to say(7.69%).
This implies how music magazines attract more of
a wider audience of male than female, this is based
on the content that is featured in the magazine
and the main image which gives the magazine its
star appeal to attract a wider generation.
This applies to Q magazine as their target audience
is male as they display female artists on front
covers provocatively and seductively which in
some ways can be controversial as it could be on a
magazine stand and child could look at it, making it
worrying for a parent as they wouldn’t want that
sort of image displayed to their child.

33. Primary research continued
The screenshot of the feedback for the third
question on the survey connotes how many
times the respondent buys magazines per
month.
The majority (58.33%) of respondants stated
they never buy a magazine at all compared to
those who buy a magazine per month between
1-5 times(33.33%) and 6-9 times (8.33%).
This is due to the fact that many of those
amongst the audience prefer to find more of the
exclusive content from the magazine online, have
a subscription with a music magazine or get new
issues sent to them through the post.
This applies to Q in a way as to the reason their
circulation is decreasing to a significant number
as many individuals don’t buy magazines as much
due to the increase in the use of technology in
this modern day and the content featured on
their website is the exact content that appears
on the physical copy of the magazine.

34. Primary research continued
The screenshot of the feedback for the fourth
question on the survey connotes to the
respondent what music magazines they have an
interest in compared to its other competitors.
The majority (50%) of respondants stated they
have an interest in other magazines rather than
those listed on the chart. Half of the
respondants(25%) have an interest in XXL
magazine compared to its competitors.
This is due to the fact that XXL magazine
promotes mainstream artists that the generation
can relate to and also promote new music
material from these artists that the audience are
interested in along with the content and the
main image.
Whereas with Q magazine, they relate to its
genre which is rock and alternative music which
means they display artists that are more within
that genre and this is aimed at more of those
within the older generation as the younger
generation prefer mainstream music from
magazines such as XXL.

35. Primary research continued
The screenshot of the feedback for the fifth
question on the survey connotes to the
respondent if they have any subscription with
any of the music magazines that were listed
on the previous question.
The majority (84.62%) of respondants
answered that they have no active
subscription with any music magazine from
the previous question. In addition, the
percentage of those who responded they
maybe have a subscription is 15.38% and none
of the respondents answered yes to having a
subscription.
This is possibly because some people may not
have enough money to keep up with the
subscription or that they will forget that the
subscription is active. This relates to Q
magazine as it promotes subscriptions a lot
through its physical copies of the magazine
and through its websites.

36. Primary research continued
The screenshot of the feedback for the first question on
the survey connotes how much the respondents are
willing to pay for a magazine depending on what price it
is issued at.
The majority (30.77%) of respondants stated that they
would buy a magazine within the price range of £1.00-
£1.99. whereas with other respondants they would
prefer to buy a magazine between the price ranges of
£0.00-£0.99(15.38%), £2.00-£2.99 (23.08%), £3.00-
£3.99(23.08%) and £4.00+(7.69%).
The majority of the respondents prefer the price range
of £1.00-£1.99 due to the fact some content of the
magazine isn't worth more than that even though many
music magazines are between the price range of £3-£5
due to the distribution and the production costs of the
magazine in which the sales of the magazines contribute
to that.
This applies to Q magazine as it sells an issue for the
price of £4.16 each which implies how this high price is
aiming towards the older generation as they are more
likely to afford it than the younger generation and the
higher the price, the more content that is featured in the
issue.

37. Secondary research
This research connotes that Q magazine have
a YouTube channel which provides their
audience with exclusive videos from featured
artists in Q magazine.
It is a mildly popular channel as it has 4,189
subscribers which implies how their audience
is dedicated into finding more about this
channel and how they believe Q provides
them with the best music material.
They have a discussion page which hallows
subscribers to be open with their views on Q
magazine. The two examples of
reviews(TruckingStu/dolcegabbanaforever)
connotes how Q provides them with the best
exclusive music material than any other
magazine and implies how their strapline(the
world’s greatest music magazine) is what is
suggested to their subscribers as Q gives back
to the audience by providing them with
exclusive material they can find also on the
website and anywhere else.

38. Secondary research(continued)
References
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/uploads/QMediaPack2016.pdf
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/downloads
As shown on the screenshot, this is an
analysis of one reader of Q magazine, it also
displays the ABC1, the median age so the
average age of a reader of Q magazine and
the percentage of those who read Q
magazine who are in employment.
The percentage of ABC1 is 71.8% so the
majority of people classified in this
percentage are in higher or middle class.
The percentage of those who are in
employment that are dedicated readers of Q
magazine are 70% whereas 30% of those who
read Q magazine are unemployed so these
could possibly be students. This Q reader is
about a 29 year old man named Chris who
dedicates most of his time to music as it is the
most important thing to him than any other
things surrounding him.

40. Distribution
Q magazine is based mainly in the UK and
people can subscribe to either physical
copies of recent issues or digital copies of
recent issues that can be read through other
platforms like smart phones and ipads. On
other websites that sells subscriptions for Q
magazine, these can be available for those
who live outside of the UK. If you subscribe
to Q magazine, you get 8 issues or 13
issues(depending on what subscription you
decide to have)delivered directly to your
door for a certain time period. Based on the
2015 circulation figures, Q magazine has a
total circulation of 44,050 which means it
has decreased by 12.5%. The website which
people would usually purchase Q magazine
subscriptions from is greatmagazines.co.uk
which is based online whereas on physical
copy, Q magazine issues are distributed to
retailers which are based on high street like
Whsmiths(in which the screenshots below
display how the recent issue of Q magazine
is displayed and where it is distributed to).
References
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/full-2015-mag-abcs-breakdown-cosmopolitan-bucks-trend-uk-magazines-decline-average-4-cent/
https://www.greatmagazines.co.uk/q-magazine

41. Product advertising and marketing
• Q magazine is usually advertised through online advertising( social
media).This is a visual way of promoting Q magazine as it will enable the
audience to understand the concepts of Q magazine and what content it
has to offer for their issues which will lead to more attention about Q
magazine through its audience by technology.
• Based on marketing, it uses below the line advertising as they promote
exclusive material, subscriptions and interviews which are found in a
recent issue on their social media pages like facebook and twitter.
• Q magazine do use above the line promotion as they advertise their
product through using social media sites and television advertising
which is through the Q Awards(explained more in slide 42)
References
https://www.thebalance.com/different-types-of-advertising-methods-38548
http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/kia-motors/using-sports-marketing-to-engage-with-consumers/above-
the-line-and-below-the-line-promotion.html#axzz4QG9VWCnb

42. Product advertising and marketing
Types of marketing
• Viral marketing- this is a marketing method used to
advertise the products and services through social media
and this information is passed for one person to the next.
• Guerrilla marketing-this is when a company markets
their product in an unusual way but in a common and
popular place. This is so that they are able to gain more
attention from the audience based on the way they
present and advertise their product in the weirdest way.
• Television adverts-this is another way in which a
company advertises their products or services by
broadcasting it on TV for people to visualise the product.
• Radio adverts- this is one other way in which the
company advertise their goods and services by airing it
on a radio station in order for people to listen and hear
more about the product/service the company is
promoting to its audience.
References
http://www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/viral-marketing.html
http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-guerrilla-marketing-definition-strategies-examples.html

43. Product advertising and
marketing(continued)
Q Awards
the Q awards is an awards ceremony which recognizes all
talented and honoured artists from the UK or anywhere else
in the world.
As it is sponsored by Q, viral marketing and television
advertising( on the awards) is used as it is promoted through
social media as it connotes to the audience how voting for
one of the nominees will make a difference as it will honour
them for the music they share with the dedicated audience.
Q use the awards ceremony not only to recognise great
artists but to also promote Q magazine as it is equally as
important as it provides the audience with exclusive
material about artists/bands from the genre the magazine is
aimed at , it also allows the audience to connect with the
artists on a deeper level and it helps them to maintain a
good relationship with the audience whilst promoting their
product in order to gain more attention about their product.
It is associated with absolute radio so it also uses radio
advertisement to promote its product and to inform the
audience more about the awards.

45. Q magazine’s impact and effect on the audience
Q magazine is able to have a huge impact into the most
influential people based on their social classes and in a way
this can have a big impact on the audience as other people
within their class would want to buy copies of Q magazine
which will boost sales of Q magazine. In addition, Q intends
to include lots of content that would be more relevant to its
target audience who are within the age range of 30-40 year
olds that would expect content from Q to be more mature and
has sensible content. as readers of Q magazine will discuss
more about Q ‘s content, more individuals will be more
intrigued about it, it will gain more recognition for its content
and will possibly attract more readers who don’t frequently
read issues of Q. a theory that relates to the concept of the
impact and effect on the audience is the hypodermic needle
theory which connotes that the media pass on information
through messages which is then acted upon by the audience
who are known as the receivers of the messages. In addition,
based on a cause and effect relationship, the media signifies
the cause as it does something in order to create an effect
which is the audience as they react to what the cause is.
References
http://www.sociology.org.uk/AS_Media_effects.pdf

46. Relevant issues of representation
• Stereotyping- a certain idea that people have about what individuals are
like especially if they have misinterpreted the idea.
• Q magazine’s stereotypical audience/readership would be those who are male
which is the majority of those who read Q by gender and within the age range
of 30-40 years old. In addition, those within the audience would more likely
have a white ethnicity as Q is based in the UK where there is 87.2% of the UK
population made up by those of a White British ethnicity. Their style of
clothing would be casual wear so like jeans, t-shirt with no logos, trainers and a
messy haircut.
• Furthermore, based on the fact that woman pose seductively on the front
cover in a way suggests how it is going along with the ‘Male Gaze’(Laura
Mulvey). This theory connotes how the majority of the audience that is male
will gaze at the women on the front cover as well as the fact the women are on
there to be looked at. Lastly, this can contribute to the fact they are the reason
men will purchase the magazine more often but in a way, it is stereotypical
how that men that are especially a white ethnicity would listen to rock,
alternative and indie(Q’s genre) compared to other ethnic groups which listen
to other music genres.
References
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/stereotype
http://www.irr.org.uk/research/statistics/ethnicity-and-religion/

47. Relevant issues of representation(continued)
• In addition, the theory ‘ female gaze’ by Diana Saco which is based on how
men are represented in front of women and it also connotes how it is not only
the majority of the male population that find it pleasurable just to look at
women but it also occurs the other way round as women do the exact same
thing when looking at men. This can relate to many magazines that are
distributed in all areas as there are lots of male artists that will pose topless for
a front cover in order to get the attention they want from female fans and by
gaining this wide attention, this will highlight the reason why women purchase
a copy of a magazine just so that they have an interest in the articles presented
as well as the main image that convinced them to buy it.
• Furthermore, John Berger(1972) stated that “men act, women appear” which
he suggests that men will stare at women as well as them knowing that they
are being looked at which means women themselves objectify themselves.
This relates to front covers of certain magazines in which they make the female
artist look more attractive and alluring in order to give men the idea that they
are on the front covers just to be stared at. This also conveys how men
represent the stereotypical masculine figure just by purchasing a copy of a
magazine with just that as a front cover.
References
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/stereotype
http://www.irr.org.uk/research/statistics/ethnicity-and-religion/

48. Copyright
• Copyright- this is when an author has legal rights into creating copies, licenses
and other musical or artistic work whichever the format and is entitled to owning
that work that requires authorised access for it to be used by other individuals if
the author gives permission.
• The current law for copyright is Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this act
restricts any individual to copy work, insist the material is theirs and sell or do any
productive business with the work of the owner without their permission which
would be categorised as not complying with the Copyright act meaning the
individual is committing an offence.
• Through the material presented, Q magazine comply with the copyright laws
even through advertising different material which is relevant to music or other
content.
• By using the symbol ‘©’, this connotes that all rights are reserved so the material
presented on the content is complying with copyright so they have the right to
use the material presented on the content.
References
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/copyright

49. Legal issues
• On the 14th April 2010, Bauer Media faced legal action against more than
200 freelances accusing Bauer Media of ‘declaring war’ on those who
contribute content to the magazines Bauer Media publish due to a new
copyright agreement that appears to insure it against it being sued.
• Bauer Media released a statement regarding to the legal action they are
facing against the 200 freelances stating that they are seeking new
contract terms along with their music magazine freelancers in order to
use authorised content across different brands, digital platforms and
international editions. They are also confident that they will continue to
work with the freelancers confidently and, receive signed contracts from
a number of freelancers and indicates that they will accept more
freelancers.
References
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/bauer-media-full-statement-on-freelance-contract-war/

50. Role of relevant regulatory bodies
The editor’s code of practise is based on rules which have been enforced by members of industries that relate to magazines
and newspapers that have to be agreed on and accepted. It is administered by the Editors’ Code of Practice committee that
includes ten editors and 5 lay members which certainly include a chairman and chief executive of the IPSO.
The editors code of practice must be taken into consideration whilst making issues of magazines. The three main clauses of
the editors code of practice is:
Clause 1-accuracy
• This clause means that the press are restricted from publishing any content that is irrelevant to the text, that contains
misleading information or images that do not relate to the text.
• if this was to occur, they will need to correct their mistake immediately and publish an apology for giving out misleading
information.
Clause 12- discrimination
• The press must prevent any content that is prejudicial to a certain individual’s race, colour, religion, gender, sexual
orientation etc.
• Any details that cover any of the subjects above must not be spoken of unless it is relevant to the content that has been
published.
Clause 14-Confidential sources
• Every journalist have moral obligations in order to protect any sources of information that have to be kept confidential and
out of the public eye.
• This is important as any information that should be kept from the public but then released means that any news source
can gain information from this and legal action can be taken into place as there is evidence to back up that the release of
confidential information is in breach of Clause 14.
References
https://www.ipso.co.uk/editors-code-of-practice/
https://www.ipso.co.uk/faqs/editors-code/#what-is-the-editors-code-of-practice

51. Ethical issues
• There is issues which regards to either a person or group having no
choice but to voice their opinions on whether alternatives are ethical
(right) or unethical (wrong).
• When it comes to producing magazines, companies will have to
comply with the rules once the magazines have been published and
sold to consumers so it will prevent any harm or offence caused to
individuals.
• If any ethical issues were to occur in music magazines, it would be
more relevant to those who are younger artists compared to those
who have been in the music industry for long enough to be irrelevant.

52. Royalties
• The NLA (which stands for newspaper Licensing Agency) are a company
which collaborates with the PLS( Publishing Licensing Society) to ensure
that all magazine publishers based in the United Kingdom have all applied
to receive royalties for copies that are made for their content.
• It was founded in 1996 by 8 newspaper companies that are national, this
was established in order to protect the industry’s copyright through
licensing collective.
• Their role is to allow media monitoring agencies and a group of client
organisations to make copies of certain content with permission from the
author.
References
• http://nlaroyalties.co.uk/
• http://www.nlamediaaccess.com/default.aspx?tabid=126

53. Complaint
• As Q magazine can display seductive front covers of female artists, this
would cause a parent to complain as this would give the wrong
impression to their child and some parents would want to prevent their
children seeing such content that connotes females objectifying
themselves.
• In addition, complaints are ways of giving feedback to Q which means
this sort of feedback allows them to make improvements on the
magazine and find ways on how to make it better for the reader and to
prevent children in looking at such provocative front covers.
• For example, Cheryl Cole isn't really objectifying herself in a way but is
giving that seductive and attractive impression that is mainly supposed
to attract male which relates to the John Berger(1972)theory.

54. Regulatory issues
IP stands for Intellectual property which is defined as having the correct type
of intellectual property protection to prevent other individuals from stealing
or copying your work. This can be applied to the names of certain products
or brands, your own inventions, the way your product is designed and the
work that is produced by yourself. Examples of intellectual property is
Copyright, patents, designs and trademarks and these types of intellectual
property can be already be there automatically or others will need applying
for in order for the intellectual property to be protected. Owning intellectual
property will mean that you have created it yourself (which meets the
requirements for copyright and other intellectual properties), if it has been
bought off the previous owner of the work and if you have a brand that can
be counted as a trademark so a highly recognisable product name.
Intellectual property can either have more than one author/owner, if it
belongs to a group of people or business and if it has been sold to another
owner or transferred to another individual/business.
References
https://www.gov.uk/intellectual-property-an-overview/what-ip-is
http://www.bauerlegal.co.uk/#intellectualProperty

55. Regulatory
issues(Continued)
As explained briefly on Bauer media’s Terms Of Use, it states that all content that is
featured on their website(this includes the text, images used, trademark rights,
graphics and many more of its features) are all protected by the relevant copyright
laws, trademark rights, database rights and any other rights as to which relate to
the ownership or the registered trade name.
Bauer has also highlighted the fact that all the content featured on their website is
theirs so they own all the content that features on the website so based on the
Terms of Use, it doesn't’t allow an individual the right or license to use any of
Bauer’s content unless it is clearly stated in the Terms of Use.
Although there are strict laws in the Terms of Use, Bauer can grant an individual a
limited, non transferable and personal licence that allows them to use their site, be
able to view and download but for caching reasons and be able to print out pages
that are for personal use.
References
http://www.bauerlegal.co.uk/#intellectualProperty

56. Q’s complaint procedure
• There is a editorial complaints policy which has been listed by Bauer
Media that connotes to the consumer that they must clearly state a
formal complaint.
• This policy covers complaints that relate to editorial content in
Bauer’s publications and digital services which Bauer Media controls
across the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.
• This policy does not apply to complaints that are regulated by Ofcom
about TV and radio services, complaints about any advertisements
and complaints about any matter of decency.
• Complaints must include a copy of the article that is the subject of the
complaint, a written explanation as to why the individual has its
concerns with the article which should reference to the Editors’ code
and any other relevant documents that will help Bauer assess the
complaint.

57. Q’s Complaint policy
References
http://www.bauermediacomplaints.co.uk/

58. Q’s Complaint Policy(continued)
• In this policy, Bauer Media states what a complaint is, what the whole
point of this policy is for, how to complaint to Bauer, what occurs
once you have informed your complaint to Bauer and if you are still
unhappy with your final complaint and another option to fix that.
• In addition, there could also be any changes to the policy that could
possibly occur that all individuals wanting to file a complaint should
be aware of.
• The policy also contains all the contact details regarding to the IPSO if
the individual is still unsatisfied with their final complaint that they
have filed in and sent to Bauer Media.

59. Regulatory issues(Data Protection Act)
Data Protection Act (1998)
The data protection act allows you to control how personal information from certain
individuals is passed around in businesses, organizations or the government.
This information must be used lawfully, fairly , must be accurate, has to be kept safe and
secure from the public eye, it also must be kept within a certain time period if necessary
and must be relevant to the content.
Through Bauer Media, it states in their Privacy Policy that they are fully committed into
respecting and protecting data from other individuals and their reason for collecting
personal data about other individuals is because it helps them to understand the needs
and guides of their consumers in a way which helps them to communicate with them
about their products and services from now and in the future. They are also notified along
with the Information Commissioner’s office who is the regulator of the Data Protection Act
1998 and have to comply with its rules.
References
https://www.gov.uk/data-protection/the-data-protection-act
http://www.bauerdatapromise.co.uk/