Kerrang! readership information

Kerrang! was a magazine that was first published in 1981 and was devoted to british heavy metal and the rise of hard rock music. It was first launched as a monthly magazine, but then due to the high demand of it, it became a magazine to be published weekly. During the 1980s and early 1990s the magazine placed many thrash and glam metal acts on the cover slike Bon Jovi, but later discarded them when grunge acts such as Nirvana rose to fame. Readers started to criticise Kerrang! for chaning it's style every time a new music genre became more popular. However, Kerrang! became popular again when nu-metal bands such as Linkin park rose to fame, but this genre did not last long and sales declined. Many readers welcomed the come back of Kerrang! with a new focus of emo and metalcore music.
The magazine appeals to a specific niche audience because it concerns topics and themes that are relevant to people who listen to and are interested by rock music and its background.
Kerrang! identifies its audience as ‘individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty’
This devoted audience of rock fans is made up of 60% males and 40% females with Kerrang!’s demographic fall into social class D-C. The predominate ethnicity of the readership is white British with a target population of 16-24 year olds. The magazine’s psychographic is defined as ‘people who aspire to be respected among other people and people who wish to have a high paid job.’ It is evident that the magazine is aimed at a young audience, through the use of graphics, fonts, layouts and presentation. Kerrang! is aimed at the youth and their lifestyles. It has a contemporary and up-to-date look, making use of modern typefaces and a down-to-earth feel. The magazine even accommodates the young readership by using advertisements that relate to their interests. Kerrang! aims itself more at a male audience and appeals to them by using content such as hard rock and metal iconic male bands on the front cover pulling angry faces or violent expressions. Female readers are targeted by the use of male bands on free pull out posters and feature interviews.