Similar Products - Classic Rock Magazine Deconstruction

The 'Classic Rock' magazine is aimed at older people (aged 30+) who had enjoyed rock music and various older rock bands when they were younger. The colour scheme used for this genre of magazine makes it look like an old movie, it has a vintage look to it which appeals to the audience of older people who enjoy rock music. The large masthead is very dominant and covers 1/4 of the page, also being at the top it will be the first thing the audience sees when they look at it from a magazine stand. There is only one picture on the magazine as it is solely focused on the Metallica artist, he is shown as a very important rock icon and this will surely capture the attention of their fans. The fact that the target audience is 30+ is backed up by the use of language, there is no use of slang in the magazine that could be seen in other magazines meant for a younger target audience; these include words like 'wtf ', 'wicked' or 'awesome'. The way in which the artist is standing portrays him as a god-like figure, this may be the way his fans see him and will want to buy a music magazine he features in. They show a puff in the shape of a guitar plectrum with 'FREE 15 TRACK CD INSIDE' and this is yellow which stands out and is eye-catching to the audience, this promotes the magazine and will make the audience want to buy it over other rock magazines, this of course gives it an advantage.

Similar Products - KERRANG! Magazine Deconstruction

The use of language in this magazine appeals to a teen and young adult audience with words like ‘awesome’. There is a direct mode of address as the rock icon (Billy Joe Armstrong) is looking right at the reader which makes them feel involved and the masthead is white and bold which stands out from the black background, it has a distorted and shattered look to it which fits the ‘rock n roll’ genre for this magazine; the audience will understand genre of magazine it is. It is a mid-shot of the rock icon wearing dark clothing, dark hair with a serious look on his face; as this can relate to the rock audience this look also links to the exclusive story where he talks about him feeling secluded. There is a lot of photos as opposed to the text which appeals to the teen audience whom may not want to read a lot. The photo of the Green Day lead singer is dominant in this magazine, this is effective because he is a very popular icon in the rock industry and he will be the first thing that the audience will see in the shop. At the bottom of the cover is a list of other rock bands that will reach out to other people in the rock audience that have different interests, and there are 5 posters of other bands that must come free with the magazine, this appeals to any audience. The dark background makes all of the text stand out, the typography is bold and some of the text is distorted or has a damaged look to it which again fits the rock genre, therefore, addressing the reader. The lighting in the front cover is light just behind the rock icon to highlight his body but the dark background compliments the mood of the main story about being secluded. ‘KERRANG!’ is relevant to the rock genre as it sounds like the crashing of symbols on a drum. There is also a convergent link on the magazine about the 'KERRANG! awards' which shows that the magazine has developed and shows that they are reaching out to other areas of the media, this means that if their audience may not read magazines that they could watch it on the TV.

Audience Research for Music Magazines

Primary Research

Primary research is a collection of information that you have gathered yourself be it through questionnaires, surveys, focus groups or interviews. You will know that all of the information you have gathered is correct.

Secondary Research

This is the opposite to primary research, it is information found in magazines or on the internet which would have been gathered by someone else in the past. Secondary research helps you find information that you may not have been able to find with your own primary research.

Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Quantitative research generates numerical data or information that can be converted into numbers like 'yes or no' questions (closed questions), this type of research is conclusive as it is narrow and focused. Qualitative research is non numerical data that asks open questions, this type of research is more exploratory and creates a broad hypothesis where you can see the bigger picture.

Qualitative research would be focus groups, non-structured interviews or in-depth interviews, whereas, quantitative research could be questionnaires or surveys.

Focus Groups

This is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their opinions, beliefs and perceptions on a product or idea.

Surveys

Surveys are questionnaires sent to people, usually in the form of quantitative research that uses closed questions ('yes or no' questions) to create a conclusive set of data.

All of these areas of research are very important, when they are used they will give someone information they need in order to know who they are making their product for or who their target audience is. This ensures that their product will reach out and grab the attention of the target audience they wish to look at their product.