Research

Front Cover





After looking at different types of magazines and their styles the magazines I liked the most were “Kerrang” and “NME” but I also liked the bottom half of the “Q” magazine I found. Almost all of the magazines I researched had a news banner across the very top of the cover. This banner stands out and the magazine gives a preview to the reader as to what is in the magazine. The Magazines all had the name of the band/solo artist on the front cover very large across the page making it stand out and letting the reader know what the main article in the magazine is about.

I liked the main pictures used in “Kerrang – 100 greatest” & “NME” as they show the artists in action and performing rather than them just posing for the camera and creating a fake impression of themselves. However I think that “NME is more effective as the background compliments the colours used in the magazine whereas in “Kerrang – 100 greatest” the artist is in front of the name of the magazine which takes away the natural look of him playing in concert. I liked the photo strip on “Kerrang – 100 greatest” which gives the reader a preview of what bands/ artists are featured in the magazine as I thought it was an effective way of displaying the contents of the magazine without having to list down the side like the “Q” magazine does.

Audience

I wanted the audience of my magazine to be aimed at older teenagers and adults in their early 20’s. I also wanted to try and aim my magazine at those who like a variety of genres but are mainly interested in “light rock”. I therefore looked at the magazines “NME”, “Kerrang” and “Q” as I thought these best suited the audience I was aiming my magazine at and also because I am 16 and into the genre of my magazine from experience I knew the type of magazine I would look for. When I researched into the magazine “Kerrang” audience I found a description of the audience profile of the magazine. “Individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty.” I agreed with this but found myself slightly against the “Individually minded” and “independent of thought” part as that is how a magazine of an “Indie” genre could be described. When I researched “NME” I found a profile saying, “NME genre of music is indie/rock.” and “NME target audience is 16-19 year olds”. This fitted in with the genre and audience I wanted my magazine to be and I also agreed with the description of the magazine.