Kerrang music magazine

analysis
Becky Ung

FRONT COVER
The masthead is shown to be bold
and ragged around the edges. This
connotes a sense of edginess as they
are implying that they are rough
which the target audience which are
young adults (17-25) and they appeal
to this type of behaviour because it is
seen as cool. The colour red connotes
danger which also complies with the
statement above about
rebelliousness. The use of the red
also resembles an alarm which is
quite loud so in turn relates to the
music genre of the magazine which is
mainly rock and punk. There is also
an exclamation point at the end of
kerrang connoting urgency and
excitement similar to the music
genre and perhaps the musicians
featured in the magazine as well as
their articles.
The secondary images used at
the bottom left corner feature
different artists and is posed as
a selection which may attract
the audience as they may see
artists which they also like. The
posters are seen as a gift and
are highlighted at the bottom
with yellow as a special gift for
the readers. The ethnicity of the
target audience seems to be
centered around white people as
the people in the front cover are
all white.

The colour scheme of the magazine involve

the colours yellow and red. These are
generally bold colours as they stand out
giving an impression of alertness. Yellow
also connotes happiness which challenges
the code of conventions as stereotypically,
the representation of rock magazines are
meant to be dark and broody but this
magazine is counteracting with that
stereotype to create a more upbeat
magazine with the same content as a
normal punk rock magazine. They also use
gender neutral colours therefore suggesting
that the target audience is not specified to
a particular gender.

The barcode, issue number, date and

price are placed at the bottom right
of the magazine which is an essential
feature to a magazine which is one of
the things which identifies it as one.
It is priced at 2.50 which connotes
that the target audience are working
class as it is not too expensive.

The cover lines contain direct address with

the use of words like you and your. This
implies that they want the readers be feel
more involved as it is directly aimed at
them in an attempt to lure them in and
make them comfortable reading the
magazine. The cover line are also kept
simplistic in terms of font size, colour and
the amount of cover lines the front cover
contain. This is in order to keep the
magazine from looking tacky and cheap. It
also maintains the central focus around the
main image
and
covertoline.
A puff
is used
highlight
unseen nirvana. This appeals
to the target audience as it is
emphasised as something that
is highly exclusive making the
article more desirable and
special to read. .

FRONT COVER CONTINUED

The main image shows three men with
quirky expression. This connotes that
they are playful and it also
compliments their music style which is
pop punk so although the genre punk
generally is quite dark, the use of pop
also makes them seem more positive.
However, they do keep with the
specific genre of punk through miseen-scene with the use of costumes.
They are all seen wearing black t-shirts
and trousers which connotes that they
are not completely in the genre of pop
and still hold some aspects of
punk/rock. The use of gestures also
shows that they have a close bond
which therefore connotes that theyre a
band and are friendly with each other
as they maintain physical contact.
Stereotypically, pop punk bands are
rebellious and a bit crazy and this main
image implies that as they are wearing
neutral clothing as well as facial
expression that connote a I dont care
attitude. The main image is taken of
the band, blink-182 and it is taken as a
medium long shot. Only one of the
members are staring straight into the
camera using direct address and the
other members are seen staring at him
which suggests that he is the leader of
the band.

The main cover line is POP PUNK

OVERLOAD which implies the type of
edition and articles the magazine
may contain. Using the rule of thirds,
the main coverline is located near the
hot spots highlighting the importance
of the article as it is the one they want
readers to read. It uses a gradient
colour of red and orange which gives
an effect of fire, further emphasising
the excitement of the articles whilst
also connoting danger like the
masthead. Alongside the main cover
line is a list of artists scripted like an
equation. This is anchored to the main
image as one of the bands are listed.
The cover line underneath the main
cover line is Three megastars unite
for the tour youve always dreamed
of!. This makes the bands seem like
theyre idyllic as they are uniting
together to create the ultimate tour as
they are described as megastars and
the tour combines all three into one
show. This may attract the target
audience as they may like all three
stars and want to see them all in one
show.

The contents title uses a different font

to the front cover page and is kept
simplistic with the a white font and a
black stroke. This is so the reader
doesnt get confused in what the main
colour scheme is. There are also
secondary images such as a
megaphone, skulls, bottles and Ouija
boards. This connotes individuality and
gives an aspect of edginess as these are
things that are associated the daredevils and risk takers. They also
resemble tattoo designs so may appeal
to a niche audience that likes doing
The layout
of the magazine
these
adventurous
things. is structured
with the page information on the right
side of the page and a main image on
the left side. The larger image is to
perhaps highlight another article
besides the main image on the front
cover. This is an attempt to advertise
something else as it will catch the
readers eye. The page doesnt really use
the rule of thirds as most of it is
structured as a list to the side to make it
seems professional and to make it look
aesthetically pleasing.
The colour scheme of the contents
page is quite neutral with the main
colours such as black, white and
yellow to highlight certain things such
as the title of certain sections.

CONTENTS

The contents uses second person as

direct address to make the reader
feel more involved as if theyre
writing these articles specially for the
specific readers.

The editors message contains a

picture of the editors making the
magazine seem more informal
and allows the readers to
familiarise with the people writing
the magazine which also provides
a personal aspect to the
magazine putting the audience at
ease. It is also written off by a
signed signature. They also input
some page numbers in the
editors message, almost as a
recommendation from the editor
so readers may be appealed to
the articles.
The main image is a man singing into
the microphone whilst holding a
guitar, obviously relating to the genre
of the magazine which is music. The
mise-en-scene through the use of
props shows a guitar and microphone
which connotes the content of the
article which is perhaps a
performance. This is then confirmed
by the anchored article title and page
number.
The shot is a medium shot. The man
in the image is shown to have an
eccentric outfit which is a floral design
as some may perceive pink flowers to
be feminine.
The contents pages challenge the
code of convention by instead of
listing the page numbers with their
page titles, it is written as a passage
with bracketed page numbers which
allows more insight to the article.

The layout of the double

page spread is structured
so the majority of the main
image takes up most of
both of the pages. The left
page has the main title to
take up most of that page.
The columns are then
structured into two columns
and neatly bordered out
with a white background to
contrast and separate itself
from the main background
image in order for the
reader to be able to read it
easily.
Although
there are quite a few

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

empty gap, the empty gaps are

filled with a textured background
so it does not look out of place. In
addition, only the outside spaces
are empty and a huge image and
title takes up the majority of the
page making the double page
spread look structured and
aesthetically pleasing so it does
not make the reader
uncomfortable.
The page uses colours that are quite dull apart from the
title, suggesting the relation to the music genre the band
is which is rock. This is because rock is a genre that has
a dark tone and bright, neon colours are very rarely
associated with it. The stereotype behind rock is that the
music is meant to be sad, angry or aggressive and the
colours, black which connotes death and grey which
connotes depression emphasises it. The target audience
may also be appealed to this colour scheme as most
people that like the genre, rock find these colours
pleasing.

The images used are

of the same band
members on the
front cover page.
They are shown with
mostly neutral
expressions which
connote that they
are emotionless just
like their music, It
also depicts that
they are cool and
edgy individuals.

The byline which is

anchored with the
main image gives a
sort of introduction
about who the band
are as people and also
what the article may
be about which is the
tour. The mode of
address is also directed
to the readers as it
says join us as its as if
the writing style will
almost be like a
journey for the viewers
making them feel part
The font used in the main title MAKE AMERICA
SKATE
of the band
itself.
AGAIN denotes the American flag colours, red, blue and
white suggesting the nationality of the band which is
American. The skate part of the title is written in a graffiti
like font suggesting that it is some sort of rebellion against
the formal slogan. It is a twist to the political slogan Make
America Great Again used by the likes of Donald Trump
which implies the content of the article is something that
counteracts something politically.

The representation of the three men

depict them to be young and carefree.
Typically, they are not not seen to be
troublemakers but more of a cool band.
As they are three white males,
stereotypically their music may not
combine with their personality and they
may not be as loud or as boisterous as
the genre of rock stereotypically puts
them out to be.
Grab quotes are made bigger and are
singled out from the passage to catch
the readers eye so they would want to
see what makes them say that.
The secondary images used show an
insight of the bands life. They are
seen a lot happier therefore
suggesting there is more to them
than what the main image
suggested. The captions anchored
with the images show what the
image is about so readers may want
to read more into the article. The
images are laid out in a sort of
messy, overlapping layout which
makes it feel more personal to the
readers
as double
it lookspage
like pictures
On
the last
spread, being
a
laid personality
on top of each
other for readers
mini
questionnaire
is
to view. in handwriting font making
presented
the mode of address more personal to
the reader as its as if they are writing
it for the viewers.
The drop cap is used enhances the
aesthetic of the article which starts
off the article similar to a story.
This marks the importance of the
column as it is the starting point
and also it highlights a new story
they are going to talk about.

Identify what all 3 have in common

What they have in common is that
the main image of each page has
people wearing neutral clothing
which connotes that they want to
emphasise the genre of music which
is rock and to do this, the neutral
colours connote darkness and
sad/aggressive undertones.
Another similarity is that they seem
to follow a rule to attract cool, edgy
audiences and use popular
musicians that are known for this
type of personality. The style, font
and layout also compliments this
which is usually using styles that
are associated with youths.