How do magazines like NME and Kerrang! reflect gender and subcultures?

NME predominantly targets males, with a ratio of 73% of the readers being male, and a minor 23% are female, therefore making the primary target market males between the ages of 17-30. Bauer Media, the publication group for Kerrang! gives a reader profile of it's magazine; "Jim, 22, lives and breathes rock music" which is a similar readership to that of NME.

Kerrang! is known as a music magazine that reflects the heavy metal genre, and stereotypically this is a genre that surrounds male attributes, gender within metal is basically defined by "harsh, abrasive timbres, which contribute to the cultural association of masculinity" ( Leonard, 2007).The majority of front cover features are bands that comprise or are fronted my males, yet this stereotype is rivalled slightly within Kerrang! with the rise of females within the metal/pop-punk genre, such as Paramore making Hayley Willilams a popular cover girl and an aspiration for young girls, increasing the female readership. So as a whole, Kerrang! tends to target the metal subculture quite accurately with the bands it features.  Kerrang! represents a series of subcultures, famously of all the Goth; "Kerrang! magazine read by Goths and those into nu-metal and metal music, has recently become the most popular music periodical in the UK" (Waddell, T. 2007) 

IPC research suggests "Live music is more important to men's lives than football, according to new research that shows they also want to buy tickets for gigs and festivals from iTunes and welcome brands investing money in the live sector." This statement shows how the male's priorities have changed in recent years, certainly those belonging to the ABC1 socio-economic group. 

I think looking at today's NME, there is more of a general balance, yet the language used is cocky and egotistic, more often than not written by males. This language means males are on par with what they are reading, whereas women would find it more insulting and not necessarily agree with what is being said. Generally speaking, NME focuses around the indie genre, yet delves into rap, hip-hop and recently dubstep, but is always at the fore front of the latest music trends. The bands featured are usually fronted by male, thus reflecting the male readership.    

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.nme.com/mediapack/pdf/nme_media_information_full.pdf http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/Global/mediapacks/Kerrang.pdf

Leonard, M. (2007) Gender in the Music Industry Aldershot: Ashgate

Waddell, T (2007) Cultural expressions of evil and wickedness: wrath, sex, crime. Radopi