Magazine Research

1. Magazine Research

2. Publisher: Bauer Media Group. Based in Hamburg, Germany
and produce magazines, digital products, radio and a TV
station.
Circulation: 44,013
Readership: 421,000. With a mean age of 22, it is a big
advantage because this age group is usually hard to catch onto
but Kerrang! have managed to appeal to this age group where
as not all other magazines do.
Mission Statement: Kerrang! will ensure that we are
constantly appealing to our spectrum of readers.
From the younger teenage readers who are more open to
different genres of rock music – from emo to thrash etc, to the
readers who respect Kerrang! as an authority when it comes
to our scene’s heritage bands. Each issue will include a
balance of bands and scenes to guarantee that we’re
providing for our readers’ need for variety and their
passionate appetite for their favourite bands as well as their
desire to be introduced to new music within our world. We
will focus on the BIGGEST things that are going on in our world
each week, as well as guaranteeing that we are giving our
main base of younger readers everything they need to get
into, on top of this the interest in older, harder bands,
cementing our role as an educator
Brand Extensions: Kerrang! Also have other media platforms
thatthey work from, such as Kerrang! Radio and Kerrang! TV.
They also have their own award show called Kerrang! Awards.
They are also the official media partner for Download festival
so they have full access to all of the exclusive media coverage.

3. Focused around one image, the image
covers the Kerrang! Masthead this
suggests that they se the presence of
different celebrities on their from covers
to get peoples attention rather than
their own brand.
The main feature article is
highlighted by using bright
colours and large text. This is to
intrigue their readers (and
people who don’t read the
magazine) so that the, magazine
will be
Kerrang! Use colours that reflect the
natures of the band on the front
cover, e.g. If it as a band from the
punk-pop genre they will use bright
colours and if it is a metal band they
will use darker colours. They use
bright colours to attract their
audiences. Since they have a low age
for their primary audience, using
bright colours makes it more
appealing to that age range.
Blue and yellow aren’t colours
that go together, so having the
bright blue background makes
the yellow text stand out more
and become more eye-catching
to a younger audience.
Kerrang!’s audience are of a
younger age, mainly teenagers,
so posters are a typical thing for
teenagers to have on their walls
so advertising the posters is
important to this magazine.
There isn’t much
information on the front
cover, it is mainly images of
different bands. Images
attract a younger audience,
which is the audience that
Kerrang! Is aimed at the
age range so it is important
for them to put things on
the front cover that their
younger audience will
appreciate.
The masthead is broken up so it gives off the ‘rock and
roll’ vibe, showing that the magazine is about rock
music and all of its sub-geners.
The barcode is hidden down the
bottom to not take distraction from
the main image, these are found on all
magazines so that they customer can
actually purchase it.
There are a lot of buzzwords on this front cover,
these words draw people in, it makes them think
that they are going to know something no one
else knows.

4. They have a main image which
Highlights one of the stories
that wasn’t highlighted on the
main cover. The main images
also incudles smaller images
underneath, these highlight
the other feature stories that
are in the new issue so the
reader can see what to expect
from the different feature
stories.
The masthead shows the date
it was published and the issue
number. It also displays the
logo to show that this is the
contents of the specific
magazine. The masthead is in
keeping with the colour
scheme and feel of this certain
issue, although it still has the
edgy look and feel to appeal to
the correct audience.
The pages have been divided into
sections to make it easier fort he
reader to find what they are looking
for. This makes the magazine easy to
navigate and keep it simple so there
won’t be any confusion. The colours
are very basic, making sure that the
page numbers are in a different colour
to the text to make them stand out and
be easy to find, it is clear text so it
makes it readable, but also gives a little
bit of information on the article that
pulls the reader in and interests them.
The extra information also acts as a
highlight, it suggests that these are the
most interesting stories in the
magazine and they are what should be
read first. They also use words such as
‘goodies’ because these are more
common words and are slang, which is
how their reader audience would talk
in their everyday life so it helps to
connect with their young audience.
Kerrang! Also include a
message from their editor, this
makes people feel like they are
being appreciated for buying
the magazine. It adds a
personal touch that makes the
reader feel more involved with
what goes into the magazine
and that Kerrang! Are really
putting in what the reader
wants to see.
They are also still following
through with the idea of colour
schemes to fit the genre they
are discussing and the bands
that are featuring in their
issues. For example, here all
the bands being featured are
classed as ‘pop-punk’, pop is
usually seen as very bright
colours and fun. However they
have to add the punk feeling to
their pages as well, which they
do through using different
types of fonts to give the
magazine a more edgy look so
it denotes the actual genres of
the bands.
Straight away there is an advertisement,
but it is still to do with music. It is
displayed in a small section down in the
corner of the page, so it uses bright
colours and banners to attract the readers
attention and make the advertisement
known.

5. In Kerrang! They feature a
large main image of the
band that they are
covering, this helps to
display the bands image if
people don’t know who
they are they can at least
know what they look like
before they start to read
through the article.
Having the large image
also makes fans of the
band want to buy the
certain issue because
they can cut it from the
pages and stick it onto
their wall. Kerrangs!
Colour schemes for their
main articles come from
the image that they
choose, for example here
they are all mainly
dressed in primary
colours so throughout the
design of the article they
take those colours are
display them.
Here they are using primary colours that reflect their main image, this keeps the whole page linked
together if they were different colours from what were shown in the image it would look odd and as if the
title wasn’t meant for this certain feature story. They also use the bands logo, this introduces the band to
people who haven’t heard of them before. Logos are also used because they are recognisable, if someone
notices the logo they will notice the band and it may make them want to buy it because they know the
band, so they want to know what the article is about. Having a quote coming directly from the text below
gives a teaser for what is to come, the quotes are usually highlighted in a colour and font style that makes
them stand out, they will also be the most interesting part of the article so it draws the reader in.
The text is backed by two
large black columns, this
shows that these sections
of text are the complete
article. Since the
background photo has a
white background, the
text would have been
harder to read because
their text is on such a
small size. The black also
makes the page looks
more interesting, the
white on black makes the
pages look more attractive
because they have
thought about the layout
and what would be more
pleasing for their readers
to look at. They are
reflecting the bands
personality and music
style by making their
article look different,
making it eye-catching and
quirky which displays this
as the nature of the band
as well.
There is a small black box which will contain a caption. This caption is
usually a small joke about the image, or about the band in general.
Kerrang! Do this to keep a casual feel to their magazine, this keeps a
tabloid feel to the magazine rather than broadsheet. It makes it more
informal, which is what their target audience and current readers
typically want,

6. Publisher: Time inc UK (IPC Media), works on many different
media platforms and is based in the UK, has been around since
the 1960’s but was formally knows as IPC Media up until 2014
and has rebranded to Time Inc UK.
Circulation: 33,875
Readership: 325,000. Mainly men who read the magazine but
also a large percentage of women, ages from 15-34, so a large
range in the age of the audience. Not aimed a specifically older
or younger audience.
Mission Statement:
Brand Extensions:

7. The masthead is kept to one
corner of the page, it is hidden
behind main image of the front
cover being one of most
influential music magazines in
the UK they don’t need to
display their name as much as
possible because people already
know it. The colour blends in
with the colour scheme so the
logo still isn’t as visible. The
colours are all primary or neutral
colours, this gives a simple look
and a slightly retro design to the
front cover. NME often run with
the colour red through a lot of
their front covers.
The main image is in the centre of
the cover, it displays the main
feature article which is the Artict
Monkeys so that suggests that this
is a music magazine straight away.
The record is used as a prop to show
that the interview will be discussing
the bands favourite record. The
record could denote that the band
are record breakers, because it’s as
if he is holding one of their own
vinyl records. The theme of red is
also still carried out, tying the whole
front cover together. The person is
also slightly turned away from the
camera but is still looking forward
towards it so it helps the audience
connect with the magazine rather
than having him looking away
completely.
The barcode is hidden down at the bottom of the magazine, this gives more room for a
bigger image and more information. It could also denote that sales aren’t important to the
company and that it is all about the music and articles rather than getting sales, so it gives a
friendlier and a more relaxed feel.
The subheading is hidden at the top, it also contains the buzzword ‘exclusive’ the top of the
magazine is what will be shown in stands in the shops so by having the buzzwords positioned at the
top of the page attracts readers to see what the exclusive story is about.
The band names act as sub-
headings on this front cover,
it shows that these are the
extra stories inside and
whole they are on. On NME
they have a more adult
audience to appeal to, so by
having the names of the
bands rather than buzzwords
in colourful writing gives a
more mature feel and it
attracts the older audience
as well as their teenage
audience.

8. The contents is spilt up
into categories, this mages
the magazine easier for the
reader to navigate. The
contents page also carries
on with the red colour,
which is NME’s signature
colour. There is also
information on each of the
articles so the reader gets a
quick summary of what it is
about, but not too much so
that it spoils the article or
starts to feel like a formal
magazine. The text is
simple, the page numbers
stand out so they can be
easier navigated.
The main image is just off
centred, isn’t so big that it
takes up the full contents
page but big enough to
give the audiences
something interesting to
look at and see what is
happening in the image. It
also has a caption that acts
as the title to the image,
then a larger explanation
below, this gives a larger
view of what is happening
in the image and makes it
relevant to the magazine.
NME also have a ‘band
index’ this is an extra
contents that helps the
reader to find their
favourite bands faster, with
the older audience NME
readers may not have
enough time to flip through
the whole magazine to find
their favourite band so by
having a band index it
makes it quicker and easier
for the reader.
NME also advertise themselves and their subscription. This is put at the start of the magazine so that the readers can see it straight
away and know where it is, rather than missing it somewhere so they don’t know how to subscribe to the magazine and then they
lose sales. The ‘save 33%’ can be classed as a buzz word because it is intriguing, it gets the readers attention which means that the
editors assume that their audience wants to save on buying their product.

9. The layout is very simple
with just two colours
used to draw attention
to it, since the larger
image is in black and
white and she is wearing
classical ‘pin-up’ hair and
makeup which makes
the image look like it
was taken in the
1940s/50s which gives it
a vintage feel, which will
appeal to their older
audiences. The text must
be in bright colours to
make the article pleasing
to look at, the colours
are kept simple and not
overwhelming so that
they don’t become the
main focus of whole
layout.
The masthead of the article is in two bright colours because the main image is in black and white
so they had to incorporate colour into the layout to make the article visually satisfying. The font
that the text is written in looks like the font you would find on an old fashioned stamp, so keeping
with the vintage theme. ‘Mission accomplished’ connotes that there was something that this artist
set out to do and she has accomplished it.
The layout of the
main text is similar to
a newspaper, a lot of
columns and small
writing which gives
the magazine a more
sophisticated feel to
connect with their
older audience as
well as their younger
audience. There
aren’t too many
colours so that it
becomes
overwhelming, The
text is in a simple
font which makes it
easily readable, this
will make people
want to rebuy the
magazine if they can
get good quality
writing that is easy to
read.
The small caption keeps the relaxed atmosphere of the magazine, it counterbalances the newspaper
type look keeping it informal and friendly. The caption is written in white with the same blue that is
used through the double page spread, this also helps to tie the image in with the rest of the article
because it pulls the image into the pages and assures people that this image was meant for this article,
rather than another.

10. Publisher: Bauer Media Group. Based in Hamburg, Germany and
produce magazines, digital products, radio and a TV station.
Circulation: 91,678
Readership: 218,000, MOJO is the world largest music magazine
that comes from the UK is released monthly. MOJO reaches more
music fans that any other music magazine from the UK, it is a 66%
ABC1 readership. They have a mean age of 37,
Mission Statement: Mojo is an educator, a living archive and a
trusted source of musical excellence. Mojo provides
its audience with an authentic, independent, and emotional
connection to the music. Its also
the last word on whats good, for music that is timeless, and where
to go next. Mojo is loved
by its readers, the music industry, and by musicians
alike, because it engages them on the
subject they love the most.
Its basic editorial proposition every month consists of: A definitive,
book-like cover feature (i.e.
you dont need to read a book on the subject, you can just read
Mojo to know everything).
An editorially themed cover mounted CD. A 30 page plus reviews
section known as Filter,
which brings you the best in music that month.
Mojo goes in deeper than any other magazine and creates an
experience that is immersive,
and that the readers can luxuriate in. From The Beatles to Battles,
and The Ramones to
Radiohead. Classic, sitting comfortably with cutting edge, and
quality being the one constant
Brand Extensions: The ‘MOJO Honours list’ is there annual awards
ceremony, that recognises artist with great achievements in their
lives. MOJO4MUSIC.com is their website, it has over 100,000 users
and gives readers of the magazine more information about their
favourite bands, upcoming gigs etc. MOJO is also associated witht
the Green Man festival.

11. ‘Free’ can be classed as a
buzzword because it is a word
that gets the audience excited,
it is also in the form of a plug
because it attracts the
audience the magazine and
since it is at the top left corner
of the cover which is what is
seen first when a magazine is
displayed in a shop, this is also
why the masthead is at the
top. Having the masthead at
the top of each magazine
cover makes it easy for the
audience to identify your
magazine when they are
searching for it in a shop.
The main image on the front cover has been edited to have a rainbow effect on it, this may have been because the
photo was very dark so they wanted to add more colour to attract the right type of audience. The different colours
that outline a lot of negative space throughout the image makes it more interesting than just having 5 men stood
all in lack with none to very little colour, this attracts an audience because colour is appealing to the eye, with
having a rainbow colour it may seem a little childish so by adding the negative space/black it makes it seems more
mature, therefore attracting an older audience.
The layout of this front cover
use very basic colours on their
headers/cover lines, then on
the main title it has the
rainbow effect that follows the
same colour pattern as the
effects put on the main image.
By having the cover lines as
basic grey and white colours
with a simple font stops
attention from being distracted
from the main feature of the
magazine issue.
The masthead is hidden behind the
main image, this may be because the
magazine is so well known that the
readers can notice the whole masthead
without having to actually see it all. This
allows more focus to be on the main
article than the actual magazine name
itself, it also shows that there is more
time dedicated to the contents of the
magazine rather than just the name of
it which helps to appeal to audiences
because it shows that they are going to
get good content inside.
Having catchy cover lines that have
repetition are easier to read, there are
also puns, gags and alliteration in
MOJO’s cover lines, this shows the laid
back feeling of the magazine so it is
more of an informal way of
communicating with the audience and
getting the information across. This
attracts both a ABC1 and a C2DE
audience, since both middle/lower class
enjoy more casual and laid back news
articles.

12. This contents page has only one main
image which dominates about half of
the page, the colours are very minimal
in this front cover. It is taking the red
hair colour from the main image and
using it in the page numbers and other
less significant writing throughout the
page so red doesn’t overpower the
other colours.
The layout of this contents page is
simple, which makes it even easier
for the reader to navigate their way
around the contents. The writing is
shaped around the photo being used,
this shows that the article that the
Florence Welch is features in is
something important in this issue.
After each artist name there is a little
information about what their article
contains, this helps the reader
understand what exactly is being
talked about in the interview so they
understand once they come to read
it. Although there are only a few
stories covered, this shows that they
are the main stories that feature in
the magazine and are probably the
most popular articles that are going
to be read.
The masthead isn’t a large font size so it
doesn’t dominate the whole page, it is
in a simple font with a simple colour
again to not distract from the rest of the
information around the page. Having
the brand name on the contents page
lets the reader remember which
magazine they are reading, it keeps the
brand across the magazine so the reader
doesn’t forget it. Underneath the
masthead there is the issue number and
the date, however these are both in
very small writing which shows that
they aren’t as important for the reader
to know as the rest of the information
on the page.
Unlike other music magazines
there aren’t any advertisements
on this contents page, no
mention of a contest, free
things, etc. which appeal more
towards the older audience
because they may not be as
interested in winning free band
merchandise as a younger
audience are. So it isn’t
important to advertise these
types of things as soon as the
magazine is opened.

13. Like other music
magazines MOJO used a
full page photo of the
person they are
interviewing to start off
their double page spread,
this shows the importance
of the person and gives
the reader and idea of
what they look like if they
don’t already know. The
black and white photo
shows drama and is in
keeping with the tone of
the article, it shows that
this is a more serious
interview and isn’t as light
hearted as others. This is
what attracts an older
audience to MOJO
because they give more
serious news unlike other
magazines such as
Kerrang! That target a
younger audience so their
articles are more light-
hearted and have humour.
The layout of this double page spread is very simple, it uses minimal colours to portray the emotion that it
coming through in this article. The black and blue don’t overpower, if colours such as yellow, orange,
warmer colours were used this out be seen as a happier article, so by having the blue it links to sadness
and that helps to add to the feel of the article for the reader so they can understand it more. There aren’t
a lot of shapes everything is clean cut which gives a more mature feel to the article, once again attracting
an older audience.
The masthead on this double page spread is very small, it is there to help the reader
remember what magazine they are reading, much like with the contents page. Even though
this is the masthead the colours changed to fit the theme of the article, so I should keep
this in mind when I am creating my double page spread to have everything connect and all
the colours that are used matched up. This makes it looks more organised and well thought
through.
Here are quotes from the
interview, in other
magazines these are usually
highlighted with a shape
around them or by using
bright fonts however here it
is just kept plain and simple.
The more important parts
are highlighted by a bold
font rather than a bright
coloured shape, this appeal
more to their older
audience because bright
colours and shapes appeal
to a younger generation.
Using a serif font comes
across as more formal and
serious than an san-serif
font, this keeps in tone with
the article, showing that it
is a serious article and
doesn’t have much comdey.