The licence is believed to be one of the most lucrative outside of London and Emap beat other rock propositions, including one from rival Virgin, backed by former Black Sabbath frontman and Brummie Ozzy Osbourne, and GWR's The Storm.
Tom Moloney, chief executive of Emap, said: "We're very proud to have won this licence for what is arguably the most valuable broadcast area outside London, and excited about the opportunity it creates for Emap."
Kerrang! Radio will be aimed at 15- to 34-year-olds with a playlist that will reflect the content from the magazine, which is largely rock and nu-metal. Its main competition will be BBC's Radio One because the other local stations in the area include Heart, and Saga for the over-50s.
"Kerrang! is already a well established rock brand on TV, digital radio and, of course, the magazine," Moloney said. "Now we're looking forward to bringing Kerrang! on analogue to the people of the West Midlands."
The station's appeal to the youth market is believed to be what secured the deal for Emap. The region has 2.3m listeners and the ad market is said to be worth as much as £25m.
Its rock content is also thought to have been a factor as the music has strong connections to the area with Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Napalm Death among the bands to have sprung from the Midlands.
Other bids for the licence included a children's station from Disney and Capital Radio; another backed by Richard Eyre for West Midlands Music Radio; a bid from Kelvin MacKenzie's Wireless Group; and one from Jazz FM.
The launch follows a month-long trial of Kerrang! Radio last year in Birmingham.
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