Textual analysis of different types of magazines on the market

In order to decide on what type of music magazine I want to produce, I have carried out some research on different types of music magazines in different styles, genre, audience, and consisting of different content.

The magazine cover on the left is the cover of Kerrang!, a weekly magazine that focuses on the metal/alternative genre.
The intended audience for this magazine are, I would say, predominantly male, based on the cover design, and the fact that the metal genre is more popular with the male population. However, the audience also depends on the focus of the magazine at the time, which could be a band which attracts more female fans than male, and therefore attracting more female readers.
Being more interested and drawn to this music genre myself, immediately I am drawn more towards the magazine’s content and cover than any other magazine that I have researched.
The first thing noticeable about the covers is the use of space. Photos and content information is crammed onto the page, with little areas left blank or unused, to maybe reflect the style of music that the magazine represents.

I particularly like the magazine’s name, as it is also reflective of the magazine’s genre: ‘Kerrang!’ Is an onomatopoeia technique used to relate the magazine to the sound that a guitar makes when a chord is played on an electric guitar. I thought this idea and technique was particularly clever and effective in conveying the magazine’s main genre and aim.

The second magazine cover I am going to analyse is a Top of the Pops magazine. This magazine is a monthly magazine rather than a weekly one, and focuses on, as the magazine’s name suggests, the pop genre.

The magazine’s audience seems to predominantly target on a young female audience, in the age group of around 12-20, however, this may not necessarily mean that the people who actually buy the magazine and read it are in that age bracket. I think that the age range that actually do buy and read the magazine will be more in the age group of 10-13. The colour scheme portrays this, with various shades of pinks, purples, and other pastel colours that are most appealing to a young, female audience.

The articles described on the front page also back up this idea of attracting a young female audience, with

The front cover show’s a picture of Britney Spears, someone who has been/could still be viewed as an idol for many young girls.

The layout of the Top of the Pops magazine differs from Kerrang magazine as it immediately appears less crowded and therefore creates less of an emphasis on the ‘heaviness’ of the genre of music focused on, compared to the previous magazine analysed, Kerrang!, which has a lot of congested information and photos, creating a feel and impression on what kind of music the magazine will be in relation with.

-Amelia