3. Kerrang! Magazine
Circulation
40,203
Readership
387,000
Mission Statement
“Kerrang! takes its readers into the heads, hearts and lives of the people who make
rock music. It creates emotional connections.” James McMahon – Editor
Reader Profile
Jim, 25, lives and breathes rock music: it informs his choice of friends, his hobbies,
leisure time, attitudes, fashion sense and lifestyle.
Above all he is fanatical about THEIR music. He engages with music 24/7, from the minute
he wakes up „til the minute he falls asleep: when he is not listening to music or watching
music TV, he is talking to his friends about music, attending gigs or playing instruments and
dreaming about rock stardom.
He is plugged in, sharp, has a strong moral code and rejoices in his individuality. He is a
fashion trend setter in his peer group but he is heavily influenced by musical icons and
scenes. Like the bands he supports he is extremely loyal to the brands he trusts. The way
he looks and the clothes he wears is integral to communicating „his identity‟ to the world.
4. Publisher of Kerrang!
The Publisher of Kerrang! Magazine is Bauer Media, They are a
large publication company and publish numerous major
magazines including big hit magazines such as: Empire, FHM
and Q magazines.
Bauer Media Group is a multinational media company founded
in 1875 and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany which
operates in 15 countries worldwide. Since the company was
founded in 1875, it has been privately owned and under
management by the Bauer family. It was formerly called Heinrich
Bauer Verlag KG, abbreviated to HBV and usually shortened to
H. Bauer.
Worldwide circulation of Bauer Media Group's magazine titles
amounts to 38 million magazines a week making it a top
publishing company.
5. Metal Hammer Magazine
Circulation
35,259
Readership
337,000
Mission Statement
„‟Metal Hammer's aim is to satisfy fans of established, traditional metal bands as well
as to break new artists and to keep readers informed of everything happening in the
world of metal.‟‟
Reader Profile
85% male
Average Age 22
Average Income £30,722
The vanguard of the rock and metal movement
First to know about new music, and advise their friends on what to buy
Spend at least three hours reading each issue
Spend on average £112 each per month on music, tickets and merchandise
6. Publisher of Metal Hammer
The publisher of Metal Hammer is Future publishing PLC,
They are again a large publishing company and publish
multiple including Prog, Classic Rock and PC Gamer.
Future plc is a media publishing company. It publishes
more than 150 magazines in fields such as video games,
technology, automotive, cycling, films, photography and
music. The publishing company was founded in 1985 by
Chris Anderson.
7. Kerrang! Cover – November
2011
The colours used on this front cover are the
house style colours of Kerrang!, they include
Black, White, Red, Yellow and Blue. These
colours are always present on Kerrang
magazines and help the audience identify the
magazine and feel like part of it, as stated by
Maslow (1954) „Belonging and affection
needs‟. Blumler and Katz Uses and
gratifications (1974).
The layout and design of the front cover is
roughed up and scruffy. This is not because
the magazine is unprofessional but to adhere
to the target reader of a teenage boys bedroom
and also to reflect on the genre of the
magazine as when the word „Alternative‟
comes into your mind, you think of something
different or imperfect and as such they have
made the magazine stand out by being
different and imperfect.
The Kerrang! Title is a staple on all of the
magazines, its always the same font however
changes colours to compliment the main
article.
8. The main image is Robb Flynn (lead singer of Machine Head), the shot type is a long shot
although has no establishment of a background due to the image only being him, He is a
successful alternative musician, and relates to the style and aspirations of the target
readers.
The Pose of the main image is clearly staged, it is Robb Flynn holding his hand out with his
signature guitar whilst screaming, it shows Robb with both power and anger, it relates to his
music and therefore to the reader as 99% of the readers will have listened to his music and
most likely be a fan of it. The composition and framing of the front cover is a long shot and is
digitally manipulated as there is nothing in the background.
When you first look at the front cover your eyes are straight away attracted to the Red
Kerrang! Title, then as you follow the word over which is natural instinct you see the main
image and from the image leads of to the main cover lines.
The titles and straplines are pretty staple on Kerrang! Magazines, They are always scruffy
and unorganized but still look good, when read they say things like „FEAR, FURY, HEAVY
F**KING METAL!‟ which suggests that inside the magazine there will only be things that
interest the alternative target audience and pushes away any other stereotypes this is stated
in Branston and Stafford (2010) We are prejudice and pre judge everything, if we see
something that doesn't‟t fit into our own perception of normal then we are pushed away from
it.
The front cover as a whole helps with escapism for the reader, it lets them get into the heads
of the people featured in it, as stated in Blumler and Katz Uses and gratifications (1974).
9. Kerrang! Contents – November
2011
The colours used in the contents page are
again the staple colours of Kerrang!, they
including Black, White, Red, Yellow and Blue.
The fact that these colours are still present
throughout the magazine continues to allow the
readers to feel comfortable as its against
human nature to like drastic changes and with it
to like routines, stated in Maslow‟s Hierarchy of
needs (1954).
The layout is neater than the front cover but still
has a young, rebellious feel to it. The images
used fit in with the contents and text, The text is
a block sans-serif text which has a modern feel
to it and helps the young target audience feel at
home while reading the contents. It also uses
the rule of thirds, the listing is on the right hand
third, and the main image spreads across the
left and middle segments.
The images are Musicians who are featured in
the contents and poses are natural shots of
them actually playing a show or gig.
10. The images used range from long shots to close ups and are minorly digitally manipulated,
and the first thing you notice is the head of the male main image.
The wording used on the contents are used to make the reader even keener to open the
rest of the magazine and read the articles, they use words that make the articles sound
astounding and exciting.
11. Kerrang! Double Page Spread –
November 2011
The colours used in this main
article have darkened from the
other pages in Kerrang! This
doesn‟t usually happen but in this
issue it seems to have been done
to match with the main image
and relate more to the actual
written article.
The layout and design of this
double page spread is again
neater than the rest of the
magazine, it looks less rough and
reflects the subject of the article
more than the usual house style
or Kerrang!
The Main image if the band
called „Machine Head‟, they
represent idols for readers of the
magazine, their poses are staged
with a natural hint, as they are all
posing naturally but the same.
12. The main image is a mid shot and is digitally manipulated to have no background leading all
of the focus on the image top the actual subject, the band members.
When you look at the pages the first thing that you notice is the image and head height of
the subjects due to the use of rule of thirds and tactical positing of the image, the way the
image is located also adds emphasis to the band members and can cause envy or ambition
in younger male readers to be like the band members when they are older, this relates to
The male gaze theory, Laura Mulvey (1975).
The starts to each key paragraph are made to stand out by the first letters of each
paragraph being made Bold, Larger font size and Bright Red, this attracts the readers
attention.
13. Metal Hammer – June 2011
Colour
The colours used in this magazine are mainly black,
white and grey pigments with highlights of a darker
red.
These colours give off a darker more aggressive
feel to the magazine, the denotations of these
colours are the fact that they fit the genre and
readers stereotype, however they connote much
more, they show that the subject of the magazine is
emotional yet strong and the Red can show great
passion for the music and again push this for the
readers.
14. Metal Hammer – June 2011
Layout and Design
The words and imagery used in the
magazine especially on the front cover
seem to fade together, the colours are the
house style colours of black, white, grey
and a darker red. But when images and
text are overlapped the colours used are
smartly chosen as they use the contrasting
colours from the house style colours.
The fonts used vary from the standard
staple „Metal Hammer‟ font to band fonts
or standard text fonts inside the magazine,
the fonts chosen reflect the genre and yet
still look professional and intellectual.
15. Metal Hammer – June 2011
Images
The images used throughout the
publication are famous musicians of the
genre, this issue featured the members of a
metal band „Slipknot‟ with the front cover
featuring Corey Taylor (Singer) and the
main Image on the DPS Joey
Jordison(Drummer) as these two members
are the two most famous other than an ex
member Paul Gray, the images of these
people used represent success in the metal
industry and can be seen as role models as
readers aspire to be like them. This is
stated in Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of
Needs (1954) under Belonging and
affection needs and self actualization.
16. Metal Hammer – June 2011
Pose, Style, Hair, Make-up
The makeup of the main image is heavy
black makeup under a famous mask from
the band, this allows a recognizable figure
to be the main cover and attract a lot of
readers to the magazine, if not because
they know the mask but because of shock
factor.
The impressions the above give the
readers are a sense of individuality from
the outside world, they feel like they can
be whoever they want to be, whether its to
wear a mask like the main image of to do
whatever, the pose of the image again
resembles the genre of the magazine of
heavy, angry, emotional music with a
humorous factor.
17. Metal Hammer – June 2011
Composition and framing
The composition and framing of images
featured in this magazine change a lot
depending on the image. In this issue the
image‟s composition are mainly large sized
close ups, The images are clearly digitally
manipulated as they stand out with the
contrasts and flawlessness other than what is
intentional.
The images also have been edited to have no
background in most of the cases in the
publication, this shows that the magazine
wishes the reader to focus on the subjects of
the photographs and nothing else.
When you look at the pages your eyes as a
reader are instantly directed to the open eye
of the main image, then you analyze what the
image as a whole is and then go onto read
the title, this is quiet an intelligent play by the
magazine because as soon as you look at the
magazine the eye draws you in and you feel
emotionally involved as such. And then on the
internals of the magazine the same technique
seems to apply but more so towards the main
headline.
18. Metal Hammer – June 2011
Written Codes
Right from the off the magazine gives
readers knowledge of what is going to be
inside, the Title Of „Metal Hammer‟ states
that the contents of the magazine is going
to be heavy music.
The cover and strap lines reinforce this
point, the wording used is aggressive and
very stereotypical of the genre and works
to repel people who aren‟t in the target
audience, this is stated in Branston and
Stafford‟s Representation and Stereotypes
theory (2010).
The text through the magazine other than
the main stories is all of a reasonable size
and can be read at a distance and will
certainly stand out on a shelf as it doesn't‟t
follow standard conventions.
19. Metal Hammer – June 2011
Language
The language used in the magazine is
casual yet intellectual especially in the
double page spread, this is surprising for
this genre of magazine as the language
used is usually a lot more average.
The language in the main article‟s double
page spread
