Detailed And Initial Research: Forms and Conventions

The genre i have decided to focus on is rock/metal but I do not want my magazine to appear mainstream or appeal to a mainstream audience, the bands in my magazine will be bands only heard by a certain audience, I will introduce new bands to the audience but I do not want my magazine to be in any way mainstream.
The magazine most like the magazine i am going to create is Kerrang. My magazine will use the same kind of layout as Kerrang but for a slightly older audience and less mainstream. My magazine will contain a lot of gossip about bands, interviews, pictures and gigs. I have researched into Kerrang, Q and NME because these three magazines are most like the magazine i will create. It is like Q because it will be a rock magazine for a slightly older audience than kerrang. My magazine will appeal to girl’s aswell as boys of ages 16 - 25.

My magazines front covers appeal to their audience because the colours on the pages are dark and connote the magazines genres. The genre is rock/metal and you are able to tell by the front covers main sell. The bands on the cover look as if they're from a rock genre by how they are posing, sometimes they are shown with there band instruments. The magazines don't have girly models on the front covers they either have a band or a band member who are well known by the genre audience. The font styles and colours also show that the magazine belongs to a rock genre. The main colours used in the magazines are reds, blacks and whites which highly connote that the magazine is rock/metal. The contents pages also show pictures of the bands, the kerrang magazines are usually cluttered with pictures and writing.



For Q, i have found out that it attracts a much older audience than other rock magazines such as kerrang and NME. The logo appears quite bold; it is in white surrounded by a red background which shows its importance. The font is in sans serif.


The kerrang logo appears bold and in dark colours which could connote that it is important. Another factor to show its importance is how a picture is covering some of the title, so you're not be able to read it if you didn't know the magazine. This could connote that it is a well known magazine and you should know it well, because it is so popular the company presume that people are able to tell which magazine it is without having the full title showing.

The NME logo is red with a black background, again dark colours which could represent that it's a dark magazine, rock music. Rock magazines usually use dark colours such as red and blacks as their logo colours. The logo is in capital letters which connotes its importance.

The genre i am using for my magazine is rock/metal. I will use some ideas from kerrang and NME but not so much Q because it is targeted at an older audience. My audience will be aged between 16 - 20. My audience are students who are interested in new music coming out and all the latest gossip on bands who aren't so mainstream. I will make a magazine similar to kerrang but not so mainstream.


Different magazines that cater for the same audience of the genre I am using.








- I looked at these music magazines to give me an idea of what I want my magazine to look like.

Q magazine
the audience could be both genders aged between 28 - 45.
The magazine is about indie/rock music or some people might call it AOR and could appeal to many people. The magazine contains loads of gossip about the latest music.

The audience for this magazine could be between the ages of 14 - 20. I think this because this magazine is usually bought by young teens and maybe younger adults would also be interested in buying this. The magazine contains the latest gossip about the rock scene, gives out free posters and promotes gigs which a younger audience would be interested in. This magazine appeals mostly to teens because it is the music that teens listen too.



This magazine would appeal to an audience between the ages of 16 - 30. I think this because the magazine is more sophisticated than kerrang but wouldn't appeal to the same type as audience as the people who read Q.

This research has helped me by giving me ideas of what I want my magazine to appear as, I have researched into other magazines and looked at their layouts, font styles used and colour schemes, this has helped me to picture how I want my magazine to look. I will use the same type of layout as kerrang and put the main sell in the centre of the magazine; I will make a big bold title and place it at the top of the page. My title colours will be similar to the three magazines I studied; I will use dark colours such as reds, blacks and whites.