CRITICAL REPONSES - TASK 2EDWARD GILL

KERRANG!

“KERRANG!” MAGAZINES TARGET AUDIENCE

Kerrang targets an audience of male and females aged 16-23. with 52% being abc1 social class and 48% c2de. 44,013 copies are currently purchased in the UK. The total amount of readers of this magazine are 396,000 of which 54.7% are males and 45.3% are females. the magazine is produced to appeal to both genders. However it is slightly aimed more towards the male audience due to the colour scheme. The target audience of this magazine would be readers that are into rock music, pop/funk, some metal, some classical rock and also parts of indie rock as well. Kerrang has a median age of 22, its readers are the heaviest music consumers purchasing over 6 albums per month on average (53% more than the national average) and 8 times more likely to spend over £200 a year on albums. the readers are also 5.5 times more likely to attend a rock gig. Keeping a consistency to the magazine keeps its buyers coming back.

Reach: It was read by 386,000 adults.%age reach: It was read by 0.8% of the adult

population.

C2DE- 194,000(50.3%)

ABC1-192,000(49.7%)

Women-158,000(40.9%)

Men-228,000(59.1%)

Kerrang has to appeal to its younger audience because they make up 69.5% of its sales. The

Female/male audience is fairly equal so Kerrang makes sure that it appeal to both genders.

IMAGESThe images used on the front cover of the magazine are carefully selected to appeal to the target audience. Most of the images are very posed, sometimes the images are humorous consisting of dark colours. Most of the images are taken within a studio The images appeal to the audience because the images are of bands that they like and enjoying listening to. Another reason the images within the magazine appeal to the target audience are the people or content within the image is styled to seem dangerous or comical. The main images on the font cover are of Billie Joe, Armstrong and Hayley Williams. These images take up the majority of the front cover because these images are the type that will appeal to the target audience and are the main attraction of the magazine. Other influential people such as Corey Taylor, Dave Grohl, Jared Leto, Gerard way and Kurt Cobain are also on the main page. The reader may also like that person or their band and will attract them to the magazine more. Also most of the images on the front cover are taken within a studio, this can relate to the target audience (16-23 year olds) because if the images were taken, for example at a gig this wouldn’t appeal to the younger audience because they are not old enough to attend that sort of event. So most of the images are taken within a studio to help make the front cover appeal to the entire target audience.

Images that are placed on the front cover are mainly of a single person or are of the members of a certain band. This is because it can appeal to the target audience because someone may have a certain interest in a particular band/someone out of the band also a certain individual and this helps attract the target audience to the magazine.

WORDSThe words on the front cover all stand out Cleary on the page. Words can describe a topic which would appeal to the target audience of people aged 16-23. Words such as “exclusive interviews”, “the ultimate power list, as voted by you”, “the rock icons of the 21st century” and “the history of rock”. Are all types of words that draw young people, interested in rock, into a magazine. This is because these type of words appeal to the target audience and entices the reader and makes them want to read on.

Words within the magazine attract the target audience as well, such as “I was tripping balls”. These types of words could attract people and the target audience that are interested in “The all American rejects” this is because they may have a general interest in the group and therefore want to gain more information on the topic by reading on.

COLOURSThe colours used on the front cover of the magazine are very loud and heavy and attract the eye of the target audience. This issue of kerrang magazine is a valentines special so the colours used on the front cover are red, white and black. These types of colours are used within the magazine because these are colours associated with the rock genre. An example of the magazine using certain colours to help the magazine stand out and appeal to the audience is the colours used for the main story. Again using white, black and red because these are colours associated with rock. This helps the main story stand out because of the specific use of colours resulting in the target audience being drawn in. as you can see on the front cover of this kerrang magazine there is limted use of yellow this is to highlight and show off the fact that they are of importance. The magazine uses colours like red which could represent blood and also purple which shows the punky style of kerrang that reflects its target audience. Kerrang magazine use a lot of black, black implies mystery which could reflect the music genre.The use of blue is also used on the bottom strapline and along the left side of the front cover, the colour not really fitting in with the rest of the theme gives me the impression that it will appeal to the target audience because it fits in with the messy, hectic ideas that are associated with rock and alternative music.

The white text on the black background creates a strong contrast.

The tattered edges could represent the audiences style of clothes and music they enjoy.

FONTThe font used for Kerrangs! main logo is very bold and has a lot of emphasis on black and white. This can relate to the target audience in the aspect that rockers, punks and goths ect. Live a bold, alternative lifestyle. Also the font is sans-serif which makes it less sophisticated looking, and in my opinion it makes it less intimidating, The font has a ragged and cracked look; this is usually a typical style for rock and heavy metal bands. They try to make the font look distorted, eroded or damaged to give it a more sinister and horror like feel. Rock and heavy metal bands like to be rebellious too; therefore some of the fonts used are based on violence and war which matches the attitudes and their overall style (such as blood splatters or bullet holes).

The fonts used are not too complex or fancy but they are all bold and thick which again gives an idea of toughness.

The title for Kerrang! Magazine is cracked and has a distinctive rock feel to the font, this is so the audience can easily identify the genre of the magazine. This shows the violent edge of the genre and shows the hard edge of rock

LAYOUTThe layout is often similar for each issue, this is so the magazine becomes easily recognisable to the reader. The layout has been put into sections making it easy to read and observe for example the text is positioned on the right and the image is on the left. This gives a clear layout and makes it easier to read. This article has more of a conventional look about it because a lot of double page spread articles are laid out in this format because they are simple and get straight to the point. They are also much simpler to follow which appeals to the target audience of 16-23 year olds because they are not looking for a sophisticated, intellectual magazine just one where they can easily find information on a certain group or individual. Because the double page spread is all cramped together, it makes the magazine seem more edgy. Usually kerrang! Try and cram more pictures in than words, and usually have a large picture on the left or right page, not much writing is involved.

CAPTIONSThe front cover’s of Kerrang! won’t usually caption the images, but the subtitles around the image are kind of like mini captions. The caption for the main image is “BORN AGAIN! THE 90’S SICKEST BAND! FAITH NO MORE” which is explaining the image above it. when the audience first see’s the magazine’s front cover the caption will stand out the most along with the image of Faith No More. The captions are designed to entice the reader in by giving a small bit of information about the image, this will then make them want to read on into the magazine to the certain article. The caption is about a 90’s rock band which the set target audience should have an large interest in. The caption also states that the 90’s sickest band has be born again, relating to the target audience because the band is a rock genre and the readers of Kerrang! Magazine are interested in rock and metal music. Also possibly a bands certain lifestyle. On the inside of the magazine there is captions next to the images, this caption says “less alcohol, less drugs and less dodgy women!” this may grab the curiosity of the set target audience because they could possibly be a fan of the band/music, relating to the target audience because “Metallica” is a metal band and metal and rock is 2 genres that the target audience are interested in.

The caption also relates to the target audience by making them want to know the reason why the band Metallica are saying “less alcohol, Less drugs and less women.

ANCHORAGEThe anchorage text says; “under the skin of Matt Heafy TRIVIUM” because of what is going on in the image you can tell that the anchorage text is referring to Matt Heafly’s tattoos. This is a play on words which the target audience and regular readers of the magazine will understand instantly. Some of the audience may get the idea that he is quite tough because of his multiple tattoos and portrays the idea of him being rebellious. Which some of the target audience can relate to. People who have alternative lifestyles e.g. Goths, punks etc. are being represented in this magazine again the target audience can relate to this . They are represented as people who enjoy the alternative lifestyle and everything that goes along with it. i.e. hard core rock music and tattoos, which are the usual stereotypes.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS-COLOUR SCHEME

The choice of colours is unusual but kerrang!’s colour schemes are generally unusual. The use of yellow and green is unconventional, but these colours are strongly associated with the alternative rock genre so therefore is a way that kerrang is attracting its target audience. The use of green in this case is to reflect the focus of one of the articles being on the band “green day”. Despite the colour scheme being unconventional, it is strong because of only 4 colours are used consistently (with green only occurring twice) the consistent use of the same colour scheme throughout, and the clear colour contrasts. The use of red black is quite common, as they are colours that are known to connote rebellion, which is an important theme about rock music.

Black – connotes death, power and formality

Red – connotes blood, passion, violence and rebellion

White – connotes purity, goodness and positivity

Yellow – connotes energy, happiness and intellect. Sometimes yellow can be a disturbing colour

CODES AND CONVENTIONS – PHOTOGRAPHYThe front cover of Kerrang! magazine represents rock magazines efficiently. The main subject on the front cover is looking menacingly towards the camera to better portray violence, passionate emotions of the band members which would appeal to the audience. The photography is quite key to connote intensity also the contrast is very high which make the image stand out more and give the background a dark appearance as fans of the magazine often wear black to form their own identity. Also having the camera at a slightly low angle makes the band member/members appear more powerful which could relate to the target audience because they might idolize the band member/members and also looking into the camera helps to create a sense of unity between them and the audience so they can feel like the audience are personally involved. The poses are fairly relaxed and are at eye level with the camera relating to the target audience by suggesting the audience are their equals. This draws the audience in as they like to think that they are connected on a personal level to the band, however the images on the front covers give the impression that the band member/members are being serious about their music to the audience so it appears they have a passion. Which relates to the target audience because they also share a similar passion towards rock and metal.

A medium close up of the band performing live has been used to cover both pages of the DPS, giving the entire design a lively appearance relating to its target audience, people aged 15-23 that have a lively appearance. i.e people interested in rock and metal. Also in using a live photo the magazine moves away from stereotypical poses and instead adopts a more natural, photojournalism approach which appeals massively to the set target audience. Using a live photo makes the article feel more intimate for the reader. Which can relate to the target audience because they may have a been to gigs/live concerts to see these bands.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS – WRITING STYLE AND LANGUAGEAs Kerrang!’s style isn’t as sophisticated as The Times for example, it is more likely to use informal language such as slang as its main target audience and more likely to be young people due to the overall presentation of the magazine. Most informal magazines like to use a lot of puns, alliteration and abbreviations too. On this cover of Kerrang! it is hard to spot any of these features. Most of the language used on the front cover of this magazine is straight to the point and can come across as assertive; this helps to make it stand out and makes it easy for readers to find out what they want in an instant. It mostly advertises the bands that are featured in the magazine; this certainly gives you the impression that the magazine has knowledge of the subject area. The language on the cover is quite simple as there is only short, brief pieces of information telling the reader about what artists to find in the magazine. The top strapline and the description to the main coverline do have some specific language though. The strapline says, “Dave Grohl invites you to the best gig ever!” with “you” underlined.

The language used in this makes it seem more personal, almost as if Dave Grohl has personally invited the reader, appealing to them on their own rather than grouping the audience together. This mode of address is used because it helps draw in people who aspire to be like the artists featured. The fact it is being described as”the best gig ever!” catches the reader’s attention and wants to know why it is being called the best give ever.Generally throughout the magazine, the writing style is similar to the main feature, humorous and informal, using some explicit language to go with the “rockstar” style of the magazine and to appeal to a young (14 – 24years old) target audience. There is also a lot of interviews and some features are just artists answering questions or giving their view on something

CODES AND CONVENTIONS – TEXT AND PICTURE RATIOAs this is a front cover it relies heavily on pictures to catch the readers attention and to entice them to buy the magazine. The text presents, consists of bold, snappy miner sentences, these aid the reader in gaining an understanding of the contents of the magazine quickly. A short quote “unfold the puzzle of life…” has been utilized to give the reader an insight as to the contents of the magazine; influencing their decision to buy a copy.

Because the editor has chosen to include an article which in itself is fairly short, as this accommodates the demands of the reader, a large photo which covers both pages of the double page spread has been implemented. This relates to the target audience because it is evens out the amount of text and pictures on a page, keeping some level of sophistication but also the lively, rough style of a stereotypical rocker. The large image on the double page spread also works in accordance with the lively style the magazine tends to include. Relating to the target audience in terms of them not liking a large text to picture ratio, a large heading overlapping the image has been used so that the reader can quickly gain an insight as to the subject of the article.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS - FONTSThe same bold, white text has been used for all of the band names; unlike the masthead they are not distressed in any way, this is in order to maintain clarity. In terms of font size the main heading has the largest font, as it is the most important idea presented on the front cover. The pull quote to go along with it is the same font only smaller, this way it doesn’t detract from the main heading. The distressed font style of the masthead is a convention of the genre of music of which the magazine is based upon.

The font for the main body of the article is a plain, clear sans serif style which is easy to read and reduces the reading time required, appealing to the under audience (15+) because stereotypically they will not want to spend a large amounts of time reading. The main heading uses a powerful, bold font that has been chosen in order to catch the target audiences eye while they are skimming through the magazine for an article that interest them. The broken style used on the heading “rated lives” conforms to the manic style of music of which the article is discussing as well as maintaining conventions of the rock genre.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS – MODES OF ADDRESSThe magazine tries to interact with the audience by putting words like “free” onto it, because 15-23 year olds want to gain something back from the magazine for free also the audience will be enticed in by the special terms. It also uses the phrase “life is loud” which shows the genre of the magazine because we stereotype rock with being loud and wild.