Analysis of a music magazine

 

Kerrang! Magazine is a music magazine aimed at those who listen to heavy metal and rock bands. This is a niche magazine as it aims to a distinct segment of the market, in this case the rock genre. However, this magazine also aims to use other bands from different sub-genres of rock such as emo, rap-metal, classic rock and gothic rock and they have put them on the front cover in order to attract more readers because rock is a very distinct genre. They also use fonts and images that seem violent and aggressive, this is what is associated with this genre. The masthead is in a font that is made to look cracked, this links to the idea of onomatopoeia that 'kerrang' sounds like strumming an electric guitar, giving an idea what style of music is included in the magazine. It also creates a house style that is well known so the main image can cover the title and the customer would still know that it is Kerrang! The black colour of the text also stands out against the white back ground. The band on the front cover ‘Biffy Clyro’ are an alternative rock/post-hardcore band. Judging by the front cover of this magazine I can assume that there is going to be information and articles about the band ‘Biffy Clyro’ as the anchorage text shows us that this is the main story in this magazine. Other feature stories are included around the article ‘Hayley starts a riot!’ is cleverly used pun as the band ‘paramore’ album name is riot! A key element on this front cover is the word ‘FREE!’ this draws in readers as they are offering giant free posters. Kerrang! Magazine is specifically aimed at the age group 14-21, those that have an interest in heavy metal and rock music. The offer of free posters indicates that this magazine is aimed at the younger generation, as you don’t really see many older people’s bedrooms with posters on the wall.The magazine cover has an informal layout, the central image takes up most of the cover, the front band member is wearing white and the two behind him are wearing black, the back ground is also black. This is to ensure that, he as the lead singer stands out more than the rest. The band on the cover appear to show an attitude and don’t seem to be friendly through their intense body language portrayed and their angry, uninviting facial expressions. However the image can relate to the target audience it is aimed at. The camera shot for the main image is a mid-shot, so you can still see the body language of the band, they all staring straight at the camera, they appear to be maintaining eye contact with the audience, making the reader feel more engaged with the band. For the contents page a house style is used again, the message from the editor is included in every issue and gives a personal touch to the magazine. For each article in the contents it is separated in to sections so it is easy for the reader to find, page numbers are on the left hand side of the article headline and underneath some of these is a bit of extra information in a lighter font so it does not draw as much attention. The cover stories have their own labels to show importance. There is also a small section about subscribing to the magazine, using different colours to ensures the reader’s attention is directed here.