i think the front page is quite busy because the teasers, puffs and adjoining photographs are making it a bit cluttered. i think the front photograph is the main thing that you can see so i think more of the photograph should be shown to make more of an initial impact. i also think because of this it isn't obviously a music magazine but because it is the best weekly sold music magazine in circulation it may rely on this fact for sale and not on its appearance as such.
i think the over all presentation of the magazine looks as in-expensive as the price of the magazine. the price of the magazine is alot cheaper then any rival rock magazine which make kerrang an easy option for people with lose change. stereotypically, students and teenagers (who are kerrangs main market) are low of cash and this may be the reason why they opt for this magazine. i think the magazine looks cheap from the front cover because of the use of slang language and buzzwords which are stereotypically used in celebrity culture magazines. words like 'MEGA COMP' not only show the demographic of the magazine of a teenage audience but also lowers the articulate capability of the magazine.
the thickness of the paper used on the front cover is thin and flimsy unlike the two other magazines i have analysed. i think this is because of the mass production of the magazine and the expense that it would incur.
the masthead is distressed and looks like shattered glass which follows the stereotype of the rebellious and destructive traits of rock music. this is also shown through the ripped side box containing the images of the posters inside the magazine.
the three colours of the magazine front cover are very specific and noticeable and they compliment each other although they are stereotypical rock related, teenager rebellion colours unlike the other magazines i have analysed.
there also isn't a list of bands who are inside the magazine. instead it is a more structured front cover consisting of stories and images.
the company who publishes Kerrang is Bauer consumer media. they were formerly published by Emap until they sold a third of their company to Bauer. the first copy was published on the 6Th of June 1981. i have found circulation and subscription figures but they do not state the time scale of research so therefore i find them unreliable. Kerrang is also published in Spain and Australia. The Kerrang brand is massive and is an umbrella which accommodates a television channel, an awards evening, radio station and website. this is an example of masthead branding. this may be the reason for why Kerrang took over the number one rock music magazine position from NME.
Kerrangs target market is seen as ranging from 16-25 year old and specific towards people with a genre-specific interest of rock music. Recently, this has been tested because of the 'pop-like' bands being featured in kerrang which is why the reader age has now been revised down to 14-17 year old.
A superb analysis, Lisa, which shows understanding of how the front cover this magazine works. You use semiology with confidence and draw some very valid conclusions. The point about the shattered glass masthead is very perceptive indeed. You have also identified the core reader. It's interesting how this magazine is now targeted at a much younger age group than it was in the past. I wonder what this says about our society.
ReplyDelete