This is relevant to my main task as Q magazine is a music
magazine which focuses mainly on pop music, which is what my music magazine is
going to be about. Q magazine is one of the best selling music magazines.
Publisher
Q magazine is published by Bauer media group. They are based
in Europe and are headquartered in Hamburg. Bauer was founded in 1875. They
also publish other music magazines, like Mojo, Empire and Kerrang. They produce
other sister products like radio and TV.
Readership
Q’s readership is 377,000. 70% are male and 30% are female.
The average age of a Q reader id 32. 70% of Q readers are an ABC1 profile. This
shows that Q is an upmarket magazine and that the readership is mostly made up
of succeeders or yuppies.
Content
The content of the magazine is a mix of different music
content. For example, reviews, current download lists, interviews, coverage of
key musical events etc. Q is for serious music listeners and rarely covers anything
that isn’t music related.
TV/app/web presence
Q also has an I-pad version of the magazine which shows that
they are up to date with technology and they may also be trying to widen their
demographic. Q formerly had a TV channel and a radio station. The radio station
was closed in mid-2013 after owners Bauer media decided to use the station's
bandwidth on various platforms (DAB, Digital TV) to launch Kisstory, a spinoff
of their Kiss brand. They still hold an annual Q award ceremony every year,
where artists are awarded for their music. A series of Q albums have also been released.
History of the magazine
Q magazine was first published in 1986; it set itself away
from other music magazines, by targeting the magazine at older music buyers.
The magazine was originally called ‘the modern guide to music and more’ this
however soon changed to ‘cue’. In the 200th edition the name changed
again, this time it became Q as this was more prominent on newsstands.
Target audience
The majority of the target audience for Q magazine is male,
this is represented in their readership and in the brands that advertise in the
magazine. For example a lot of car brands advertise in Q magazine. However
there is still a high percentage of female readers, so some unisex brands advertise
in Q magazine. These include brands like Vo5 and Chanel. The main target audience
is serious music listeners and we can tell this by the content of the magazine.
However a small part of the audience, may be succeeders and yuppies, due to Q
being a more upmarket magazine.
Brand identity
The brand identity for Q magazine, is the iconic contrast of
the white Q on a red background. This can be seen throughout the magazine. For
example the masthead can be seen on the contents page and on the bottom of the
page near the page numbers. The colour scheme throughout the magazine is mainly
white and red. With only a small splash of colour, to make the important information
stand out. It is a convention of Q magazine to have the feature article with a
white background and a Giant red letter which is the initial of the person’s
name. This helps to create a brand identity and carry it through the magazine.
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