Magazine Comparison on TeenNow and Kerrang!

1. Magazine Analysis 3
Teen Now Magazine is not a music magazine
however in contains a majority of music
related features. I have chosen to compare this
magazine with ‘Kerrang’ as they both have a
similar target audience to my own music magazine.
However, TeenNow is mainly based at females
whereas Kerrang has a more masculine
appearance.

2. Why is the title called what it is?
TeenNow has abbreviated the word 'Teenager' to
'Teen' which gives the audience and magazine a
closer bond. It is short and catchy which means that
it is memorable and therefore marketable. The use
of 'Teen' in the title allows the target audience to
immediately know the magazine is based for
them, thus instantly attracting them towards the
magazine. On the other hand, onomatopoeia has
been used in the title of ‘Kerrang’ as it is
quite harsh sounding. This defines the link between
the genre of the magazine, which is rock music and
its raucous house style.

3. The Masthead analysis
The masthead has been written the biggest on the page of TeenNow, this
allows it to stand out and immediately attract the reader. The graphics of
the title has been split into two colours, 'Teen' is portrayed in bright pink
whereas 'Now' is in white. This shows a clear separation from the two words
and it gives more significance to the word 'Teen' as that has been used in
the brighter colour. There is a faint shadow lurking in the title which just gives
that extra depth and detail. A medium blue background has been issued
beneath the title to allow it to project clearer.
In contrast to this, Kerrang! has placed its title at the top of the magazine
and is not as big as the banner in the middle of the magazine. It has an allwhite one colour masthead which stands out against the murky blue
magazine background. There are smudges, crackles and lines going through
the title giving it a rough look. Unlike TeenNow there is an exclamation mark
used in the title which connotes a louder atmosphere and also adding more
energy into the masthead.

4. Main Image analysis
The main image of TeenNow consists of 4 members of the
British Pop Rock group 'The Vamps'. Using a famous group
like 'The Vamps' increases the chance of purchasers as
fans, or people who are fond of the music/members are
more likely to buy the magazine if their favourite band or
artist is featured on the front cover. Furthermore, they are
all dressed in black and white attire, which makes them
stand out against the vibrant colour scheme and also
it's iconography linking in with their group name 'Vamps'
as vampires are usually said to wear dark/black clothing.
They are all standing in a line with a stern facial expression
so there is not much body language. All four members are
making direct eye contact with the audience which is
more likely to intrigue and reel the audience in.
The camera angle of which the medium shot has been
taken includes the streak of lighting from the left which
adds detail to the image. They are all made to look
desirable, which gives the main image a sort of sex
appeal as the audience or perhaps fans of this particular
group may be allured to read the magazine.
Additionally, a banner has been placed across the main
image stating 'The Vamps' in white block capital letters.
This strikingly stands out against the hot pink text
background and is also circulation to anchor the image.
The banner allows the group to be easily recognised.

5. Main Image Analysis
Similarly, Kerrang! has also used a medium
shot of celebrity former band member Gerard
Way from My Chemical Romance to be on the
front cover of their magazine. This is a way of
intriguing the target audience who may know or
are fond of Gerard Way. His body
language and facial expression are very
relaxed and connote a laid back attitude. He
may be wearing sun glasses but the audience
can slightly see that he is making direct eye
contact with them, thus making the reader feel
chosen. Most of his body in the medium shot has
been covered up by the numerous cover
lines however it is noticeable he is wearing a
camouflage green jacket which fits in with
the house style of the magazine. Furthermore, a
large banner has also been placed across this
main image as well as TeenNow’s main
image, drawing attention to both their front
covers.

6. What other images are on the
cover & why?
There are many other images of artists on the front page of TeenNow
magazine. This includes worldwide famous male pop singer Justin Bieber
has been situated in the top left hand corner of the magazine. On the
top right hand corner there is an image of the boy band Union J and the
boy band One Direction, above this there is a cover line stating 'FREE
POSTER'. This is sort of a way to attract readers and fans especially the
female ones to purchase the magazine as they get a good deal for their
money. After all, the target audience is for teenagers who do not have
that much money. Over a bright yellow background the word 'FREE'
which is in pink and the word 'POSTER' which is in black are very
contrasting yet allows the text to project. Lastly, there is an image of
Ariana Grande, who gained fame and a singing career through her
popularity as a former Disney Actress. The cover line states '60 winter
warmers, stay snug like Ariana' and this explains why she is dressed in
warm winter clothing. All these images of other artists allow a wider
range of audience members to want the read the magazine as it gives
them an insight to what is featured on the inside.

7. What other images are on the
cover & why?
On the contrary, Kerrang! does not have any
many images situated all over the magazine.
Instead there is a section at the bottom which
states ‘6 Amazing Posters’ and then it gives
a preview of what the posters look like. The 6
bands/artists are Fall Out Boy, Of Mice and
Men, Issues, Metallica, Alter Bridge and Panic!
At The Disco. All of pictures have
a circulation written in black bold capital
letters on top of a white background, on their
individual posters. This way the reader can
clearly see who is likely to be featured inside
the magazine. The posters would entice the
reader because it contains free
merchandise that would help sell the
magazine.

8. What content is promoted by
the cover lines?
The cover lines in TeenNow are used to hint the content featured
inside the magazine. Issued in the top right hand corner the
cover line text 'Free Poster' split between colours of pink and
black with a yellow background beneath, promotes the poster
contents inside the magazine. There is a small preview image of
the posters that include the boy bands 'Union J' and 'One
Direction'.
Furthermore, one of the cover lines placed on the bottom left
corner of the magazine, featuring Ariana Grande
is promoting winter clothing. '60 winter warmers', 'Stay snug like
Ariana' The number '60' has been written massive in comparison
to the rest of the cover line text. It is in white with a hot pink over
line. 'Winter Warmers' is in a bright yellow with a pink background
box and the 'stay snug like Ariana' is in white with a pink
background. The pink background allows the text to stand out.
The use of personal language when mentioning Ariana Grande
as 'Ariana' emphasizes the close bond between the magazine
and its readers. This cover line promotes the fashion side of the
magazine and using a famous singer in the promotion increases
their chance of purchasers.

9. What content is promoted by
the cover lines?
Likewise, Kerrang! also states what is going to
be featured inside the magazine by stating ‘6 Amazing
Posters!’. The exclamation mark adds energy and the fact
that the 6 is bigger than the rest of the text draws
immediate attention to it. In contrast to TeenNow who are
only giving away 2 magazine, Kerrang is giving away 6
which is most likely why they want to draw specific
attention to the number. At the top of Kerrang magazine it
states ‘A Day To Remember’ and beneath this ‘The album
that almost destroyed them – the true story’ Notice how
the ‘True’ has been underlined, thus encourages the
readers to feel the need to find out what exactly is the true
story of the event. This is an exclusive feature.

10. Explain the connotations of
typefaces, graphics and colour.
In TeenNow there is an easy noticeable colour
scheme consisting of, Pink, Blue, White, Yellow, Lime Green
and Black. These colours convey that the magazine is mainly
towards females however the explosion of colour is very
attractive and makes the magazine stand out. The colours
are all vibrant which convey a happy atmosphere.
The typeface of all the text in the magazine are all in sansserif, this gives the magazine a bolder appearance. Some of
the text has been issued in italic which just gives the
magazine a fun, enjoyable look and feel to it.
On the other hand, the main colours used on the front cover
of Kerrang!, are red, black, white and yellow which all stand
out against the murky blue background. These colours are all
very striking and visible thus making it attractive to the reader.
The colour scheme give the magazine are masculine
appearance and there is a continuous theme of violence. All
of the magazine has been written in bold capital letters
which connote a loud atmosphere. The key words in
the cover line texts have been issued in bright yellow so that
they can stand out easily. There are crackles in
the typefaces and the text has been written in the font sansserif.

11. What sort of language/language
features/language devices can
you identify? How does the
cover "talk" to its reader?
The mode of address in TeenNow
uses colloquial and personal language this
way the magazine is talking directly to
its audience. The target audience is also
young adolescents which are more likely
to prefer a magazine that talks in the same
sort informal language as them. An
example in the magazine is 'Are you is
BIGGEST FAN?' This is obviously a rhetorical
question which gets the audience to think
about whether they are or not. The 'You'
has been underlined and a reader would
feel selected out from the audience as
though they are special. Another example
of colloquial personal language in the
magazine is 'Want to be part of Team 1D?'
again the cover line is talking directly at
the reader, making the reader feel
chosen.
Kerrang! has used colloquial and personal
language too, ‘As you’ve never seen them
before’. It adds closeness between the
magazine and the audience in which
the magazine company gain
likeability. Speech marks have been used to
portray a quote from the main image and
the ellipsis at the end builds interest to the
story. The frequent use of punctuation, eg:
capital letters and exclamation marks
emphasises the words to feel as though they
‘boom’ in the readers minds, thus linking with
the continuous house style of aggression.

12. Does the cover look similar to
other magazines & why? Is there
anything distinctive about the
cover/format?
Both magazines have a similar layout to other
magazines such as: We Love Pop, NME and Q.
The colours are similarly vibrant and there is a
consistent house style. There are many images of
other singers as well as the main image on the
magazine front cover which makes it appeal to
a wider range of audience members.
Both magazines entice the audience with free
posters. The distinctive thing about TeenNow’s
front cover is that in the top left corner there is a
sticker effect shape which says '20% of Claire's'
which is an accessories shop based for young
adolescents. Whereas, Kerrang!
uses circulation to convey a text saying ‘Win! A
£500 Guitar’ so the reader would feel they have
a chance to gain something.

13. The Inside
How many pages are there?
There are 66 pages in TeenNow
magazine and there are 63 pages in
Kerrang!, this implies that they
are weekly magazines.
How many pages of adverts?
TeenNow has 16 pages of
advertisements and Kerrang! has
15, this means they both have about
less than a quarter’s worth of
advertisements.

14. The Inside
Categorise the products advertised into types
For TeenNow:
Downloading the Now app
Follow the TeenNow magazine on twitter
Clothing
Beauty
Shoes
Subscribing to TeenNow
Claires Voucher
For Kerrang!:
Gaming
Tour Dates
Concert Tickets
Subscriptions
Social Networking
Albums
Small Ads

15. The Inside
Make a list of the features/articles into
types
For TeenNow:
Bands - One direction, The Vamps and
Neon Jungle.
Justin Bieber Quiz
20% off on Claires
News - Xfactor, Daniel Radcliffe, Tom
Daley, Football,Sesame street
Ones to Watch in 2014 - promoting new
artists, Double Page Spread on Ollie.
Jingle Bell Ball - backstage, pictures of
artists & Tweets by them
Advice section
Youtubers
Letters & Emails
Posters
Fashion & Beauty
For Kerrang!:
News
Feedback
Band Interviews
Live Gigs
Albums
Gig Guide
The Ultimate Rockstar Test
Posters

16. How many double page spreads
are they? What are they about?
Teen Now has 5, one is an advice column by two actors in Waterloo
road a tv drama based on secondary school children. Another two is an
interview with a new artist 'Ollie Garland' and the girl group 'Neon
Jungle' One is on the famous boy band One Direction and a bit about
their music careers eg Security, Hair, PR & Publicity, Simon
Cowell, Management etc.
Kerrang! has 6, they are mostly all interviews with rock artists such as:
Aussie Pop Punks, A Day to Remember, James Veck-Gildolfi, Gerard
Way, Mutley Crue and You Me At Six.

17. Are there are advertorials where is
not clear if something is an article or
an advert or a mixture of both?
There is a beauty tester section in TeenNow magazine
where different celebrities are talking about their
experiences with some every day beauty
products, thus promoting the beauty product by using
the celebrities to talk about them but is also an article
on celebrities. On the other side, ‘See/Hear the official
Kerrang! Rock Chart’, which was advertising
the Kerrang! Website and radio.

18. How does the magazine achieve a unified
house style? Why is the house style
appropriate to the target audience? What
does it imply about the target audience?
The house style of both magazines is very clear. There is a
vibrant, striking colour scheme in both magazines.
However, the colours used in both magazines are what
separates and conveys the difference
of genre and target audience. Using vibrant colours
would intrigue the reader towards the magazine as it is
clearly noticeable. Furthermore, there is a link between
the masthead of both magazines and the target
audience. 'TeenNow' it is in fact an abbreviation of the
teenage target audience and ‘Kerrang!’ connotes a
rough masculine target audience. The artists used in
both magazines are well known to their target
audiences, this helps reel in any members of the public
familiar to the celebrities portrayed on the front cover.
There is a use of sex appeal with the male members
portrayed in the front cover of both of the
magazines, which again is attracting the reader towards
the magazine. Both magazines have a niche
audience which means they are aimed at a specific
group of people.