my music magazine analysis of Q

1. Q Magazine
• First published in 1986
• It produces its own albums
• It has a TV channel for their
music.
• Published monthly in the UK

2. Masthead
The “Q” is the left hand corner so
it can be seen when stacked with
others in a shop. The bold white
on the bright red really shows up
against the black background.
This could be to represent the
lust and romance about the
celebrities in the magazine. The
Q is the logo for the magazine
and is recognised by its audience

3. Main Image Analysis
The main image is trying to
appeal to fans of “Madonna” as
she is the central image. Her
clothing blends in with the
background colour which
connotes how Madonna fits in
to the music industry as a
whole. The mid-shot shows
her dominance over the music
industry. The main image is
also overlapping the masthead
which suggests her power and
authority over the magazine

4. Anchorage Text Analysis
The artist’s name “Madonna” is
in large red typography
reflecting her superiority of
the magazine. Red also
connotes danger which
suggests she’s a bold and
durable character. The quote
underneath “Stupid Question!
Next!” also encourages people
to buy it as it creates an
enigma.

5. Skyline/Strapline Analysis
Unusually the strapline is
placed over the masthead
rather than at the top of the
magazine, maybe to suggest a
special edition that is slightly
different from previous issues.
“196” is in the largest font to
suggest value for money. The
exclamation mark at the end
also highlights the disbelief of
the offer, encouraging people
to buy it.

6. Layout
The layout has no sell line, this
may be because the main image
is Madonna who is major pop
star. The magazine doesn’t feel
that they have to include a
skyline as the Main focal image
draws you in. The general layout
is fairly basic, and sticks to the
regulations of the “Q” magazine.

7. Colour Scheme
The grey banner at the bottom
advertise advertises another
story. It completely disobeys the
colour scheme of the cover, red,
white and black. However the
banner and stands out to the
reader with its own colour and
style of writing, but does not
take over the main story/ idol.
Notice the different colours in
the text. Words in the same
sentence are different colours,
styles and have different
boldness. Magazine companies
often use this to identify the
more important parts to a slogan
or sentence.

8. Sell lines
The sell lines make people want
to read inside the magazine by
showing small snips of stories
that will entice people. “Rolling
stones” will catch the secondary
audience of the magazine as
people who like these bands will
want to read it.

9. Covermount
The offer at the bottom is for a
woman’s magazine, this freebie
appeals to the target audience of
the magazine, and offers extra
entertainment. We can tell that
the magazine is aimed at women
because of the feminine
dominance over the magazine.
By using Madonna and a booklet
of female musicians it really
overpowers the magazine. In
saying that though, men might
find the women attractive in the
magazine by the use of the male
gaze.