1. ANAYLSIS OF MUSIC MAGAZINE
TWO – KERRANG!
(KERRANG! NIRVANA EDITION, OCT
2013)
Leah Watts

2. Front Cover
Main Image
Masthead
Main cover line
Pull Quote
Date/Barcode/Price
Header
The date/barcode/price on this magazine
is at the bottom of the page up the side of
the page. This information is important for
the audience if they want to buy this
magazine, however it is really small in the
corner so you would have to look closely at
the magazine to see it. This suggests that
you should buy the magazine for what’s on
the front and who it involves rather than
the price.
The Pull quote on this front cover
anchors the image as the quote has
been quoted from some of Nirvana’s
lyrics and hen the image is of Nirvana
so it is showing them along with some
of their lyrics. Also the artist in the
middle of the three is wearing
sunglasses which links with the lyrics
‘but I can pretend the sun is gone’ so
again this anchors the image and
reinforces the point.
The header on this magazine is simple but attractive to
the audience. The way it says ‘Nirvana: In utero at 20’
draws the audience in as they will want to find out more
and find out Nirvana became what they did. The header
is right at the top of the page and this is the way the
audience will read the magazine so that will be the first
thing they will see. So the first thing they see will straight
away draw them in and make them want to read it.
The masthead of this
Kerrang magazine goes all
the way across the page,
so even though when its
on a shelf you will not be
able to see the full title of
the magazine you will be
able to see the first bit of
it and the way it has bits
cut out of the letters
makes it noticeable so the
audience know what
magazine it is. Also the
masthead is in yellow
which is a bright colour
which stands out from the
black and white
background that it has for
the main image.
The main image is in black and white
which suggests that the picture is an old
picture from when Nirvana were around.
The whole of the front cover being in black
and white apart from the pull quote and
the header and the masthead, makes it
look like its old and from a while ago
(when Nirvana was alive and performing).
Nirvana are sitting in the image and they
don’t have much emotion which may
reflect what the lyrics say in their songs.
They are all looking directly into the
camera drawing you in to the
magazine, but the image wasn't specifically
made for the purpose of this magazine as
they are not alive. However it fits well with
the pull quote and makes the audience
intrigued about why they are on the cover
and makes them want to read it.
There is no main cover line on
this magazine, saying ‘Nirvana’.
This suggests that the magazine
thinks the audience of this
magazine will know who they
are as they were so big at the
time they were around, so you
will not need a cover line to tell
you who they are.

3. Audience
Who is the target audience for Kerrang?
The target audience for Kerrang! music magazine is people that like rock
music as this is what genre the magazine is aimed at and what the
magazine is all about.
How does Kerrang attract it’s audience?
Kerrang attracts its audience by having very famous and well known rock
artists or new rock artists on the front cover. If the artists are famous and
well known then people will pick up thr magazine because they will want
to read about the artists that they like. If there is a new rock artist on the
front cover then rock lovers will see the magazine and wonder who that
person is and if they are good, so they will pick the magazine up to find
out more about them so they can see if they like them or not.

4. Contents Page
Masthead/Contents
Main Image
Copy/Editorial
Contents/Headings/Subheadings
The main image on the contents page
shows current rock artists, which
contrasts with Nirvana who are on the
front cover of this issue of Kerrang. It
shows these artists on a tour bus which
shows that touring is an important part
of their career so people can see and
hear their music. The image has the two
artists in it but also shows part of the
tour bus reinforcing the point that
touring is a main part of rock artists lives.
The copy/editorial is short and brief on this
magazine which doesn’t talk about what’s going to
be in the magazine. This suggests that after you’ve
read this you wont know what’s in the magazine so
you will read on to find out. The editorial in this
magazine talks about what you get with the
magazine which will also be attractive to the
audience/reader. It is an informal part of the
magazine which invites you in to read on as it is
easy to read.
The
contents/headings/subheadings
is just plain black writing and then
the numbers of the pages are in
red so they stand out from the
rest, so you will have to wait to
get to them pages as you make
your way through the magazine.
The masthead of the contents page
links in with the masthead on the
front cover, as the background of the
masthead/ contents all little bits are
cut out of it like the letters on the
masthead of the front cover. It also
links in with the theme/genre of the
magazine, as it looks slightly scruffy
which links in with rock artists.

5. Double Page Spread Tagline
By-line
Drop cap
Main Image
(secondary
image)
The by line is down the
side of the article as it is
not the most important
part of this double page
spread, however where
the photos came
from/who took them
might be useful for some
readers.
The drop cap of ‘T’ is the big letter at the start of the article
which have 6 lines deep in a 4 column structure. This is a
connotation that most magazines have/follow as it starts the
article so the reader knows that the article starts there and
will carry on.
The background of this double
page spread is a yellow colour
which links to something being old.
This suggests that Kerrang are
showing how old the band are by
using backgrounds and writing that
shows this. Old paper normally
turns a yellow colour over
time, which shows how oldness is
shown on this page.
On this double page spread there are
two images, one is a picture of one of
Nirvana’s members with wings put on
by the magazine. He is playing the
guitar and singing into a
microphone, this shows him at work
(when he is singing and playing
instruments). The second image on
this double page spread is an image of
all three members on Nirvana, in this
image they all look happy which is
contrasting with the image on the
front cover, suggesting that this image
was from a happier time in their life
and had a different meaning as the
front cover image (showing different
lyrics linking to their life). The clothes
that they are wearing are the type of
clothes that would have been worn in
the 80’s/90’s showing the era that
they were most popular.
The tagline

6. The elements that connect the 3
different parts of the magazine
• The images in the three different parts of the magazine
all link together as they are all black and white showing
that they are from a while back, apart from the image
on the contents page which is in colour to show the
contrast of the new and old artists.
• Also bold black writing is used throughout all three
sections of the magazine which again links them all
together as
• ‘Nirvana’ is written in the same way throughout, it is
written the way Nirvana originally wrote it on their
album, so this reflects them and the music they made.

7. Background history of Kerrang!
• The editor of Kerrang! is James McMahon and the
publisher is Bauer Media Group. Kerrang! is based in
London.
• Kerrang! is published weekly and has a circulation of
42,077.
• Alan Lewis found Kerrang! magazine, and the first issue was
published on 6th June 1981, at this point is was published as
a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper which was
edited by Geoff Barton.
• Kerrang! is devoted to rock music, however originally it was
devoted to the New Wave of British heavy metal and the
rise of hard rock acts.
• In 2000 Kerrang! became the best selling music newspaper
(British)