Magazine 2 - Rocksound

General Information.

- Founded in 1999
- Aiming to be more underground and indie.
- Published by Freeway Express Inc.
- Circulation: 15, 000.


Colour Scheme


Rocksound uses a lot of different colours in their design. Blue, yellow, red are the most used colours, but the magazine also features colours like green and purple. These are very "playful" colours, and it tells us immediately that Rocksound is aiming towards a younger and more playful audience. In compare to Metalhammer, that is more serious, tougher and mature, Rocksound is younger, fresh and playful.

Photography

Rocksounds pictures is for the most part studio pictures taken exclusively for the magazine or they are normal press-photographies. Rocksound has a open-minded, young audience. So it's important for them to feature a lot of new bands. The photographies itself are usually neutral or even portrayed with an high angle. It's important to Rocksound to make the bands seem as natural as possible, to make it easier for the audience to connect with them.

Writing Style

Rocksounds language is more gently and serious then for example Metalhammers. What's interesting is that Rocksound doesn't use a "young" language in their articles. The language is actually quite formal and analytical despite the youth approach the magazine has.
Rocksound is a monthly magazine, so they have the time to make longer and more articles. Rocksound definitely focuses on making a lot of articles. Although they have fewer pages then Metalhammer, they have more articles and they are featuring more bands.
In the review section I think we really get an essential part of Rocksounds image.  The review section is long, and it features a lot of bands. Rocksound is a relatively new magazine, compared to most other music magazines. Because they are "new" it's very easy for them to relate to "new" music. Most of the music in Rock Sound consist of young, usually British bands making their best music now instead of older magazines like Metalhammer which tend to also focus on old bands.

Text/Picture ratio

Rocksound definitely features more pictures then text. In many articles the text is actually written over a picture. Rocksound is a very visual magazine, it makes it at once more exiting to a younger audience, but may seem a little messy and less serious to others.


Fonts

Rocksound uses very clean fonts throughout the whole magazine. Rocksound is not a "metal" magazine like Metalhammer, and this shows on the fonts they have chosen. The simple, sightly retro fonts used for the cover lines are especially a thing about Rocksounds design that makes it "non metal" and maybe more accessible for listeners outside the genre.

Overall Look

Rocksound is a strange magazine. Visually it's colourful, young and childish, but when you start to go in depth in the articles and the language it's mature, serious and even analytical.  Rocksound have managed to have this unique combination of being relevant, young indie and yet a mature magazine. The audience of Rocksound may be teenagers and young adults, but obviously thinking teenagers and young adults. It's also good for the magazine's part. Because they aren't to contemporary, so they doesn't "lock" themselves to a certain music phenomena or wave. 
Maybe the most interesting thing about this issue of Rocksound, the dubstep, dance artist Skrillex on the cover. It reinforces Rocksound as a youth magazine, not necessarily locked to one genre of music.