3. “KERRANG!” MAGAZINES TARGET
AUDIENCE
Kerrang targets an audience of male and
Reach: It was read by 386,000 adults.
females aged 16-23. with 52% being abc1
%age reach: It was read by 0.8% of the adult population.
social class and 48% c2de. 44,013 copies are
currently purchased in the UK. The total
amount of readers of this magazine are
396,000 of which 54.7% are males and 45.3%
C2DEABC1are females. the magazine is produced to
194,00
192,000
appeal to both genders. However it is slightly
0(50.3
(49.7%)
aimed more towards the male audience due to
the colour scheme. The target audience of this
%)
magazine would be readers that are into rock
music, pop/funk, some metal, some classical
rock and also parts of indie rock as well.
Kerrang has a median age of 22, its readers
MenWomenare the heaviest music consumers purchasing
228,000
over 6 albums per month on average (53%
158,000(
(59.1%)
more than the national average) and 8 times
40.9%)
more likely to spend over £200 a year on
albums. the readers are also 5.5 times more
likely to attend a rock gig. Keeping a
consistency to the magazine keeps its buyers Kerrang has to appeal to its younger audience because
they make up 69.5% of its sales. The Female/male
coming back.
audience is fairly equal so Kerrang makes sure that it
appeal to both genders.
4. IMAGES
The images used on the front cover of the magazine
are carefully selected to appeal to the target audience.
Most of the images are very posed, sometimes the
images are humorous consisting of dark colours. Most
of the images are taken within a studio The images
appeal to the audience because the images are of
bands that they like and enjoying listening to. Another
reason the images within the magazine appeal to the
target audience are the people or content within the
image is styled to seem dangerous or comical. The
main images on the font cover are of Billie Joe,
Armstrong and Hayley Williams. These images take up
the majority of the front cover because these images
are the type that will appeal to the target audience and
are the main attraction of the magazine. Other
influential people such as Corey Taylor, Dave Grohl,
Jared Leto, Gerard way and Kurt Cobain are also on
the main page. The reader may also like that person or
their band and will attract them to the magazine more.
Also most of the images on the front cover are taken
within a studio, this can relate to the target audience
(16-23 year olds) because if the images were taken, for
example at a gig this wouldn’t appeal to the younger
audience because they are not old enough to attend
that sort of event. So most of the images are taken
within a studio to help make the front cover appeal to
the entire target audience.
Images that are placed on the front cover are
mainly of a single person or are of the
members of a certain band. This is because it
can appeal to the target audience because
someone may have a certain interest in a
particular band/someone out of the band also
a certain individual and this helps attract the
target audience to the magazine.
5. WORDS
The words on the front cover all stand out Cleary on
the page. Words can describe a topic which would
appeal to the target audience of people aged 16-23.
Words such as “exclusive interviews”, “the ultimate
power list, as voted by you”, “the rock icons of the
21st century” and “the history of rock”. Are all types of
words that draw young people, interested in rock,
into a magazine. This is because these type of words
appeal to the target audience and entices the reader
and makes them want to read on.
Words within the magazine attract the target
audience as well, such as “I was tripping balls”.
These types of words could attract people and the
target audience that are interested in “The all
American rejects” this is because they may have a
general interest in the group and therefore want to
gain more information on the topic by reading on.
6. COLOURS
The colours used on the front cover of the magazine are very
loud and heavy and attract the eye of the target audience.
This issue of kerrang magazine is a valentines special so the
colours used on the front cover are red, white and black.
These types of colours are used within the magazine because
these are colours associated with the rock genre. An example
of the magazine using certain colours to help the magazine
stand out and appeal to the audience is the colours used for
the main story. Again using white, black and red because
these are colours associated with rock. This helps the main
story stand out because of the specific use of colours
resulting in the target audience being drawn in. as you can
see on the front cover of this kerrang magazine there is limted
use of yellow this is to highlight and show off the fact that they
are of importance. The magazine uses colours like red which
could represent blood and also purple which shows the punky
style of kerrang that reflects its target audience. Kerrang
magazine use a lot of black, black implies mystery which
could reflect the music genre.
The use of blue is also used on the bottom strapline and
along the left side of the front cover, the colour not really
fitting in with the rest of the theme gives me the
impression that it will appeal to the target audience
because it fits in with the messy, hectic ideas that are
associated with rock and alternative music.
The white text on
the black
background
creates a strong
contrast.
The tattered
edges could
represent the
audiences style of
clothes and music
they enjoy.
7. FONT
The font used for Kerrangs! main logo is very bold and
has a lot of emphasis on black and white. This can
relate to the target audience in the aspect that rockers,
punks and goths ect. Live a bold, alternative lifestyle.
Also the font is sans-serif which makes it less
sophisticated looking, and in my opinion it makes it less
intimidating, The font has a ragged and cracked look;
this is usually a typical style for rock and heavy metal
bands. They try to make the font look distorted, eroded
or damaged to give it a more sinister and horror like
feel. Rock and heavy metal bands like to be rebellious
too; therefore some of the fonts used are based on
violence and war which matches the attitudes and their
overall style (such as blood splatters or bullet holes).
The title for Kerrang! Magazine is cracked and has
a distinctive rock feel to the font, this is so the
audience can easily identify the genre of the
magazine. This shows the violent edge of the
genre and shows the hard edge of rock
The fonts used are not too
complex or fancy but they are all
bold and thick which again gives
an idea of toughness.
8. LAYOUT
The layout is often similar for each issue, this is so the
magazine becomes easily recognisable to the reader. The
layout has been put into sections making it easy to read
and observe for example the text is positioned on the right
and the image is on the left. This gives a clear layout and
makes it easier to read. This article has more of a
conventional look about it because a lot of double page
spread articles are laid out in this format because they are
simple and get straight to the point. They are also much
simpler to follow which appeals to the target audience of
16-23 year olds because they are not looking for a
sophisticated, intellectual magazine just one where they
can easily find information on a certain group or individual.
Because the double page spread is all cramped together, it
makes the magazine seem more edgy. Usually kerrang!
Try and cram more pictures in than words, and usually
have a large picture on the left or right page, not much
writing is involved.
9. CAPTIONS
The front cover’s of Kerrang! won’t usually caption
the images, but the subtitles around the image are
kind of like mini captions. The caption for the main
image is “BORN AGAIN! THE 90’S SICKEST
BAND! FAITH NO MORE” which is explaining the
image above it. when the audience first see’s the
magazine’s front cover the caption will stand out the
most along with the image of Faith No More. The
captions are designed to entice the reader in by
giving a small bit of information about the image,
this will then make them want to read on into the
magazine to the certain article. The caption is about
a 90’s rock band which the set target audience
should have an large interest in. The caption also
states that the 90’s sickest band has be born again,
relating to the target audience because the band is
a rock genre and the readers of Kerrang! Magazine
are interested in rock and metal music. Also
possibly a bands certain lifestyle. On the inside of
the magazine there is captions next to the images,
this caption says “less alcohol, less drugs and less
dodgy women!” this may grab the curiosity of the
set target audience because they could possibly be
a fan of the band/music, relating to the target
audience because “Metallica” is a metal band and
metal and rock is 2 genres that the target audience
are interested in.
The caption also relates to the target audience
by making them want to know the reason why
the band Metallica are saying “less alcohol,
Less drugs and less women.
10. ANCHORAGE
The anchorage text says; “under the skin of Matt Heafy
TRIVIUM” because of what is going on in the image you can
tell that the anchorage text is referring to Matt Heafly’s
tattoos. This is a play on words which the target audience and
regular readers of the magazine will understand instantly.
Some of the audience may get the idea that he is quite tough
because of his multiple tattoos and portrays the idea of him
being rebellious. Which some of the target audience can
relate to. People who have alternative lifestyles e.g. Goths,
punks etc. are being represented in this magazine again the
target audience can relate to this . They are represented as
people who enjoy the alternative lifestyle and everything that
goes along with it. i.e. hard core rock music and tattoos,
which are the usual stereotypes.
11. CODES AND CONVENTIONS
-COLOUR SCHEME
The choice of colours is unusual but kerrang!’s colour
schemes are generally unusual. The use of yellow and
green is unconventional, but these colours are strongly
associated with the alternative rock genre so therefore is
a way that kerrang is attracting its target audience. The
use of green in this case is to reflect the focus of one of
the articles being on the band “green day”. Despite the
colour scheme being unconventional, it is strong
because of only 4 colours are used consistently (with
green only occurring twice) the consistent use of the
same colour scheme throughout, and the clear colour
contrasts. The use of red black is quite common, as they
are colours that are known to connote rebellion, which is
an important theme about rock music.
Black – connotes death, power and formality
Red – connotes blood, passion, violence and rebellion
– connotes purity, goodness and positivity
Yellow – connotes energy, happiness and intellect.
Sometimes yellow can be a disturbing colour
12. CODES AND CONVENTIONS – PHOTOGRAPHY
The front cover of Kerrang! magazine represents rock
magazines efficiently. The main subject on the front cover is
looking menacingly towards the camera to better portray
violence, passionate emotions of the band members which
would appeal to the audience. The photography is quite key
to connote intensity also the contrast is very high which
make the image stand out more and give the background a
dark appearance as fans of the magazine often wear black
to form their own identity. Also having the camera at a
slightly low angle makes the band member/members
appear more powerful which could relate to the target
audience because they might idolize the band
member/members and also looking into the camera helps to
create a sense of unity between them and the audience so
they can feel like the audience are personally involved. The
poses are fairly relaxed and are at eye level with the
camera relating to the target audience by suggesting the
audience are their equals. This draws the audience in as
they like to think that they are connected on a personal level
to the band, however the images on the front covers give
the impression that the band member/members are being
serious about their music to the audience so it appears they
have a passion. Which relates to the target audience
because they also share a similar passion towards rock and
metal.
A medium close up of the band performing
live has been used to cover both pages of
the DPS, giving the entire design a lively
appearance relating to its target audience,
people aged 15-23 that have a lively
appearance. i.e people interested in rock
and metal. Also in using a live photo the
magazine moves away from stereotypical
poses and instead adopts a more natural,
photojournalism approach which appeals
massively to the set target audience. Using
a live photo makes the article feel more
intimate for the reader. Which can relate to
the target audience because they may have
a been to gigs/live concerts to see these
bands.
13. CODES AND CONVENTIONS – WRITING STYLE
AND LANGUAGE
As Kerrang!’s style isn’t as sophisticated as The
Times for example, it is more likely to use informal
language such as slang as its main target
audience and more likely to be young people due
to the overall presentation of the magazine. Most
informal magazines like to use a lot of puns,
alliteration and abbreviations too. On this cover of
Kerrang! it is hard to spot any of these features.
The language used in this makes it seem more
Most of the language used on the front cover of
personal, almost as if Dave Grohl has personally invited
this magazine is straight to the point and can come the reader, appealing to them on their own rather than
across as assertive; this helps to make it stand out grouping the audience together. This mode of address
and makes it easy for readers to find out what they is used because it helps draw in people who aspire to
want in an instant. It mostly advertises the bands be like the artists featured. The fact it is being described
that are featured in the magazine; this certainly
as”the best gig ever!” catches the reader’s attention and
gives you the impression that the magazine has
wants to know why it is being called the best give ever.
knowledge of the subject area. The language on Generally throughout the magazine, the writing style is
the cover is quite simple as there is only short,
similar to the main feature, humorous and informal,
brief pieces of information telling the reader about using some explicit language to go with the “rockstar”
what artists to find in the magazine. The top
style of the magazine and to appeal to a young (14 –
strapline and the description to the main coverline 24years old) target audience. There is also a lot of
do have some specific language though. The
interviews and some features are just artists answering
strapline says, “Dave Grohl invites you to the best questions or giving their view on something
gig ever!” with “you” underlined.
14. CODES AND CONVENTIONS – TEXT AND
PICTURE RATIO
As this is a front cover it relies heavily on pictures to catch the
readers attention and to entice them to buy the magazine. The
text presents, consists of bold, snappy miner sentences, these
aid the reader in gaining an understanding of the contents of the
magazine quickly. A short quote “unfold the puzzle of life…” has
been utilized to give the reader an insight as to the contents of
the magazine; influencing their decision to buy a copy.
Because the editor has chosen to include an article which in itself
is fairly short, as this accommodates the demands of the reader,
a large photo which covers both pages of the double page
spread has been implemented. This relates to the target
audience because it is evens out the amount of text and pictures
on a page, keeping some level of sophistication but also the
lively, rough style of a stereotypical rocker. The large image on
the double page spread also works in accordance with the lively
style the magazine tends to include. Relating to the target
audience in terms of them not liking a large text to picture ratio, a
large heading overlapping the image has been used so that the
reader can quickly gain an insight as to the subject of the article.
15. CODES AND CONVENTIONS - FONTS
The same bold, white text has been used for all of the
band names; unlike the masthead they are not distressed
in any way, this is in order to maintain clarity. In terms of
font size the main heading has the largest font, as it is the
most important idea presented on the front cover. The pull
quote to go along with it is the same font only smaller, this
way it doesn’t detract from the main heading. The
distressed font style of the masthead is a convention of the
genre of music of which the magazine is based upon.
The font for the main body of the article is a plain, clear sans
serif style which is easy to read and reduces the reading time
required, appealing to the under audience (15+) because
stereotypically they will not want to spend a large amounts of
time reading. The main heading uses a powerful, bold font that
has been chosen in order to catch the target audiences eye
while they are skimming through the magazine for an article that
interest them. The broken style used on the heading “rated lives”
conforms to the manic style of music of which the article is
discussing as well as maintaining conventions of the rock genre.
16. CODES
AND CONVENTIONS
– MODES OF
ADDRESS
The magazine tries to interact with the audience by putting words
like “free” onto it, because 15-23 year olds want to gain
something back from the magazine for free also the audience will
be enticed in by the special terms. It also uses the phrase “life is
loud” which shows the genre of the magazine because we
stereotype rock with being loud and wild.
