Online vs. paper

I decided to check whether the best selling music magazines also duplicated their articles on their websites. All the main music magazines have websites that they promote in the magazine, there are links in there that say further information is online. I checked the websites for Q, NME and Mojo.

Q's website had alot of the same articles as the magazine but in a much briefer form. The main articles also offer the option of leaving feedback which magazines don't. Interesstingly, this could build up quite a following of regular contributers who recognise each other as friends (like on facebook or twitter).

The official website is http://www.qthemusic.com/, this has made me realise that this is play on words as 'Q' is an abbreviation of the term cue (meaning get ready), suggesting that the viewers should get ready for the music. There are digital billboards at the top and right-hand side of the website and a moving index of headline articles which make the website vibrant and appealing.

Tabs along the top link to various options such as news, Q radio, ticket sales, track of the day and a gallery of past Q covers. Links such as ticket sales, radio and track of the day make the site vey topical and seem up to date, something a magazine cannot offer. However, none of the news articles are in-depth, offering only a taster of what is actually in the printed magazine. One of the links is to the current copy but doesn't allow access to the magazine content, only gives a teaser encouraging people to buy the magazine. I would expect there to be a strong correlation between the viewers of the website and the number of people who buy the magazine.

NME (http://www.nme.com/) runs along similar paths, the magazine promotes the website on its front cover, stating 'music news updated every hour'. NME wants to give its reader the best of both worlds: breaking news and a magazine to read.

Mojo (http://www.mojo4music.com/blog/) includes some of the information from main articles but advises the viewer to go and buy the magazine for more information: "For a wide-ranging Geldof interview, with extraordinary insights into his life and music, buy the current MOJO magazine, onsale now". It is similar to both other websites I researched.

The websites all promote the option of subscription and delivery which would be attractive to internet browsers and shoppers who have the sort of lifestyle where they may not go round newsagents.

The general idea of these websites seems to be promoting the magazine rather than replacing it.