L.I.I.A.R Analysis of Q Magazine.

The colour scheme for ‘Q’ magazine is white, red and black.‘Q’ magazine follow this colour scheme on every single oneof their issues. This shows continuity and allows the readerto identify with the magazine. They have made the mainfeature story, ‘Adele’, the only feature to use the colourwhite; this shows that it is the most important issue. This isalso shown because the letter ‘Q’ in the corner iswhite, which also signifies the importance of it. They havealternated with the use of colours red and black with theother features, unlike other magazines they usually havetheir feature stories in the same colour. The mast head isalso very iconographic with this magazine, as it always looksthe same and is in the same place. They always make surethat the mast head is behind the artists, as this would covertheir face but they make sure that the reader can see it sothat they can identify with it. This issue of ‘Q’ is the 300th

issue, which could be the reason for choosing Grammy andOscar award winning singer Adele as the main image. Theimage shows Adele with her hair being slightly flowing in thewind. This links into the tagline of ‘Adele blows us away’. Theeditors have also used very famous singers in thefeatures, which also shows it’s a special edition.

Language:

‘Q’ magazine was founded by Mark Ellen and David Hepworth.They felt that the older generation were being ignored bymusic magazines, so instead of aiming their magazine towardsyoung adults, they have aimed it towards over 25s. ‘Q’features a wide range of different genre artists from Beyoncéto David Bowie. ‘Q’ has been published monthly, in theUK, since October 1986. ‘Q’ is owned by the ‘Bauer Media’who also offer over 300 magazines in 15 countries, along withTV and radio stations. ‘Q’ has also been expanded from amagazine to TV and radio, which can be used to advertisetheir own products but also those of ‘Bauer Media. ‘Q’ is soldat around £4.50 per issue, this immediately tells us that thismagazine is targeting the high class, who will have the moneyto spend each month on this magazine. Even though themagazine is fairly expensive, we can tell that it is successful asit is still selling today. Much of ‘Q’ is dedicated to interviewswith artists and does section on reviews such as:music, films, live concerts, radio and TV. Originally ‘Q’ wascalled Cue (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready toplay), but the name was changed so that it wouldn't bemistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in Q's200th edition, is that a single-letter title would be moreprominent on newsstands.

Institution:

The ideology behind ‘Q’ magazine to be seen as an up marketmagazine. This is shown by the price of the magazine, £4.50;This is quite high for a magazine. They also have well knownand respected artists on each front cover, which shows it’s highclass. In addition, they layout for each cover is veryconventional, this makes the magazine look very professionaland sophisticated. The artists who are shown on the front covershow how popular and respected it is as they have agreed to beon the front cover. This magazine also comes across very trustworthy as they have the tagline “discover great music”, whichthey have lived up to. This shows that they have impressedtheir readers and target audience and have persuaded themthat they are the best music magazine, and they have alsoshown this by their knowledge on other topics other thanmusic.

Ideology:

Although, ‘Q’ magazine doesn’t have a specific genre theyhave made sure that the artists on each cover appeal totheir target audience, over 25s. By using the ‘Q Reader’ Ifound out that 68.3% of the readers are male. They havemade sure the main image will appeal to their targetaudience by making sure that the artist is well known andis respected in the music industry, as seen in the cover bythe use of Adele. However, fans of a certain artist thatappears on the front of the magazine will also beattracted to purchasing the magazine. The price of themagazine, £4.50, also suggests that they are targetingtheir magazine towards high class wealthy people, thatwill be able to afford the monthly issue. This might alsomean that the advertising included inside of the magazinewill be suited towards the higher class, for example theymight of adverts for expensive products.

Audience

Adele being featured on the front cover of ‘Q’ magazine shows that they value exceptional artists and that is one of the ideas behind the magazine; appreciation of good music. Adele also symbolizes the high class and wealth behind the magazine. They also present their motto of “discover great music” by the artists they feature on the front page. All of these artists are very successful, however, they all play different genres of music. This shows how versatile ‘Q’ is and that they value every genre of music; from rap to rock. The layout of the front cover is very conventional. This makes it appear very professional. They have reinforced this by the way they have shot the main image, Adele. The image is relatively simple, yet she looks classy and flawless, this shows the wealth and high class ideology behind the magazine.

Representation

This is a contents page for ‘Q’ magazine may 2008. After looking at other contents pages, this is one is very conventional. The contents page follows the colour scheme red, white and black; this is the same for every issue. They have put two of their headings in a red box. This means that these headings are the same in every issue. The font they have used for this heading makes it stand out, which help the reader identify with it. In this issue they have another heading, ‘women in music’, in italics. This shows that this heading is special for this issue and won’t be included in any others any time soon. The page numbers have been shown in red whereas the text is in black, which follows the colour scheme. The editors have also placed magazine logo in the top left corner, the same as on the front cover, this enabled the reader to feel familiarity with the magazine. Next to the logo they have placed the mast head which reads ‘contents’, this is so that the reader knows what they’re looking at. Besides this, they have placed the issue of the magazine next to the date. This is useful as many people collect magazines. There is also a big picture of singer Adele, which is the first thing you notice when you’ve turned over the page. They have done this because she was probably on the front cover of this issue and readers will want to read her article. They also have another picture in the ‘Q Review‘ of a possible upcoming band which they are writing about. The whole layout and colour scheme fits their target audience, over 25s, and is very conventional. This makes it look very professional and conventional.

Language

Adele being featured as the main image of the contents page, fits the ideology that each issue has, high class, maturity, love for music and fun. Each issue looks very professional and conventional, this allows the magazine not to look messy. This is shown by the use of Adele, she has been photographed simply but it is effective and has not been sexualised. This shows that ‘Q’ care about the music not about how they look. This ideology has also been shown in the ‘Q Review’ section. It shows that they are interested into promoting great music and new artists. They also review other things such as books and films, which shows the diversity to the magazine. This is also shown by the magazine not having a specific genre. This allows the magazines to be different each edition but still have a class about them. ‘Q’ is very simple and has a basic layout, but this allows the reader not to be distracted by bright colours and a lot of images. It allows us as readers to focus on what’s important; the music.

Representation:

The first thing you notice is the A4 picture of hip hop superstar Jay-z, this enforces his superiority. He is shown to be wearing all black with black sunglasses, this shows his authority over the music industry. The black sunglasses also shows that he is hiding something, this could possibly be revealed in the article. The model is also wearing a V neck t shirt, which could connote to his victory in the music industry. There is also a red light shining over half of his face and white on the other side. This could mean that his good and darkness are battling against each other. The red could also represent his troubled past, and the white coming in symbolises how he’s changed. This could also just have been done to look good and match ‘Q’ magazine colour scheme (red, white and black). On the right of the page we see the article about him. We immediately see the red letter ‘J’ which is for his name. ‘Q’ do this quite often on their double page spreads. It enforces who the article is about and their superiority as ‘Q’ usually feature well known acclaimed artists on their front covers and double page spreads. There is a caption above the article which reads, ‘the most exciting people in music’, this shows how well respected he is. They have also used a pull quote on the right before you read the interview, which is very conventional and is designed to ‘pull’ you in. They have also featured page numbers, and larger letters for the beginning of a new paragraph.

Language:

Having dedicated an A4 page for an image of Jay-z, signifies his importance to the music industry and to the magazine. This fits with some of the ideologies of the magazine, high class and a love for music, both of which this artist has. The image is a very basic shot and his face is hidden behind sunglasses, this could represent his more vulnerable side, which will become apparent in the article. This is also reinforced with the lighting of red and white, showing his good and bad side. You cannot tell whether the model is looking directly at the audience, this adds some mystery to the artist and the article. This could mean that all this mystery will be solved in the magazine. ‘Q’s’ simplistic layout, also makes it appear that Jay-z is important as he breaking conventions of the magazine by using all colour scheme colours in his A4 image.

Representation