1. 7/09/15
Research into Music Magazines
One example of a UK music magazine is Kerrang, the publisher is Bauer Media Group, its
base genre is rock, for the front cover of the magazine there is always one band or solo act,
and this is to attract an audience to read into the magazine because it will be about the act,
this is called celebrity endorsement. There is also a range of sub articles usually advertising
clothing product or upcoming tours and festivals. This is one of the main ways in which the
magazine makes money.
This is one of their covers, it has “Bring Me the Horizon” a very famous and current rock
band. This attracts a younger audience because it is a band they would listen to. Kerrang’s
primary target audience is ABC1, in which there is heavy rock fans. The language used is to
intrigue the reader into buying the magazine, for example, “Exclusive” is used to make it
seem that the magazine is the most important of its kind making it seemunique. This is a
good use of language as well as the fonts of the writing. Making the key words stand out this
gives the magazine a public image. For example "Kerrang" has an exclamation mark after it.
Making it stand out from other magazines. There is listing at the bottom of the page. This
makes the front page look busy and the magazine has a lot of content, showing the reader is
getting value for money. Almost creating a mirror image for the magazines public eye.
2. Mojo’smainmusicgenre is classicrock,thisis whyDavidGilmourison the frontcover promotinghis
newalbumthisisn’tthe mainarticle because he onlyappealstoaspecificaudience thatprobably
don't readthe magazine.It’sa more indepthmagazine comparedtoKerrangwhichismore about
the festivalsthisisbecause Kerrangismore uptodate withthe latesttrendswhereasMojoismore
aboutthe music.Thisisshownby the frontimage.The girl isn'texactlyputtingherself outthere
because Mojodon't have as highprofile image asKerrang.Sotheytryto make theirmagazine more
mature.Itstarget audience is35 and overfor eithergenderthisisanunconventional target
audience sothe audience tendstobe loyal tothe magazine.WhereasKerranghave alotof
competitionintheirmarket.The frontcover'slayoutisveryprofessionalasitis structured.The sub
articlesfontsare sans-serif fontandare easyto read.There isno imageswiththe subarticles
headingscause thatlookslessprofessional.The magazine ispublishedbythe group,“Bauer”.
3. B&S aimsat ABC 1s as it’squite anurban magazine,mainlyaimingatsoul.Itstargetaudience is18-
24 year olds,itincludeschartsandreviews.Itsmainpublisheristhe BBC.It usescelebrity
endorsementforexampleLabrinthastheirtargetaudience canrelate toit as theyprobablylistento
theirmusic.The fontcolouris consistentlywhite asitlooksmature butstandsoutstill.The image is
verybasicbut due to the celebrityendorsementitstandsoutandworkswell.There are smaller
nameson the leftof the magazine these actas subarticles,as the magazine coverisquite bare the
audience tendtobe readersformany yearsand don'ttendto gaintoo many new readers.
In the top righthandcorner there islanguage thatwouldbe understoodif youknew the genre.For
example Idon'tknowwhatDome Recordsare but theymustbe importantwithinthe Soul world
because itistheir20th anniversary.If someonereadthiswhowasintoSoul theywouldunderstand
thisclearly.
Overall Ineedtohave exclusivesinmymagazinesthatothermagazinesdon’thave.A bandorsolo
on the frontcover isconventional.A mastheadisalsoconventional,alsowhenfestivalsare on
include themonthe frontcover.Have an organisedlayoutwithclearfontsanda consistentcolour
scheme thatstand out.
