Audience Research Questionnaire FEEDBACK

I surveyed 20 teenagers for my Questionnaire. I did this because teenagers are my target audience as they are most likely to buy music magazines. As shown of the pie chart to the right, 65% of those who answered my questionnaire were female, and 35% were male. This means that my results will not determine the teenage population's answers, as it is biased. Also 20 participants is not a enough people to rely on the results. However I can get a general idea of what bands teenagers are interested in. 

The most age asked most was 16, which is mid teens, and therefore is quite reliable of teenagers on a whole. Some very popular artists among the teenage population were not mentioned, such as Avenged Sevenfold or Bring Me to the Horizon, which is because I have only asked a very small sample. When asked which artists they like, the following twenty artists were the most popular:

1. Fall Out Boy (nine times)
2. My Chemical Romance (nine times)
3. Paramore (eight times)
4. Green Day (eight times)
5. All Time Low (seven times)
6. 30 Seconds to Mars (seven times)
7. Ed Sheeran (seven times)
8. You Me at Six (six times)
9. The 1975 (six times)
10. Muse (six times)
11. Bastille (five times)
12. Panic! at the Disco (five times)
13. The Smiths (four times)
14. Blink 182 (four times)
15. Oasis (four times)
16. Gerard Way (also My Chemical Romance, three times)
17. Taylor Swift (three times)
18. Mcfly (three times)
19. One Direction (three times)
20. Black Veil Brides (three times)

My results also showed me that many teenagers also buy music magazines such as NME, Rock Sound and Kerrang!, which are all rock magazines, and therefore my magazine may be more successful with the teenage population. Most people answered that they spend £4- under £7 on music magazines per month, which shows me that I can either make my magazine weekly (for around £1.50), or monthly (for around £5). Many participants haven't seen there favorite bands live, which is usual in the teenage population, as they are low on money, and do not have the means of travel. However, if they have seen an artist live, it is usually not one of their favorites, which could be because their music tastes have changed, or that was one opportunity (such as the Girl Guiding big gig).

Name Ideas

Magazine Name Ideas

My music magazine will be in the rock genre, and therefore requires a name that is related to rock music. The name Kerrang! is used because it is onomatopoeia, like words such as crash, bang or wallop. Words like these are used because they are loud (like rock music) and capture people's attention. My name can go along with this, or I can try to create a unique name, that does not go along with these rock magazine conventions.

• Kapow!
• Bam!
• Crash!
• Boom!

I want my magazine name to have an association with music, such as "Reverb" or "Amplify", but it is hard to find a name that fits these conventions that is original, as many students have done music magazines with names such as these, which makes them less unique.

UPDATE: (01/12/2014)

I have decided to call my magazine Reverb, because it has been less used in the past years of AS level Media Studies and therefore is more unique. The definition of Reverb is: "an effect whereby the sound produced by an amplifier or an amplified musical instrument is made to reverberate slightly" which links to music, therefore this makes my magazine obviously in the music genre.

Demographics

Demographics

 

This table shows magazine target audience groups (as constructed by www.nrs.co.uk). My target audience group is group E, who may have less money, but also have more free time, so are more likely to buy a cheaper music magazine.

 

 These figures show how many people buy Kerrang! magazine (in thousands). It shows that, on average, Kerrang! sells 252,000 issues a week, which at £2.20 per magazine, creates a gross profit of £554,400 per week, this does not include advertising, which will account to just as much as the sales, and therefore each weekly Kerrang! issue must earn over £1,000,000 (not including expenses).

 

These figues show the newsbrand consumption of the UK, and shows that 80.2% of GB adults 15+ consume newsbrands accross print and conline, which is every 4/5 people that are aged over 15 living in the UK.

LIIAR Analysis

LIIAR Analysis

The main article is about Gerard Way, as it is the largest story featured, in large, bold, black and red text, and it also links to the main image. The camera is angled head on to Gerard Way, and is a medium close-up shot. This is conventional of music magazines. The genre is clearly rock, as words are used such as "KILLER", and the fonts of the text are large and bold, with the title "KERRANG!" it looks like shattered glass. The colors used are contrasting with each other, making them all stand out more, such as yellow on black, on red on white. There are many side stories, which will draw the reader in such as "I ALMOST DIED FIVE TIMES..." which is interesting to the reader. There is also posters free with the magazine (a plug), which will draw in the reader and make them want to buy it for the "freebies".

The magazine itself is published by Bauer Media, a fairly large magazine publishing company which is known worldwide. The magazines that Bauer Media publish range in subjects, from "KERRANG!" to "Bird Watching", from "Golf World" to "Heat". This is so they target every audience. The purpose of Kerrang! magazine is to make money, and they do this by including advertisements which is targeted at teenagers. This advertisement was in another Gerard Way issue of Kerrang! and closely links to the cover photo (shown below). Advertisements are the main source profit for magazine publishers, especially with Kerrang! as each magazine is sold at a retail price of only £2.20, with is fairly cheap compared to other magazines such as Rock Sound (which also features Gerard Way).

The target audience of Kerrang! is teenagers. They do this by including bands that appeal more to teenagers, such as My Chemical Romance and You Me at Six. They also have issues every week at £2.20 each, which is fairly cheap for a magazine, which is better for teenagers, as they never have much money, so Kerrang! is a better, cheaper option than other magazines such as Rock Sound or Mojo. 

Conventions 2.0

Conventions 2.0

Kerrang! is a typical rock magazine, which is obvious the fonts of the text (large, sharp and varied), the expressions of the artists on the main image (mouth open, screaming), and the colors used (bright, contrasting colors that stand out). I am creating a rock magazine, and therefore I need to apply these conventions to my work. The target audience of these types of magazines are usually teenagers, as teenagers usually like rock bands more than the older generation.

BBC's Music is a typical classical music magazine. This can be seen from the instruments held (such as a violin, or a conductor's baton, which are used mostly in classical music). The colors used complement each other to create a cover that doesn't stand out as much as Kerrang!, however the cover fits together better with the use of these colors. The text fonts are all very similar, however they are all in white which makes them stand out against their black background. These types of magazines aren't as popular as other magazines as their target audience is the older generation, who don't make magazines a priority.

Billboard is a typical chart music magazine. It includes artist usually found in the Official top 40 (see "Music Charts 12/10/2014"). The target audience of these types of magazines are usually women between the ages of 14-30, as they're usually more enthusiastic about the charts. The cover of these Billboard magazines feature artists such as Rihanna, Beyonce and Katy Perry, who are 'big' artists, and will attract an audience. The colors used are mainly complementing, except from the title (using the same white, red, blue and yellow) which stands out and catches the eye.

Mizz is a typical teenage magazine. The artists usually appeal more to girls between the age of 6-16, who are a dependable target audience as they usually buy magazines. Artists such as Zac Efron and Bridgit Mendler are also from popular teenage television shows and films, and therefore will attract an audience that doesn't usually buy music magazines. These types of magazine usually have a 'plug' or a 'freebie' such as free makeup, which will appeal more to their target audience. The colors used are very girly, consisting mainly of pink, red and yellow, which are bright and catch the eye easily. 

Music Charts 12/10/2014

Music Charts

Official UK Top 10 Singles Chart

As you can see, rock music barely makes it into the Official UK top 10 singles chart, the only song being Blame It On Me by George Ezra (folk rock). The main genre in the Official UK top 10 singles chart is mainstream dance music, which may be because many 'dance clubs' (which have had a growing popularity worldwide) require upbeat music, and therefore purchase this music, perhaps inspiring customers to purchase this music themselves. However there is a separate Official UK top 10 rock singles chart, which contain artists such as Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, which are two bands I am choosing to focus on for my music magazine. 

Official UK Top 10 Rock Singles Chart

Target Audience Diversity

Magazine publishers such as TimeIncUK and Bauer Media have a wide range of magazines for a diverse target audience. Many people like many different things, so there has to be multiple magazines to suit everyone's interests. Although TimeIncUK and Bauer Media are different publishers, they have similar magazines, as both publishers try to target every audience.

Bauer Media

 

TimeIncUK

 

As seen, many of the magazines produced by the publishers are very similar, such as Gold World and Golf Monthly, Practical Photography and Photographer, Sea Angler and Angler's Mail. This is because both Bauer Media and TimeIncUK want to have a diverse selection of magazines for every audience. My magazine may be more likely to be published by TimeIncUK, as Bauer Media does already publish very similar rock music magazine Kerrang, and TimeIncUK doesn't publish a magazine like Kerrang. The closest that TimeIncUK publishes is NME, which features more 'indie' artsists than rock artists. Therefore TimeIncUK can target rock fans by publishing my magazine, increasing it's scope in the publishing industry. 

Audience Research Questionnaire

I have created a questionnaire to research what types of music my target audience (teenagers between the age of 14-20) is passionate about. The questionnaire also questions what areas of the music business my target audience is into, from the inspiration that creates songs to the creation of music videos, so I know exactly what to include in my magazine. This is my questionnaire:

Videos

Music videos from my genre:

My Chemical Romance - Famous Last Words

I feel that this music video represents the heavier side of rock, as it contains black parade uniforms, black eye make up, fire, and instruments such as electric guitars, bass guitars and drums. The song itself is quite heavy, and contains lyrics such as:
I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone 
Honey if you stay, I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home

These lyrics show the deepness of rock music, and teenagers can associate with them, as it is the time of their lives when they go through the 'existential crisis', and consider life and death in general.

Fall Out Boy - I Don't Care

This music video shows Fall Out Boy being quite inappropriate, and doing things such as dressing as nuns, stealing from a busker and dropping water bombs on people. This complies with the songs lyrics:
I don't care what you think as long as it's about me 
The best of us can find happiness in misery 

Teenagers (my target audience) can relate to these lyrics, as they're in a time of their lives when they feel most ignored.

Panic! At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies

This music video represent the 'emo' side of rock, and shows Panic! at the Disco at a wedding, wearing top hats and red suits. People at the wedding are wearing 'weird' make up and clothing, which makes the video very abstract on a whole, which connotes to rock music. The song itself contains lyrics such as:
I'd chime in with a
"Haven't you people ever heard of closing the goddamn door?!"
No, it's much better to face these kinds of things
With a sense of poise and rationality.
My target audience (teenagers) can relate to these lyrics, as they are going through a time in their lives where there is a lot of 'gossip', and words and passed from person to person and distorted.

Paramore - Ignorance

The band Paramore is different to the other bands, as instead of a front man, it has a front woman (Hayley Williams). Hayley represents the female audience, as she is everything they want to be. Her red hair represents rock music in general, as being bright and loud. The music video is very dark in some points, only lit by a single light bulb, which is conventional of rock. The song itself contains lyrics such as:

This is the best thing that could've happened
Any longer and I wouldn't have made it
It's not a war no, it's not a rapture
I'm just a person but you can't take it
The same tricks that, that once fooled me
They won't get you anywhere
I'm not the same kid from your memory
Well now I can fend for myself

These lyrics are relatable to teenagers (my target audience) as many feel ignored and rebellious, and therefore accept the lyrics quicker.