Analysis of a Music Magazine (Kerrang!)

This type of music publication is based on rock music with such sub genres as Metal, Punk, Emo and Classic rock.
You can usually tell which types of articles will be in that certain issue. There will usually be the band names which will be featured in certain pages of the music publication. On this particular publication the puff would say “plus” and “exclusive”.

This music publication is based around the 15- 24 age group. This is because readers of those ages who have developed different music interests and are interested in that specific type of music will read Kerrang! readers who are usually interested in this type of music have different style of dressing, which is quite rebellious and extreme includng the way they act and the interests in which they develop. You would not expect to find this type of person to read Vibe magazine.

The mode of address used in Kerrang! magazine is portraying the band on the cover as men snarling with a lot of attitude. like they dont want anything to do with you or anyone else.

I personally think that the image is not really telling you that they want a relationship with the reader. However, this picture is a powerful image because of the way the camera is overlooking them.

Kerrang! have put My Chemical Romance on the front of their cover because they are the main article in the publication who have alot to say by the look of the image.

The anchorage text says: “Death. Drugs. Revenge. They’re Not OKAY”. This is the top story of the magazine. It implies that the band have something to do with drugs, death and revenge. This is quite a dark story for a normal music magazine, but Kerrang! is a heavy rock publication with dark colours smeared all over the page so that the image and its dark staory is perfect for the magazine. It also has it’s own inside joke with the regular readers who listen to My Chemical Romance because underneath their name it says “They’re Not OKAY”. Every one who listens to them will know the joke because they have currently made a song called “Im Not Okay”. This is a good use of irony on the music publication.

The overall message the group are giving is that they have a good music and a great story to tell about their past not only with the anchorage text but with their main image as well. Also if you look at their clothes, you will notice that they are wearing mainly black and have added a small piece of colour such as white and red. however, notice that one of the band members is wearing a Joy Division t-shirt. This t-shirt, to those who know of classic 70 and 80’s early rock bands, know that the band has a grim background of the death of its lead vocalist Ian Curtis and has a horrific meaning to its name, which is referred to the Nazi name for concentration camp brothels during World War II. This must mean that this band member, and probably the rest of band, wants to be portrayed like a supporter of dark and somethimes horrific cults.


The magazine is representing groups/cults that listen to the music that the magazine publishes such as Emo and Goth music. The magazine cover tells you this through the dark colours and graphic Images the cover holds. Another but an almost unheard of cult is called the Cult of Ian Curtis; this is because one of the band members of My Chemical Romance in the central image is wearing a Joy Division t-shirt. This helps boosts cerculation of the magazine,when a band are supporting other cults/groups.

There are a few buzz words on the cover of the page, for example, “free” and “plus”. This makes the reader want to pick up the magazine and immediately start to read it especially if it is something that appeals to the readerlike a free CD.

The title block of Kerrang! magazine has a hidden meaning. The word Kerrang! Is an onomatopoeia, which is the sound of a loud guitar being strummed. But also notice the design of the title words. It looks like shattered glass because of the loudness the guitar makes. This automatically tells you that it is a loud music magazine which basicaly deals with guitars.


The title of the magazine immediately tells you that its readers are into loud and quite hardcore music. It basically tells you when you look at the title of the music publication. The image that the music publication has and does use is quite dramatic. They use a lot of deep and dark colours such as crimson and other deep red's for major colour and style, and use alot of black and white for the images whose background has been cut out for a more drastic effect.

The puffs put in snip bits of the bands and sometimes topics of what will be in the magazine. They do try to put different types of sub genres in the Kerrang! magazine so it will appeal to a greater audience. They put in pop, punk, Emo, metal and Goth rock which are the main areas of the sub genres of rock music. These are also social groups as well as musical ones. So there are different types of rock music for different types of people.

The slogan, “Life Is Loud”, also suggests that this is a loud music magazine. It is advertising for people who like to live loud to read their niche magazine.

The colours used are quite dark but sometimes they use a hint of bright colours from the graphic and central images. I think that it is quite attractive because people who belong to cults such as Goth, Emo and Scene usually wear dark colours and sometimes add a touch of colour like the cover of the Kerrang! magazine does.
They have used a Grunge type of font for the title, anchorage text and other writing that is usually shown on the cover of the magazine to show that they really are a true rock magazine that appeals to all types of rock music lovers.

Kerrang! uses different strategies to maintain and gain readers. They throw in, for every reader, posters and calendars, stickers and sometimes CDs promoting the music they talk about in their magazine. This can boost circulation and their sales will increase by 5%.