Research: Front Covers of Music Magazines (Q) - Muse

Q Magazine - Muse Front Cover


































Q have featured Muse to be on the front cover of their magazine for this month's issue. Very typical conventions have been used in this front cover with the use of a close up of all three members of Muse - each facing in different directions to each other; Chris facing left, Dom on the right looking more in Matt's direction however still looking into the distance, and finally Matt, the front man of the group, staring right into the camera. All members having a very serious expression, denoting the subsequent text below them.

Regarding the text in this front cover, Q states: "Their biggest challenge yet"... "Boldly go where no band has gone before" - making a statement of a plan that Muse have for a potential upcoming tour, or something completely out-of-the-blue, which excited the reader when they see this. The box text underneath that saying "Exclusive interview" implies that this news has been exclusively disclosed to Q for publishing, and Q giving the reader something other than just general news, otherwise important and exciting news for this genre of music readers.

Mentioning the logo in my last research post (The Smiths' issue), the Q part of the logo is in same position (top-left), however the 'The worlds greatest music magazine' is placed behind Chris' head on the left. This is probably accepted by readers (especially loyal ones) as the overlay can still be noticed but without being specifically clear - thus the audience still knowing what the content is.

The background to this issue features an outer-space theme, in comparison to my previous researched front cover - where it was merely plain white. Muse's theme and genre has always been described as futuristic-space-prog rock, and with there genre convention, the space theme suits their exclusive feature on the front cover. Furthermore, the text beneath them states "... Boldly go where no band has gone before", which could possibly connotes the space theme, with no one really going there; a polysemic, meaning two different meanings.

In the very bottom-right section, there is a box filled in red, with the barcode - as mentioned in my previous researched front cover. The barcode has the ISP code and barcode, with the price usually within the barcode section. Next to the barcode in the the red box, it mentions "Albums bonanza!", with famous bands' new albums - specifically mentioning 'Mumfords', Green Day', 'Dylan', 'Pet Shop Boys'. What Q have done in this section is shorten some of the artist's names - for example, 'Mumfords' would be shortened from the full name of Mumford and Sons, and also 'Dylan' would be a shortened name of Bob Dylan - probably with their target audience knowing the full names of the artists even if they are shortened for quickness; the magazine most likely doing this so they can fit all the bands in one small box in the corner.

In the middle-bottom (to the left of 'Albums bonanza' is other news that the magazine has added that may appeal to the audience, giving them little but further insight into what the magazine offers to the reader. The XX is mentioned, stating "The sound of young London goes global", next to that is Cat Power, playing on words with "She's having kittens!" and finally, on the far left states that it is National Blur month, and that a souvenir is attached for the the reader "to treasure". Not only is the text enough to reinforce the blur band, but also the front man of blur in an effective glowing star background as if he is prestigious in some way. This is also conventionally suits the theme very well, as Muse have their space-age theme with glowing stars in the background.

A final feature of this magazine front cover is the top section, which has the effect of a ripped piece of paper, whether it have the effect of it being stuck on, or the top part of the magazine is ripped looking as if it continues onto the next page. Within this, there is use of alliteration with the title of this feature - "Punk pig-out", including two artists with more news and a quotation (as analysed in my previous research) regarding the punk artists. Specifically speaking, the right-hand side artist (Strummer) has eye-catching tex to the reader, stating that the magazine has within "unseen pics, untold tales!" that may excite the reader and again, want them to read the magazine. This incentive therefore gives more chance of the audience reading and consequently purchasing the magazine.

Research: Front Covers of Music Magazines (Q) - The Smiths

Q Magazine - The Smiths Front Cover

Q have featured The Smiths to be on the front cover of their magazine for this month's issue. Conventionally, the front cover of a music magazine includes a mid, mid-closeup or standard close up shot of the artist that is featured on that particular music magazine. In this issue of Q that I have selected to analyse features a mid shot of The Smiths; with Morrissey looking into the camera and Johnny Marr hugging him from the right side looking towards Morrissey.
Text surrounding them is in the clearly and typically the biggest font size on the front cover - with the text saying: 'THE' in a black box with white font colour with a small font size, and then 'SMITHS' in a much bigger size, this time, being compliant to the other purple colour text that has been used to stand out. For example, the other purple writing has been used in alternating text (the band's names on the left-hand side of the front cover. Also, 'New Album Preview' above that is highlighting the word 'preview' in purple font colour so it appeals and stands out to its target audience. The word 'preview' suggesting exclusive content that could definitely be of interest to the reader.

A quotation from The Smith's interview has been added to the front cover to grab the reader's attention, an insight to the interview itself if you will. "We were one of the greatest bands ever" suggests it's in first person talking about themselves. They speak highly of themselves here, stating they were one of the greatest bands, however this needs to happen to not only show insight into how they feel about themselves, but also the attention-grabbing statement that can 'draw the reader in' and urge themselves to want to read why, how, etc., all of those questions would automatically be raised in the reader's head, and spur them to read, thus purchase the magazine.

'Q', the magazine I am researching into, has conventionally placed their logo on the front cover in order for the reader to identify this magazine, in the top-left of the front cover (again, typical of Q's style); taking up about a sixth of the whole page. At the top part of the 'Q' of the logo, it states 'The world's greatest music magazine', which is often included within its magazine logo - if denoted in such a way, their moto of their work in their music magazines, plus the reputation it has built over the many issues and sales it has had.

Another feature of this magazine front cover is the barcode in the bottom-left section. Quite self-explanatory, the bar code has to ISP code and of course the barcode representing its ISP. It will also have the price of this issue too.

Model for my Music Magazine

I have sourced a willing person to model for the music magazine. Due to the actor being more suited to the folk genre, I am initially planning to have the location of the photoshoot set in a woodland, with potentially some shots featuring the acoustic guitar.