Q Magazine Analysis.

December 2008 edition.
The target audience for the magazine is the general mainstream British public but I would say probably males as it has more male content such as the advertisements for games etc, however it is suitable as a unisex magazine. The age audience for the magazine is late teens and adults. The pug is in the bottom corner of the magazine and includes the issue which is December 2008 and the price £3.90 and the website address is there as well. It is at the bottom so that when it's on a newspaper shelf the reader has to pick up the magazine so that they can see the price of it. This particular copy of the magazine does not have many sell lines included on it as it is a subscribers only edition and so the customer will already have bought Q before and wants to get it monthly. The main picture on the magazine matches with the text behind the image. The image is of the main singer out of Coldplay, Chris Martin. The text behind him says ‘Best band in the world today Coldplay’. This is anchorage for the picture as it gives the picture a meaning of who the person is on the front if the audience did not know and is promoting Coldplay by saying they are the best band in the world today. The text is behind the image and is the same colour as Chris martins clothing and so is not really noticeable, the editors want the audience to notice Chris Martin on the front cover rather than the text as it is more eye catching to the audience and suggests that it has an interview with him inside the magazine and so is influencing the audience to buy the magazine. The band name Coldplay is written in white text rather than black and so it stands out from the rest of the black text and again grabs the audiences attention and anchors the image by saying that the man on the front is from Coldplay. The title of the magazine Q is in the top left hand corner and has been placed in a red box and the Q is white, this is eye catching to the audience and as it is in the top of the magazine so that when it is on a magazine shelf it is easily viewable and audiences can clearly see what magazine it is. A sell line on the magazine is ‘A different take on music’ which connotes that they are not your ordinary magazine and the simplicity of just the Q for a name suggests that they have a lot of knowledge to share with the audience, and it is more prominent on magazine stands as it stands out more to an audience with it being one letter rather than a lot title. A Q is also a word used in music meaning ready to play and start, this suggests that the magazine is ready to play its content to the audience when the open the cover. All of the writing on the front of the magazine is in capital letters and in a normal quite sharp text which connotes its male audience, as male texts tend to be bigger and less shaped than female texts and because its all in capitals it shows its importance within the whole magazine, it could be seen as Q’s house style as the whole front cover is the same. Generally the front cover of the magazine is promotional for Coldplay as they are the only article that appear on the front cover and so suggests they are the biggest band at the time which is backed up by the text in the background of the image. Generally the magazine cover is pretty plain to attract audience but it has enough hidden eye catching features that it susses fully catches attention, this copy of the magazine is a subscription only copy and could be why there are not many sell lines etc on the front.