Research

KERRANG!

*Launched - 6th June 1981

*Cost - £2.20

*Published - weekly

*Publishers - Bauer

*Type of reader - Individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty

*How successful - ‘The worlds biggest selling weekly rock magazine’ selling on average 76,165 copies a week.

ROCK SOUND

*Launched - March 1999

*Cost - £3.80

*Published - Monthly

*Publishers - Rock Sound Ltd

*Type of reader - Younger slightly male slanted.

*How successful - Widely known, although not as popular as the weekly released magazines KERRANG! Or NME. Sells on average 23,027 copies a month.

NME

*Launched - March 1952.

*Cost - £2.10

*Published - Weekly

*Publishers - IPC media

*Type of reader - Edges towards younger audiences Indie audiences.

*How successful - Hugely successful, selling on average 76,792 copies a week

· The name of the magazine ‘KERRANG!’ is short and catchy. The name refers to the sound made when smashing and electric guitar. This has great relevance to the purpose and content of the magazine because most if not all of the bands featured in the magazine use the instrument.

· The publisher of KERRANG! ‘Bauer Media Group.’ The large German publishing company was founded in 1875 and currently operates in 15 countries worldwide. The company comprises 282 magazines as well as TV and radio stations.

· The target audience for the magazine is ‘Individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty.’ It would seem that Bauer have tried to keep the audience as open as possible by focusing on the genre rather than things like age and sex. It is clearly, unisex and has no obvious age target.

· The cover of the magazine uses very dark colours especially in the background. The contrast of the white text on dark background however is very eye catching, as is the used of red and yellow. Also the red shirt and red writing look conforming and don't clash which appeals to the eye more. Furthermore by using smaller pictures and captions the reader can see what's inside the magazine which might encourage them to buy it. Also by overlaying the band on the Masterhead the readers attention is drawn to them and because the band are looking at the camera the reader will feel as if they are looking at them which makes the cover feel more personal and inviting.

· KERRANG! Is essentially a rock magazine.

· The style of the magazine is clearly in the style of the rock genre. The presentation is bold and dark and in parts a little rough. This conforms with the idea of the rock genre because originally rock was considered rebellious and non-conformity.