Cover page analysis on Q magazine

This is my analysis of Q magazine Front Cover. I analysed this to give me some ideas for my cover page. I particulalry liked the main image on this as it was informal and it would be something I would like to use.

 

 

Q was first published by the EMAP media group in October 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing.

Originally it was to be called Cue (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Q is a short, snappy title and would stand out drastically from any other music.
Published on a monthly basis, Q magazine costs £4.99 per issue. It has a readership of 339,000 and a circulation of 48,353. This statistics were a lot bigger in recent year and has had massive decrease due to media sources e.g. internet and iPad.
It seems as though this magazine is aimed at a young, vibrant audience ranging from early teens to early thirties and are interested in the latest music and rock music in this issue. The main image is Ed Sheeran standing with his guitar not looking into the camera directly.it is a mid shot of Ed and from this striking image, the cover succeeds in evoking a very cool and vibrant feel which would entice a young audience. This edition of Q is an awards special edition and is packed with cover lines. The clothes Ed Sheeran is wearing fits I with the colour scheme presented by the magazine.We can see that the magazine uses simple language that is easily understandable for teens, students and young professionals: utilising quotes from the interviews to create interest. There are lots of cover lines in this issue and they are mainly the names of artists who feature in the magazine e.g "Neil Young", "Royal Blood", "Wilko Johnson", "Pink Floyd", "Kasabian", "Culture Club" and of course Ed Sheeran himself. These cover lines tell us what to expect in the magazine and give us some information on the artists. One of the cover lines says "Exclusive" which means it's only available in this magazine and no other, therefore more people would be inclined to buy it.

The writing used for the cover lines is white with the exception of Ed Sheeran as the writing is red. This is to show that he is the main feature of this magazine. Also the font saying Ed Sheeran is different to make it stand out more.The large red circle on the right side of the magazine stating

"50 Albums of 2014" with "Essential" wrote on top of it. This is in large writing to make it stand out as it is very interesting for the audience of this.The image is a mid shot of Ed and although he is not looking directly into the camera, like other artists on previous issues of this magazine are, the picture still interacts and engages the audience. Fans of Ed Sheeran would also recognise his guitar which would entice them into buying it.

There is a strap line at the top of the page, covering part of the Q. "The Stories of The Year.... by those who made them" this will again entice reading into buying it as it is another key component of this magazine issue.  There is another strap line at the bottom of the page with an extra cover line. "Plus! ST. VINCENT CARIBOU THE WAR ON DRUGS & THE RETURN OF AC/DC...." This is exclusive information to the buyers of Q and also extra information because it might sell more copies. The cover line are important pieces of information about the artist to engage the audience into buying it. The picture on the cover of Ed holding his guitar is a very iconic image as the fans barely see him without his guitar, therefore it is part of Ed himself. Q wanted to incorporate his guitar to make sure the target audience engaged into the picture.