Market research

Market research

Front cover review.

Q.

The well recognised and established Q logo is used on the front cover of the magazine letting the target audience know it’s a Q magazine.

Dominant image of a well known artist attracts viewers and other audiences that would be interested in reading about the chosen artist.Q doesn’t really have a specific

genre it just includes the big artist who have the power to stay around such as Cherly Cole, Adele or lady gaga. This appeals to a wide range of the market audience, For example teenagers who listen to the charts or adults aged 18-25 who like a pacific modern day or even a retro artist.

The banner across the top indicates that it is the biggest music magazine in the UK, this tells us that the magazi9ne covers a wide range of genres appealing to a bigger audience.

We can see this by the anchorage because even though Cheryl Cole is the dominant image, ‘U2’ is also include on the front and both artist cover two different types of genre.

The magazine as whole covers a range of genres which means that it appeals to a wider audience.

Also the use of anchorage will encourage the readers to read on and want to buy the magazine as it may include something they find interesting or appeals to them.

NME.

NME sticks to a specific genre and only appeals to a niche audience which is alternative/indie, we can see this by the artist included on the front cover.

The magazine like all other magazines have a dominant image of a featured artist, which is the lead singer from the band ‘Muse’ which is an alternative styled band.

The magazine also stick the a certain house style of 2 main colours, white and red but also contains some text in black, this catches the eyes of potential readers because it is easy to read and established between two colours.

The name of the magazine is bold and stands out allowing fans/followers to know that it is their magazine.

The word ‘last’ is highlighted in a different colour compared which instantly draws to the readers to it, overall making them want to read on and buy the magazine.

Barcode is in the right bottom hand corner, typical of a magazine front cover as we read top left to bottom right.

The magazine front cover doesn’t contain any current and now artist like lady gaga etc, telling us that it doesn’t expect to appeal to that audience and only appeals to their niche audience.

Kerrang. Dominant image overlaps the magazine title, showing us its importance on the cover.

The magazine front cover contains more images than text for its anchorage this makes it easier on the viewers eyes.

You can see the genre of the magazine is rock/ indie by the choice of words that have been used and the artist featured on the front cover.

Has a dominant text page that is larger than the other anchorage instantly catching the audiences eye. A technique used to grab the attention of potential viewers

This magazine only specifies in a particular genre which is heavy/alternative rock. Giving the magazine a niche audience.

Runner across the top of the magazine shows what ‘freebees’ the magazine contains for example 5 ‘awesome’ posters, this persuade buyers to want the magazine even more.

Giving the readers chance to win tickets to a gig is another way of encouraging them to buy the magazine.

Conclusion.In conclusion you can see that all 3 magazine front covers are different but all use typical conventions to establish their genre for example ‘Q’ magazine doesn’t have a specific genre but uses well known artists and the named artists to grab their audiences attention. This is totally different to say ‘Kerrang’ which does in fact have a specific genre. The genre of the magazine ‘Kerrang’ is rock/indie the magazine uses the colours black, white and yellow for its house style this is because black and white are colours we link with the rock and indie genre allowing the audience to instantly get an idea of the genre it specialises in.‘NME’ specialises in the alternative genre and uses a number of conventions to put this across for example having the main or dominant image has someone who is an alternative artist also the dress sense of the artist allows us to see they are an indie artists by including this within their main image ‘NME’ make it easier for potential readers to see that it is an alternative genre style magazine.

Contents page review.

Q.The banner across the top of the page contains the logo, title of this page and the issue number of this magazine. This is useful as otherwise the information would have no meaning and the readers may not understand it.

The bar at the top of the right hand side labelled ‘regulars’ indicates that they are popular and frequent articles to the magazine, just between issues the articles will change differing in acts or topics. having this bar down the page presents as some sort of menu to allow the reader to find they favourite articles whether it’s a quiz, review or new music.

The use of images with page numbers instead of all text makes it easy on the readers eyes and also gives the contents page some life , making it less boring.

The cover lines give the reader some extra direction on the articles that they may want to read. Articles that don’t have an image gives us the idea that they are not as important even though they still have cover lines. The colours of the

contents page stick to the original house style of the logo which is red and white, allowing the audience to make that connection with the ‘Q’ magazine.

Dominate image is a well recognized character from the band ‘gorillaz’ making it easier for fans of the band to notice him. Also it has the page number leading fans to an article on the band.

NME.

The title of the magazine is included on the contents page also, reminding the audience which magazine they are reading. Also it gives the date and year allowing the audience to follow the issues with ease.

the contents also has a ‘band index’ which links into the music genre of the magazine. The list gives the names of bands that are included in this issue.The band names are in red which sticks to NME housestyle telling us that this is what the magazine is all about.

The dominant image of the members from the band doesn’t look like it was prepared for or set in a studio, this gives the idea that the magazine was at the gig and contents the latest news and gossip which we wouldn’t find out if we didn’t read the magazine. Making the audience buy and read the magazine.

Main cover lines used to categorise the different articles making it easier to read.

Advertising is used which appeals to the readers as they may want to purchase what ever is being advertised. Also they may want to purchase the next issue if they enjoyed this issue which the advertisement allows them to if they wish to.

Graphic features are used which also appeals to the audience as it gives the magazine a more modern and useful feel to it.

Kerrang.

The main image on the contents page is shown to be very dominant compared to the other images also it shares a link with the front cover telling us that the band ‘Metallica’ is the main feature is this weeks issue.

Also the little paragraph above the main image is written by the editor of the magazine which gives the magazine that personal touch the readers can relate to.

The use of the band names that are underneath the image being presented in bold and block capitals allows the reader to easily read the bands name. next to the name the page number is highlighted in yellow allowing the reader to skip to the page they wish to read.

The text is used in the same font throughout the contents page and only 3 colours are used creating a house style for the magazine and readers to recognise.

The yellow colour of the word ‘contents’ contrasts with the black background making the masthead stand out. Also it follows the house style of the contents page which is yellow and black.

The use of quotes from bands are used to attract the readers attention and makes the magazine feel more directed at them.

The contents page as been split up into 4 different column. With the images being in one and the band names and text being in another, allowing the readers to follow it easier.