Nicky
Coales
Magazine Analysis - KERRANG!
General: Kerrang! costs £2.20 per issue, and is published weekly. It is published by the Bauer Media Group, the total number of magazines sold in 2015 was 24,207. Bauer is the same company that produces MOJO, which means they must change their house style specifically to each genre as they are both very different. The year to year purchase percentage was -20.1% , and the percentage of customers who actively purchased the magazine was 99%.
Masthead: The title is memorable and well as short. "Kerrang!" is meant to be the onomatopoeic word for the strum of an distorted electric guitar. The logo itself is quite distorted and broken up (logo from another issue below), but this makes it recognisable. Even thought the logo view is obstructed because of the main image, it will be still be known to anyone who is a fan of music magazines that this is Kerrang! Because the logo is more interesting when put next to MOJO, this could suggest that Kerrang! is for a younger target audience as these are the type of people who are captivated by a music magazine that is shorter than MOJO with articles on more modern music.
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Strapline: The strapline shows the collaboration of two famous music artists in order to get the attention from fans of both people presented. It works as a good lure in order to get people to purchase the magazine, as it will provide modern music information. Next to it is a competition which gives more incentive to buy this magazine.
Main image: The main image shows a famous metal band with the lead singer holding a sheet with questions on it. The mode of address is direct, with all of the band members looking straight at the reader. The facial expressions of the band members are neutral, apart from one member who is almost sneering (this conveys that this member of the band may be the 'wild card'), which presents them as being open to answering questions (as the story is that this group answer asked questions). Their clothing suggest that they are a hardcore metal band with a committed passion for what they do. This reaches out to the ideal reader as this band is obviously representative of the genre that the magazine revolves around (heavy metal), which would give the reader the impression that this is the magazine for them.
Other images: Other images featured include famous music artists which are used as lure to convince people to buy the magazine, or advertising the posters of lead singers that are included in the magazine. This is done to grab a wider audience, as it is likely people will be a fan of at least one of the bands seen.
Cover lines: The cover lines seem to be presenting features which consist of interviews or stories from famous bands. This links to using names of music artists in order to grab attention.
Typefaces: The typefaces are bold and edgy, as if each lure is making a statement. This would attract an audience who wish to be out of the ordinary, as this magazine will allow them to express their inner rebel and creativeness. The type faces also reflect the appearance of those who feature on the cover and those related to the music genre Kerrang! revolves around.
Language: The language used is controversial and may put some people off - "some people want us to die..." This language shows that the content of the magazine will be controversial and only those who are daring enough to read it. This would appeal for teenage audiences as it would be something only they would read, rather than their parents reading it too. Other phrases like "The most controversial band in the universe" could make a teenager curious about what this band has done to earn that title, and therefore evoke interest into this magazine and possibly cause them to buy it.
Similarities: Kerrang! has similarities with regards to where the strapline is placed, and how the top right corner is usually used to advertise some form of competition. But the left border that advertises posters is not seen often in other magazines, but posters may appeal more to a teenage audience as they are cheap to produce which means they are cheaper to buy; rather than MOJO that includes a CD in each copy.
Inside
The magazine has 63 pages, 8 of which are adverts. The categories of these adverts are: gigs and dates, magazine subscriptions, clothing and albums. The features and topics in this magazine consist of interviews, gig coverage, news in the industry and about specific artists, posters and album reviews. In total there were 16 double pages spreads in this copy of Kerrang! There are 4 advertorials which were gig dates. Although there was no information about the price, it is still being advertised; hence the confusion.
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The house style through seemed to be bold black with a mix of red, as red is the colour of the logo on this front cover and other issues of the magazine. The bold black has been used to make certain words stand out and to match the style of those presented on the cover. The house style is appropriate to the target audience as those who purchase the magazine must be bold, as the music presented in the magazine is edgy and controversial to some.