This document summarizes and compares the front covers of three music magazines: Kerrang!, NME, and Q Magazine. Kerrang! and NME target younger audiences and feature bold, bright colors and busy layouts with many images and headlines, reflecting the energetic genres of rock and indie music they cover. Q Magazine has an older target audience and features a clean, sophisticated look with a single large image and formal writing, appealing to its audience interested in a variety of older and mainstream music genres like pop. Across the magazines, the visual design and style aims to represent the genres of music covered and engage their intended readership demographics.

1. Front cover, contents page and double page spread.

2. Front covers Kerrang! The name Kerrang! is thought to be onomatopoeia for the sound a guitar makes after hitting a string. The therefore represents the genre of magazine through just its title. Kerrang is a Rock music magazine therefore the magazine’s features and layout are suited to an audience that are interested in that genre of music. The colours used on this front page are bright and bold and are the main colours present on most Kerrang! front covers.; red, black, white and a little yellow. These colours are very eye catching and ‘in your face’ suggesting confidence; stereotypical of rock music lovers and the connotation of rock. Because the colours are bold and bright they are eye catching and engaging appealing to any audience and are unisex colours meaning it suits their audience of mixed male and female. The main image on this cover is of Rock band ‘You Me At Six’. It is a full page image and also covers part of the ‘Kerrang!’ title. This shows the importance of the photograph and suggests the popularity of the magazine. Having part of the title cover suggests that the magazine’s audience are well aware of what the magazine is called and are familiar with its layout. The photograph is a high contrast image and the band members clothes harmonize with the Kerrang! colour scheme. The black and white clothing and hair also ensure that the band are a rock band as these are stereotypical of rock band members. The main band member is captured in the centre of the image making him the main focus and presumes the audience are aware of a band through their main band member. This suggests a well knowledged , rock band lover audience . The body language of the band is very open and they are all looking directly at the camera. This and the facial expressions of the band members suggests confidence which is a characteristic stereotypically associated with people that enjoy rock music and also rock musicians. The image covers the whole cover making it the main focus giving the reader an insight of the genre of music within the magazine. Because the artist’s head covers part of the masthead suggests the reader recognises the magazine because of its features therefore they are comfortable with the image not being fully displayed. The writing style on Kerrang front covers – and Kerrang! in general - is fairly informal, ‘hotshots’. This therefore suggests a younger target audience and fits the stereotypical view of a rock music audience being rebellious and therefore less educated. The use of an exclamation mark on ‘Kerrang!’ emphasis the title of the magazine which appeals to an audience interested in rock music as it is almost making a statement; something that is associated with this group of audience. The text on this cover comes across reasonably aggressive to the through the informality and short exclamative sentences; ‘DISTURBED’ ‘DOING IT THEIR WAY!’. This technique again suits the audience and genre of music magazine as the connotations of rock include confidence, aggressiveness and power. The fonts used on this Kerrang! Cover- and Kerrang magazines in general- are very bold however simple. This means the headings are very eye appealing and attract the reader before and after purchase. The simplicity of text also appeals to a younger audience as it is simple and therefore les sophisticated. The overall look of Kerrang covers is fairly busy. The usual format includes a large main image, the masthead, main story and other stories and subheadings. The layout for Kerrang! covers are reasonably busy however easy to understand. A busy layout fits the genre of rock as it implies hectic, eventfulness and active all things associated with the rock music. However, even though the cover is busy, it is understandable and easy to red the text and see the images, done for a younger and stereotypically less educated audience.

3. NME (New Musical Express) NME is an indie/rock magazine aimed at teenagers to young adults. The colour scheme of this cover and for NME magazine covers in general is red, white, black and a small amount of yellow. These colours are bold and eye catching for any audience. The red, white and yellow have are upbeat colours which suit a younger audience that enjoy reading the magazine. Because of the black and bold colours these represent the genre of magazine as they are strong which suggests confidence, something stereotypically associated with rock music lovers. Confidence is also represented through the main image on this cover. The image is a studio long shot of popular indie artist Florence from Florence and the machine. Her body language is very open suggesting confidence along with her violent red hair and lack of black clothing. The fact that the artist’s legs are shown with no clothing again suggest a younger audience as it may not be suitable for an older audience. The image covers the whole cover making it the main focus giving the reader an insight of the genre of music within the magazine. Because the artist’s head covers part of the masthead suggests the reader recognises the magazine because of its features therefore they are comfortable with the image not being fully displayed. The text on this cover is catchy, short and fairly informal. There is a use of rhetorical questions, ‘Joe Lean?’ which makes the reader feel involved in the magazine. The headlines and subheadings are short and snappy getting straight to the point which suits the music genre of the magazine and the young audience who stereotypically prefer to be told straight and quickly. The writing is fairly informal because of this and because of techniques such as writing numbers in figures appealing to the younger audience and rock/indie music lovers. There are quotes on this cover which appeal to the audience as it makes the magazine seem more reliable and they feel engaged with the artists/ person making the quotes. Like Kerrang!, the overall look of this cover is fairly busy – down to the similarity in music genre and audience- due to the large headings, amount of text and images. However because there is one main image across the whole cover it is slightly more organised. The text is fairly large making the cover look busier and more eventful suiting the genre of rock music as it is often chaotic and upbeat. The text/picture ration is around 50:50 as although there is a large main image there is also large text covering a reasonable amount of the picture. This is due to The genre being rock/indie like Kerrang! however it has a slightly old target audience as well as an indie audience therefore there is more text present. The fonts used on this cover and NME covers in general are bold and simple meaning they are easy to read for the younger audience. Also because it is bold it stands out with connotations of confidence and aggression associating with the rock genre of music.

4. Q It is thought Q magazine was once called cue as in cueing a record, however it was changed to ‘Q’ in order to avoid confusion with a snooker magazine. Therefore the name immediately represents the genre of the magazine. Dissimilar to Kerrang!, Q has a more varied, older (median age of 29) target audience and is a different genre of music magazine. Q is targeted at an audience who are passionate about a range of music from old hits to pop and RnB (Take That). The colour scheme of this cover is similar to the usual colour scheme of most Q magazine covers; red, white, black. Like Kerrang!, these colours are bright ad bold making the magazine appealing and eye catching to the reader. The background of this cover is white. This colour has connotations of purity, simpleness and class. The connotations are often associated with older music and sophistication for an older audience. Black has connotations of confidence associated with RnB music, and red can have connotations of feeling ,upbeat and activeness associated with pop music. This therefore shows colour is used a lot in Q to represent the music present in the magazine and also to appeal to its audience. The main and only image on this Q cover is a studio, high contrast shot of Pop band ‘Take That’. The mis en scene in the image harmonises with the large headline ‘TAKE THAT’; both the name and band members clothing re black. This is done to appeal to the target audience as it makes the cover seem organised and fits a colour scheme therefore it creates simplicity and classy. The band members are all smiling a technique used to make the audience feel positive and relaxed. This fits to the pop genre of the magazine and the band being pop as pop music is stereotypically upbeat and jolly. The image is a studio shot which also fits the pop genre of the magazine therefore this and the other aspects of this image are used to make it clear to the audience the genre of the magazine and the main band, along with the purpose of appealing to an older audience. The image covers the whole cover making it the main focus giving the reader an insight of the genre of music within the magazine. Because the artist’s head covers part of the masthead suggests the reader recognises the magazine because of its features therefore they are comfortable with the image not being fully displayed. The writing style is somewhat different to the style of Kerrang!, because of the difference in target audience and genre. There is no slang or abbreviation making it fairly formal and again sophisticated for the older target audience. ‘Back for good?’ is an effective line as it is a play on words, ‘Back for good’ being the title of one of Take That’s singles. The text to image ratio is 20:80 percent with is effective to the audience as it makes the cover simple and the use of just one large image makes it a main focus and something to attract an audience. The overall look of this cover and Q magazine covers in general is simple with a large main image, a masthead, and other story headings. This layout suits the older target audience as the simplicity makes it sophisticated and classy. The fonts used on this cover are simple and bold attracting the audience and making it fairly formal and sophisticated for an older audience.

5. Contents pages Kerrang! Colour Scheme- The colour scheme from the contents page of Kerrang! is carried on throughout the magazine including the contents page. This technique makes the magazine memorable for the audience so they feel they are connected with the magazine and feel it is made for them. Photography- There are a number of images on this contents page including studio and live shots (often associated with the rock music genre). Most of the images are midshots or closeups meaning the reader can feel intimate with the artists. Because there are quite a few images it makes the page look busy and hectic – like the cover of Kerrang!- appealing to the stereotypical rebellious rock genre audience. Writing style- There are a lot of exclamative sentences which give a sense of aggression, something associated with rock music. Abbreviation is also used for example when Kerrang! is referred to as ‘K!’. Abbreviations makes the writing informal therefore suiting the younger audience and the rock music lovers. Also making this informal is the length of sentences. They are all short in the list of contents making them snappy and straight to the point. Because of this the level of reading is very small therefore appealing to the younger end of the target audience. There is some specialist language meaning it is perfectly suited for a certain audience meaning they are aware that the magazine is written for them. Overall look- Like Kerrang! Front covers, the contents pages are also very busy and hectic. This is done to fit the genre of the magazine as rock has connotations of rebellion and is eventful and active. The overall look consists of mainly images and a list of what articles are within the magazine. There are also small features such as advertisements however they are very small in corners meaning they are not a main focus for the audience. The main focus is the names of the artists included in the magazine (titled in bold) and the images throughout the page. The images are a bigger focus making the page more attractive for the audience as the audience of rock music are stereotypically rebellious therefore suggesting a lack of interest for education. Font- The font is simple and easy to read for a stereotypically less educated and younger audience . Text/picture ratio- There is a mixture of both text and image with approximately 60% image. The amount of image is used to appeal to the audience as they are stereotypically less interested in reading and more images makes the page look hectic and eventful. The text informs them of what the magazine contains and the genre of music inside.

6. NME Colour scheme-Similar to Kerrang! and Q, the colour scheme from the front cover is continues to the contents page. This technique makes the magazine memorable for the audience so they feel they are connected with the magazine and feel it is made for them. Photography- There is one main image on the contents page which is a live long shot. Live shots are often used for rock music magazines as they are more real which is something people associate with rock music as it is upbeat and almost ‘alive’. The image is of a low contrast setting distinctive mood. The image is effective as it is a long shot meaning the reader can easily identify he artist and therefore feel engaged with them and therefore in the magazine. Writing style- There is very little text on this contents page however the text present is very short and o the point making it informal appealing to the younger rock/indie music lover audience. There is a small insight of an article using quotes making the magazine seem more reliable and the sentences are fairly long- longer than Kerrang! however shorter than Q. This is because of the target audience that ranges from teenagers to young adults. Overall look- Overall, this contents page is fairly busy die to the image, insight of an inside article and the features list in contents. Because there is one main image it is less chaotic than Kerrang! and this is again due tot he slightly older audience. However it is still busy to appeal to the rock/indie music admirers. Fonts- Like the other music magazines I have analysed, the font is simple and bold making it easy to read for any audience. Text/picture ratio- Like the cover, the ratio is around 50:50

7. Q Colour scheme- The colour scheme from the cover of Q is continued on the contents page; black, red and white. Like Kerrang! this makes the magazine memorable and recognisable to the audience therefore making them feel connected to the magazine so they feel it was made for them. Because there is a colour scheme, it makes the page seem organised and therefore simple appealing to the audience. Photography- Like the cover, there is one main image on this page. It is very similar to the main image on the cover again making it recognisable for the audience and having the same effects as the image on the front cover. Writing style- There is very little writing on the contents page however what is present is formal text written in full English making it formal suiting the older audience. There is some specialist language meaning it is perfectly suited for a certain audience meaning they are aware that the magazine is written for them. There are also quotes which makes the magazine seem more reliable and makes the audience feel engaged with the artists. Overall look- The overall look is very simple as the page only contains a main image and a list of features within the magazine. This suits the target audience as it is simple, fairly formal and sophisticated. Text/picture ratio- unlike Kerrang!, there is a larger percentage of image in Q than text. This makes the page more appealing to the eye and as there is only one image the page is simple and organised. Font- The font on this contents page is simple and clear to read for sophistication appealing to the audience, 50:50 as although there is a large main image there is also large text covering a reasonable amount of the picture. This is due to The genre being rock/indie like Kerrang! however it has a slightly old target audience as well as an indie audience therefore there is more text present.

8. Double page spreads (DPS) Kerrang! The main colours used in this DPS are black and white which are continued for the colour scheme of the cover and contents page. The colours in general on this page are reasonably dull and created a distinctive mood to fir the genre of rock. By following this feature the magazine allows the audience to feel at home with the colour scheme and help them see that the magazine is made for them. The images present on these pages are one large main images covering the entire pages and a number of smaller images scattered across the bottom and sides. These are all live shots from a gig which fits the genre of music as rock is seen as alive music which is upbeat real and in some cases aggressive. The main image is of an artist topless pulling an aggressive face to an audience. The lack of clothing suggests confidence along with his open body language which suits the target audience that enjoy rock music as this is what they are stereotypically associated with. The other images on this DPS have the same technique as they are busy, hectic live shots. This article on the DPS is a description and analysis of the artist’s gig and the language is informal and simple. The use of slang such as ‘punk ‘n’ rollers’ and quotes give an insight of the band, the music genre and the audience. The overall look of the DPS suits the rock genre and audience as it is fairly dull and the big images make it eye appealing. The pages are hectic due to the amount of images and the way they are presented gives an active and eventful feel. The fonts used are similar to the other magazines I have studied; simple and bold making it easy to read. The text/ picture ratio is approximately 20:80 percent appealing to the audience as the magazine is aimed at a younger and stereotypically les educated audience.

9. NME This DPS for NME carries the convention of the colour scheme from the front cover and contents page allowing the audience to feel at home with the colour scheme and help them see that the magazine is made for them. Because of this, the colour on the pages have the same feel as is created on the front cover. There is one main image on this DPS of the main artist from popular Indie band Florence and the Machine. The image is similar to ha of the front cover which again makes it recognisable for the reader and therefore has the same effect. The image links with the heading, is a studio shot and is of a high contrast making it eye appealing. The article on this double page is general discussion on the artists and the language is fairly informal with the use of swearing ‘Fuck you’ appealing to the stereotypical confident, rebellious younger indie/rock audience and is made up of quotes giving an insight on the band member and therefore its genre and audience. The overall look of this DPS is fairly busy due to the large text – suiting the indie /rock audience- however because there is only one main image it is organised and reasonably simple- for the slightly older audience. The sharp colours create a sense of confidence associated with rock admirers and also the stereotypical ‘cocky teenagers’. The font used for the main text is again simple and bold making it easy to read for the audience. However another font is used for the heading which is flowy and smooth giving a sense of class to fit the indie music genre.

10. Q Like the other music magazines I have analysed the colour scheme has been continued on this DPS from the front cover and contents page having the same effect as most Magazines. There are two main images on this DPS and are done with the same techniques as the image from the front cover; mis en scene and body language. They are studio shots fitting the genre of music and the black and white images give a sense of class and sophistication for the older target audience. The writing is more formal than Kerrang! and NME as it is aimed at an older audience however the convention of quotes is used for the same effect of giving an insight on the band and therefore the genre and audience, but also making the article seem more reliable. Full English is used making it sophisticated and fairly formal again appealing to the stereotypically more educated audience, along with the fonts which are bold and simple making it formal and easy to read. The overall layout of this DPS is simple and organised due to the arrangement of the text and images, appealing to the sophisticated older audience. The text/picture ratio is around 50:50 meaning it is both informative and entertaining.