This magazine features stories on various musical artists including Florence and the Machine, Motley Crue, Simon Cowell, Skrillex, and The National, St. Vincent, and Chris Martin. The magazine uses distinct branding with a red logo featuring a large white "Q" to stand out. The cover features several sell lines in white text with varying font sizes to draw attention and pose questions about the featured artists to intrigue readers.

1. Q Magazine Analysis
Harry Goldsmith

2. For this task I am going to analyse a music
magazine.I have chosen an edition of Q
Magazine featuring Florence and the Machine for
the main story. This edition is from March 2012
and cost £2.99. this also features stories about
Motley Crue, Simon Cowell, Zane Lowe, Skrillex
and a 16 page blowout which features The
National, St Vincent and Chris Martin.

3. Logo
Q magazine has a very distinct logo, this consists of a red
square with a large white Q in it. Below this you then have the
motto for the magazine. The colour red is a very bright and
prominent colour and aggressive to the human eye. When
people see the colour red they are promted to quickly make
decisions. Because they have chosen the colour red they
will quickly notice the magazine within a stand and by using
the distinctive Q they are creating a recognisable brand
which people associate with providing up-to-date and
interesting music news. The colour red also connotes
power – by using this colour it is suggested to the audience
that they are the magazine with the most power within the
market and the one to buy. By using the colour red they are
suggesting that the audience are people who are looking
for a magazine which provides them with everything they
need. Red is often associated with assertiveness and this
suggests that the magazine provides for the audiences
needs. They are using a fairly gender neutral colour which
suggests that this magazine is not aimed at anyone in
particular. When people see the magazine they receive the
connotation that if they buy the magazine there will be a
wide range of information inside and is probably going to
have information about music the person likes. However
the red and the white could also be associated with
masculinity which suggests that the main target audience is
males. By having a bright and bold logo they are
establishing a recognised brand name.

4. Logo
They have used a large letter Q in the centre of the red
square. By using the single letter Q they are making a bold
statement and are also creating a powerful brand image for
themselves with a memorable name. By using the colour
white for the letter they are suggesting to the reader that their
information is correct and trustworthy as the colour white is
often associated with purity and transparency. This also
suggests that the views inside are accurate representations.
They have then used their motto – “Discover Great Music”
this suggests to the reader that it is going to be introduced to
artists they have never heard of before and like them because
they will more than likely be similar to the ones they are
reading about in the magazine. This also suggests to us that
the magazine features a wide range of articles because they
are suggesting that they are going to feature something
everyone will like.
By using the three elements together they are making a bold
and memorable brand image for the magazine and make it
stand out and catch the readers eye.

5. Headline
They have used a sell line at the top of the magazine. This works
towards the uses and gratifications theory – needs model
because it is give information to the reader, this is telling them
about the main topic of this issue of the magazine. Because they
have used the white text, they are allowing the text to stand out
clearly against the background. The colour white is associated
with purity, and being clear. This suggests to the reader that the
information inside is correct and is a true representation. By
naming the artist they are again complying with the needs
model, this time with not only cognitive (information) but also the
personal needs. People may see their interest in this artist as
some kind of social status within society. They have used
different sized fonts, they have made the name Florence bigger
than the other text, which suggests to us that this is more
important than the other text within the sell line. This also means
that when people see it, it is instantly conforming to their
cognitive needs of information because they are seeing who is in
the magazine. By using the name of the artist they are
encouraging fans of the artist to buy the magazine. They have
used two different fonts, one to show the quote and the other to
describe it. By doing this they are suggesting that the magazine
has actually had an interview with Florence and that the
information inside is a true representation of how she feels. The
sell line creates a hermeneutic question, by using the text
woman on the edge paired with the quote they are encouraging
the reader to read the article because they want to know what
the sell line is referring to – they want to know why she feels
alone. By saying that she feels alone this creates another
question that the reader wants to answer, because they know
that Florence is a famous artist they wonder why she feels alone
when she has so many friends and fans. This may also comply
with the tension part of the needs model because it is allowing
the reader to escape from everyday life by reading it.

6. Sell Line
They have used more than one sell line in this magazine, this is
also in white because this allows the text to stand out from the
background, and the colour white is associated with purity and
clearness. This suggests to the reader that the information is
honest and correct. They have used one type of font for this sell
line, and this suggests that it is not as important as the first. They
have used different sized font to show the importance of the text
within the sell line. The first part of the sell line says meet the
new Simon Cowell, this conforms with the cognitive and the
personal needs because they are being given the information
about who is in the magazine and they may consider it to be
some kind of social status to keep up to date with what is
happening with Simon Cowell at the moment. By saying meet
the new Simon Cowell they are suggesting to the reader that
they have an interview with him and that the information inside is
an accurate, true representation of his views and thoughts on the
topic. They have written the bottom half of the sell line in a
smaller font and this is because it is meant to be an addition to
what has already been written – this is adding on to the first half
to give more information about what has been said. In this case
because it is saying (And this ones not a bastard) this is creating
a hermeneutic question, the reader wants to know why he is not
a bastard. The entire sell line is encouraging the reader to look
inside to find out how Simon Cowell has changed, and why he is
different from before. They may also want to know why he has
changed and would therefore see the sell line and read inside to
find out what the topic is. By reading the article this is complying
with the uses and gratifications needs model because it is
providing information (cognitive) and the personal needs by
providing the reader with a social status. This may also comply
with the tension part of the needs model because it is allowing
the reader to escape from everyday life by reading it.

7. Sell Line
In this sell line, again they have used white text, the
same font but different font sizes, possibly to highlight
important information. By using the colour white they
are making the text stand out from the background
and making the connotation of purity and being clear.
This suggest to the reader that the information is
correct. The sell line reads “Skrillex Dance Genius or
Noisy Git?”. By using the name of the artist – Skrilex
they are complying with the cognitive needs of the
uses and gratifications needs model. This is because it
is providing information to the reader. It is providing
the reader with a hermeneutic question because it is
making the reader want to know which the magazine
has decided he is. A dance genius or a noisy git. By
using the word Skrillex in a larger font they are
allowing it to catch the readers eye and if they are
interested in finding out what they have to say then
they will buy it. This can also comply with the personal
needs element of the uses and gratification theoryby
providing the reader with a social status. This may
also comply with the tension part of the needs model
because it is allowing the reader to escape from
everyday life by reading it.
They are showing more variety within the magazine by
showing this on the front because it is a different artist
compared with the others shown in the sell lines. This
suggests that the magazine is trying to target more
than one audience.

8. Sell Line
They have used more than one sell line in this magazine, this
is also in white because this allows the text to stand out from
the background, and the colour white is associated with purity
and clearness. This suggests to the reader that the
information is honest and correct. They have used one type of
font for this sell line, and this suggests that it is not as
important as the first. They have used different sized font to
show the importance of the text within the sell line. The sell
line reads “Heroin, Hookers and Hair Metal Motley Crue and
the bands that won’t die”. The first section of the sell line is in
a smaller font this suggests to us that this is less important or
a descriptive contribution to the rest of the sell line. In this
case it is clear this is contributing to the hermeneutic
question that is being created by the sell line. The
larger, second part of the sell line reads “Motley Crue” this
section is complying with the uses and gratifications needs
model because it is providing information (cognitive) and the
personal needs by providing the reader with a social status.
This also encourages someone to read the magazine if they
like Motley Crue. This also allows the magazine to appeal to a
wider target audience because again they are different to the
other artists featured in the sell lines. In the third part of the
sell line it says “and the other bands that won’t die” this is
telling the reader who else is featured in the article and
creates a hermenuetic code for the reader because they want
to know what they are talking about, which other bands have
been around for a long time and won’t go away. They also
want to know why they feel this way as a magazine. This may
also comply with the tension part of the needs model because
it is allowing the reader to escape from everyday life by
reading it.

9. Sell Line
They have used more than one sell line in this magazine, this
is also in white because this allows the text to stand out from
the background, and the colour white is associated with purity
and clearness. This suggests to the reader that the
information is honest and correct. They have used one type of
font for this sell line, and this suggests that it is not as
important as the first. They have used different sized font to
show the importance of the text within the sell line. They have
started the sell line with “16 Page Gig Blowout! This means
that the majority of the magazine is featuring information
about gigs. By telling the reader how many pages there are
featuring this information it is suggested to them that there is
a lot of information and worth purchase, however this also
suggests that they will have information about a large number
of gigs and implies that they will more than likely have
something relevant to the readers taste in music. They have
then detailed the names of three artists who are featured in
this gig blowout. The three artists make different styles of
music and also have their gigs in different cities which means
again a wider target audience. The third artist however it
reads “Chris Martin in tears” – this suggests that something
has gone wrong for this particular artist and therefore this
creates a hermeneutic question for the reader because they
want to know why they are in tears and what has happened to
cause this. By reading the article this is complying with the
uses and gratifications needs model because it is providing
information (cognitive) and the personal needs by providing
the reader with a social status. This may also comply with
the tension part of the needs model because it is allowing
the reader to escape from everyday life by reading it.

10. Colours
Within the magazine cover they have used three prominent
colours. Red, white and Blue. The colour red is a very bright
and prominent colour and aggressive to the human eye. When
people see the colour red they are promoted to quickly make
decisions. Because they have chosen the colour red they will
quickly notice the magazine within a stand and by using the
distinctive Q they are creating a recognisable brand which
people associate with providing up-to-date and interesting music
news. The colour red also connotes power – by using this colour
it is suggested to the audience that they are the magazine with
the most power within the market and the one to buy. By using
the colour red they are suggesting that the audience are people
who are looking for a magazine which provides them with
everything they need. Red is often associated with assertiveness
and this suggests that the magazine provides for the audiences
needs. They are using a fairly gender neutral colour which
suggests that this magazine is not aimed at anyone in particular.
When people see the magazine they receive the connotation
that if they buy the magazine there will be a wide range of
information inside and is probably going to have information
about music the person likes. However the red and the white
could also be associated with masculinity which suggests that
the main target audience is males. The colour white suggests
purity and honesty, that the information inside is correct and
transparent – an accurate representation. The colour blue is
also used and this suggests the information being correct
because it suggest intellect and understanding. However the
colour blue is often associated with masculinity which may be
widening the target audience for the magazine if males are
attracted to the colour.

11. Image
They have used a large image in the background of the
magazine, this is of Florence Welch the artist the main article
is concerning. They have linked the colours throughout the
cover – editing her face to make her look pale, almost white
to link in with the white text used for the sell lines. They have
also used blue makeup to make her eyes link in with the blue
lines around the page seperating the sell lines. She has got a
neutral expression and this suggests that she is not
happy, which complies with the sell line which describes the
topic of the article. She is also shown to be nervous, this is
indicated by the hands on her face – this backs up “woman
on the edge” to the reader and makes them want to read the
article to find out what’s going on. The image has been used
to highlight what the main article is and this means it will
stand out in the crowd and when someone who likes Florence
and the Machine see’s the magazine and see’s her on the
front – without reading the sell lines yet they know that the
magazine is related to their interests and are therefore
encouraged to buy it because they know that they are going
to be interested in the contents.