Front cover analysis - Kerrang!

When you look at the front cover of this Kerrang! magazine, I first notice the main cover line in the centre which is boxed in red. This makes it stand out against all the other cover lines and draws your immediate attention to it, enhanced by the fact the ‘O’ in ‘photos’ is an image of a lens and black in colour, contrasting with the red. The other cover lines appear all over the magazine apart from one section which features the main image. Most of the cover lines are presented in a photo frame style and each focus on one artist/band, giving the magazine a cluttered yet collaged style. Further information is displayed in banners at the bottom and top of the magazine, and you can see a boxing device on the left side which says ‘WIN!’, suggesting a competition/giveaway of some sort, attracting readers. The masthead is partly covered by the main image, but it is still noticeable because it’s in a contrasting colour to the background. Regular readers would recognise the magazine’s masthead by the unique font you can see on the letters that are visible behind the image. The magazine has a consistent colour scheme of black, white, red and yellow which is very much multi-gender friendly, but also reflects the genre of the magazine being punk/rock. Black is definitely the most prominent colour on the cover, which is a colour that tends to have negative connotations. It suggests the magazine has attitude and a dark side to it. But then again, language on the cover such as ‘awesome’, ‘win!’ and ‘loads’ all have positive connotations. The dateline, issue number and price are all positioned in the bottom right hand corner along with the barcode which is helpful to the reader as they only need to look in one place to be informed of that type of information, but it small and very unnoticeable so doesn’t detract attention away from the magazine. Like NME, the layout is not following the traditional left third format taken by most magazines selling in western countries, but that kind of layout wouldn't work with the busy, unstructured style taken by Kerrang! magazine.

The main image on this magazine front cover captures the leading member from rock/pop band Paramore. The member is female, but you can’t see much of her attire due to her body being covered by the main cover line, so the emphasis is more on her hair/make-up and facial expression. Her hairstyle and make-up look quirky and bold due to the bright, out-there colours, and her expression comes across as fun and playful. The shot itself is a medium close up, but it is only really the subject’s head and shoulders that are in view. You can see the image has been placed on top of a plain black background, and this furthers the montage style of this front cover. You can also see a shadow has been added to the edge of the main image, giving the illusion that the subject matter is coming off the cover, and further aiding in gaining your full attention.

From looking at this cover I would say the overall style is messy but fun. My impression is that the target audience is 15 years and younger due to the chaotic/cluttered layout making it look slightly less professional that other music magazine brands. The language is also pretty positive and family friendly, although it it still clear due to the colour theme and edgy photos that the genre of magazine is rock. I think this magazine is pretty multi-gender friendly, although the colours are slightly more masculine, the main image features a female rock icon, and lots of the male bands featured will attract a female audience. In general this magazine front cover is going to appeal to an audience with an interest in rock music.