Q magazine case study The edition of Q magazine that I will be studying in detail is the November 2013 edition.

Basic Fact File Editor: Andrew Harrison Categories: Music magazine Frequency: Monthly Publisher: Bauer Media Group Total Circulation: 58, 980 (ABC Jan- Jul 2013) First issue: October 1986 Country: United Kingdom Language: English Genre: Pop/Rock

General conventions of Q magazine - After reading the magazine it becomes apparent that the magazine has a very extensive review section. With a large emphasis being put on reviewing new albums, tracks and live performances. Q embraces many different genres however most typically they review rock and pop. Another convention deployed by Q is their 5 star rating system which they use across all reviewing to indicate the opinion of the writers to the readers. -Q also puts significant emphasis on its interview section. Typically one of the first double page spreads in the magazine will be an exclusive interview with a popular artist, with a number of images of the chosen artist. In total this specific magazine featured 4of these double paged spread interviews with big name artists such as the Arctic Monkeys. - Colour scheme: Strong reliance on bold colours such as red, white and black. All of which are arguably iconic rock colours.

Linguistic conventions of Q magazine Q magazine tends to have quite a formal finish to the look of its articles… However in fact the language can be quite chatty/gossipy. In particular when interviewing current artists perhaps to make them seem more approachable and thus appeal to the ‘everyday person’ that will purchase Q magazine. For example whilst interviewing top artists the Q reviewer would often use a nickname as to infer a degree of closeness to the artist and appear more ‘human’ (Eg. Beyonce – B). The review section in Q also takes on quite an individual linguistic style. Whilst the reviews are well written and formal they can at times be very brutal. For example Matt Yates described Johnny Flynn’s most recent album as a “snoozefest” showing how harsh some of the reviews can be.

The front cover of this edition is a very typical Q magazine front cover. The publication features a photograph of ‘The Arctic Monkeys’ arguably Britain’s most popular and successful contemporary rock band, thus instantly reveals the publications targeted genre (pop/rock). Other key features of the publications front colour are its strong colour scheme of red, white, black and light blue. These are all very bold colours which helps the front colour look aesthetically imposing and stand out. Moreover these are all colours that form the backbone of the publications colour scheme in general, thus showing how the front cover acts a blueprint for the colour cohesion throughout the publication. Q also uses a selection of callouts and puffs that are tailored to appeal to a certain audience due to the publications genre. For example: ‘Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Beards, booze &baking cakes for muse’ ‘Inside: Arcade Fire, Green Day, Nirvana’. Here the references included on Q’s front cover reflect the magazines rock roots. As all the bands mentioned are very famous rock groups.. Moreover the image itself uses iconography and through the attire and appearance of the band members it adds a very cool classy aura to the band and arguably the publication. Interestingly all of the band members are not using direct mode of address all except front-man Alex Turner who is directly addressing the audience. I would infer that this is a tactic used by Q as the most iconic and recognisable figure from the band is being used to interact with its potential audience. In addition the words ‘Beards and booze’ are words semiotically associated with rock groups with the forceful monosyllabic alliteration adding extra appeal to a potential buyer

Photo: Action shot of Lady Gaga dancing live in concert. Photo: Much more sexual photo than the other. Due to the selection of clothing worn by the artist, perhaps included to show the reckless side of the artist and to draw in potential consumers with the ‘Sex appeal’. Forceful imperative used as the articles title to stand out and catch the eye of readers. Interesting lyrical fact file on the artists most recent songs. Used to appeal to hard- core fans that will appreciate the deconstruction of Gaga’s songs. Article establishing the context and filled with some slight spoilers with regards to Gaga’s new album.

Large Q logo alongside the Title which gives a strong sense of identity which is further accentuated by the use of traditional Q colours (Red, white, black). As mentioned earlier in the PPT, this ‘column inch’ focuses on the review section of this edition of Q. The inclusion of this on the contents page portrays Q’s strong dedication to reviewing, tracks, albums and concerts. All images included on this contents page are of musicians in quite well respected rock bands. Again reinforcing Q’s image of favouring the rock genre. Again the majority of bands mentioned on the contents page are all popular rock artists.

General Photography Style The general style of the photography tends to focus on presenting artists as quite cool and current but often using iconic rock poses such as the middle photo. Moreover there tends to be emphasis on getting photo’s that include musical imagery such as the guitars in the second and third photo’s. In addition there tends to be a particular portrayal in gender throughout Q. As women are often hyper- sexualised (as in the lady Gaga photo’s) where as by comparison photo’s of males tends to try to make them seem more ‘rockerish’ through musical semiotics and iconic rock poses. The photography in Q also use colour very effectively to connote different meanings. For example in the third photo the image is in black and white, referencing the way that the mise- en scene is stripped down making it very natural and ‘rootsy’ like the folk musician who is playing this is accentuated by the use of black and white as the lack of flashy colour reflects the toned down meaning being presented by the image. By contrast, the first and second photo’s are the polar opposite with lots of bold flashy colours helping to add to the exciting atmosphere which is generated by the pure panache and enthusiasm of the photo’s.