Posted October 9, 200618 yr Q magazine to drop covermount CDs Source: Music Week Emap music monthly Q is ditching cover-mounted CDs as part of a 20th anniversary overhaul and putting the focus instead on editorial content. The title will appear with a new look from its December issue (out November 1), including a new 40-page features section, an expanded interactive download chart and “further listening suggestsâ€. The title decided to do away with free promotional CDs because they had simply become redundant, says editor Paul Rees. “We used to put a CD on the cover a couple of times a year and we’d sell 250 per cent more on those months.,†he says. “We got into doing it maybe six times a year, and so did others. But there’s no point doing them now, everyone these days can download old and new songs on iTunes.†Instead, the challenge will be to offer superior content to justify the cover price and draw readers in. To showcase the increased depth of coverage Rees and his team is introducing a complete design overhaul, which aims to simplify the look and feel of the magazine while actually cramming in more valuable content. Gone are the garish blue and yellow colour schemes, along with features such as The Apocalypse Jukebox, Bay Watch and Hardware. Film, games and TV reviews have also been dropped, reflecting Q’s new focus on music. In their place will be a features-focussed mid-section, full of luxury pictures by big-name photographers such as Nadav Kandar. In conjunction, the cover will feature three to five lead-in photographs, going against the current fashion for single-artist covers. “We are selling breadth of content, while everyone else is using one main image on the front, says Rees. “If you don’t do CDs and you’re charging £3.90 per issue you’ve to make sure it’s a high-quality product. We have to play on our strengths to provide a luxury magazine.†The review section has been expanded to feature more than 100 albums, starting with the month’s biggest releases featuring recommendations. “These days there is just so much music out there, through downloads, MySpace, iTunes and stuff,†says Rees. “Everyone said MySpace launched The Arctic Monkeys, but when you go on the site how do you find all this stuff?.â€
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