HISTORY OF MUSIC MAGAZINES

The History of

The rolling stone was found in San Francisco, California, by Jann Wenner – who is still the magazine's chief editor – and music critic, Ralph J. Gleason.

First issue - November 9, 1967

Publisher - Jann Wenner

Company - Wenner Media LLC

Rolling stone is a bi-weekly magazine meaning it sells 2 copies every month.

Before Rolling Stone magazine there was no such thing as rock music photography.

 

In 1967 Jann Wenner, with Ralph Gleason, scraped together $7500 from friends and family and founded the Rolling Stone magazine in San Francisco. After just two years in publication Rolling Stone magazine was widely accepted as the most authoritative publication on rock and roll music.

Barron Woman served as the first Rolling Stone staff photographer; Linda Eastman (later Linda McCartney) was the first woman photographer to shoot a Rolling Stone magazine cover.

 One of the first published covers of Rolling stone.

 

 

Kerrang!

Kerrang is a UK based rock magazine published by Bauer Media Group.  It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper. Named after the onomatopoeic word that derives from the sound made when playing a power chord on a distorted electric guitar.  In the early 2000s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. Angus Young of AC/DC appeared on Kerrang!'s first cover.

 

 

Launched as a monthly magazine, Kerrang! began to appear on a fortnightly basis later, and in 1987 it went weekly. The original owner was United Newspapers who then sold it to EMP in 1991.

During the 1980s and early 1990s the magazine used many thrash and glam metal acts on the cover (like Mötley Crüe, Slayer, Bon Jovi & Metallica) but later discarded them when grunge acts such as Nirvana rose to fame. Readers often criticise the magazine for repeating this process every time a new musical trend becomes popular.

Kerrang!'s popularity rose again with the hiring of editor Paul Rees circa 2000 when the nu metal genre, featuring bands like Limp Bizkit and Slipknot were becoming more popular. Rees went on to edit Q magazine and Ashley Bird took over as editor from 2003 to 2005. However the magazine's sales went quickly into decline in 2003 and Paul Brannigan took over as editor in May 2005.

In 2008, EMAP sold its consumer magazine to current owner Bauer Media Group. Brannigan left Kerrang! in 2009 and Nichola Browne was appointed editor. She later stepped down in April 2011. Former NME features editor and GamesMaster deputy editor James McMahon was appointed as editor on 6 June 2011. 



 

Base: Adults 18+		Audience (000)		% Comp
	Adults	12,411
	Men	7,365		59.3%
	Women	5,046		40.7

 

Why advertise with Kerrang!?

• Kerrang! has over 30 years of heritage and is the biggest music weekly in the world.

• Kerrang! reaches more young readers than any other music magazine.

• Having a younger profile is a big advantage as traditionally this age group is elusive (and expensive) to reach. As well as music releases this makes Kerrang! perfect for film and games, and also mobile technology and government messages.

• Kerrang! is the original multimedia platform boasting magazine, online, radio, TV, K! Awards, K! Tour, and K! podcasts.

• Kerrang! loves music, especially rock. Kerrang! is considered by its readers to be an integral part of the scene rather than just a commentator.

• Kerrang! readers are the heaviest music consumers purchasing over 6 albums per month on average (53% more than the national average) and 8 times more likely to spend over £200 a year on albums. The readers are also 5.5 times more likely to attend a rock gig.

 Kerrang!'s Mission statement 

 

Kerrang! will ensure that we are constantly appealing to our spectrum of readers. From the younger teenage readers who are more open to different genres of rock music – from emo to thrash etc, to the readers who respect Kerrang! as an authority when it comes to our scene’s heritage bands. Each issue will include a balance of bands and scenes to guarantee that we’re providing for our readers’ need for variety and their passionate appetite for their favourite bands as well as their desire to be introduced to new music within our world. We will focus on the BIGGEST things that are going on in our world each week, as well as guaranteeing that we are giving our main base of younger readers everything they need to get into, on top of this the interest in older, harder bands, cementing our role as an educator.