Front cover analysis

Kerrang! is a rock music magazine published by Bauer Consumer Media in the United Kingdom. The magazine's name is onomatopoeic and refers to the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar. Kerrang!'s first successful period came under editor Paul Rees circa 2000 when the nu metal genre, featuring bands like Papa Roach, Slipknot and Linkin Park, became more popular. Later on, they started covering other bands, like Foo Fighters and Metallica. The target audience is 16-25 year olds and specific towards rock music fans. However in recent years, the age of the audience has dropped and it is more 14-17 year olds who tend to buy and read it due to its featured bands being more poppy. (Elliot Minor, We Are The Ocean, 30 Seconds To Mars ). Cover price was £2.20, which is cheap for the target audience (students, young people with low incomes).

The magazine title ‘KERRANG!’ is on a black banner which makes the white text stands out as it contrasts with the darker background that it is on and attracts the audience with this contrast. The masthead is in front of the main image which is unusual as the typical conventions of this genre of magazines tend to place the image in front of the text, showing how ‘KERRANG’ has broken the conventions of typical layout and has taken on a bolder effect as the masthead is incredibly eye catching as it has been placed over the main picture to show its importance. This also has a sub meaning as rock has always signified going against main-stream things the magazine has just done this.  It is significantly important for the title to stand out as it is the company logo that has to compete against other music magazines on the market and so has to break generic conventions to make it stand out from the rest in order to attract attention and a wider audience.

The selling line for ‘KERRANG’ in this issue is in the black banner above the masthead on the front cover reading ‘KERRANG! RELENTLESS ENERGY TOUR 2010: LINE-UP REVEALED!’ which interests people to who is playing on the tour this year attracting the readers and making them want to read on and buy the magazine.  The company is using their magazine to full potential to advertise their own music tour showing that their magazine is superior to others as it hosts a tour every year. This follows the generic conventions of a standard layout for a magazine as it is placed at the top and yet stands out in bright colours such as yellow to attract the target audience of teenagers to Kerrang. 

The main image is of the whole of the band ‘Lostprophets’ and yet the lead singer ‘Ian Watkins’ is placed right in the centre and is more forward than the rest of the band, showing his importance. Which connotes the one in the middle is the lead singer and is the main figure in the band. They have eye contact with the reader to show they are looking directly at the audience which has a psychological effect on the reader to make them feel as though are being addressed personally.

The photo is slightly a low angle shot to emphasize their expressions of determination on their face to show that they mean business, which pairs with their cover line “THE WELSH STARS BATTLE TO SAVE THEIR FUTURE” which attracts the eye as the text is yellow on a black background to catch the eye of the reader.

The colour used in the magazine is Yellow, Black, Blue and White. The cover used 4 different colours instead of the usual 3 to attract more attention, and catch the eye of readers which shows they have broken yet another rule. The white and black harmonize with the main image and backgrounds, as the band are dressed in all black and the background is a plain white. All black and white text is also complementary to the title as they follow the colour scheme.