Kerrang! Magazine case study

Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine for to rock music fans published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on 6 June 1981. Kerrang! was initially devoted to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the rise of hard rock acts. Kerrang is named after an onomatopoeic word that is created from the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar. In the early 2000s it became the best-selling British music newspaper.
Angus Young of AC/DC appeared on the first cover of Kerrang! It was initially launched as a monthly magazine then steadily began to appear on a fortnight and in 1987 it went weekly.
The first Kerrang! magazine was edited by Geoff Barton. 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 2009 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.