Analysis of Kerrang Magazine

The purpose of this analysis on this magazine is to identify what makes the magazine attract its readers and how its attributes such as title box and colours reveal what kind of genre the magazine.

                                    Analysis of Kerrang Magazine

 

By the name of the music magazine ‘Kerrang’ we can tell what genre the magazine is going to be, as the word Kerrang is onomatopoetic, it refers to the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar, for anyone who knows about music they would know that electric guitars are used in genres such as indie and rock, and automatically tells the reader that the magazine is a indie, rock magazine.

It is very common for this magazine to put bands on its front cover but even more commonly the main singer somehow stands out more then the other band members, in this particular issue of the magazine, the very popular band ‘paramore’ are the head story and the main singer Hayley Williams stands out among her other band members,  they all are standing behind her with a straight facial expression while she is bent forward with a smile on her face, she is in the centre of the page which indicates that she is the main feature of the band.  All the band members are giving direct modes of address which give a good atmosphere with the reader as they feel more closer to the bang and feel that the story and messages they send in this magazine are directed towards them, which satisfies the reader

The bands are wearing a dark scheme of costume, to back up there genre of music as rock and indie bands are known for wearing dark colours, although the main singer Hayley Williams makes herself stand out even more with her pink lipstick and orange hair, this shows independence and that she is there to stand out, which can also gain a wider range of audiences as some people may also like to stand out.

The anchorage text in this issue of the magazine is very simple but differs from other issues as the anchorage text just has the bands name in bold white letters and ‘souvenir special’ underneath it , which shows that they are trying to promote the band and its image . This anchorage text would still attract the audience as they would see the anchorage text and would instinctively pick it up as paramore are features inside; the anchorage text is the same size as the magazine title, which shows how important promoting the band is.

The Title of the Magazine’s design is very grunge a it looks smashed , this represents how rock legends smash there guitars at concerts , this comparison of the title name and how it is designed both link to electric guitars, really build up the image of indie and rock trends. This would make the audience agree with the way the magazine is designed and its use of language; as if the audience saw this magazine with a pink background they would feel confused and wouldn’t believe that this was the right magazine, as its image is also what attracts the readers.

The band is shot as a mid shot which is from the top of there legs to there heads, this mid shot is to show the band costume and there body positions including there facial expressions, this is important as it could determine what kind lf band they are and is the most attractive part of the band .

The colour scheme commonly used on Kerrang magazine is black, yellow and red and on this issue of the magazine this colour scheme is carried out as the title is black and the bands costume are very dark, the anchorage text is outlined in black, also the red is used in the magazines puffs and background of the anchorage text, the yellow is normally used for the subtitles underneath the anchorage text. This constant colour scheme creates a sense of familiarity and routine and makes it easer for the audience to find the magazine among others in the shop.

The puffs in this magazine are of the band in different locations, there are 6 puffs of the band and 3 are long shots while the rest are mid shots these puffs of the band help the audience recognise the band and build up the bands image. These puffs are commonly used in magazines as they help the Reader out what is featured inside the magazine and also assist the magazine by helping the reader to buy it.