Case Study: Rock Sound

Rock Sound Front Cover

The magazine I chose for my case study is called 'Rock Sound.' It is a UK based rock magazine, though I initially thought that it was American because the prices are given for American, Canadian and Australian dollars, however, I later found out that though the primary target market are British audiences, it is also sold in America, Canada and Australia.

A little about Rock Sound...

• The magazine editors claim to 'champion' rock music.
• It aims to be 'underground' and less commercial than other music magazines - however, it still gives coverages to well known rock artists.
• Key genres it focuses on is: pop, punk, emo, hardcore and heavy metal - though does not focus on indie rock.
• Their tagline, though only sometimes used, is 'for those who like their music loud, extreme and non-conformist.'
• Their publisher is 'Freeway Press Inc.' - I tried finding other magazines that this incorporation may have, but didn't. This gave me the impression that the publisher company does not involve themselves with mainstream magazines.

Their history...

The first issue of Rock Sound was in 1999 and was founded in that exact year in March by a French publishing company. The magazine offices are in London, however, separate titles of the same name are published by the same 'parent company' in France (since 1993), and Spain (1998).

Rock Sound's 'freebies'

In most of its issues, the magazine is well known for including a free CD, which features tracks from bands' new albums that have not yet been released as singles. These are commonly called '100% Volume.' As well as that, the magazine also sometimes distributes whole albums, this is usually done with new bands who want to gain exposure - though of course in order to get exposure from this magazine, their music must come under some form of rock. 

On the right are the two CDs that came along with the issue that I brought. I think that this technique is very interesting and benefits both the readers and bands because of publicity. The fact that the magazine focuses more on the 'underground' bands ties in nicely with the exposure that some bands may want. I also think that the readers are most likely to listen to the CDs because I done so though I am not a regular reader of this magazine. This is a great way to introduce people to new music and it certainly works for them. However, I think that depending on which way I wish to go with the genre of my magazine, this may not work for myself. If I, much like Rock Sound, decide to do 'underground' music, then the idea of free CDs would work, but if I decide to go mainstream, it wouldn't because I think people who listen to popular music would have heard the songs before and therefore would not be interested in hearing them again - especially if they are played consistently on music channels and different radio stations.

Target Audience...

As mentioned before, this magazine's primary target audience is the British market though the magazine is sold in other countries. When I first saw the magazines front cover, I thought it looked like one those magazines that tweens may pick up because of the way it was set out, but once I picked it up, it was clear that it wasn't aimed that them but rather a much older demographic (probably 16 to roughly 25 - depending on an individuals taste). My first impression was further proven wrong once I actually opened the magazine and read a few articles - more often than not, there are clear references of swear words as well as artists posing with their middle finger. This made it pretty clear that their target audience is far from being tweens. I think that it would attract more of the male audience, however, I think it depends more on the persons music taste rather than their gender - if the reader enjoys rock music, they will clearly purchase this magazine, regardless of who they are trying to aim it at. The choice of this genre is quite 'open' which means that since it isn't lowering down to a specific genre, they will get a wider readership and a wider readership means more money. 

After doing some research, I found that Rock Sound's biggest competitor is Kerrang! mainly because both magazines cover similar tastes in music. While Rock Sound is published monthly, Kerrang! on the other hand is published weekly and it does not provide as much coverage on new and upcoming bands or the British rock scene. The price of both magazines is quite different - while Rock Sound costs £3.99, Kerrang! costs £2.20. Judging from this alone, I predict that Kerrang! has a much wider readership, also I think it is more popular amongst other music magazines in the UK. Both magazines feature rock bands/artists on their front cover, although the contents of Rock Sound focuses more on unknown bands.  

Advertising...

Few adverts taken from Rock Sound

There is quite a few adverts in this magazine, however, it is barely noticed, in fact I only noticed how many there were once I went back to find them, because its mostly advertising tours, bands or new albums - everything fits nicely and as a reader, I don't skip the page because it doesn't look like an advert and usually I tend to read what's on the page. This is important for the editors because since advertising makes the company gain money, the artists/bands who want to be advertised know that their readers will most likely check them out, even if they don't end up liking them, the band still got a certain amount of coverage.

Layout...

The front cover is a bit over the place in my opinion because they not only used a picture for their cover article but also other articles. I personally wouldn't go for that, however, I must take in consideration the type of genre that they are focussing on, which in this case is rock, and that then makes it more clear as to why the front cover is laid out as it is. 

Contents of 'Rock Sound'

Their contents page is double page spread - they didn't suddenly change to all text and no photos so the content matches up with the front cover because of the consistent use of images. Though again, I don't like the fact that its not neat, it in a way is an 'organized mess.' On most of the pictures, there is a number indicating what page the reader can see this artist/band on. 

I think that this layout is interesting and it could work but it depends on what the genre is - I think that your magazine's layout needs to reflect what its all about. For example, if doing a classical music theme, you would try to make it as neat as possible but yet appealing. 

The feature article (6 page spread)

When it came to the the feature article, it ran for 6 pages but this was due to the fact that much like the front cover and contents page, they used quite a few pictures. 

I think that throughout the magazine, there are more pictures than text. However, I don't think that this effects their readers too much because if this is something that they do often, the readers are used to it and the amount of pictures/texts does not alarm them but as a new reader, it obviously takes some getting used to. 

Interesting Page...

I think that one of my favourite pages of the magazine has to be the last - Rock Sound has done a interesting feature where readers are given a wordsearch puzzle and in that they need to find 22 bands that will appear in the next issue. I've never come across this form of advertising their next issue and I think this works pretty well. Also, since readers are given one band, I assume that that would be the main article for the next issue.