Magazine Cover Analysis 1

Kerrang is a weekly magazine featuring stories and articles on current rock artists. It is published by Bauer Consumer Media and distributed throughout the whole of the United Kingdom. Its articles focus on the genre of New Wave of British Heavy Metal. This particular edition has a feature article on Biffy Clyro and Paramore’s, Hayley Williams. Also, the magazine has free posters inside; it is another way of attracting consumers.

From the magazine cover I can infer that the target audience for Kerrang is14-20 year olds. I get the impression from the cover that the magazine is also aimed at mainly males because of the use of simple colours like black and white and no bright, eye-catching colours, which you would associate with a female target audience. However, it could be aimed at women with a masculine nature, which in the modern age are becoming more frequent.

The central image on the cover is of Simon Neil, who is the lead singer and lead guitarist of the popular rock band Biffy Clyro. The way in which the shot is taken gives a very sinister and vicious feel. Simon Neil is looking straight at the camera which is very intimidating. This is furthered by the low angle shot which gives Simon Neil a sense of domination over the reader. Furthermore, his facial hair and his hand are covering part of his face. This gives a sense of anonymity; a stereotypical rocker is very reserved and clandestine. It addresses the magazines audience because Simon Neil is representing a very stereotypical rocker. This suggests that the magazine wants a close relationship with its target market because the central image and colours used are closely associated with them.

The men on the front cover are Simon Neil, James Johnston and Ben Johnston the three members of the popular Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro. Since forming Biffy Clyro in 1995 at age 15, the band have been nominated for six awards at various award ceremonies and released five popular albums, the most recent album, Only Revolution, reached number three in the UK album charts. The reason why they are on the front cover is because the magazine features a exclusive interview with the band. Also, by putting their faces on the cover of the magazine, Kerrang are appealing to their target market and giving the consumer an incentive to buy the particular edition.

The anchorage text says ‘Unfold the puzzle of life.’ This edition was released in 2007, just before the release of Biffy Clyro’s forth album ‘Puzzles’. As you can see there is a clear connection between the anchorage texts. From this we can assume that the exclusive interview will be based on the release of their new album. Also, the fact that the anchorage text uses the word ‘unfold’ the consumer can predict that somewhere within the article, a new piece of information could come to light, most probably shedding light on their new album which could promote them as a band.

The overall message that Biffy Clyro are giving off is perhaps an indication of the type of music that there new album contains. The way that Simon Neil is posed is very mysterious and sinister. This could be an indication of the type of music that they create. What adds to this mysterious feel again is the word ‘Puzzle’. People finish puzzles to find out what the image creates. This could mirror the experience that Biffy Clyro wants to promote for their imminent new album.

The magazine cover and central image itself are representatives of ‘rockers’. Kerrang always uses simple colours such as blacks, whites and reds. These are stereotypically rocker colours. Also, the font that the title uses would be very appealing to the magazines target group. The font is not pretty and girly; it is hard, bold and dark; again representative of the so called ‘rockers’. Simon Neil himself is also representative of ‘rockers’ because he creates music which appeals to that group and could be seen as an idol to a member of that group. Overall the magazine is successful in representing their target group; this reaffirms the magazines close relationship with its consumers.

The title block is very prominent on the magazine cover. It uses two very bold and strong colours; black and white. By using bold, black colouring on the white background it makes the word ‘Kerrang’ stand out. It is one of the first things you see when you look at the magazine; this makes the magazine easily identifiable. Furthermore, the title itself has a unique font. The word is broken up with random, diagonal white lines through the text; it makes the title look different and memorable. This could mirror the content of the magazine, as it appeals to a niche market within a large musical world.

The title of the magazine, ‘Kerrang’, tells a lot about the magazine itself. Firstly, it conveys a sense of rebellion. I get this impression because the font is very gothic and dark. This tells me that the readership of the magazine is very similar in feelings. I get the impression that people who read Kerrang magazine are rebellious and gothic people. Secondly, the title itself can tell us a lot about the general brand image of the magazine. Again, because the title conveys to me a sense of gothic, I feel that the magazine would continue this theme into the magazine itself. Kerrang magazine seems to have a close relationship with its audience; one way of doing this is appealing to them through the image it gives off. I believe that the title is successful in adding to the gothic image the magazine tries to create. Lastly, the sense of its own unique style is given off by the title. The fact that title uses an original font could suggest that the style is created to appeal to a niche market.

There are three main colours on the front cover; black, white and red. I think by using only three colours on the front cover the magazine is sending a message across to its readers. This suggests that the content will be simplistic and easy to understand. This would appeal to the magazines audience because it would appear that the magazine is more reader friendly and accessible. The use of simple colours like red, black and white adds to this feeling. Furthermore, there are no bright colours. This reflects the male dominated target market. It also adds to the sense of gothic that the magazine generally portrays. I think that the colours used are suitable for the magazine because they fit in with the brand image of the magazine and appeal to the intended target audience.