“Kerrang!- the brand with attitude” Interview
Interviewing Stuart Williams- Article by Stephen Hill.
From the interview based on how “Kerrang!” has positioned itself the leading rock brand, it really gives the readers of the article an insight on what the magazine is exactly about and what it’s trying to do to satisfy its readers as the target audience.
Stuart Williams is the Publishing director of “Q”, “Mojo”, and “Kerrang!” magazines and discusses the aspects to the magazine.
From particular quotes taken from the interview we can see what type of people listen to the radio station. For example “Kerrang! 105.2 in the West Midlands” From this quote it lets the reader of the article know what type of audience is captured into this type of music. For example, Birmingham is in the West Midlands which is known as the home of heavy metal which Kerrang! specialises in. This shows that the radio station really engages its particular target audience from not only the genre of music they play, but also where the station is based. This is crucial for engaging a wider audience, especially basing the station near fans of heavy metal which enables the station to be as popular as they possibly can.
Another aspect in which Kerrang! knows how to capture its target audience, is shown in this quote. For example, “Kerrang! is very much written by the fans for the fans so the tone of voice is supposed to be that of your average reader”. This quote shows us that the magazine creators know what their readers would like to read, and by engaging their readers in an informal, friendly aspect it would be really affective to entice more people, especially as the readers are usually a young generation.
In the article, it says, “Kerrang! tends to ignore the stuff it doesn’t like and just be enormously enthusiastic, passionate and evangelical about the stuff that it does like”. The writer of this article has engaged the readers by making Kerrang! seem alive from giving the actual magazine feelings and opinions. This makes the magazine seem more exciting and as though it’s a real person.
Stuart Williams also lets the readers of this interview know what Kerrang! needs to do to satisfy its readers. For example, “Never patronise your readers... debate something but don’t slag off something you know people have come to the magazine to read about”. This shows that the magazine has a wide audience of readers that have different opinions on bands, for example. It also shows that the creators of the magazine want all readers to be happy with what they read, rather than the writers being insulting towards the likes of the reader.
As recent technology has made a greater impact on the general public, magazines have had to broaden their use of the media, using websites for example. It says, “It has brought it to life. A music brand which only exists on paper can seem quite subdued and recessive. The beauty of new media is that you can play people the new music you want them to hear”. This shows how Kerrang! has been able to work with new media in a positive aspect, by using websites where Kerrang! readers can not only read, but also listen to their music.
Interviewing Stuart Williams- Article by Stephen Hill.
From the interview based on how “Kerrang!” has positioned itself the leading rock brand, it really gives the readers of the article an insight on what the magazine is exactly about and what it’s trying to do to satisfy its readers as the target audience.
Stuart Williams is the Publishing director of “Q”, “Mojo”, and “Kerrang!” magazines and discusses the aspects to the magazine.
From particular quotes taken from the interview we can see what type of people listen to the radio station. For example “Kerrang! 105.2 in the West Midlands” From this quote it lets the reader of the article know what type of audience is captured into this type of music. For example, Birmingham is in the West Midlands which is known as the home of heavy metal which Kerrang! specialises in. This shows that the radio station really engages its particular target audience from not only the genre of music they play, but also where the station is based. This is crucial for engaging a wider audience, especially basing the station near fans of heavy metal which enables the station to be as popular as they possibly can.
Another aspect in which Kerrang! knows how to capture its target audience, is shown in this quote. For example, “Kerrang! is very much written by the fans for the fans so the tone of voice is supposed to be that of your average reader”. This quote shows us that the magazine creators know what their readers would like to read, and by engaging their readers in an informal, friendly aspect it would be really affective to entice more people, especially as the readers are usually a young generation.
In the article, it says, “Kerrang! tends to ignore the stuff it doesn’t like and just be enormously enthusiastic, passionate and evangelical about the stuff that it does like”. The writer of this article has engaged the readers by making Kerrang! seem alive from giving the actual magazine feelings and opinions. This makes the magazine seem more exciting and as though it’s a real person.
Stuart Williams also lets the readers of this interview know what Kerrang! needs to do to satisfy its readers. For example, “Never patronise your readers... debate something but don’t slag off something you know people have come to the magazine to read about”. This shows that the magazine has a wide audience of readers that have different opinions on bands, for example. It also shows that the creators of the magazine want all readers to be happy with what they read, rather than the writers being insulting towards the likes of the reader.
As recent technology has made a greater impact on the general public, magazines have had to broaden their use of the media, using websites for example. It says, “It has brought it to life. A music brand which only exists on paper can seem quite subdued and recessive. The beauty of new media is that you can play people the new music you want them to hear”. This shows how Kerrang! has been able to work with new media in a positive aspect, by using websites where Kerrang! readers can not only read, but also listen to their music.
From the specific colours chosen for this article and the type of font used for the text and imagery we can clearly see who the target audience is. The feminine colours of pinks, purples and whites let us know that it is aimed at young “girly girls”- maybe aged in their teens. The interview captures the interests of Cheryl Cole fans, as well as those who are interested in X Factor or Girls Aloud, as Cheryl Cole almost acts as a representation for both of them, as questions involved in the interview not only pin point Cheryl, but also her career and the media that she is involved with, such as the ITV show- X Factor. For example, the interviewer asks about the band 'Do you girls ever argue?' and 'Back to the show- is it true you said "Yes" to everybody in auditions first?'. This shows the different topics the interviewer asks to get personal information as well as just asking general questions. Interviewers always aim to get at least a piece of information no other journalist has or any other media, therefore its unknown and almost secretive. This then engages a wider audience as this specific magazine only has this information from Cheryl, for example. The page is structured in a really neat and clear way to be more inviting for the audience, it also seems more gripping and could tempt the audience into reading it, rather than skipping to the next page of the magazine to find something more interesting. Imagery has also been used throughout the article which makes it seem more exciting and visual, rather than quite boring and just text which could lead away the audience.
