Magazine Analysis Kerrang

~Magazine Analysis~

What type of magazine is it?
Kerrang magazine features different types of music such as rock, alternative, indie and metal because it is a magazine for people who do not listen to mainstream music such as R&B. This makes it an intrinsic magazine because it is aimed at a particular audience and excludes people who do not listen to that specific genre of music. These are bands that are not extremely famous in the world but are in the eyes of the people who read the magazine.

From the front cover what kinds of issues/articles are going to be inside?
The magazine issue (1242) has many images on the front cover suggesting that all the artists shown on the front cover will have editorial context on them inside the magazine. The reason why I choose to say they will have editorial context on them instead of including images is because at the bottom of the page there is a box which has the name “Poster Special” showing that there are posters of those artists only. The names of the bands which will be featured are named on the front cover; under the masthead which says “50 albums you need to hear in 2009” this is telling the audience one of the topics which will be included. Due to the audience listening to this type of music it will draw them in and make the buy the magazine in order to find out what the 50 albums are. The names underneath also helps persuade the buyer to purchase the magazine.

What mode of address does the magazine using? What does this tell you about the relationship it wants with the reader?
The use of all the images of the bands and names of some bands on the magazine shows the core buyer the artists it will be featuring, by doing this it shows that they are confident in knowing the exact bands/type of music the target audience listen to and what to know about. This suggests there is a strong relationship between the buyer and creator as they know what the buyer wants and gives it to them. This is also supported by the fact the magazine does not have many sell line(s) to tell the audience the exact type of articles they will be reading. By not doing this it shows there is a trusting and strong relationship between the two.

Who is the target audience for the magazine? What particular age group? What are their interests? How do you know all of this?
The magazine is for both male and female from ages of 14-25 despite some of the concerts advertised are for people around the age of 18 because alcohol is served. The buyer would be someone into alternative type of music, who wants to know information on gigs, live shows and reviews. The rock/alternative genres of music featured in Kerrang involve many different forms of music and instruments for example there are singers and growls; the instruments range from cellos which is used in classical music to electric guitars. They are also looking for inspiration. We can tell this because of the editorial context inside the magazine, if the buyer was not interested in this information it would not take up around 3 double pages of the magazine, they also display one or two images of people who went to that particular gig and a comment underneath. In those images the clothes they wear are similar the ones the artists wear showing that fashion is also a symbolic feature of the magazine.

What does the design of the masthead tell you about the magazine?
The masthead is distorted representing the “craziness” of the music, it is bold which makes it eye catching; the fact that it is distorted also contributes in making the masthead stand out. It creates a unique look. When the font is seen it automatically reminds the reader of Kerrang which means that it is easily recognisable and people know what it is. This can be seen as a promoting technique as the font and magazine go together and create a recognised image.

What colours are used to do find the attractive?
The colours used are white, red and black; I think this is a good combination because they are all bold colours especially when put together, they are also very powerful and eye catching. The colours do not distract you when looking at the magazine because they go well together. The white and black are two opposite colours which go well together and can be seen clearly. I like the colour combination and would use it for my own magazine if I was to decide on the colours. Based on the questionnaire I carried out white and red were two of the most popular colours and they are featured on the magazine which suggests that the buyers of the magazine like the colour combination.