Magazine Case Study

1. Magazine Case Study Of Kerrang Magazine

2. Origins & History Of Magazine • The magazine, Kerrang was published by Bauer consumer media in the united kingdom. • The magazines meaning is onomatopoeic and then refers to the sound that is made when playing a power chord on an electrical guitar. • Kerrang was first published on the 6th of June, it was then edited by Geoff Barton. • The magazine was supposed to be a one-off supplement in the sound newspaper which was devoted to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. • During the 1980s and early 1990s the magazine placed many thrash and glam metal acts on the cover (like MötleyCrüe, Slayer, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Poison, Testament, Venom) but later changed the genre and discarded them when grunge acts such as Nirvana rose to fame • Kerrang!'s most successful period came under editor Paul Rees at the turn of the millennium. Rees went on to edit Q and Ashley Bird took over as editor from 2003 to 2005. Unfortunately for Bird, the decline of nu metal in 2003 meant Kerrang!’s sales went quickly into decline which eventually prompted his sacking. • Kerrang! also includes a satirical comic strip called Pandora (originally Pandora Peroxide), named for its main character, who is seen every week making fun of recent events in the rock world. The strip is written and drawn by Ray Zell.

3. The editorial style of kerrang Use of language • Kerrang’s language is informal and can be quite graphic in the cover stories. Photography • In Kerrang the photos tend to be shot in either black and white or in colour but with dull colours Layout • the layout is not done in a typical fashion like most magazines for example this is seen in the contents page where the information is at the bottom with the poster pictures all at the top

4. Target audience • The Kerrang magazine can be quite explicit so the consumers ages are roughly around 16-30 years of age. • Kerrang’s consumer will be a unisex group of young adults/adults • The magazine is appealing to them as it offers them information as to were to go and see their favourite artists and also offers them the chance to hear about a new artist that they could be interested in.

5. The publishing house • The Bauer Media Group is a large German publishing company based in Hamburg, which operates in 15 countries worldwide. Since the company was founded in 1875, it has been privately-owned and under management by the Bauer family. • It produces and distributes many popular magazines and has stakes in television and radio, recently completing the purchase of a consumer magazine division and radio station division of the British company, EMAP. • Worldwide circulation of Bauer Media Group's magazine titles amount to 38 million magazines a week.

6. It’s competitors • NME • Rolling stone • Q • Spin

7. It’s website • The kerrang website is : www.kerrang.com • On the Kerrang website it has a page dedicated to it’s magazine, and on this page viewer are able to see what's been offered in the magazine. • They can view comments that consumers have made about that particular issue. • They can also view previous issues on the site.