Kerrang! Magazine

Ownership:
April 2017, Kerrang! magazine, website and music awards was sold by Bauer Media Group to Wasted Talent, formerly Mixmag Media.

• Bauer Media Group have ownership of Kerrang! Radio
• Box Plus Network owns Kerrang! TV

Changed from weekly to monthly issues - could be because there's not enough content to keep producing, technological advances online (downfall for print).

1981 - published as a one-off supplement in Sounds newspaper

1987 - went from being published monthly, to weekly 

1991 - sold to EMAP

2008 - sold to Bauer Media

2017 - sold to Wasted Talent

Theory: David Gauntlett's Web 2.0 - consumers of media become prosumers through interactive involvement with the internet. 

The Drum Website Article:

For now, Wasted Talent is focused on recalibrating Kerrang and the Face for future generations.

Mixmag found success in YouTube, the magazine reaches over 20m fans a month across various channels. This is an attractive proposition for bands which have worked with the platform to garner the attention to hard-to-reach millennial audiences. From the gains for focussed branded content, Mixmag has opened offices in NY, Brazil, South Korea, France, China + more. The Vice-like approach with an international structure are tools the chief executive will be using in his plans to refocus Kerrang resources on both editorial and advertiser-funded video content.

Advertising 

Implications for Kerrang! magazine with regards to its synergy:

Above and below the line advertising 

Cross-Advertising 

What methods Kerrang! might use to advertise?

social media - instagram, twitter (target audience being teenagers)

have their own app

through other companies magazines 

Digital Advertising:

• Youtube account with 67k subscribers
• Links to social media
• Links to Magazine website for subscriptions
• Links to website
• Interviews, links to the K! pit and various other features 
• A quick Google search for Kerrang! magazine: Links to twitter and the magazine's website
• Facebook App
• Clickable links to sponsored websites
• Encourages people to be prosumers and share content
• Facebook community based on friends' interests - below-the-line, personalised, 'friendly' advertising
• Twitter App
• Hyperlink to Kerrang website 
• Hyperlink to Newsstand website, enabling me to buy the magazine online 
• Pinned tweet stays top of feed, with hyperlink to weekly issue
• Instagram App
• Users comment, like, share questions 
• 'Follow' button with a link to buy the magazine
• Enables me to be a prosumer - like, share,message,comment
• Contemporary 'news' story linked to Twitter concerning a moment on Im a Celebrity - expands the potential readership of the magazine

Traditional Advertising:

• Above-the-line advertising 
• The K! Tour advertising in the magazine itself - cross-media promotion/synergy
• Print advertisement for the Kerrang! tour 

Textual Analysis:

Magazine front cover 

• Conventions include a cover mount & pug
• Masthead, Fonts, Colour Scheme, Slogan, Coverlines, Bylines and Feature Article, Main Image, Z Patterns, Puffs, Barcode, Issue Date, Publisher, Date, Website, Skyline/Strap Line 
• Why these decisions have been made?

Magazine double-page spread

• Title, layout/positioning, size, lead, use of columns/alignment, images used, image details, pull quote/messages, colour scheme, text, contact information, magazine logo, date/page number, body copy.

Task: analyse a Karrang! front cover with textual analysis

Masthead situated in the background of the main image. Towards the top of the page in a bold capital font. Uses statement colours like white and red.

Fonts are simplistic to read but effective. Very general fonts so can be linked to any genre despite the magazine being rock genre.

Colour scheme: newspaper colours - black, white, red. Pops of colour in the additional images. Main image in neutral colours (black and white clothing matching colour scheme).

Cover lines, Bylines and Feature Article: All related and inclusive of the rock genre. Main image of artist in largest text. Smaller fonts of artist name, additional featuring articles.

Barcode on the side of the magazine, left aside to avoid the clash of designs and colour scheme. Issue date just above the barcode. Skyline/strap line providing additional 'big name' artists involved in the genre itself, displaying the high profile nature of the magazine in the market of this specific genre.

Readership:

Market possibilities the ways in which institutions believe their brand or product can expand into another medium as a cross-media product or spin-off.

Gap in the market the identification of a group of potential customers who are not yet purchasing a product, or the realisation by an institution that there is need for a new product or brand.

Market position

Circulation: the number of people who purchase a print product. how many are being printed/distributed in that moment.  

Kerrang! at 33,000. Market position fallen in terms of period change at roughly -6%.  Print total prior year change however, has gone up by roughly 12%.

Bauer Media produce a range of different magazines, as well as Kerrang!. Mojo is their most popular at 46%. Kerrang! is their least popular at just 22%. This is because Kerrang! is more specific to few artists so doesn't appeal to as wide a audience as both Mojo and Q do. 

In terms of total net profit, Bauer Media has the highest total net profit, dominating magazine markets. It claims over 50% of the net profit. 

Demographics

Kerrang! obtained majority of its readership from individuals aged 15-34 years old. It accounts for 446,000 monthly readers. Readership of Kerrang! is slightly higher among individuals from the ABC1 social class with 369,000 of those individuals reached per month. 

Key words to use in exam for mise-en-scen or stereotypes:
Conform or challenge