RESEARCH – SIMILAR PRODUCT ANALYSIS

BY HOLLY ETTY

Title – The title has the same house style as the rest of the magazine. This adheres to the codes and conventions of the magazine as Q’s primary target audience is male. As this is their target audience, Q chooses to make the text in bold, black letters to represent power and masculinity. Also the title is in a border unlike all of the other text on the page and this is to attract the readers attention and inform them of what the page is about. Moreover the colours used for the title would have been of a similar colour scheme to the front covers masthead and house style i.e. red, black, white.

Page numbers - The page numbers adhere to the codes and conventions of music magazines as they have the numbers next to the chosen topic of that page and never the actual word ‘page’. They are there to show the reader what the pages listed contain and what number they have to go to, to find it. The colour of the numbers follow the colour scheme and house style of Q as they are in black, like the ‘contents’ title, and are in bold font. Also the main page numbers are in black in front of pictures of the artists featured in the article as well as in the article column. This helps them to stand out as the most important features/articles in the magazine. All of the page numbers are in a list-style format at each side of the double page spread and this gives the magazine a clean, cool-cut look as well as it being easy to navigate.

Headings and subheadings– These are used to give the reader/audience an idea of what kind of articles and content they will find within the magazine. They are bold and have a thick red underline to emphasise the importance of the different articles the magazine contains. They fit the house style of the magazine and they stand out to the reader. The only main headings on the contents page are ‘Features’ and ‘Regulars’; they are both in a separate style to the other article headings to show their importance and structure of the magazine. ‘Features’ emphasises what is featured in the magazine as they are mostly one offs and interest readers who aren't the usual audience of Q as they may have an article about a certain celebrity/music artist that the reader likes. ‘Regulars’ is used to show the readers, specifically regular readers/subscribers/collectors of the magazine, what is always going to be in Q e.g. ‘Q Quiz’.

Summaries of each article – These give the reader a brief description of what the article is going to be about. Usually they will include the key/most exciting information to make the reader want to read more. They are in a box in the same colour scheme as the magazine and this makes them stand out as they are the only things in boxes on the sides of the page. The picture linked with the summary, the page number and the article summary are all in conjunction with each other so they don’t confuse the reader.

Photograph of main artist – This is of the article about ’Take That’. The picture is of the band, in a very relaxed and happy shot. Q has chosen this to be their main image as Take That are a widely known pop band that have been around for decades, therefore it appeals to their target audience as both men and women in the upper bracket of their audience age will be most interested in that genre of music and the band. Take That look very comfortable, playful and happy in this image. This engages the reader as they will aspire to be like them with their friends as they clearly have a strong friendship bond. The colour of this main image is black and white to emphasise that Take That is a classic pop band that have been around for a long time. It also gives them a cool, retro representation and this not only ties in with where their music originated, but also links in with the house style of the magazine. It also helps the band to stand out against the other articles as it is in black and white whereas the other images and texts on the page are in colour. Black and white has connotations of class, tradition and slickness as they are bold, classic colours. This helps to describe the artists in the image. Also by having this as their main image, not only will it appeal to Q’s target audience, but could also attract attention of fans of Take That, therefore increasing the sales of this issue of Q and possibly gaining them more customers in the future.

Other photographs – These aren't as important as the main image but still play a vital role of marketing Q. The other images will be of a similar genre to the main image; so pop, R&B, alternative. The artists in these images may/may not be as well known as the artist in the main image as they will sometimes be up and coming to the music industry. The other images will be smaller than the main image therefore representing the level of importance of each image.

Date – This is just so collectors can see when the magazine was released and when the next issue is likely to come out.

Layout – On contents pages it is usually set out in ordered blocks so it’s easy for the reader to read quickly and get the key information on articles in the magazine. This adheres to the codes and conventions of a magazine. Also there will never be a blank space on a contents page as there is a lot of information to put in and it is unneeded.

Subscription information – Magazines usually have information on it so they can adhere to the codes and conventions. Furthermore this is just used for potential new customers to subscribe to every issue of Q and also for collectors as they will be able to get every issue of Q.

Title – The title has the same house style as the rest of the magazine. This adheres to the codes and conventions of the magazine as NME’s primary target audience is male. As this is their target audience, NME chooses to make the text in bold, red letters to represent power and masculinity. Also the title is in a thick border at the top unlike all of the other text on the page and this is to attract the readers attention and inform them of what the page is about. Moreover the colours used for the title would have been of a similar colour scheme to the front covers masthead and house style i.e. red, black, white.

Page numbers - The page numbers adhere to the codes and conventions of music magazines as they have the numbers next to the chosen topic of that page and never the actual word ‘page’. They are there to show the reader what the pages listed contain and what number they have to go to, to find it. The colour of the numbers follow the colour scheme and house style of NME as they are in red, like the ‘NME’ title, and are in bold font. All of the page numbers are in a list-style format on the right side of the double page spread and this gives the magazine a clean, cool-cut look as well as it being easy to navigate.

Headings and subheadings– These are used to give the reader/audience an idea of what kind of articles and content they will find within the magazine. They are bold and have a thick black boarder to emphasise the importance of the different articles the magazine contains. They fit the house style of the magazine and they stand out to the reader. The main headings on the contents page are ‘News’, ‘Radar’, ‘Reviews’, ‘Live!’ and ‘Features’; they are all in a separate style to the other article headings to show their importance and structure of the magazine. ‘News’ is to let the reader in on the new music information in the music industry and generally what is going on.‘Radar’ is there to show off new bands/artists up and coming to the music scene. ‘Reviews’ is there to show the readers what music critics think of bands/albums/tracks/concerts/gigs. ‘Live!’ is to tell the reader about what gigs and concerts are happening in the near future/past. ‘Features’ emphasises what is featured in the magazine as they are mostly one offs and interest readers who aren't the usual audience of NME as they may have an article about a certain celebrity/music artist that the reader likes.

Summaries of each article – These give the reader a brief description of what the article is going to be about. Usually they will include the key/most exciting information to make the reader want to read more. They are in a box in the same colour scheme as the magazine and this makes them stand out as they are the only things in boxes on the sides of the page. The picture linked with the summary, the page number and the article summary are all in conjunction with each other so they don’t confuse the reader.

Photograph of main artist – This is of the article about ’Muse’. The picture is of the band, in a shot of them performing at what looks like a gig. NME has chosen this to be their main image as Muse are a widely known alternative rock band among their target audience. This will interest the target audience as they will most likely listen to Muse or similar bands due to their demographic. Muse look very comfortable, in the zone and professional in this image. This engages the reader as they will aspire to be like them/go to their kind of gigs with their friends as they clearly have a strong professional band as well as being cool and interesting. The colour of this fairly dark and grunge-esque as it was shot at a gig and reflects the ethos of the band and their nature.. It also gives them a cool, retro representation and this not only ties in with where their music originated, but also links in with the house style of the magazine. It also helps the band to stand out against the other articles as it is the only picture on the contents page. Also by having this as their main image, not only will it appeal to NME’s target audience, but could also attract attention of fans of Muse who don’t read NME usually, therefore increasing the sales of this issue of Q and possibly gaining them more customers in the future.

Date – This is just so collectors can see when the magazine was released and when the next issue is likely to come out.

Layout – On contents pages it is usually set out in ordered blocks so it’s easy for the reader to read quickly and get the key information on articles in the magazine. This adheres to the codes and conventions of a magazine. Also there will never be a blank space on a contents page as there is a lot of information to put in and it is unneeded.

Subscription information – Magazines usually have information on it so they can adhere to the codes and conventions. Furthermore this is just used for potential new customers to subscribe to every issue of NME and also for collectors as they will be able to get every issue of NME.

Band index – This is an extra feature of NME and allows easy access and navigation to the specific bands you want to see in the magazine. This is good for the readers who only bought the issue of the magazine to see an article about a certain artist.

Title – The title has the same house style as the rest of the magazine. This adheres to the codes and conventions of the magazine as Q’s target audience is male. As this is their target audience, Q chooses to make the text in bold, black letters to represent power and masculinity. Also the title is in a border unlike all of the other text on the page and this is to attract the readers attention and inform them of what the page is about. Moreover the colours used for the title would have been of a similar colour scheme to the front covers masthead and house style i.e. red, black, white.

Page numbers - The page numbers adhere to the codes and conventions of music magazines as they have the numbers next to the chosen topic of that page and never the actual word ‘page’. They are there to show the reader what the pages listed contain and what number they have to go to, to find it. The colour of the numbers follow the colour scheme and house style of Q as they are in black, like the ‘contents’ title, and are in bold font. Also the main page numbers are in black in front of pictures of the artists featured in the article as well as in the article column. This helps them to stand out as the most important features/articles in the magazine. All of the page numbers are in a list-style format at each side of the double page spread and this gives the magazine a clean, cool-cut look as well as it being easy to navigate.

Headings and subheadings– These are used to give the reader/audience an idea of what kind of articles and content they will find within the magazine. They are bold and have a thick red underline to emphasise the importance of the different articles the magazine contains. They fit the house style of the magazine and they stand out to the reader. The only main headings on the contents page are ‘Features’ and ‘Regulars’; they are both in a separate style to the other article headings to show their importance and structure of the magazine. ‘Features’ emphasises what is featured in the magazine as they are mostly one offs and interest readers who aren't the usual audience of Q as they may have an article about a certain celebrity/music artist that the reader likes. ‘Regulars’ is used to show the readers, specifically regular readers/subscribers/collectors of the magazine, what is always going to be in Q e.g. ‘Q Quiz’.

Summaries of each article – These give the reader a brief description of what the article is going to be about. Usually they will include the key/most exciting information to make the reader want to read more. They are in a box in the same colour scheme as the magazine and this makes them stand out as they are the only things in boxes on the sides of the page. The picture linked with the summary, the page number and the article summary are all in conjunction with each other so they don’t confuse the reader.

Photograph of main artist – This is of the article about ’John Lennon’. The picture is of the artist, in a very professional and serious shot. Q has chosen this to be their main image as John Lennon is a widely known influential artist that was been for decades (alone and in The Beatles), therefore it appeals to their target audience as both men and women in the upper bracket of their audience age will be most interested in that genre of music and the band/individual artist. John Lennon looks very professional yet comfortable, serious in this image. This engages the reader as they will aspire to be like him as well as interested as to why he is perceived to be like this. The colour of this main image is black and white to emphasise that John Lennon is a classic artist and that his legacy and music has been around for a long time. It also gives him a cool, retro and respectful representation and this not only ties in with where his music originated, but also links in with the house style of the magazine. It also helps him to stand out against the other articles as it is in black and white whereas the other images and texts on the page are in colour. Black and white has connotations of class, tradition and slickness as they are bold, classic colours. This helps to describe the artist in the image. Also by having this as their main image, not only will it appeal to Q’s target audience, but could also attract attention of fans of John Lennon and The Beatles who may not be usual readers of Q, therefore increasing the sales of this issue of Q and possibly gaining them more customers in the future.

Other photographs – These aren't as important as the main image but still play a vital role of marketing Q. The other images will be of a similar genre to the main image; so pop, R&B, alternative. The artists in these images may/may not be as well known as the artist in the main image as they will sometimes be up and coming to the music industry. The other images will be smaller than the main image therefore representing the level of importance of each image.

Date – This is just so collectors can see when the magazine was released and when the next issue is likely to come out.

Layout – On contents pages it is usually set out in ordered blocks so it’s easy for the reader to read quickly and get the key information on articles in the magazine. This adheres to the codes and conventions of a magazine. Also there will never be a blank space on a contents page as there is a lot of information to put in and it is unneeded.

Subscription information – Magazines usually have information on it so they can adhere to the codes and conventions. Furthermore this is just used for potential new customers to subscribe to every issue of Q and also for collectors as they will be able to get every issue of Q.