Investigation of NME and Kerrang!

NME magazine:

The New Musical Express (globally know as NME) was first launched in 1952 and was the first British paper to include a singles chart. During the 1970's, it became Britain's best-selling music magazine and became closely associated with punk rock. Now promoting alternative music, NME covers a wide range of topics in their articles. They also do interviews of singers/bands and reviews of bands and their albums.

Between October 2009 and September 2010, NME was read by 333,000 people. 257,000 of them men and 76 were women. It is mainly read by people aged between 16-44.

The house style of NME is basic has pretty much stayed the same. The brand name is kept in top left hand corner of the OFC. They then have an image of a music artist with a bold sell line saying who they are. There are also sell lines and other graphics on the OFC either laid out along the bottom, left or right hand side of the page (sometimes all three).

The current owner of NME magazine is IPC Media, which is edited by Krissi Murison.

The social groups associated with this magazine are independent people, with a passion for music as NME also does a regular look back on the magazines 58 year heritage.

Kerrang! magazine:

Kerrang! is a rock music magazine, first published in 1981. The original owner of the magazine was United Newspapers until it was sold to EMAP in 1991. They then sold it in 2008 to the current owner, Bauer Media Group. Initially Kerrang! focussed on the genre of New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the rise of other hard rock acts such as AC/DC, who appeared on the first front cover. Now focussing on the genre nu metal, it has featured bands such as Papa Roach, Slipknot, Linkin Park, etc.

Between October 2009 and September 2010, the total number of people reading Kerrang! was 396,000. 256,000 of them were men and 141,000 were women who were all aged between 15-44 years old.

The house style of Kerrang! has varied over the years it has been published. Today the brand name is at top of the OFC with an image of a band underneath (sometimes covering the actual brand name). The band is also referenced in a sell line. This is usually in a big, bold font and placed in the centre of the magazine. Other sell lines are placed in various places of the front cover.

The current producer of Kerrang! is Bob Soper. According to the Bauer Media Group's website, the audience of Kerrang! are "individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced. They are an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty."