Q Magazine Cover Analysis

Before I begin to plan my own music magazine cover, I want to get an idea of the codes of conventions for the cover pages of music magazines as well as some inspiration for my own magazine. Do do this I will analyse two covers. This will help me plan my own magazine as I will gain a better understanding of the elements I must consider when planning my magazine, as well as getting inspiration for my own cover.

 

I have chosen to analyse the most recent cover of Q Magazine. Q is one of the most popular music magazines and is published monthly by Bauer Media Group. It was founded by David Hempworth and Mark Ellen as they thought there was a gap in the market for a music magazine that did not ignore the older generation that are still buying CD's as well as including the new technological generation. Originally named Cue, as to cue the music, however it was changed to Q so that it wouldn't be confused for a snooker magazine. The cover that I have decided to analyse is Issue No. 341, which was released as the December 2014 issue, featuring the Foo Fighters as the cover artist. This issue cost £4.99.

The colours, font and layout of this cover indicate to us that this magazine is aimed at those in their late teens until thirties. The colours used are quite gender neutral appealing to everyone, hinting that this magazine reaches both female and male readers. This is also reflected in the gender of the artists plugged on the cover, as there is a mix of male and females. The layout is neat and structured resulting in a very professional and polished look.

The masthead is positioned in the top left corner and is just a simple white Q inside a red box. The simplicity of the masthead is unique and attracts the reader straight away. This logo has now become famous with the brand, highlighted by the fact that the main image covers the mast head slightly. This indicates that this magazine is already an established brand and doesn't need to be very clear as most people will already know which magazine it is without having to see the masthead fully. 

At the bottom left hand corner of the cover there is a pull quote from the main article. It ends on a cliff-hanger, used to entice the reader to buy the magazine to see what he was talking about when he said “It was turned upside down”. There is another pull quote included on the right hand side including an extract from Jack White’s feature; “I see myself as a stand-up comedian”.  This will interest readers to read on and find out what the artist means when he says this. On the cover there are 11 artists featured. This is done to try and appeal to as many different people as possible. There are only two images used; the main image and a small image in the top right hand corner. The corner image is small enough so that it doesn’t distract attention away from the main image. The main image is shot straight on with the Foo Fighters looking directly into the camera. This sets a neutral tone with them and the reader, encouraging them to read it and perhaps encouraging people who aren’t already fans of the Foo Fighters to read it too. The background of the main image is white, a usual detail of Q, making the people stand out and be the focus. 

Beside the image of Prince there is a puff, including Prince’s symbol, letting the reader
know that the Prince article is a 20 page special. This will entice anyone that is a fan of Prince and is interested in the article. The main house style of Q is red, white and black. We can see that they heavily use these colours, as well as some accent colours such as grey and purple. Symbols are used on the front cover, such as the grey plus and grey quotation marks. This adds a different element to the magazine cover and makes sure that it is not too text heavy as the focus should remain the main image. On the right side there are a number of cover lines. The biggest one is about the most famous artist, Noel Gallagher. The magazine doesn’t include his surname, assuming that the reader would already know who they are talking about. This shows a certain level of respect from the magazine to its readers as it doesn’t patronise them. Underneath “Noel Returns!” there is a smaller cover line stating “… but is he really talking to Liam?” This cover line adds a gossipy tone to the magazine making it seem that it’s not all just facts but adds an fun, lighter side to the magazine.

On the right side there is a large 31 and underneath states “Pages of essential reviews” and then 5 artists are listed. The use of the number 31 rather than the word, again makes sure that the magazine cover is not too text heavy. The size of the number draws the reader’s attention. This is chosen because Q is regarded highly in terms of music reviews and music enthusiasts often trust their reviews and have done for years. For this reason it has become one of their most popular features in the magazine.

The text used is all capitalised adding an importance to all of the cover lines. It also makes the text look more uniform and improves the aesthetics of the overall cover.

At the bottom right corner there is the barcode. This includes the month, year, price and website address. This is effective as the reader can clearly find the website and the price, as well as issue.

Included in the December issue of Q is a cover mount. It is a CD including sessions from various artists recorded on Q Radio. This would entice readers to by the magazine as they are getting a free CD and more for their money. Above the masthead there is a large bright yellow arrow which points down to where the CD is stuck on the magazine. Inside the yellow arrow are the words, “Exclusive CD!” in black writing. This makes the font stand out on the yellow arrow and draw the reader’s attention. This also lets the reader know that there should be a CD attached, and if not there are instructions down at the bottom where the CD should be telling the reader to alert their newsagent.