Detailed Research in Forms and Conventions 2

After looking at KERRANG magazine, I then did some research into a different rock magazine, which was 'Classic Rock.' I did this so I could research 2 different types of magazines hence giving me a variety of research into rock magazines, which will help when I come to doing my own. 

Classical Rock magazines don’t appeal to the same type of audience as KERRANG because although they are both about rock music they are aimed specifically at a niche market in that genre, the fact this magazines title is ‘classic’ rock automatically appeals to a more sophisticated and elegant audience, possibly some of the older generation as classics are sometimes very old songs, relating back to their youth yet also updating them on current rock bands and songs. Like most rock magazines, the word ‘rock’ in the title is very bold and clear relating it instantly to the rock music as it connotes loudness and volume, which imitates the rock music, in contrast to this, the ‘classic’ has a more subtle feel to it, as it is in a smaller and feminine font, the ‘classic’ is also in a darker greyish colour and overlaps the bold white ‘rock’, which in a way makes it stand out more than the rock does and making it prioritised even though the ‘rock’ is bigger and more visible. This could relate to the audience as although the main favourite genre is rock, a small guilty pleasure could be the classic side to it, as it could be slightly older and possibly not in fashion any more. Furthermore the title ‘Classic Rock’ appeals to the audience just because of the bluntness that it is a magazine which is about classic rock.

The colour scheme has 3 colours, white, black and yellow; I have noticed that many rock magazines have black and white in their colour scheme with one brighter colour to make the font stand out; in this instance classic rock has used yellow, and this colour is used repeatedly mostly to make the main points on the front cover stand out, for example the main stories down the right hand side. The fact yellow is used makes the magazine cover look very elegant as it complements the other colours in a subtle way, yellow isn’t a colour which is used to harsh standouts tones, although it is very effective in making things stand out subtly, the fonts emphasize this point, especially the ‘Frank’ as it has many flicks which makes it look less like a rock magazine as this doesn’t connote loud harsh rock music, but a more relaxed and quiet feel to it, relating to the ‘classic’ rock. In contrast to this, the cover stories to the bottom right of the magazine are quite bold, maybe reinforcing the idea that it is a rock magazine and still shows the latest rock bands as well as the old. The structure of the magazine cover, much like most of the other rock magazines I have looked at, is that the title takes up a large space across the top of the cover, making it easy to stand out and making the reader knows what to look for when buying the magazine, and making it easily recognisable. The photograph of an artist is then overlapping the title, however not to block the view of what has been written, (so you can still read it even though one letter may be overlapped or covered) most of the time, and in this instance, the main title of the magazine is the only text that the photograph covers.  The main cover story, which is about the artist in the picture, is then written above the middle of the page in quite a large font however no bigger than the title. The other stories are then placed quite low and to the side as not to interfere with the main story and the story the magazine feels can attract most of the audience, enhancing its importance compared to the other stories.

The photograph is of a ‘legend’ in rock playing his guitar, this is a good selling point to the viewers as mostly the picture takes the customers attention first, the fact that he is playing guitar which is a rock instrument may make people interested in what the content is about, this is because many people who are interested in rock music may also be involved in a band of their own and so musical instruments could appeal to the reader as they can relate to this. The way he is angled on the page is also affective as it splits up the two parts of writing; this makes them clearer as they aren’t squashed up on the same page, making it more appealing and easier on the eye.

The magazine features different articles including things like new albums from new artists, interviews and stories about rock music, all things that would appeal to the audience of people who enjoy rock music as the magazine is writing and aiming the articles and content of the magazine at people who are interested in rock music. They also give out free CD’s to try and gain more popularity and to convince the buyer to buy the magazine when it is shown and available in the shops, this makes the buyer feel like they are gaining something from buying the magazine, which really they aren’t because they are paying for it, however the fact ‘free’ is emphasised persuades the reader. The language used is very appreciative for the people that are described, praising them in phrases like ‘rock god’ this makes the reader get a vibe of what the writer expects to read when purchasing the magazine. As it is called classic rock all the language is appreciating the artists saying how great they are, people who buy the magazine will be able to relate to this as they aim the magazine at people who also like classic rock musicians, as the magazine is aimed at an older generation, unlike KERRANG, at around 35-50 years of age, when the rock musicians were at their ‘prime time’ this age group would have been going to all of their gigs and been young and big fans back in the day, so aiming the magazine specifically at the classic rock almost brings their audience back to their youth, however also keeping them up to date with the latest on what’s new in the world of rock. Much like KERRANG, the photographs are very formal with little facial expressions, in this one above, it is a very simple shot put in black and white and there is a shadow over half of his face, this enables a slight mystery to the artist which makes the reader more intrigued to read on, it also shows a sense of the rock classics music as although it may be different from the mainstream music, and more mysterious, it is still very appealing to this target market. 


DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD-


This double page spread for Classic Rock is again, very formal and civilized with little detail in the presentation, yet it still looks very impressive to the eye, this is because the picture connotes mystery, 

as he is looking away from the camera, this is made even more effective by the close up shot of 'John' as it makes the reader look directly at the man, without getting to know anything about him, hence why this would make them want to read on. Another way this is done in this article is by making the 'JOHN' stand out from the rest of the text, by making it extremely bigger and placing it on 2 rows, this simplistic method is easy on the readers eye, and the mysteriousness of the text also makes people want to read on. It also shows that the artist feels he doesn't need anything loud or colorful, and this could suggest that he standing alone is how he wants to be portrayed  possible suggesting his music is all that matters, not his image, this could relate to what the readers of the magazine also feel.  The black and white tones connotes maturity as though it is back in the olden day times and this could then bring the reader, which target audience is quite old, back to their youth in a very simplistic and effective way. The photograph takes up all of the one page in the double page spread and this could be to emphasis him, he is emphasized once more as he is alone, to show that he is very important, and he can stand alone and yet still look fine. The way the model/act is quite old and isn't amazingly good looking could relate the audience to him, as the target audience will be sort of the same age, and so they will feel they have a connection with him, enhancing chances that they will read the article.