Don't judge a book by its cover (unless it's a magazine....)

The editor's main concern while producing a magazine is the front cover. This is very important as it tells the audience what the magazine is about. The front cover projects the magazines image and to catch readers attention it needs to be appealing as possible as it is the first thing the audience see.

To make the magazine appeal to the whole of the audience the editor covers different types of music. As Kerrang! is a best selling rock magazine the editor would use different sub-genres which in this case would be emo, punk, goth and indie rock. This way the magazine appeals to all of its audience and no one is left out.

As Kerrang! is aimed at young people who like rock music the selling points would be the band on the cover, freebies such as stickers and posters, and current events.
A cover-mounted CD is also used four times a year which draws in 40,000 more readers than usual editions. To keep this audience with them the editor then keeps adding special features each week such as exclusive band interviews and free stuff such as giant posters.

Mixmag magazine's typical features on the front cover are Ibiza as this is a place based on clubbing and dance music, and a CD mounted cover on each issue.

Bauer Media:
Bauer Media is a division of the Bauer Publishing Group, Europe’s largest privately owned publishing Group. The Bauer Publishing Group is a worldwide media empire offering over 230 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations. Bauer Media is a multi-platform UK-based media Group consisting of many companies collected around two main divisions – Magazines and Radio - widely recognised and rewarded as being industry innovators. It reaches over nineteen million UK adults across multiple media channels. They have more than eighty influential media brands spanning a wide range of interests, including heat, GRAZIA, Closer, MCN, FHM, Parker's, MATCH, Magic 105.4, Kiss 100, Kerrang!, 4Music and the Big City Network.

IPC Media:
IPC Media produces over 85 iconic media brands, with their print brands alone reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 44% of UK men –almost 27 million UK adults – while their online brands collectively reach 20 million users every month. IPC's diverse print and digital portfolio offers something for everyone, with a focus on three core audiences: men, mass market women and upmarket women. IPC Media publishes a huge range of magazines and websites across many different sectors. Magazines such as NME, Country Life, Nuts, Look, TV & Satellite Week and Ideal home are published by IPC Media.

BBC Magazines:
BBC Magazines is the UK’s fourth largest consumer magazine publisher, selling around 85 million magazines every year. They publish over 30 regular publications, including several market-leading titles across a range of sectors. One in four adults reads a BBC title every month, extending their enjoyment of BBC radio and television programmes through the pages of such famous titles as Top Gear, Good Food, Gardeners’ World and Radio Times. They produce magazines across a wide range of interests to appeal to all ages. As the largest and most trusted Pre-school publisher in the UK, they titles provide a unique environment where parents and children read together. Their adult titles are centred around our readers’ passions – from inspiring ideas for beautiful homes and gardens to entertainment and education.

Development Hell:
Development Hell Ltd is an independent media company based in Islington, London. They currently publish two monthly magazines, The Word and Mixmag, and their accompanying websites. In April 2009 we acquired DontStayIn.com, the world's biggest clubbing social network (download press release). They have provided consultancy for some of Britain’s biggest publishers such as Dennis, Future and IPC and were hired by Paul McCartney to produce the souvenir magazine for his 2002 World Tour. Among the Development Hell team are some of the most experienced and respected operators in British magazines including The Word’s editor Mark Ellen, and former Editorial Director of Q, Mixmag and Smash Hits, Andrew Harrison.