Task 9- Section B Qualitative Audience Research

The target audience for my music magazine is male and females aged 16-24 who are interested in the genre of indie/rock music.

The stereotypical audience profile

Gender: typically seen as males

Age: 16-24

Social class: middle class

Interests: Going out to gigs and festivals, listening to music on their iPods or mp3’s.

Why they listen to indie/rock music: because they enjoy the instruments/vocals and may feel like they can relate to the lyrics that they are hearing.

What they would like in magazines: interviews with bands/artists that they admire or like listening to. Lots of images of recent gigs or festivals.

Dress sense: Quite fashionable and wear casual clothing. Shoe brands such as converse or vans and may also wear trousers such as chinos. Like dark clothing if they are into more rock music.

My focus group

For this task I asked 5 people with an interest within the genre what they would like in an indie/rock magazine. I then summarised there results to see what would be best suited for my target audience in the magazine.

I asked them 12 questions (see below) and wrote down their main responses:

Summary of results

The front cover:

What images would you like?

On the front cover there should be one main eye-catching image of a band/artist that takes up the majority of the page. It should include male and females in the picture to show that the magazine appeals to both genders. The image should also be striking and stand out from the rest of the page and background so that it catches the reader’s attention.

What would like to see on the front cover e.g. sell lines?

On the front cover there should be cover lines that would interest the target audience. This could include names of famous/well-known artists or bands that the target audience would recognise. These should also be both male and female names so that it reaches out to both sets of audience. There could be gig reviews or tour dates advertised on the cover as this would appeal to the target audience.

What colours would be appropriate?

Darker colours would be more appropriate for this genre of music and style of music magazine. Other music magazines for example Kerrang and NME also use darker colours as these appeal to the target audience. However there should be some colour on the page so that the magazine is eye-catching and stands out.

The contents page:

What type of images would you like and how many?

On the contents page there should be a few images to make the page more appealing to the -reader. There should aim to be 3-4 images on the contents page and these could be of instruments, backstage images, and artists/bands.

What would you want to be contained within the magazine?

Within the magazine there should be a variety of articles that the reader would find interesting to read. This could include interviews with popular artists/bands and these should be categorised and clearly numbered to be able to find. Gossip, latest news and fashion could also be included within the magazine.

How much images and text would you expect?

On the contents page there should be an editorial and page numbers but there should still be a main image and several images on the page. There should be a variety of images to keep readers interested and to show them what else will be included in the magazine.

The double page spread:

Double page – what choice of images would you want?

The images should portray a similar attitude to that of the target audience. This means that they should be striking images which stand out and capture attention, particularly in rock music as a rebellious attitude is presented here. There should also be a lot of images on the page or one very large image leading the page.

What would you prefer the article to be about?

The article could be an interview with a well-known and popular artist/band so that it appeals to the target audience. It could also have information on latest gigs and festivals and it could also include music reviews.

Would you prefer more image or text based articles?

The double page needs to be balanced between images and text. There should not be too much text as this would bore the reader and the images need to be fun and exciting so that the page is more eye-catching. The text itself should also be straight to the point and easy to read, interviews would therefore be a good article to do as the answers could be kept short and well structured.