Metal Hammer Magazine Case Study

1. Metal Hammer MagazineCase Study Alisha Hall

2. Overview • Genre: Metal Music Magazine • Launch Date: 1986 • Editor: Alexander Milas • It was first planned to be an alternative to ‘Kerrang’ magazine but in German. However, three years later in 1986 they launched the magazine as the Metal Hammer that there is today, a Heavy Metal magazine. • They charge £4.75 per magazine. However, this is good value for money considering that it is only published monthly. • Metal Hammer also creates a radio and YouTube podcast of the journalists opinions on bands and upcoming events. • They also have a detailed website that informs people of events and what is going to be featured in the magazine.

3. Contents Metal Hammer magazine has the overall topics that usually include: • Reviews • Concerts/ festivals • New artists • Famous artists • Adverts • Metal Hammer is written in an informal style but still uses a range of vocabulary and styles of writing because it is aimed at an older audience. • This helps it to be more readable and keep the audience interested and make it easy to read because it includes a lot of content that Metal Hammer is trying the get them to be interested in and want to read.

4. Marketing They have their own website that discusses what will be in each issue and promotes different companies. Therefore, by promoting other related companies such as festivals (E.g. Download festival) then they will make a deal to promote Metal Hammer too and therefore get more recognition. Furthermore, they have their own radio podcast that discusses bands and what events are coming up and who they think are worth seeing in the local area (London and the UK). This is then recorded and put on YouTube for those who missed the podcast. Adverts for different businesses that are relevant to the Metal Hammer genre which shows they have gone into business with them and that they will help promote each other’s production. For example, • Local venues • Gothic Clothing (e.g. blue banana) • Jewellery (e.g. Alchemy) • Concerts • Festivals

5. Audience • The main audience for Metal Hammer magazine using audience demographics would be potentially the lowers scale so from C2 (Skilled workers, tradesperson) to E (unemployed). • This is because stereotypically, Heavy Metal is about change and revolution and lower class people tend to aspire for that more. • Furthermore, using Marlow’s hierarchy of needs, the audience for this magazine would fall under love/belonging because people who like that music can come together by reading the magazine.

6. Production • Metal Hammer magazine is produced by ‘team rock’ which is a company that combines the best of traditional media with the boldness of new media. • They first started because the owners spotted a gap in the market that rock music fans aren't getting the right access to the content they want. Therefore, they made the business with many different aspects to it. • Team Rock has aspects such as they print and product magazines for the brands that they own, they have ‘team rock radio’ which also helps to promote their brands and other bands and events of their choice.

7. Consumption The ABC’s Standard Certificate for the distribution of Metal Hammer says that: Between the 1st January 2012 to the 31st December in the UK: • Metal hammer produces 183 digital issues • The total printed issue is 17,799 • However, Metal Hammer magazine produces issues in not only the UK and the Republic of Ireland but also in other countries. Within the same time period, it produces in other countries: • 12,230 printed issues • 1,063 digital issues

8. Distribution Metal Hammer magazine is sold at the price of £4.75 with a new edition every month. The destitution has many different forms but the main forms which are the magazine, their website and their podcasts. Also it provides links to Metal Hammers Facebook and Twitter pages. Metal Hammer has a lot of different ways to combine different multimedia’s to promote their magazine and have many different routes of reading or listening to what they have to say. For example they have; • • Sponsored by music channels such as Scuzz • • Radio and YouTube podcasts • • A website • • Social media sites.

9. Regulations • Regulations for a magazine would be what the magazines limitations. • This could be things like the fact that they only produce a new edition every month. This would limit their coverage of new news stories and could mean that they don’t get as many exclusive interview as rival magazines. • However, it could in their favour because they have the whole month to pick from the best stories which could make the quality of the magazine better.