Q Magazine:
Q magazine is published monthly, at a cost of £3.90 and has a circulation of 130,179 (as of June 2007).
Q magazine, as well as other music magazines such as KERRANG and MOJO, is owned by The Bauer Media Group, a large German publishing company based in Hamburg, which operates in 15 countries worldwide. They also own, produce women's weekly and TV listings magazines; including TVChoice, Total TVGuide, that's life!, Bella and Take a Break, as well as puzzle magazines. The company also has a 50% stake in the British television company Box Television, which produces quite a few music television channels, including; Q TV, 4Music, Kiss TV, Kerrang! TV, The Box, Magic TV and Smash Hits TV. The fact that the Bauer media group owns so many umbrella companies to do with the music business shows that they are professional and serious about their readership and the company.
Target Audience:
Analysis of the magazine:
The front cover is a wide-shot of muse front man Matt Bellamy, who is a very loved figure in the music scene. The main image has also incorporated the Q logo, which is being smashed by Bellamy; this is very eye catching and un-usual concept and without doubt catches the reader’s eye. The contents and the articles featured are classed as “regulars”, “features” or “the Q review”, although they are all music or media related, Q manages to keep the content very diverse and exciting for the reader as well as using the “regulars” to get the fans of the magazine to keep buying. The reader profile is all about discovering new music before the majority of the public. The large review section and “the essential tracks to download this month” both contribute to this original lifestyle. The unique Selling Point of this magazine is an exclusive interview with muse (hence the main image of Matt Bellamy). The simple strap line of “THE UK’S BIGGEST MUSIC MAGAZINE”, is not only puff, but a simple and effective way of catching the readers eye.
The house style of the magazine is grey, black and red is very minimalistic and timeless but there is also the injection of interest with the splashes of red, which makes the magazine seem a bit more exciting.
In the magazine that I analysed there were 106 adverts in the whole magazine, of which 25 were full page/double page out of 170 pages in total. There was a range of different products being advertised mostly music related such as albums and concerts, however alcoholic drinks also feature heavily and they are all “men’s” drinks such as Stella Artois and Jack Daniels. This re-enforces the main readership as male and also music loving.
Q magazine also makes use of the ever growing possibilities of technology; they include a full edition of the current issue as well as many other audience involving links and activities, for example competitions, media players for “the track of the day” and there is also a complete archive full of all the past Q magazine covers. It also uses the technology available to the media institution, such as Q TV, to highlight and advertise the magazine; this is called synergy (interconnected marketing and distribution of media products across a range of platforms and sectors). I personally believe that if you have sources to use, for example TV channels and radio stations, that every opportunity should be maximised to help the magazine or product sell well and maximise potential.
What I like most about the magazine is the review section as it gives detail into the specific band/album/single and has a really easy to read and understand 5 star rating system.