Q magazine has a majority male readership of nearly 3/4. While the topics appeal more to males, the 1/4 of female readers are not negatively affected. There is an opportunity to create a new music magazine that has majority female appeal, as no current magazine meets this gender ratio. The primary audience of Q is young adults ages 33.3%, which is a good target market. Q also has high appeal to ages 24-34, showing mature content. Featuring younger artists on the cover can help relate to this audience.

1. AUDIENCE RESEARCH - GENDER
Q magazine circulates 80,500 magazines with a readership of 473,000. It is
important for the magazine to differentiate between circulation and
readership, as a one copy may be read by several others. From the diagram
below it is clear that Q magazine has a majority appeal to males, nearly
reaching 3 quarters as its audience. It is important to acknowledge this as Q
magazine can choose topics that appeal to males more without it affecting
their readership. The quarter of women who read Q will not be effected by
the male style but still take interest in its variety of music topics. Both these
audiences may also be familiar with Q’s other subsidiary brands, such as Q
Radio, QTV or even events such as the Q Awards and Glastonbury (with
which it partners itself). With this strong majority, it may be in my best
interest to create a magazine with a considerable gap in the market: a music
magazine that appeals to the majority of females. This would be a good idea
as no current magazine appeals to the majority or just meets the gender ratio
with an even coverage.
AUDIENCE RESEARCH – ABC1 PROFILE & TIME AUDIENCE RESEARCH – AGE RANGE
ORGANISATION ANALYSIS
From the table below, we can see that Q magazine has a
Since Q Magazine’s launch in 1986, it has a consistent appeal primary audience of young adults (33.3%). This is a good
to an affluent majority in readership. This is vital for the target market as younger audience are now increasingly using
magazine’s profits and influence as they will be able to expand social media sites to discuss their likes, dislikes and opinions.
more if their readership has a disposable income. This is clear They are more likely to then easily distribute word and mouth
in the ABC1 pie chart below demonstrating that a majority about the magazine and expand to a further unique and new
who purchase the magazine do have the money to spare to audience. Through this Q magazine can adapt their content to
continue interest in its content. From this the magazine can appeal to their younger readers through lexis and graphology.
then develop a regular readership either through However Q magazine still has a high appeal to 24-34 years
subscriptions or just a monthly buy. I should also consider the which suggests that their content still sustains a level of
time organisation of my publication. Personally, I prefer if a maturity that allows open discussion between the two
magazine is published monthly as this allows the content to be categories. Therefore it is crucial to have younger adults to
more exclusive and feature articles and interviews of a variety. appear on the cover so that the audience can relate to this
The time span can also allow a build up of events so there is image and have an appeal to purchase the issue. However this
more topics to discuss, such as album releases and interviews is based mainly on the conventions of society where it is now
with high status musicians that don’t come regularly. In Q popular to be featuring younger and cool artists (music artists
magazine’s case, when their ABC1 as well as C2DE purchase feature to relate to the music brand). Exceptions to this would
the magazine they feel they can get more for their money and include artists that have already made their mark on the
feel content at the time span to allow a better quality of music industry, such as John Lennon, Madonna and Michael
magazine. This coincides with another statistic that 97% of Q Jackson. From this I know to consider a relatable cover icon
magazine readers rate Q as a quality magazine. Therefore out so that my audience can relate and purchase it.
performing competitors and increasing success.