1. Research into a magazine
similar to the genre of the
one I wish to produce…
By Holly Sheldon

2. Q Magazine
O Q is a popular music magazine published
monthly in the UK.
O The magazine is a multi media product as it is in
the form of both print and online.
O Diversifying itself from other music magazines
due to the monthly production and higher
standards of photography and printing.
O Q was first published by the EMAP media group
in October 1968.
O However in January 2008 EMAP sold its
consumer magazine titles including ‘Q’ to Bauer
Media Group.

3. The Content of Q Magazine
O Q has an extensive review section, featuring:
new music releases, reissues of music,
music compilations, film and live concert
reviews, radio and television reviews and a
rating of albums and a list of 8 albums that
Q classes as the best new releases of the
past 3 months.
O However the majority of the content is
devoted to interviews with popular music
artists.

4. Q Magazine Promotional
Techniques
O Q has several promotional techniques
including: the magazine is well known for
the compiling lists they have created ranging
from “The 100 Greatest Albums”, “100
Greatest…” Lists.
O A special edition is released, the content is
made up of musical times, musical genres
and a very important/influential musician.
O Promotional gifts are also given away such
as cover-mounted CD’s and books.

5. Interesting Fact
OThe magazine was originally
supposed to be named ‘Cue’ to
reinforce the idea of cueing a
record, ready to play. However
the name was changed to ‘Q’ so
that it would not be mistaken for
a snooker magazine.

6. Q Magazine Subscription Offers
O You can subscribe to this magazine for both digital and print
version.
The package advertised to be the best deal at Q magazine is
the: Print + Digital package, annual subscription for £17.
If you subscribe to the print issue you will have it delivered to
your door making it easy to access and an added appeal that
there is no delivery charge.
O Technological convergence is used as by subscribing to the
digital magazine it can be distributed onto multiple media
devices (a variety of touch screen technology as soon as its
available). By recognising that tablets are becoming a
popular form of technology, they have now made an edition
downloadable for tablets showing the adjustment Bauer
Media Company has made in order to become more
accessible to their consumers.

7. Q Magazine Brands
O In June 2008, Q launched a full service radio
station but was then closed in mid- 2013 when
the owners of Bauer media decided to use the
station's bandwidth on various platforms (DAB,
Digital TV) to launch Kisstory, a spinoff of their
Kiss brand.
O There was also a formerly Q Television Channel
in the UK which closed in July 2012.
O However Q still remains to hold a yearly awards
ceremony known as the ‘Q Awards’.

8. Q Print Deconstruction
The promotional
technique ‘celebrity
endorsement ‘ is used
as Cheryl Cole has
been chosen to be the
feature model for this
issue.
Cheryl is wearing dark garments and a
leather jacket to represent the genre
of rock music. Her jacket has a low
neck line to reveal more skin, and
represent being sexual to appeal to a
masculine audience. Her red lips are
slightly parted to give sexual
connotations.
The background is dark and closes
in on Cheryl, which suggests her as
a mysterious character with a lot
more to her than the audience
perceive, this side of her will be
revealed in this issue.
The typography of the
cover lines is red and
white, highlighted font in
order to associate with the
magazines logo.
Logo, used to represent the
production company of Q
Magazine. This can be
associated with all Q
products, so people are able
to recognise the brand
easily.
The rain is used to attract the
reader, water also makes readers
think of showers, and ‘being wet’
referring back to the sexual
connotations Cheryl is trying to
portray.
The use of the superlative “biggest” is
to show the popularity and superiority
of the magazine.
The language used “pics” is an
abbreviation of the word “pictures”
used as a form of colloquial language
to make the readers feel more
comfortable, as well as being a
language that a younger audience
can interpret and relate to easily.
The feature model is taken at
a medium close up as to
engage the reader, but to
avoid being too close as to
make readers feel
uncomfortable.

9. Q Online Deconstruction
Logo is used so
the media product
can be identified
easily by
consumers.
The promotional
technique a
‘subscription deal’ is
used to commit readers
to purchasing this
magazine over a long
period of time, and also
to create brand loyalty.
Audience Involvement –
Shows that audiences
opinions are valued just as
much, allows them to get
their thoughts and opinions
across using a voting poll.
Q can be identified as a
mainstream magazine,
through the language
choice used “latest”
which shows Q online to
be knowledgeable on the
latest information and
frequently updated.
QTHEMUSIC.COM is an
effective play on words,
this ensures the
audience remembers
this phrase with
accuracy and associates
it with this media
product every time they
come across it. Promotional technique
of a ‘news letter sign
up’ used, as Q
Magazine published
monthly, however a
news letter can be
published more
frequently.
Q online is effective, as it is more
convenient for readers to access
allows readers to listen to sound
files.

10. Why have I chosen to look at and
deconstruct Q as part of my
research?
O I have carried out research and a deconstruction of Q -both the print and online
version in order to gain expertise and to see the typical codes and conventions I
need to follow when producing my Festival genre magazine.
O Despite Q being a magazine based mainly on rock and roll music, it has similar
aspects to those you would find in a festival magazine as it has featured a variety of
some of the worlds biggest artists – U2, Adele, Oasis, Rihanna, Radiohead, Lady
Gaga etc which are all associated with different genres of music.
O The magazine creates new stars and identifies who’s coming next which similarly a
festival magazine would be likely to do due to the promotion of new artists and
bands, and the seek for new talent through observation at well known festivals, and
advertising these for the next upcoming well known festivals.
O From my research I have discovered Q is a magazine to aspire to when producing
my own as it is the UK’s number one actively purchased magazine, it is known to
outperform competitors based on best interviews, writing and award winning
photography.