
"Classic Rock" is a British magazine, mainly focusing on rock bands from the 1960s to 1990s, however it also includes upcoming artists and reviews they think are suitable for the magazine. It started off as just a one-off special, however it soon became one of the UK's best selling music magazines. It has a higher circulation than 'NME', which shows that music from the past is still hugely popular in the present.
"The magazine attracted a niche audience initially but
sales grew as Classic Rock featured artists such as Black Sabbath,
Iron Maiden and Aerosmith on its cover in the first year. It
attracted those who saw mainstream music publications such as
'Q'' and 'NME' to be stale, and too focused on discovering the
next big thing."
It is
published by Future Publishing and it's the sixth largest media company in the
UK. It publishes more than 150 magazines in categories such as; video
games, films and photography etc. There is also a US version. Future Publishing
has become a large global company, so the fact that they produce this magazine
shows that it must be popular in order for them to produce it.
Source: Wikipedia
Source: Wikipedia
Rock
bands are conventionally presented as having no morals, as most of them are
known for drug and alcohol abuse. The front cover portrays the band AC/DC as
being the stereotypical rock band. The photo is in black and white, therefore
the darkness could symbolise their 'dark' behaviour; going to parties all of
the time and the usual "trashing hotel rooms". The way in which
they're all pulling different faces shows there were no rules involved in
the photo shoot, as it looks like there was no order to it; they're
all doing what they want to do. It shows that they are willing to go against
conventions and not take themselves too seriously, which makes them appeal to
their audience as that's generally what people like. Also, some of the band
members look moody, which makes them seem 'cool' and straight-faced. It
suggests that the audience could be teenagers who look up to them and you're
considered 'cool' if you like rebellious bands.
The
magazine suggests that the target audience would be those that try to be
like them, which is why people consider rock bands to be a bad influence. These
bands are considered 'cool' and people want to be like them so go out of their
way to break the rules and go against conventions. The target audience could
also be people who stick to the rules and have good morals, but look to these
bands for ways to be considered 'cooler' by their fellow peers, especially
teenagers. This magazine’s target audience would be mainly men, as rock is
conventionally seen to be a male type of music as it’s loud and considered ‘wild’.
I think it’d be a mixture of ages; teenagers, as they would look up to this
kind of music and might have been influenced and shown by their parents when they
were younger. Older people might also buy it, as they might have been a fan of
AC/DC’s music back when they were big.
AC/DC
are represented as being rebellious, as they are going against conventions in
terms of their poses in the photo and their behaviour, as you can barely see
some of the band members; this shows that there was no set way they had in mind
of taking the photo. You can tell straight away, even if you aren’t aware of
the band, that it’s representing rock music as it’s in black and white. If it
was pop music, the colour would be much brighter; the featured band/artist
would be wearing different clothes and posing differently. AC/DC are a
well-known band, therefore with them appearing on the front cover, it would
sell more copies.
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