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
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
What is your are theWhat
gender? questions onage?
is your and answers I received from my survey: Does the name EMERGE fit the genre?
I asked these two questions because they would inform me about the I asked this question because it would inform me about whether or not I should
genders and ages of the potential audience of my music magazine. From the use the word Emerge as the title of my music magazine. From the results of
results of these questions, I have found that both male and female audiences this question, I found that this title would be suitable and that I should not
would be interested in my magazine and that the target age that I have change it as 100% of the class mates that I asked believe that it fits my chosen
chosen is suitable and accurate as my class members have shown an interest genre of music, individual/alternative.
in music magazines
What would you prefer to read about? What publishing frequency would you prefer?
The four selectable options for this question were interviews, articles, The four selectable options for this question were weekly, monthly, quarterly or
upcoming events or other. I asked this question because it would inform me yearly. I asked this question because it would inform me about how often my
about what style of writing I should use in the text on the double page spread music magazine should be published to the audience; this would give me a
of my music magazine. From the results of this question, I learnt that the better understanding of how I should style my magazine as different contents
preferred text would either be an interview with the featured artist, or an and layouts are used for different publishing frequencies. From the results of
article that informs the audience about the featured artist. I took this result this question, I learnt that 100% of my class mates that I asked would prefer to
into consideration
Expected cost? when deciding on my style of writing as I used an interview purchase my magazine once each month rather than weekly, quarterly, or
with the selectable
The five featured artist Mara
options Rise.question were free, 0.01 - 3, 4 - 6,
for this yearly. I took these results into consideration during the planning and creation
7-8 and >8. I asked this question because it would inform me about how stages of my coursework as I planned for my magazine to be published
much I should sell my music magazine for. From the results of this question, I monthly.
What is your favourite music genre?
learnt that most of the classmates that I asked would expect to pay a price For this question, I provided multiple different music genres as selectable
between 4 and 6 for my magazine. I took these results into consideration options, alongside an other option, which allowed the person to enter a genre
during the planning and creation stages of my coursework as I planned for of their choice. From the results of this question, I discovered that a large
my magazine to sell for 4.50, a price that falls into the margin that was percentage of people favour my chosen genre of music, individual/alternative,
Which of these
most voted for. bands are you interested in? over other genres. This means that my magazine will be popular and
For this question, I provided multiple different indie/alt artists names as
appreciated by many people.
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 Which magazine style do you prefer?
question because it informed me about what sort of artists I should include in The two selectable options for this question were minimalist/clean and busy. I
my music magazine; this would allow me to ensure that it would be appealing asked this question because it would inform me about how I should style my
to the potential audience, making it more popular. From the results of this music magazine to make it as appealing to the potential audience as possible.
question, I gained a better understanding of the artists and bands that the From the results of this question, I learnt that the majority of people prefer a
audience might be more interested in; this helped because, by using the minimalistic style of magazine over a busy style with more text etc. I took these
most popular artists, my magazine would attract the most attention. These results into consideration during the planning and creation section of my
results also gave me three extra artists that I could have included in my final coursework as I used a minimalistic style.
What style of background do you prefer for the cover?
magazine
The design. options for this question were a single colour background, a plain white background, a colour gradient background or a scenic background. I
four selectable
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
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