Magazine cover analysis 3

“Kerrang!” is a mass market magazine that is specifically aimed towards younger audiences. Being published by the acclaimed company,"Bauer", the magazine is a successful brand that has a circulation of around 40,000. Predominantly,  Kerrang magazine targets males at around the age of 20. If I were to suggest the reason behind this theory, I feel that it is due to the general genre that the magazine focuses on and how students have a larger interest in the latest rock music, concerts and top fashion tips as oppose to elder, upper class individuals. Within the magazine, the typical artists age group that have been specifically publicised are around the age of 20-30 and predominantly male. This creates a connection between the students and artists and suggests that it is appropriate for the students to purchase.
Students of around 20 are people who are likely to be in university or continuing into further education. These students will usually have their own flats that are based central to a city that are near the likely shops that sell Kerrang Magazine, making it easily accessible for the target audience. 
When I first look at the magazine, I am instantly drawn to the main image. Having placed the photograph central to the frame, the other less important sub headings and advertisement labels have been scattered around the outskirts to fill in any unnecessary gaps whilst using persuasive, enticing quotes that suit the target audiences humour and interests. The lead singer of “Biffy Clyro” has been photographed closer to the camera than his other band members. I feel this has been done to give the viewer an insight into the superiority within the band and outlining who the central band member is, showing importance. Although they’re all in the same band, the lead singer (Simon Neil) will always be centre to the image. Another way of reading this image is to understand that Simon Neil is wearing a white hoody as oppose to the other men wearing black shirts. Simon Neil is clearly distinguished by his long brown hair, followed by his bushy brown beard whilst in contrast, both James Johnston (bass, vocals) and Ben Johnston (drums, vocals) are fair skinned, ginger haired men. This whole image is emphasising leadership within a band and simply showing the audience who is in control. 

The main cover line on the magazine is “Unfold the puzzle of life.” Whilst studying the band member’s facial expressions, it is clear that they’re linking their suggestive faces in with the thought of solving a problem. Simon Neil is showing his body language as thoughtful and intriguing whilst giving direct eye contact to the viewer. This gives the reader the feeling of involvement whilst reading the sub headings that suggest participation. On the other hand, the cover line has been used a pun on their already well-known album “Puzzle”. 

The masthead on Kerrang Magazine is always either black or white and shown to have been smashed to pieces. This effect has been produced to emphasise the theme of rock. In a rock concert, actions implying band members smashing up their instrument whilst performing is often created to introduce riots. On the other hand, when music has been raised to an extreme volume, it is possible for objects made from glass to crack and smash. Having the masthead shown as cracked will create the feeling of loud music and heavy emotions, showing the young youth of the magazine and their unrestrained mannerisms. Due to the publicity of the Magazine, Kerrang has been produced for 21 years. After proving to be known by the world, the masthead is often partly covered up by the main image, as shown. By doing this, other more important features on the magazine can overlap the regulars, proving the publishers effort to design and create a unique issue each month.

There are three colours used on the front cover of the magazine; these are black, white and red. Black and white are two colours put together to help define what an image is saying. These colours are used in art forms for a simpler way of reading an image which I would say, provides a sharper and prominent photograph. Black and white is a cheaper way of producing magazines and due to this; I feel that the typical kind of person that would purchase this magazine would be from a working class background. It is more likely that a male that is from an upper class background would rather read about golf than cheap rock/metal band tickets. Red has been used in four different places on the cover. These places are otherwise known as the selling lines and cover lines. These bits of information include “FREE! POSTER SPECIAL!” and the “MASSIVE DOWNLOAD TICKET GIVE AWAY!”  Red is a colour that is used to grab somebody’s attention. As it is the first colour humans see, we’re instantly drawn to objects that are red and are more likely to then purchase the magazine. The selling lines are filled with red backgrounds to stand out from the use of black and white that has been used otherwise. This could be signaled as an alert to the viewers as it is more commonly used as a sign of danger. 

The most favoured camera angle is the medium shot. Kerrang often uses this shot to make the audience feel comfortable. The band members from Biffy Clyro are captured with a wide angled, straight on, medium shot. With this shot, we’re able to understand their sense of style whilst linking it in with their music. The typical readers of this magazine will also have the chance to examine their clothes and be inspired themselves.

When focusing on the selling lines, Kerrang use persuasive, intelligent methods that shows their generosity towards their fans. By offering free posters within the magazines, the audience will feel as if they'e gaining one item for free, despite paying for the magazine in general which is likely to have gone up in price, purely due to the poster. If an individual purchases the magazine within the month that the free magazine is given, this will then persuade them to purchase another magazine the next month. This method carries on until the audience has purchased enough to make it a constant buy. 

Lastly, each section of the magazine is neatly organised in separate boxes, lines and borders to discretely set apart all of the information from each other, making it an easily read magazine that can be  discovered from a distance. By doing this, means that people from all ages will be able to read the organised magazine cover and be persuaded to purchase it. Another way that the publishers have designed the magazine for this purpose is the easily read font. Within the whole magazine, the same, large, bold, San serif font has been used to create unity through the pages and be easily read from afar and close up.