Analysis of Q magazine

Q is published by the Bauer Media Group, the UK’s largest magazine publisher in the UK. Bauer own 282 magazines in 15 countries and also TV and radio stations. It has a low monthly circulation of 80,400 readers.

            The masthead of this particular cover of Q is a square at the top left hand corner with a capital Q in the centre, with the tip of the Q leading to the featured celebrity, Lily Allen. This is quite unusual positioning of a masthead; however it makes the magazine more eye-catching and intriguing, therefore letting it stand out against other competitors. Normal mastheads run along the top of the page, and is usually a whole word, for example ‘Sugar’, but because this masthead is simply a Q, it makes the magazine more compelling, as if you are part of a select club when you buy it. It would also look more prominent on a newsstand, competing with many other magazines.

            The tagline included in the mast head: “A different kind of music” encodes being different and independent, because it suggests that the magazine is diverse in the type of music it features in it. It also connotes individuality, again making the magazine more compelling to possible readers. The tagline could also suggest that the magazine has a different perception of music, and could change the way readers think of music their selves. It gives the magazine an edge in the fact that it is one of only a few that talk about that genre of music.

            The bands featured in this issue of Q include U2, Oasis, The Stone Roses, Pete Doherty and Lily Allen. Most of these artists would be described as very well known, but not particularly mainstream, but Lily Allen’s previous music could be described as pop music, which differs greatly from the other artists featured. However the cover describes her as a ‘Sexy beast’ and says it will talk about her ‘wicked, wicked ways’, suggesting that she may have changed her image, and could now fit in with the magazine completely, and appeal to the target audience.

            The target audience for this magazine is probably males, aged 20+. I know this because of the main image on the cover, Lily Allen is in a suggestive pose, and is topless, signifying that it is trying to appeal to the male gaze.

            The cover lines are at the very bottom of the page and are laid out in a way that doesn’t explain much about them. The different sentences are separated by forward slashes. This isn’t the conventional place to put them on a normal magazine cover, fitting in with the individual theme of the magazine. The lettering style is serif font. There are also cover lines at the very right of the page, again about bands and the interviews that are included in the magazine. There is a mix of serif and sans-serif fonts in these cover lines, so it separates the different articles.

            In the central image, Lily Allen is looking down over her shoulder, as she has her back turned away from the readers, with her name in large capitals, and contrasting colours going across her body. The black panthers next to her connote danger, but they are made to look like they are comfortable round Lily Allen, connoting that she is a ‘sexy beast’ like the cover lines read.