Front cover overview

All these front covers are from magazine Kerrang. The target audience for this magazine is those who listen to metal and heavy rock music. I will compare each front cover to each other and identify common features and repeated patterns.

All these front covers share a common feature. The main image is of a band or artist from a band. Although in four of these front covers we see the main image of one person they still belong to a band.

This suggests their band is so well known the audience will immediately know what band they are from without the need of the rest of the band to be in the image. The fact that every person featured on the front cover belongs to a band suggests it is very rare to be a solo artist in the rock music industry with some exceptions such as Evanescence however this may be due to the heavy sounds which are created by drums, guitars and bases. This is what makes this type of music so original because all the artists actually play their instrument which highlights their own talents of being able to do more than just vocals rather than creating all their music electronically in a studio by creating the backing music on computer software. The four other magazines which feature the whole band are all standing in the same position. The status within the band in shown to draw in the audience. The lead singer in standing the most forward towards the audience, this is because they are most likely to be the most popular band member. They are positioned in a triangular way showing power.

All the artists featured on the front of these eight front covers are males with the exeption of Hayley williams. This suggests males represent the genre more because of the loud instruments, dark colours and the noise associated with the genre. This highlights my theory which i mentioned in my mission statement about female rock artists not being celebrated. Also this shows there is a gap in the market for a magazine which shows females are just as capable to produce rock music as much as males. However females are usually presented as sex objects or the stereotypical girly girl. The fact Hayley williams is usually featured on Kerrang and is usually the only woman featured on the front cover shows she is very independant as doesnt care about being judged for being an artist of the rock genre and is good at what she does.

Over all eight of the front covers they all feature the same mast head. This is in the style of shattered glass. This relates to the genre which is commonly related with smashing of guitars and destroying things. As it is featured on all of the front covers of Kerrang this suggests it is their band identity which is easily recognisable to the audience. The colour scheme however is not consistent and therefore is not a brand identity. The reason in which it is not the same every time is because rock music always varies and is never the same unlike other genres of music which are all very similar in the way the music is sung and performed. Every rock band is very different and Kerrang respects that so instead of maintaining a magazine identity through colour schemes they maintain the bands own individual identity which varies and depends on the mood of the main article.

Although the layouts of each front cover is slightly different depending on the band they all share similar features. Layout is consistent across the eight front covers too. As mentioned earlier, the placement of the bands featured is similar in each. All except the first two front covers use the band’s name as the main sell line which is positioned in the centre or slightly to the left of the front cover. The free posters advertisement is not positioned in exactly the same place on each front cover and neither is the sell lines once again this depends on the band which is featured however they are always positioned around the main image.

With these front covers the mise en scene is typical of the rock genre of music. The first image the band member from green day is holding a guitar and there is a spotlight behind him this suggests he is performing on stage. The band members from 30 seconds to mars are wearing leather; this makes them look attractive and appealing to the women audience. The lead singer of Metallica had lots of tattoos on his arms this is very common on male rock artists, it shows they have a very high pain threshold and enjoy putting themselves through pain it also gives them their own individual identity. The two members from Slipknot are wearing masks this is because they are not seen unmasked at their concerts and music videos because it gives their band its own individual twist and spark fear and curiosity in their fans. This is good as not many people have seen them actually unmasked.

Having carried out this overview I am able to conclude that Kerrang does have certain common features like the mast head which maintain a brand identity so the audience to identify it in a shop easily however I also realised the band features own invidudual identity and carry that out which changes the colour scheme and layout of each edition. The originality of this magazine attracts the audience and is the reason why it is such a popular and successful rock magazine.