Kerrang! is a weekly British rock music magazine published since 1981. It focuses on new wave of British heavy metal and hard rock bands. The magazine was originally owned by United Newspapers and is now owned by Bauer Media Group. Kerrang! has a typical layout for music magazines, with sections for news, reviews, features and more. It uses bold fonts, imagery and colors associated with rock music to appeal to its target male audience.

2. By Hina Priyantha & Amisha CONTENT ANALYSIS

3. Background information… Kerrang! is a rock music magazine Published by Bauer Consumer Media in the United Kingdom. The magazine's name is onomatopoeic and refers to the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar. Kerrang has a niche audience.

4. Background information… Kerrang! began publication on the 7th June 1981 and was edited by Geoff Barton. Kerrang first started off as a one time supplement in the Sounds newspaper, which focuses on "new wave of British heavy metal" and also the rise of other hard rock acts. AC/DC was one of the first bands to appear on Kerrang’s first issue of the magazine. The original owners of kerrang were united newspapers who then sold it to EMAP in 1991. In 2008, EMAP then sold its consumer magazine to current owner Bauer media group.

5. Background information… Kerrang was also published in Australia in 1991 by EMAP however unlike being issued every week like in the UK, Kerrang was monthly due to stiff competition from free local music publications. As well as this, kerrang is also published in Spanish.

6. Background information… Editor : Nichola Browne Categories : Music magazine Frequency : Weekly Publisher : Bauer Total circulation : 43,000 First issue : 6 June 1981 Country : United Kingdom Language : English Website : www.kerrang.com

7. Content Analysis In order to carry out the content analysis, it is important to understand what is meant by the term… Content analysis is an examination of the percentage of material in text.

8. Number of pages… Kerrang offers 63 pages in total; this number is the average number kerrang offers for the price it sells its magazines at.

9. Pages… 52 original pages were used in the Kerrang And 12 pages were taken from another magazine, newspapers or another agency who sell cheap copies of information.

10. Signs... A sign is the smallest unit of meaning. Anything that can be used to communicate, we communicate more by signs than we may do by talking to one another. A symbolic sign is learnt hence when we see it we automatically remembered and followed Similarly a iconic sign that looks alike to what it is meant to mean, we also learn this however these are more obvious signs therefore it is easier to understand and follow. All forms of media use signs, especially magazines. Kerrang uses signs throughout the magazine to communicate with its audience.

11. Signs... Denotation is the first order of signification; this means it is the objective description of a sign. Connotations are the next level of signification, and it refers to signs that have meaning for us as individuals and as a society. Connotation signs are hence subjected and therefore are based on our experiences and values.

12. Advertisements are important to cover the cost of magazines Advertisements allow Kerrang to add value to the final selling price. Advertisements may help the magazine to look eye catching. Advertisements…

13. Advertisements… The magazine that we examined had 12 pages with advertisements, this included half, quarter and thirds of advertisements added together which in total equaled to 11 and a half pages of advertisements.

14. Editorial… Editorial images/copy images are from the magazine itself. Editorial images are very important for Kerrang as their target audience seem to like reading form images then writing, we can say this as there is little written content compared to images. Editorial images hook the audience which then persuade them to look further in the magazine.

15. Editorial… We found that there were 26 pages of editorial copy images and 18 pages of editorial images.

16. Price When a company is pricing their magazine its crucial for them to consider various factors such as; will the target audience I am aiming at able to afford this magazine.

17. Price… The price at which Kerrang sell their magazines are £2.20. We compared this price to another popular and fast selling magazine MOJO to Kerrang and found that it was more expensive due to the fact that it consisted of more content, the MOJO magazine was sold at £4.50 more then double the price Kerrang was selling at, this is due to the target audience they aim at are able to afford expensive magazines.

18. Photo libraries… These are images that do not belong to the magazines itself and are brought of another agency, in order to make cost cheaper and have a verity of different contents in the magazine.

19. Photo library… 26 photo library images were used on 16 pages. And 129 original photos were used on 17 pages. images and fonts used seemed more violent and aggressive. This is the kind of image that is associated with that genre of music.

20. Front cover... The type of photograph that is on the front cover of the Kerrang magazine, shows a portrait picture of two members from the band Linkin Park. The photograph on the front cover is a medium shot of both members from Linkin Park. The composition of the image is so that both the members of the band are looking directly at the audience. This is arranged so that it grabs the readers eye. The image on the front cover is important because in order for this photo to attract readers and fans who take interest in that specific band, capturing the mood of those two members with an emphasis of their facial expression is significant.

21. Front cover... The image attracts the audience as it shows both the members of the band smiling due to their new album being released. This attracts the readers/fans as they would like to read more about their upcoming album. We know what is inside the magazine, from the look of the front cover which shows what will be featured in that magazine and sometimes why they are featured in the magazine. Information on the front cover is arranged around the main image of the two band members. It is mainly shown underneath so the readers can see what the magazine features after looking at the main image. The information has been arranged like this because it is the second thing that the readers will look at and from this will catch their attention after the main topic that is the release of Linkin Parks album

22. Front cover... The colours that have been used on the front cover are mainly black, white and red. These colours are significant and they have been used to draw the persons attention as these colours, mainly black are associated with rock and heavy metal. They are also largely liked colours mainly by guys that take interest in that sort of genre of music. The colour of the masthead is black and white. It is significant as it demonstrates what type of magazine it is from the colours that link to rock and heavy metal. The type of font that is being used for this magazine is big and bold. The cover images are often quite serious images of band either in full body shots or medium close up.

23. Front cover... This font has been chosen because it is clear for the reader to read and also bold font which stands out attracts more attention than any other font. The representational issues identified are that this magazine is quite stereotypical as it is mainly aimed at those with an interest in the genre rock and heavy metal. Kerrang is also a magazine mainly read by guys rather than girls. This can be shown by the way that the magazine is laid out and the use of colours which are mainly liked by guys. Language is targeted to the audience in way that links to the genre of music. In this case rock and heavy metal. This type of music suggests that the readers are "wild" therefore the language of the magazine is "wild" to make the readers more comfortable with what they are reading.

24. Relation to cost of production… The more the content that comes from another contributor the cheaper the production this is due to the fact that the company will not have to waste time finding information or use resources, therefore the final selling price would be also cheaper.

25. Layout... The layout is often similar for each issue and often contains the same types of features. we think it is like that because it is easily recognisable to the reader and the bold masthead and cover images attract your eyes to the magazine.

26. Quality and Reproduction… The magazine quality is high production as it uses glossy paper which is more costly then normal paper however it uses the same paper quality for the cover and the glossy paper felt a bit cheap for the cover.

27. Cover price and production costs… The more costly the material to produce the magazine, the more costly the cover price will be. However the magazine does not seem to have a really high circulation hence Kerrang have to sell at a lower price.

28. page Contents

29. Contents page… A contents page is really important in a magazine , this is due to the fact that the contents page is one of the first things a reader looks at, hence the first part of the magazine that will catch the readers eye and make them want to read on. The contents page shows an outline of what the magazine consist of.

30. Contents page… The layout and design of the contents page are fairly conventional due to the fact that the content is laid out in sections, such as feedback, news, live reviews, features, albums and gig guide. The contents page is divided in to two of which the top half is mostly taken up by a musician form Blink 182, the page number has a white background in contrast with the black background of the big image, this makes the page number and the Blink 182 stand out therefore easier for the reader to find the page.

31. Contents page… The top half of the contents page also consist of two double spread pages, showing what to look out for in the magazine. The page uses a gutter that separates both sections of the page. The bottom half of the page is more cramped together, but still very attractive and readable, due to the colour scheme used. The bottom right hand corner has a little advertisement showing where and how to get the magazine.

32. Double Page Spread... There is a large image place in the middle of the double page spread, which again states that the reader likes to read from images rather then text. The image is an editorial image that represents the Rock ‘n’ Roll life style . The double page spread also consist of brief background and achievements related to the image, this is then followed by an interview. The language used in these pages are followed in the previous pages, it is not formal however it is not so slang and therefore readable by audiences that do not use slang. The colour scheme used is very bright and vibrant, this makes the page very attractive to view. The page also follows the same colour scheme used throughout the magazine this is again bright and vibrant colours.