Market research

Music magazines available in the UK

Price: £4.99Publisher: The Bauer media groupCirculation: 48, 353Readership: 339,000.Mission statement: Q is the magazine that brings music alive. It draws together the biggest stars, the most exciting phenomena, the new artists that matter and a healthy dose of irreverence to create an unmissable widescreen picture of what’s really happening in rock and roll right now.Every issue features agenda-setting star interviews, the month’s biggest moments in music, and fascinating investigations into the wider world of rock and roll. Each month Q’s comprehensive reviews section gives the last word on all the most important new releases and reissues – and feeds Q’s readers’ hunger for new music to enjoy. Q’s reviews section is the ultimate critical overview of music. And magazine’s unrivalled access brings its readers up close and personal with the stars who set the agenda. Q is the ultimate rock and roll read.

The main focus of the front cover is the band the Foo Fighters, showing that the key article is focused on them. The way in which the band is organised and appear to be making eye contact with the audience and the lack of music-related props shows how it is a more personal article rather than a commercial one. In the foreground is the lead singer, Dave Grohl. This shows how he is the focal point of the article, coupled with the quote from him to the left of the image.

The logo is partially covered by the image and the ‘exclusive CD’ banner, giving potential customers an incentive to buy the magazine.

Well established colour scheme of red, white and black reflects colour of the logo. This creates a recognisable theme for customers even with the logo covered.

Q magazine’s target audience is young and affluent with a high disposable income. They are within the ABC1 group. Q also appeals to people, mainly men, over the age of 30 as it covers music based and more sophisticated stories rather than other superficial stories that may be featured in some competing magazines.

All of the text on the cover is in block capitals predominately without serif. This font is used to make the cover stand out and appear sleek and modern.

The title of the contents page is consistent with the colour scheme of the front cover, creating a recognisable house style for the readers.

A close up image of Noel Gallagher is the largest image on the page, showing the audience the subject of the main article within the issue.

Page numbers next to artist’s name and a short description of what the article is about, it is placed at the top of the contents page and put quite early on in the magazine to show the audience that it is an exclusive story.

Smaller text at the bottom of the page giving further information on other articles within the issue, they are in a smaller font and at the bottom as they are less exclusive and not as appealing to the audience as the other articles in the magazine that are shown across the rest of the contents page.

This appeals to the audience as they will value the information given in these reviews as the magazine is a very reputable and reliable source.

Larger text of artists and band names drawing the reader’s attention to the more exclusive stories and the articles covering bigger and more well known bands.

Overlapping images to represent that the magazine doesn’t ‘follow the rules’ and goes against the norm of having a perfectly squared layout of images

Large image covering most of the double page spread which gives the reader a representation of who the article is covering. The long shot is used with him in the centre of the image to show how he is the focus of this article.

The guitar is used as a prop which gives the reader an representation of his genre of music if they had no pre existing knowledge of the artist.

The lighting of the image illuminates the subject and brings him much more into focus than the background which is dimly lit and only small parts of instruments are visible representing how he has a band which reside in the background of his music career.

The illuminated letter capital T shows the start of the article and also continues with the colour scheme of purple and pink.

The colour scheme of pink and purple links to the colours Prince is wearing which represents how this article is focused on him.

The layout of the text in this article follows the conventions of magazines and is set out in columns.

Price: £2.20Circulation: 33, 024Readership: 293,000Publisher: The Bauer media magazineMission statement: Kerrang! will ensure that we are constantly appealing to our spectrum of readers. From the younger teenage readers who are more open to different genres of rock music – from emo to thrash etc, to the readers who respect Kerrang! as an authority when it comes to our scene’s heritage bands. Each issue will include a balance of bands and scenes to guarantee that we’re providing for our readers’ need for variety and their passionate appetite for their favourite bands as well as their desire to be introduced to new music within our world. We will focus on the BIGGEST things that are going on in our world each week, as well as guaranteeing that we are giving our main base of younger readers everything they need to get into, on top of this the interest in older, harder bands, cementing our role as an educator.

The masthead is printed in red which contrasts from the white background, this stands out to the audience to draw them into buying the product. It is partially covered by the main image,

The main image is a medium long shot which allows the reader to see who the main article of the magazine is focusing on. A medium long shot is used to ensure that the band is recognisable but are not taking up too much of the front cover, allowing for other stories to be promoted. The way in which the two subjects of the image are making eye contact with the reader creates a relationship between the two groups.

The yellow banner across the top of the front page acts as an incentive to purchase this issue. As is the yellow circle advertising a chance to win tickets

The house style of this magazine consists of a colour scheme of white, black, red and yellow. This makes the front cover easily recognisable to potential customers.

The barcode is printed on the same colour as the background meaning that it blends in and is less noticeable for the audience.

The front cover uses capital letters, this reflects the rock culture and loud nature of the magazine.

The phrase ‘is it the end?’ relates to one of Linkin Park’s songs ‘in the end’ which presents a good intertextuality, this appeals to the members of the audience who are fans of the band, making them more likely to purchase the magazine.

The larger image informs the reader that this story is the most exclusive and the biggest story in the issue. The large page number reiterates this.

The large page numbers on the images represent the exclusivity of the stories. This allows the reader to navigate through the issue to find the biggest stories to read.

The subheadings and page numbers allow the audience to navigate through the issue to find the stories they are most interested in, making the magazine more suited to the readers’ needs.

The small piece of text below each band name or article name gives a summarised description of what the story covers allows the reader to identify if that article will interest them and therefore whether they want to read the article, creating a magazine that meets the wants and needs of its audience

The editors section gives the readers an insight into the magazine and gives them the opinions of people working for KERRANG!. This section also gives the magazine a more personal feel for the audience.

Multiple images are used to break up the text and give the contents page a more interesting appearance rather than a text heavy page which would be less visually appealing for the audience.

The image used in this article is placed in the centre of the double page spread which represents how the model is the subject of the article, the way she is posed reflects the deep personal level that the article is discussing about the lead singer of the band, Tonight Alive.

Price: £4.60Circulation: 70, 667Readership: 210,000Publisher: The Bauer media groupMission statement: At MOJO we cover the good stuff. Our award-winning editorial team prides itself in delivering a magazine that is packed with insight, passion, and revelatory encounters with the greatest musicians of all-time, be they established or emerging musicians. The magazine is loved by its readers and artists alike because it engages them on the subject they love the most: music itself. Every month MOJO brings you a definitive cover feature on an iconic act; a bespoke CD (especially compiled by the editorial team or a major musician in MOJO’s world); and our famous reviews section, the Filter, which brings you 30 pages-plus of the best of that month’s music, both classic and contemporary. MOJO’s previous guest editors range from David Bowie to Tom Waits via Noel Gallagher and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, showcasing the magazine’s breadth and iconic status among musicians. From The Beatles to The Black Keys, from Led Zeppelin to Laura Marling, from Fleetwood Mac to Flying Lotus. MOJO is not only Britain’s biggest selling music magazine, it is an immersive experience. At MOJO we invite you to lose yourself in music every month. Join us at www.mojo4music.com for a daily download of what’s going on or to simply find out more about our magazine.

The way the words ‘sex pistols’ are presented reflects the way they show their band name on album covers. This gives fans of the band an added incentive to read the issue.

The colour scheme of the front cover is different from the usual MOJO house style as it is replicating the colour scheme used by the sex pistols on their album covers. The colour scheme used by MOJO always links to the scheme used by the band that each issue is mainly covering. The audience will recognise the intertextuality of the theme and fans of the band who may not usually purchase the magazine may choose to buy it to read about the sex pistols.

The way the lead singer of the band, John Lydon, is at the front of the image reflects how he is the main focus of the group as well as the story. A medium close up is used so that John’s clothes are visible and only the faces of the other band members are visible showing how they are less prolific in the band. The way the image is in black and white reflects how the band has existed for a long time.

The ‘free cd’ giveaway acts as an incentive for people who do not regularly purchase the magazine to buy this issue.

The house style of this issue of MOJO differs from the magazine’s regular house style in the way that pink, white and black are used on the text. The white logo on a black background, however is consistent with the MOJO house style.

The intertextuality of this magazine issue will appeal to older readerships as the band were popular during the mid to late 70s meaning that more people within the 45-54 range will purchase the magazine as opposed to magazines that focus on more modern bands.