Similar/Rival Magazines

I want to make an alternative rock magazine. 60/70's rock is now very popular because of the availability. People can download music from almost any time zone and have it on their ipod within minutes.
Because of this, 'old' music is having a second revival.
I want to create my magazine on similar bands to those popular in the 60/70's (CCR, The Doors, Led Zep,The Beatles etc..) but modern. So the bands will have covered their songs, have their own songs similar to them and some may even dress similar to them.
There are no similar magazines to what i want to create, there are only magazines just based on 60/70's rock, but they are not modern and do not show any modern or independent bands.

The target audience is most similar to Kerrang magazine however i do not want it to be heavy rock/metal. Rhythm Magazine, NME and Mojo are similar magazines, but they are more mainstream than smaller and independent.

Kerrang is a rock magazine published by Bauer Consumer Media. Kerrang has a readership of 43,000 per issue.

This is a front cover of Kerrang magazine. It is a very busy front cover and there is a lot of eye catching things to read. I think that it is a bit over-the-top and is a bit distracting.

There are 3 colours that are primarily used these are white, black and blue. There are two banners and a lot of puffs. I like the way that the masthead is done and i also like that way that the band is positioned. They normally have a different house style each issue. I think that i will do this for my magazine.

Kerrang's average reader is 22 years old. They have a relatively young readership, this is a big advantage as traditionally this age group is
elusive (and expensive) to reach. I have looked at their layout and their advertising and i can see how they target their audience.  This cover is different to most, as the main image is behind the title. A common convention to have is that the main image is slightly overlapping the masthead.
                                                                           
                                                                            Circulation - 44,013
                                                                            Readership - 421,000
                                                                            ABC1 Profile - 52%
                                                                            Mean Age - 22

This is the cover of an NME magazine from an issue in 2008. Since then, NME have changed their logo.

Vampire weekend would be a great band for my magazine as it fits my target genre perfectly.

Their front cover is also very busy. It is very bright and there are a lot of things to look at.

They use 3 main colours, red, blue and white. This is continued through out the magazine as a house style.

They cover many modern bands and i think that this is the most similar magazine to what i would like to make.

NME is a very popular magazine and is available from subscription from their website and you can get different offers depending on how long you subscribe for. NME is also available in most newsagents and superstores. NME magazine is not available as an e-zine. Here is the audience that reads NME:

 65% Male
50% 16-24
23% 25-34
79% ABC1

This is rhythm magazine. This issue covers older music (the Beatles) and more modern music (Muse).

There is a large eye catching title and the main image is overlapping the title. This is a popular convention for magazines. They also have a bright banner above the title.

The layout of the magazine is busy. It is primarily a drumming magazine but also has a lot about music other than just drumming based.

The red colour is carried on throughout the magazine and is on every issue

The main colours used are red, white and blue. It also follows the main 3 colours.

However there are bits of blue.

This magazine cover is from 2003. It is very similar to what i would like to create. It covers older music (Led Zeppelin) and more modern music (Radiohead). The main image is overlapping the masthead quite a bit. This is because Mojo readers will be loyal and regular readers and will be more interested in the issue than the issue title.

There are again, 3 main colours being used in the cover. These are pink, white and blue.  This magazine is different because the shot of the main image is a slightly low angle, long shot.  Typically, the main image is usually shot at a mid-shot to involve the audience. However, in this issue there is a free CD.

There is also a banner at the top the magazine. This is the same for nearly every magazine.

Circulation - 91,678
Readership - 218,000
ABC1 Profile - 66%
Mean Age - 37

These magazines are all different, but they all follow common conventions. In these magazines, the band are never shown negative. The shots are shot at low angles, making the band seem good. This makes the reader admire and aspire to the act. 

I also looked at a local free magazine called 'The Source'. This magazine is based around Brighton and is available from many shops throughout the city. My target audience for my magazine is similar to this magazine, however i will speak to them differently because my magazine is not a free mag.  There are a lot of adverts through the magazine and it seems that it is primarily for 'partyers'. The text is informative but not formal and it does not use slang.

Looking at these magazine i now have an idea of how to set out my cover page. I also have a better understanding of the conventions and how to target my audience.