Thursday 25 November 2010
My Target Audience
Through my internet research and survey, i have found that my target audience will be aimed at an age range starting at about 16 to about mid twenties. Though, in my research on the statistics of NME magazine, i found that the median age of people reading that magazine is 23, i have decided that i would like to aim my magazine at a slightly younger audience being mainly teenagers. I found that the main target audience of similar magazines in this genre are male which leads me to the decision that i will also mainly be focusing on a male target audience and therefore be using conventions that males would be more interested in such as having female models on the front cover, bold fonts, capitals and a black and white colour scheme throughout the magazine. My survey will be the main influence in my final piece because it tells me exactly what people want to see in a music magazine such as topics, articles and pictures. The NME research will also be helpful throughout the making of my final piece as it tells me how i can make my product appeal to my target audience.
Survey results
Results of Questionnaire
I carried out a survey on target audiences for my magazine. I asked ten questions that i thought would be most useful in order for me to know what i need to produce a successful magazine. Only ten people took the survey which was slightly disappointing as i think my results would have been more reliable if i had more people take it. However, my results are still very clear on what people want in a music magazine.
1. What age range are you?
0-11 > 0%
12-15 > 0%
16-19 > 80%
20-29 > 20%
30+ > 0%
Despite the most popular answer being an age range between 16-19 year olds, i have decided that i am going to consider 20-29 year olds in the making of my product because i would like the target age range to be much larger and of a more mature age despite it mainly being targeted towards teenagers.This will help me produce a successful final piece because i know that the median age range of readers for NME magazine is 23 so i can relate to what they would find most appealing in a music magazine by using my research on the NME magazine.
2. What gender are you?
Male > 80%
Female > 20%
My target audience in mainly males that would read my magazine, this helps me to decide what kind of articles i would use and the style of the writing. It also helps me decide that maybe a female model would be on the front cover as this would attract male attention more. However, i would like to consider the small percentage of female audience too, so i will use images of both male and female artists on the front and use other unisex colours every now and then throughout my product such as light blues.
3. If ever, how often do you read music related magazines?
Never > 10%
Rarely > 0%
Weekly > 50%
Monthly > 40%
More than once a week > 0%
Daily > 0%
This shows that the readers mainly read music magazines on a weekly basis. However, the second most popular answer was on a monthly basis, which is the answer i am going to consider more because a monthly magazine would seem more appealing to me as it would have alot more information in and people would be less likely on missing out on an issue. Because i am going to use this option, it indicates to me that i need to put as much information and articles in my magazine as possible so that it is actually worthwhile.
4. What are your favourite genres of music?
Hip-hop/Rap > 20%
Rock > 40%
Indie and Alternative > 60%
Dance > 20%
RnB > 40%
Other > 30%
Despite people liking all different genres of music in this question, it shows me that most people are more interested in an Indie and Alternative genre, which is helpful to me because this is the genre of music magazine that i would like to produce and it is also the type of magazine i have been researching so i know what my target audience are hoping to see in my product.
5. Do you read any of these magazines?
Kerrang > 30%
NME > 50%
Q > 50%
Spin > 10%
Under the Radar > 10%
None of the Above > 10%
This shows me that most people read either NME or Q magazine which are two of the magazines that i have previously researched and analysed which is helpful because i know the conventions that i will need to use in order to create a successful final piece for my target audience.
6. What kind of articles would you like to see in a music magazine?
1. Upcoming events about bands
2. Interviews with bands
3. New and interesting bands
4. Album reviews and live reviews
5. Charts
6. Tour dates
7. Making of videos and songs
8. Indie stories and about gigs
9. Up and coming bands
10. Fashion, interviews, about band tours.
This tells me what people want to see inside a music magazine and so it gives me a good idea of the articles to put in my final piece. I can use the answers to this question as a guide to what i can put in my magazine.
7. What colours would you like to see in a music magazine?
Black > 90%
Red > 80%
Blue > 40%
Green > 30%
Yellow > 40%
White > 90%
Other > 30%
This shows me that the audience would want my music magazine to mainly stick to a black, red and white colour scheme, this was the result i was hoping to get because i can now stick with the same conventions as other magazines of the same genre which is helpful for me as people will be able to tell what kind of genre it is pretty easily.
8. Out of the following, what would you be most interested to see in a music magazine?
Interviews > 60%
Competitions > 40%
Free CDs > 50%
Special Offers > 60%
Tour Dates > 70%
This shows me that the audience would be interested in all of the listed things that could be in the music magazine, but they would be most interested in tour dates.
9. How often do you prefer magazines to be produces?
Weekly > 30%
Fortnightly > 30%
Monthly > 40%
This shows most people would prefer a music magazine to be produced monthly which indicates to me that i need to use as much information in my magazine as possible to make the audience find it more appealing and worth reading and spending their money on as if i only have a few articles per month, people will see it as a waste of money and will finish the magazine reasonably quickly which isn't what i want.
10. Do you have any other suggestions that you would like to see in a music magazine?
1. Images of fashionable bands
2. Competitions
3. Coupons
4. latest news
5. A bold front cover to make it stand out
6. Music charts
7. interviews
8. gossip about bands
9. gig dates
10. Discounts on itunes and CDs.
These results are useful because i know what kind of things my target audience would like to see in a music magazine, it's also helpful because of the previous question stating that people would only like to get a music magazine once a month, so these results give me lots of information as to what i can fill my product with.
To summarise my results, my target audience is going to be male teenagers between the ages of 16-19. I am going to use the conventional colour scheme of red, black and white and have a bold cover and use NME and Q as the main inspirations of my magazine. I am going to use fashionable images of bands as other things such as interviews, stories, charts, gossip and gig dates.
I carried out a survey on target audiences for my magazine. I asked ten questions that i thought would be most useful in order for me to know what i need to produce a successful magazine. Only ten people took the survey which was slightly disappointing as i think my results would have been more reliable if i had more people take it. However, my results are still very clear on what people want in a music magazine.
1. What age range are you?
0-11 > 0%
12-15 > 0%
16-19 > 80%
20-29 > 20%
30+ > 0%
Despite the most popular answer being an age range between 16-19 year olds, i have decided that i am going to consider 20-29 year olds in the making of my product because i would like the target age range to be much larger and of a more mature age despite it mainly being targeted towards teenagers.This will help me produce a successful final piece because i know that the median age range of readers for NME magazine is 23 so i can relate to what they would find most appealing in a music magazine by using my research on the NME magazine.
2. What gender are you?
Male > 80%
Female > 20%
My target audience in mainly males that would read my magazine, this helps me to decide what kind of articles i would use and the style of the writing. It also helps me decide that maybe a female model would be on the front cover as this would attract male attention more. However, i would like to consider the small percentage of female audience too, so i will use images of both male and female artists on the front and use other unisex colours every now and then throughout my product such as light blues.
3. If ever, how often do you read music related magazines?
Never > 10%
Rarely > 0%
Weekly > 50%
Monthly > 40%
More than once a week > 0%
Daily > 0%
This shows that the readers mainly read music magazines on a weekly basis. However, the second most popular answer was on a monthly basis, which is the answer i am going to consider more because a monthly magazine would seem more appealing to me as it would have alot more information in and people would be less likely on missing out on an issue. Because i am going to use this option, it indicates to me that i need to put as much information and articles in my magazine as possible so that it is actually worthwhile.
4. What are your favourite genres of music?
Hip-hop/Rap > 20%
Rock > 40%
Indie and Alternative > 60%
Dance > 20%
RnB > 40%
Other > 30%
Despite people liking all different genres of music in this question, it shows me that most people are more interested in an Indie and Alternative genre, which is helpful to me because this is the genre of music magazine that i would like to produce and it is also the type of magazine i have been researching so i know what my target audience are hoping to see in my product.
5. Do you read any of these magazines?
Kerrang > 30%
NME > 50%
Q > 50%
Spin > 10%
Under the Radar > 10%
None of the Above > 10%
This shows me that most people read either NME or Q magazine which are two of the magazines that i have previously researched and analysed which is helpful because i know the conventions that i will need to use in order to create a successful final piece for my target audience.
6. What kind of articles would you like to see in a music magazine?
1. Upcoming events about bands
2. Interviews with bands
3. New and interesting bands
4. Album reviews and live reviews
5. Charts
6. Tour dates
7. Making of videos and songs
8. Indie stories and about gigs
9. Up and coming bands
10. Fashion, interviews, about band tours.
This tells me what people want to see inside a music magazine and so it gives me a good idea of the articles to put in my final piece. I can use the answers to this question as a guide to what i can put in my magazine.
7. What colours would you like to see in a music magazine?
Black > 90%
Red > 80%
Blue > 40%
Green > 30%
Yellow > 40%
White > 90%
Other > 30%
This shows me that the audience would want my music magazine to mainly stick to a black, red and white colour scheme, this was the result i was hoping to get because i can now stick with the same conventions as other magazines of the same genre which is helpful for me as people will be able to tell what kind of genre it is pretty easily.
8. Out of the following, what would you be most interested to see in a music magazine?
Interviews > 60%
Competitions > 40%
Free CDs > 50%
Special Offers > 60%
Tour Dates > 70%
This shows me that the audience would be interested in all of the listed things that could be in the music magazine, but they would be most interested in tour dates.
9. How often do you prefer magazines to be produces?
Weekly > 30%
Fortnightly > 30%
Monthly > 40%
This shows most people would prefer a music magazine to be produced monthly which indicates to me that i need to use as much information in my magazine as possible to make the audience find it more appealing and worth reading and spending their money on as if i only have a few articles per month, people will see it as a waste of money and will finish the magazine reasonably quickly which isn't what i want.
10. Do you have any other suggestions that you would like to see in a music magazine?
1. Images of fashionable bands
2. Competitions
3. Coupons
4. latest news
5. A bold front cover to make it stand out
6. Music charts
7. interviews
8. gossip about bands
9. gig dates
10. Discounts on itunes and CDs.
These results are useful because i know what kind of things my target audience would like to see in a music magazine, it's also helpful because of the previous question stating that people would only like to get a music magazine once a month, so these results give me lots of information as to what i can fill my product with.
To summarise my results, my target audience is going to be male teenagers between the ages of 16-19. I am going to use the conventional colour scheme of red, black and white and have a bold cover and use NME and Q as the main inspirations of my magazine. I am going to use fashionable images of bands as other things such as interviews, stories, charts, gossip and gig dates.
Audience Research key statistics
Statistics:
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Monday 22 November 2010
Audience research - Institutions
NME is published by IPC (international publishing incorporation) Media. IPC media is a very well known digital publisher in the UK with 26 million adults in the UK UK women and 44% of UK men which over all is almost 27 million adults in the UK – while their online brands reach about 20 million users every month.
The company currently owns five magazine categories in which different genres of magazines are listed, these are:
The company currently owns five magazine categories in which different genres of magazines are listed, these are:
- Connect - Women weeklies magazines featuring clothes and celebrity gossip such as Look, Now and Chat
- Inspire - Leisure magazines about sports aimed at men mainly - Country Life, Rugby World and Decanter
- SouthBank - Womens lifestyle such as hobbies
- TX - About TV programmes and informing readers of the TV schedule includuing TV and TVTimes
- Ignite - Lifestyle and entertainment aimed at men such as Nuts, Mouse breaker and NME
IPC Media is owned by Time Inc which is one of the largest content companies in the world holding a portfolio of 22 U.S. magazines and more than 25 U.S webs which include some of the worlds most popular brands. It's the largest magazine publisher in America and one of the leading publishers in Britain. Time inc do many different products such as television, radio, mobile devices, online websites and branded products.
Time Inc. is owned by Time Warner which is a global leader in media and entertainment with businesses in all areas of television, films and publishing. They are the owners of many recognisable things such as:
Warner Bros.' Studio 2.0,
Interactive Entertainment properties as well as best selling videogames which include LEGO Batman, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Batman Arkham Asylum
DCComics.com,
Digital Cinema,
TMZ.com,
Total Hi-Def disc as well as multiple digital downloading and VOD distribution agreements;
HBO on Demand,
HBO on Broadband
HBO on iTunes;
and many other online sites such as People.com, SI.com, Time.com;CNN.com, TCM.com,CartoonNetwork.com, TheSmokingGun.com, AdultSwim.com, Veryfunnyads.com, NASCAR.com and many more.
The Magazine NME is sponsored by many brands such as H&M, K-Swiss, Puma and the shockwaves hair brand.
The Magazine NME is sponsored by many brands such as H&M, K-Swiss, Puma and the shockwaves hair brand.
Thursday 18 November 2010
Wednesday 17 November 2010
Conventions of indie genre magazine
Ordered layout
Usually a black and white colour scheme with red or blue.
Bold mastheads (in capitals) to draw the target audiences attention
Band names inside the magazine listed somewhere on the front cover
Pretty much all of the fonts are in a bold sans serif, keeping the article simple.
A plain background on the cover to emphasise the artist/band in the main image more.
Usually a black and white colour scheme with red or blue.
Band names inside the magazine listed somewhere on the front cover
Pretty much all of the fonts are in a bold sans serif, keeping the article simple.
A plain background on the cover to emphasise the artist/band in the main image more.
Summary of my findings
In my research, i found out that one of the main conventions for this genre of magazine (indie) is to have a reasonably large bold mast head so that it stands out more. I also found that a colour scheme of red, black and white is quite typical of this genre. Therefore i think that this would be a good colour scheme to use in order for me to have a successful product.
The images used in the magazines i looked at made it clear that they were of a music genre because most of the images had instruments in them which is a good idea for grabbing my target audiences attention. The people in the images are wearing quite fashionable clothes too which is another thing that would draw their attention.
All the magazines i looked at contained interviews for certain bands or artists that have stuff happening like concerts, new albums or if they are just a new band in general and the magazine are just trying to introduce them to the reader. Simple language was used so that the audience could understand. There were also articles that included the latest news or gossip for certain bands.
The images used in the magazines i looked at made it clear that they were of a music genre because most of the images had instruments in them which is a good idea for grabbing my target audiences attention. The people in the images are wearing quite fashionable clothes too which is another thing that would draw their attention.
All the magazines i looked at contained interviews for certain bands or artists that have stuff happening like concerts, new albums or if they are just a new band in general and the magazine are just trying to introduce them to the reader. Simple language was used so that the audience could understand. There were also articles that included the latest news or gossip for certain bands.
I found that the layout of the front covers usually had either a main image over the hot spots or the main cover lines which also followed the route of the eye and in the terminal area I will have the price of the magazine and the bar code as it’s the last thing the reader will see on the cover page. I am going to put my main image on the right side of the double page spread because i decided that it looked the best out of the doubly page spreads i looked at. I will have the contents on the left hand side of my contents page.
Tuesday 16 November 2010
Sunday 14 November 2010
Thursday 11 November 2010
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