In-Depth Analysis of Kerrang Double Page Spread

This double page spread was featured in ‘Kerrang’ music magazine, Issue November 14^th 2009. These two pages may be considered an advertorial, due to the way that the writers have emphasised the band as being “the best”, where they also advertise the band’s new album (by teasing the audience with the “New Tracks” section on the right hand side, and describing the tracks with words like “epic”), set for release next spring, which begins to create a sense of anticipation for fans, where the article both entertains and promotes the band. This positive promotion of the band may also be down to the writer’s ideology about the genre of music and their coherent system of values within modern society. Within 'Kerrang', the majority of the band members that are presented seem to be male, suggesting a 'Male Superiority' view of the writer's opinion, particularly within this double page spread, where the main picture is a low angle shot of the male, lead singer, giving him dominance (reflected throughout other articles in the magazine). The meditation of the magazine would also have had an influence on the content included within the article, because the publisher of ‘Kerrang’, ‘the Bauer Media Group’, would impose their ideology onto the product, to insure that consumers that buy it are entertained and informed, in order to make the magazine profitable for the company-e.g. if the article was to insult a certain group of customers, or make a statement that is not generally acceptable to the multinational audience that ‘Kerrang’ attracts, the consumers be less inclined to re-purchase the product, and the company will lose profits.

The punk/emotional rock influence on the magazine is instantly recognisable within the setup and pictures of the double page spread, where the article is expressed as a “World Exclusive”, making it seem unique and special, where it is only available to the readers of ‘Kerrang’-it is also emphasised that the band has “invited” the magazine specially to their recording studio, so that readers can get an insight into the life of a famous band and the ‘celebrity lifestyle’-increasing fandom for the band. The majority of the two pages are used up by images, where there is only a small amount of text on the second page. Each of these pictures has been manipulated, to create a black and white effect, which matches the dark (almost gothic) emotional rock style of the band and its music. This is complemented by the bright red colour of certain text on the double page, which also relates to the bands style, with connotations of anger, blood and excitement. The font used for the title is very clear, using a ‘worn out’ effect, again relating to the punk style of the band. This title has then been set at an angle, and “best MCR” has been highlighted by using a larger font than the rest of the title, in white rather than red. This gives a subtle hint of informality to the double page spread, giving it more entertaining feel as the mode of address.

Language is also used as an advantage to the magazine, differentiated from other music magazines by its unique mode of address to its readers. The way the main picture has been framed, with the singer looking down while on stage, with a serious facial expression, almost reclining away from the audience is again associated with the emotional rock style of the band, and almost conveys an uninviting connotation to the picture, which readers will recognise as being ‘My Chemical Romance’s’ approach to their music. The title of the article is a quote from the band itself, which uses specialised language, such as “MCR”, that only certain groups in society will understand, creating a sense of community within the magazine. Other language used in this short article is often professional within the music industry, relating to the affluence of the young audience that may take an interest in the magazine, yet contains a personal element due to the number of long quotations used, made from an interview with the band. This more professional language, using phrases like “epic grandeur and theatrics of the quintet”, may have been used in order to underline the professionalism of the band itself, and describe the particular, new style of music that the band will adopt in its new album and contrast it with the old style, so that the audience can understand “what’s to come”, and get an exclusive ‘preview’ of it. This type of language is not often included within ‘Kerrang’, because language that is usually used is so that the audience can ‘skim read’ the contents. This text has been set out in columns, being a convention of magazines to do so, although it is a very short article and so could be related to looking like a story. Among the more serious tone of the main article, the captions of the pictures seem to add an anecdotal and humorous element to the double page spread. Adding elements such as “Oh no! I’ve forgotten to lock to bloody front door...” makes the article more entertaining for the reader, and may appeal to the young type of audience that would read the magazine.

All of the factors used to produce a double page spread relate to the ideology of the writer and the publishing company, relating to the set of values that the majority of the audience will have. The producer’s intent is to inform, entertain and change opinion, while making the magazine profitable to the company. Consumers that buy the magazine are of a young audience, who take interest in the particular style of music (emotional rock/punk) that has been adopted by ‘Kerrang’, where they invest their own money and time into the magazine. The medium of presenting magazines that readers can flip through and skip is very important, and must be acceptable for the fans of the bands that are mentioned and contain their interest, adapting to fit the opinions of the niche groups that read it.