There are
many things that you can say about a magazine and its history. How it has
developed, how it uses technology, the relation to the audience, the
advertisers and the funding. The music magazine that I am analysing is called
Kerrang.
History
Kerrang was
first published on the 6th June 1981. At first it focused on the new
British Heavy Metal movement but later broadened out to other types of metal
and rock. It rose in popularity in the early 2000’s and became a best selling
music magazine.
The rights were
sold in 2009 to the Bauer Media Group who overlook the publication of the
magazine.
Content
Kerrang
features articles about bands and events, usually in the metal or rock genre.
There are a few articles about bands in each issue, upcoming gigs and news
about what is happening. The feature article is always shown on the front of
the magazine and will be the most recognisable from far away. The feature
articles are usually a double page spread but sometimes they can span over 4
pages.
There are
also other smaller articles included in the magazine; some of these will be
advertised on the cover, but not all due to not enough space. Other sections
include letters sent in by readers, gig reviews and what is featured next week.
Demographic
The magazine
is mainly marketed towards teenagers of both genders. The market is more niche
than other music magazines due to the type of music inside isn’t listened to by
the majority of people. The writing style fits in with the demographic of the
magazine.
