Research for Music Magazine

My choice of genre for this task was alternative rock. In my research, i found this example of a magazine of the same orientation. Whilst scanning through their site, i discovered that they tended to use a lot of explanation marks to emphasize the text. This was a recurring theme throughout the website. For further exaggeration on Edginess, the font carries a certain 'worn-out' look, that seems to be a common convention for magazines of this genre. This particular one seems to be very vibrantly coloured, perhaps demonstrating that it is aimed at a younger portion of the target audience this type of mag attracts. Clearly you would have to have a taste for this style of music to feel the urge to buy this magazine, or any like it, and those people wouldn't be disappointed, as this is the sole premise of the mag. Also noteworthy is that the language is very colloquial, as expected for the target audience of teens. The image used (and edited for use) is, and generally is, of a popular artist at the time of writing - either this or an artist whome the magazine is covering. The main picture is covering the title, which suggests that the title is well-known enough to not need to be fully shown.

In keeping with the apparent common convention with this genre of magazine, Kerrang! seem to use a lot of explanation marks on their cover pages (this one included). A difference, with the last mag, you can immediately see however is the lack of vibrant colours flooding the page. There is instead a clear use of reds blacks and whites (highlighting the red whenever used) that add quite a bleak effect the the layout. There is some use of the "worn-out" font, but it is not needed as much, as the bold capital letters are emphasis enough. The masthead is cracked in Kerrang's trademark style; signifying to readers that there is a level of defiance against regulation and rules involved with this magazine. Short sentences are used on the cover to show the writer's urgency to inform you of the contents of the mag in brief detail - also a way of making you want to find out more. The band used for the main picture of the magazine is relevant to the genre, and pertrudes over the title (again representing knowlege and popularity of the magazine already). There clothes match the colour scheme of the overall layout of the cover page. The special features and prizes etc are displayed in the bottom third of the page not to distract attention away from the main picture and heading. This magazine cover does seem to be a bit more crowded than the other one however. The theme seems to be more mature though (hence the suits). The genre of this mag appears to be tilted more towards more heavy rock, than alternate.












This double page spread is taken from an issue of Kerrang!, and is based on the band Fall out boy. The colour scheme is in keeping with the black, white and red effect that emphasises the blood-red colour. This reference towards blood is made clear by the dripping of the red in the Heading and in a puff/box in the bottom-right corner of the right hand page. The font is in bold capitals (as per usual for this magazine) for the heading and strapline, with the usual explanation mark for extra emphasis of the so-called importance of the information they want you to read. The main body of text is on one page to appear like it is less to read, with an image of the band plastered across the other - also leaking onto the left hand page, as not to leave it empty. An oppertunity to win something is put in the reader's eye-line also to keep interest. The term: "Big Artist" is taken literally here as they increase the hype following the band by increasing the size of their picture.

Kerrang! use the colour yellow for their main Headings, this is shown clearly in this contents page example. The headings in yellow (or highlighted in yellow with black font) represent the different sections of the magazine, e.g: "gigs" or "K! icons". This particular shade of yellow is quite grimy and dark; the opposite effect that yellow tends to have. The page is flooded, but in an orderly fashoin, with pictures refferring to their page reference. Each one has a caption that explains what the page of that picture entails. Obviously there is the occasional use of the all important explanation mark, but the explanations of the pages' contents are quite brief. Page numbers are designated a side-bar, and pictures dominate (a reccuring theme). The font is quite rounded and stylized, this shows care for the font choice, yet it makes the text quite hard to read fluently. This helps you slowly read the information though, and therefore helps you grasp it more. The text is still mostly in capitals though, with "important" information in bold (e.g sub-headings). The images, overall, make the page more interesting and eye-catching, thereby fueling the target audiences craving for aesthetically pleasing visual information - and lots of it. There is also a sneaky text-box placed in the bottom right corner encouraging the target audience to subscribe to their magazine.