Q magazine targets music buyers over 25 years old and features many music genres. The magazine adverts analyzed featured pop artists Paloma Faith, Bombay Bicycle Club, and Lily Allen. Their posters prominently displayed the artist's name and photo to promote their music and tour to fans. Kerrang magazine focuses on rock music. The adverts examined promoted heavy metal/nu metal bands Slipknot, Die Antwoord, and Motorhead. Unlike the Q magazine ads, these did not emphasize the artists' images and instead used dark graphics and fonts reflecting their genres to connect with fans. The magazines' ad styles differed based on their targeted audiences and featured music genres, with Q emphasizing pop artists

2. Q Magazine
As part of my research into music
adverts within magazines I in turn
looked with the Q magazine.
The founders of Q magazine, Mark Ellen and David Hepworth felt that their were no music
magazines that suited an older generation of music lovers. So instead of aiming at
teenagers and young people, the target audience for Q is music buyers over 25 years old,
of both genders, however this is not to say that the content of the magazine would not be
enjoyable for a younger reader. Q features many genres of music so it is suited to all
music lovers. The magazine has a mass audience as it is so popular, but could also be
referred to as having a niche audience, as it is specifically aimed at specifically music
fans.

3. Q Magazine Adverts
Artist: Paloma
Faith
Genre: Pop
Artist: Bombay
Bicycle Club
Genre: Indie Rock
Artist: Lily Allen
Genre: Pop

4. Paloma Faith
Promotion of social media
pages as well as the artists
official website.
Use of the colour
pink adds a
feminine touch to
the poster, mabye
The main text is
the name of the
artist (the most
essential/important
piece of text) which
takes up a
generous amount
of space on the
poster. It is in a
pink colour and
styled in a very
Unlike the main
title the
performance
dates are in a
bold, white font
as they portray
key information,
which can be
easily read by
potential fans
etc.
The artist’s
trademark red hair
can be seen to
stand out against
the subtle blue
backdrop.
The artist,
stereotypical of the
pop genre takes up
majority of the poster,
dressed elegantly in a
diamond studded
dress with full
makeup, including red
lipstick which could
be seen to appeal to
her traditional female
audience to see her
as a role model, and
to a male audience in
a sexual sense.
The white dog,
along with the
pale blue
backdrop may
infer a peaceful
and relaxed
nature of the
music of the
artist.

5. Bombay Bicycle ClubThe name of the
artist is in bold at
the top of the
poster. It is in a
much larger size to
that of the
supporting artists.
There is no
picture of the
band on the
poster, a slightly
unusual and
quirky animation
of different hand
shapes are
used. The
visuals of the
poster can be
seen to
juxtapose that of
the pop genre
which nearly
always use a
Black backdrop
is very
understated
and typical of
the rock genre,
furthermore it
allows the key
yellow text
stand out.
The key
performance
dates are in a
simple, bold
and clear font
so they are
easily
readable.
Key social media sites and
official website used for further
promotion of the tour.

6. Lily Allen
The bold title is
used to display the
name of the artist
the colour is pink
providing a
feminine element to
the style of the
poster. The name of
the main artist is
noticeably larger
than that of the
supporting act.
Following on
from the bold
nature of the
artists name,
the
performance
dates are once
again in a bold,
clear font as it
portrays
information
which should
be easy to
read.
Reference to the artists official
website and social media sites to
further promote the tour/artist.
Typical of the pop genre, the poster
shows a picture of the artist, which takes
up a large section of the poster space.
Furthermore being a solo artist it is
common to use a photo, as the individual
artist is sold and promoted as an overall
Dark backdrop
colour of the
poster allows the
bold title,
information and
large photo of
the artist stand
out.
In the photo the
artist ‘Lily Allen’ is
styled with her
traditional fringe and
high ponytail,
appealing to long
term and particularly
female fans who
may see her as a
role model in terms
of not only music but
fashion and style.

7. Kerrang Magazine
To further my knowledge into music
adverts within magazines of varying
genres I looked at Kerrang magazine.
Kerrang! Is a UK-based magazine that has made itself a name by devoting itself to rock
music published by Bauer Media Group. Its first publishing was on 6th June 1981,
starting off as a one-off in the ‘Sounds’ newspaper. In the early 2000s it became the
best-selling British music newspaper. The first artist to be published in the magazine
was Angus Young from AC/DC, this first magazine was edited by Geoff Barton, he saw
the magazine go from being produced fortnightly to moving up to it becoming a weekly
magazine in 1987.

8. Kerrang magazine adverts
Artist: Slipknot
Genre: Heavy
metal; nu metal;
alternative metal
Artist: Die
Antwoord
Genre: Rap
(gothic,emo)
Artist: Motorhead
Genre: Heavy
metal

9. Slipknot The name of the
band is in a
textbook,
somewhat spooky
and gothic font,
reflecting the
emo/heavy metal
genre of the band.
Unlike the pop
magazine adverts
the supporting
artist of Slipknot
is in a bold font,
maybe
expressing the
fact that music is
important to the
band and not a
self centred
image.
Reference to the bands
social media pages and
official website for added
The key
information
about the tour
dates is in a
simple and bold
font so it is easy
read.
The words ‘prepare for hell’
depict an image portraying the
dark, and heavy metal/emo
music which the band play.
The bottom half of the text is
red, as if it has been dipped in
blood.The name of the band
is in a text that cult
fans would associate
with the band
universally. It is bold
and could be seen to
disable any language
barriers, it is the most
essential element of
the advertisement.
Marketing of
the new
album.
The graphic on the
advertisement seems to
portray a zombie like
female character
grasping two rams by
the horns (maybe for
slaughter), a slightly
disturbing image once
again reflecting the
dark/emo genre of the
Dark background
reflecting genre of
music, splotches of
red representing an
image of blood and
violence.

10. Die Antwoord
Reference to the
artists official website,
further marketing.
The artist’s name is
in a bold and
distinctive font
which would be
used across all
records, albums
and marketing of
the artist, an easily
The key
information is in a
bold, easily
readable text.
Black backdrop
represents the
alternative and emo
sound intertwined into
the rap style of the
artist.
Much like the pop
artists adverts I have
looked at, the artist ‘Die
Antwoord’ uses a photo
of themselves, this
could be due to their
genre of rap.
Furthermore the
originality and
uniqueness of the artist
is something that ‘Die
Antwoord’ are
reknowned for and so
are obviously keen to
exploit for the
marketing and
advertisement of their
music.
The tattoo's and
strange look of the
artist are presented
on the poster as it
is a major identity
of who the artist are
and what they
represent. Their
look is what makes
them stand out, and
why people like
them hence why it
is used to market
the artist.
Strange hairstyle’s,
tattoo’s and nails are
what make the artist
stand out from the
crowd, which may
influence their
audience and fans.

11. MotorheadBlack backdrop
reflects the heavy
metal genre of the
band, a traditional
colour associated
with rock music.
The title of the band
is in a large, bold font
which is the
trademark of the
band. Fans of the
band, would easily
recognise the name
of the band, purely
from the text style
which would be used
across all their
albums, promotion
and merchandise
etc.
The metal skull graphic in
the centre of the
advertisement is similar to
the title in the sense that it
would be easily
recognisable to fans of the
band, the band members
are not displayed on the
advertisement typical of the
heavy metal/ rock genre, it
seems the music is more
important than the
individuals performing it,
unlike the pop genre where
the promotion of the artist
as a selling point is very
common.
The dates and key information
are displayed in a clear and
bold font so as easy to read.
The supporting acts are in a much
smaller font to that of the main
artist, emphasising the importance
The main graphic
shows a metal skull,
with sharp teeth, large
tusks, chains with
skulls and crosses, all
revealing stereotypical
symbols of the heavy
metal/rock genre
which the band
represent.

12. Comparison
• The magazine adverts change and vary, greatly
depending on the genre of music, target
audience and the magazines in which they are
situated.
• In Q magazine I found mainly pop and light rock
adverts which usually showed the artist to
promote the music (all bar ‘Bombay Bicycle
club’).
• In contrast in Kerrang magazine which is
directed at more heavy metal/rock/emo music
fans the artists did not have themselves on the
advertisements, instead using the music to
promote themselves instead of personal image