Textual Analysis Of Music Magazine

Textual Analysis of Kerrang!’s Magazine front page

Denotation

The magazine cover consists a coloured photograph of five young men all looking directly at the camera. It is a medium shot photograph of them standing up. They are all standing up but one of the young men is closer to the front than the others. He is noticed first and is seen quicker than the others. He holds onto the left cuff of his suit and the other member stand with their arms unseen. All of the young men are wearing smart clothing. They are all wearing white shirts and ties and four of them are wearing suit blazer jackets.

Behind the young men is the masthead, their heads cover some of the letters of the masthead. There are five separate cover lines which are all written in black, red and white.

The barcode is visible in the bottom right hand corner of the magazine.

Connotation

Kerrang!’s masthead is very characteristic, noticeable and distinguishable.  It is written in a sans sheriff font. This is used as Kerrang magazine is a considerably modern magazine. As there target audience is between the ages of 16-25. This font will appeal to them as it is attractive, contemporary and individual. The kerrang masthead is distinguishable as it is not only written in bold black font but has been designed in a way to catch the attention of its audience. The masthead’s letters have cracks like broken glass; this connotes the rebelliousness of the magazine. It gives the idea that it does not conform to following musical rules but breaks them instead. The design of the masthead also portrays the image of rock music, rough and also captivating.  Kerrang!’s masthead as an apostrophe at the end, it may have been chosen to be written in this way to show the powerful expression of the magazine. The word ‘kerrang’ does not have a defined meaning but it may be onomatopoeia of the sound a strummed electric guitar. The apostrophe may have been used to display the expression of the sound of rock music ,loud. The masthead is written on a white background, this allows the black front to be seen clear and the masthead to become more noticeable.

The cover photograph is of the members of the band ‘Bring me the Horizon’. There are five members of the band but the front man, Oliver Sykes, is closer to the front of the magazine as he is the singer/screamer of the band. Another reason for this may be because he is, as their fans say, is the most attractive member of the band. As Kerrang!’s audience is mainly young men they want to also appeal to the female audience and this is a way to appeal to them. They are smarty dressed and suits and ties. This is much unexpected of a metal rock band as their typical items of clothing would consist of graphic shirts, jeans or casual trousers. This may be an attempt for the band and their music to be taken more seriously. One band member is not wearing the suit blazer as the others and his facial expression is very carefree. It is as if he is not aware that his photograph is being taken. His non conformity connotes individuality among the group and also sends a message to their readers. It may mean that their readers/fans should be who they want to be, dress the way they want to dress without restrictions. Through their non verbal communication the readers can see that they want to be taken more seriously. This is shown through their neutral facial expressions. Though they wear suits they still manage to show that they are a part of a hardcore metal rock band. This is portrayed through their hairstyles and tattoos. The front man Oliver Sykes’s hairstyle is now very popular among the rock/scene crowd which promotes the cool and unkempt look. The magazine has used this as a way of keeping the bands rough and edgy look but still maintaining their new serious look. . To capture their ‘intelligent’ look their hair is styled neatly and looks quite combed through. Oliver Sykes has a myriad tattoos on all visible parts of his body [apart from his face]. He displays his tattoos as he corrects the cuff of his very clean white shirt. The colour white is not usually associated with rock bands as they are not seen as very clean people. Black is the colour associated with rock as it is dark, grungy and also hides sweat and dirt. The position of his hand connotes authority and leadership and also makes him look bold and smart. This is the message they want to pass onto their fans and to the readers who will see this photograph.

The photograph of the young men is a medium shot, this is enough to show what they are wearing and the message they want the magazines readers to receive from it. They are all standing in an upright position facing and looking directly to the camera. They are connecting with the readers as they gaze directly forward.

The main cover line that relates to the bands photograph says: “Bring Me the Horizon Northern Uproar!’’. The cover line is making reference to where the band is from; they are from the Sheffield in the North of England. The term ‘Uproar’ is used to describe noise and mayhem. These words relate to the genre of music Bring Me the Horizon play and the crowd they bring in. The text is written in sans serif front which suggests that the magazine is modern attracting a young audience. The font is used instantly catches the attention of the reader as it bold and forward. This reflects the music that the band plays. ‘Northern Uproar’ is written in red which connotes anger, blood and passion. Their fans will agree that these words reflect the music that they create and the atmosphere their sound generates.

The different cover lines tell the audience about the other music which Kerrang! Choose to include in their magazine. They include You Me at Six which is an alternative band, Avenged Sevenfold and Metallica which are metal bands. Though the bands listed in this issue are all under the genre of rock, there is variation in the type of rock which they include. This is done to attract the attention of people who like older music in comparison to the latest songs and vice versa. The band Metallica are very famous and well known, they have been around for very long time, since 1981. Kerrang! Does not only include bands that are recent as they pay homage to the bands that opened the doors for the rest now. The cover line at the top of the page displays news that ‘Travis Barker’ a very well known member of the band Blink 182 was in a plane crash. Kerrang provides reliable and up to date news for their readers, they do not only write about music but what is happening behind the scenes also.

Considering the evaluation of the magazine, I would suggest that Kerrang! magazine is aimed at an audience of males and females [mainly males], ages 15-25. They would have a good knowledge of both past and recent bands and musicians and are very much into rock, alternative, punk-rock and metal music. They are likely to have jobs in the industry of music or music could be a major part of their lives since the readers are very passionate about music. They know of or are aware of musicians in all parts of the world [mainly the USA and the United Kingdom.