4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

During the research and planning stage of my coursework, I needed to research into who the
target audience of my individual/alternative music magazine would be to ensure that I had
an understanding of who the artists, articles, features and photographs in my magazine
should appeal to. I have concluded that the target audience should be a younger
demographic aged between 16 and 25 years old, they could be either male or female (target
split at 50% each way), they must appreciate or favour indie/alt music, including genres such
as indie pop, indie rock, grunge, alt rock and shoegaze, and they must want to keep up with
their music and style knowledge related to those genres. The target audience will also like
shopping in clothes shops such as Next, Topshop, Topman and New Look. They will most
commonly enjoy watching niche films that follow realistic stories, such as Sing Street, The
Social Network and Drive, and they would watch television shows such as Skins and
Sherlock.

I believe that the 16-25 age range that I have given my music magazine is perfectly suitable
because my magazine contains information and photographs that may not be interesting to
people who are younger than 16 or older than 25; they may also not be appropriate for
younger audiences. My magazine would information about and photographs of artists that
people between ages 16 and 25 would be interested in, such as Twenty One Pilots, Florence
+ the Machine, Vampire Weekend, Bastille, Two Door Cinema Club, Of Monsters and Men,
The 1975, Mumford and sons and Foster the People. The magazine would also be styled in a
minimalistic way that most commonly appeals mainly to people in this age range as younger
audiences may prefer a busier look, which can be found in childrens magazines such as
Toxic and Disney and me. I believe that aiming my magazine at both male and female
audiences is suitable because the artists, articles, features etc. that would be found in my
magazine would not be specifically aimed at either gender; this widens the potential
audience of my magazine as it is aimed at 100% of the population. Due to my magazine
featuring artists, albums and songs that fit into many different genres under the
individual/alternative music category, I believe that the target audience should appreciate
this style of music as, if they did not, they may not be interested in reading my magazine. I
believe that my magazine should be aimed at people who shop in the clothing shops that I
have previously mentioned as they sell clothes that are similar to those commonly worn by
the artists that might be featured in my music magazine; this means that the audience would
be able to connect with the magazine as they are styled in a similar way to their favourite
artists. Finally, I believe that the target audience of my magazine should enjoy watching
niche films and television shows, such as those previously mentioned, because those are
films and TV shows that are commonly appreciated by those who enjoy
individual/alternative music and styles, including the artists.
I created a survey using the Google Forms that informed me of how I should style my magazine, what it should contain and several other details. This survey consists of multiple-choice questions, I
decided on the selectable answers using the research and planning that I had conducted so that they are suitable options. These are the questions on and answers I received from my survey:
What is your gender? What is your age? Does the name EMERGE fit the genre?
I asked these two questions because they would inform me about the genders and ages of the I asked this question because it would inform me about whether or not I should use the word
potential audience of my music magazine. From the results of these questions, I have found that Emerge as the title of my music magazine. From the results of this question, I found that this title
both male and female audiences would be interested in my magazine and that the target age would be suitable and that I should not change it as 100% of the class mates that I asked believe
that I have chosen is suitable and accurate as my class members have shown an interest in music that it fits my chosen genre of music, individual/alternative.
magazines
What would you prefer to read about? What publishing frequency would you prefer?
The four selectable options for this question were interviews, articles, upcoming events or The four selectable options for this question were weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly. I asked this
other. I asked this question because it would inform me about what style of writing I should use question because it would inform me about how often my music magazine should be published to
in the text on the double page spread of my music magazine. From the results of this question, I the audience; this would give me a better understanding of how I should style my magazine as
learnt that the preferred text would either be an interview with the featured artist, or an article different contents and layouts are used for different publishing frequencies. From the results of
that informs the audience about the featured artist. I took this result into consideration when this question, I learnt that 100% of my class mates that I asked would prefer to purchase my
deciding on my style of writing as I used an interview with the featured artist Mara Rise. magazine once each month rather than weekly, quarterly, or yearly. I took these results into
Expected cost? consideration during the planning and creation stages of my coursework as I planned for my
The five selectable options for this question were free, 0.01 - 3, 4 - 6, 7-8 and >8. I asked magazine to be published monthly.
this question because it would inform me about how much I should sell my music magazine for.
From the results of this question, I learnt that most of the classmates that I asked would expect What is your favourite music genre?
to pay a price between 4 and 6 for my magazine. I took these results into consideration during For this question, I provided multiple different music genres as selectable options, alongside an
the planning and creation stages of my coursework as I planned for my magazine to sell for other option, which allowed the person to enter a genre of their choice. From the results of this
4.50, a price that falls into the margin that was most voted for. question, I discovered that a large percentage of people favour my chosen genre of music,
individual/alternative, over other genres. This means that my magazine will be popular and
Which of these bands are you interested in?
appreciated by many people.
For this question, I provided multiple different indie/alt artists names as selectable options,
alongside a none of them option, which allowed the person to express that they do not
appreciate any of the artists. I asked this question because it informed me about what sort of Which magazine style do you prefer?
artists I should include in my music magazine; this would allow me to ensure that it would be The two selectable options for this question were minimalist/clean and busy. I asked this question
appealing to the potential audience, making it more popular. From the results of this question, I because it would inform me about how I should style my music magazine to make it as appealing to
gained a better understanding of the artists and bands that the audience might be more the potential audience as possible. From the results of this question, I learnt that the majority of
interested in; this helped because, by using the most popular artists, my magazine would attract people prefer a minimalistic style of magazine over a busy style with more text etc. I took these
the most attention. These results also gave me three extra artists that I could have included in results into consideration during the planning and creation section of my coursework as I used a
my final magazine design. minimalistic style.
What style of background do you prefer for the cover?
The four selectable options for this question were a single colour background, a plain white background, a colour gradient background or a scenic background. I asked this question because it would
inform me about how I should style the cover of my music magazine. From the results of this question, I learnt that most people would prefer a background that uses a single colour, rather than a
gradient background, white background, or the second most popular; a scenic background. I took these results into consideration while creating my final magazine as the background of my cover was a
white brick wall.
Female Audience Profile

Name - Hayley Firn

Age - 21

Hobbies - Singing, Clothes shopping, Playing Drums

Occupation - Studying music at college

Favourite Clothing Shops - Next, Topshop, New

Look

Favourite TV Shows - Skins, Sherlock

Favourite Music Genres - Indie Pop, Alternative

Rock, Shoegaze

Favourite Artists - The Vaselines, Belle and

Sebastian, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Slowdive, Lush

Favourite Magazines - The Clash, Fader, Q

Hayley is a perfect example of a potential target

audience member for my individual/alternative
music magazine. Her interests and favourite artists
match those that may be found in my magazine,
meaning that this is the type of person that my
magazine should be aimed at.
Male Audience Profile

Name Mike Palm

Age - 18

Hobbies - Reading books, Acting, Running

Occupation - Studying music at college

Favourite Clothing Shops Topman, Next

Favourite TV Shows The Walking Dead, Dr Who

Favourite Music Genres - Grunge, Indie Rock, Emo-

Pop

Favourite Artists - Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth,

Dinosaur Jr., Fall out Boy, All Time Low

Favourite Magazines - NME, Billboard, Kerrang

Mike is also a perfect example of a potential target

audience member for my individual/alternative
music magazine. His interests and favourite music
genres are the kind that may be found in my
magazine, meaning that this is also the type of
person that my magazine should be aimed at.