Rock

The Masthead is black and bold; it stands

out to the contrasting white background and
is eye catching. The cracked glass featured
on the masthead shows deconstruction and
represents the genre and concepts of
rebellion that the target audience takes on
them. The explanation mark gives a
dramatic feel and emphasises loudness,
which associates with the genre. The name
of the magazine Kerrang is an
onomatopoeic word that derives from the sound
made when playing a power chord on a
distorted electric guitar, implying that the
magazine is just music focused.

Main Image- The main image is of an iconic rock artists Marilyn Manson.
He is a well-known rock artist who produces heavy metal/rock music.
Suggesting that the magazines target audience is people who prefer loud
rock/metal music. His pose assimilates anger and relaxation. It is a forced
pose and he is covering his ears implying that the music is too loud,
however it is a gentle grasp illustrating that he is not in pain. His outfit
and makeup choice is dark; he is dressed in white and black, which
matches the masthead representing the colour scheme of the magazine.
The image is of a mid shot and the artist is looking away from the camera.
His eyes are just above the camera. He is looking off into the distance
implying that he is not interested in the fame, cameras or advertisement,
but just his career and music. This represents the audience and how they
feel towards rock music. Because rock music is not fame focused unlike
R&B magazines; it will attract to Kerrang magazines target audience
because they enjoy rock music and the simplicity of it.
In the skyline the word free stands out to the rest because it is the only
word that is yellow and bold. It is eye catching and is the first word we can
see in the header. The rest of the header is in a white font and is
capitalised this is to fit the genre of the musician which is loud. They also
suggest its loud by use of explanation marks, which stand out because
they connote being significant and loud. The background colour of the
boarder is red which is a colour used to alert. It contrasts with the white
and yellow typography to make it stand out. They do this so audience can
read it clearly and so that they recognise the skyline, which is one of the
last features on the front cover that they should notice.

Cover Lines-
Download the second largest typo on the front cover is
in bright yellow with black outlining. This is to make it stand out as yellow
and black are colours that contrast each other. The ultimate guide is
also capitalised like the rest of the writing on the page. It is white and
against the red background it attracts to the reader. Huge giant posters
is written twice on the front cover, header and cover line, this is because it
is a freebie that most people would normally have to buy. By doing this it
increases sales. All of the typography on the front page is capitalised and
is either coloured in yellow or white. These are bright colours that stand
out against the darker reds and blacks. These darker colours represent the
genre and the grunge theme that associates itself with rock music. This
targets an audience with the psychographics group reformers because
they are socially aware and arent materialistic and will only buy things
that like. Because the magazine is just rock focused means they are more
likely to buy something that they enjoy and that doesnt go off topic like
other genre magazines (R&B).
Institutions and Audience- Kerrang! Is UK based magazine that writes
about rock music monthly. It is currently produced by Hamburg based
Bauer Media Group. It was first published on the 6th June 1981. From the
front cover of the magazine I could assume that the target audience is
fans of rock music or people who create their own music that are
interested in learning new information about rock. From the images on the
cover of the magazine I could suggest that most readers are male. The
age range for this magazine is 16 to late 20 year olds, this is proven by
the artists featured in the magazine, however the magazine represents a
modern theme that attracts teenagers.
Background- The background is all white; however there are smaller images that
cover empty space. They are all male suggesting that Kerrang magazine is male
dominant. However, I also noticed that they all are mid singing implying to
audience that arent familiar with the magazine; that it is music based. By
covering images over the plain background makes the page look busy. This fits
the genre of the magazine and creates a loud affect.
Sell Line- Life is loud can suggest that the magazine is about loud/ heavy rock
music. The colour of the font is yellow and has black outlining around each letter;
these colours contrast each other and allow the sell line to stand out against the
masthead. The font is capitalised which creates impact and suggest being bold
and lurid. The sell line covers the masthead implying that it is significant and it
is supposed to be read.