Market Research Front Cover Conventions - Music Magazine 1

Language – The Masthead of this magazine is ‘Q’ and stands out large and clear at the left hand side corner of the magazine. The title is dominant from the rest of the text as it has a red box behind it. The Masthead is also located on the left third of the page which would make it easy for their audience to see on shelves.  The Masthead of ‘Q’ magazine is the same on each issue which is published, big red box with a white ‘Q’ which is also always located in the same position. The Masthead of ‘Q’ is simple but effective as it is easy to remember but also shows that the magazine has good ‘quality’ articles and is of good ‘quality’ itself.

The Image of this magazine is a medium close up image of Cheryl Cole. This image makes Cheryl Cole look rebellious, seductive and you also get the impression she’s looking right at you as if to be seducing you herself, which shows us that ‘Q’ magazines intention was to make her look attractive and seductive to the audience. The image is made up of very dark colours but with Cheryl Cole wearing bright red lipstick which shows a rebellious nature of this performer. The colour scheme of red is also seen on the full of the magazine cover which appears in the Anchorage, Masthead and Cover lines.

The Anchorage of “3 Words… Cheryl Cole Rocks”. Other than the main image, the audience will see this straight away. This Anchorage is forward and straight to the point which also shows us that ‘Q’ magazine has a very good opinion of Cheryl Cole. The writing of the Anchorage gets bigger,

“3 words…

CHERYL COLE

ROCKS”

which when said out loud gives the impression that ‘Q’ magazine wants this cover line to be shouted.

Institution – The institution of this magazine is Bauer magazine. Bauer magazine have more than 18 media brands which reach over 19 million UK adults.

Ideology –This magazine is effective as the image automatically connects with the reader as Cheryl Cole looks like she’s looking straight at you, this will draw people to the magazine. We get the feeling that Cheryl Cole is rebellious from the colours of red and black, the way she is being presented in this image as rebellious also goes against how audiences usually see her.

Audience – The audience for this magazine would be anyone who is interested in the latest and newest music and artists. From Bauer magazine “The audience is split 75% male to 25% female”. Anyone who is interested in Cheryl Cole will also be a potential audience for this magazine issue.

Representation – The representation of this magazine shows us that the artist is rebellious and seductive and maybe even almost dangerous. This is represented well by the use of colouring, the black shows Cheryl Coles dark side, whilst the red in her lipstick shows her seductive and rebellious side.