Audience Research

WHAT IS YOUR SEX?

Female

Male

30%

70%

From this graph you can see that the majority of people I questioned are female (70%) which
informs me that my music magazine should be aimed more towards a female audience in order to
appeal to the majority. Although there will still be male readers so I would prefer to make my
magazine gender neutral so that it appeals to anyone and everyone. I think that this would make it
more successful as music is aimed at all sexes.

WHAT IS YOUR AGE?

16

17

18

5%
17%

78%

I also questioned people on their age to get a better understanding of my audience; everyone asked
was between the ages of 16-18 with over three-quarters of them being 16 (78%). This data will
inform my magazine planning in the sense that Ill use language and design features that will
appeal to this age group. 16 year olds are most likely use informal language and slang terms so in
the planning of my music magazine Im going to make sure that Im using them. It will also be
useful in creating my press release so that its clear to my target audience that my magazine is
likely to interest them in some way.

WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA SITES DO YOU USE?

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Tumblr

Pinterest

YouTube

Snapchat

Whatsapp

1%
9%

15%

23%

17%

9%

17%
9%

This graph shows that my target audience uses a wide range of social media sites, but most
commonly YouTube (23%), Instagram (17%) and Facebook (17%). In order to appeal to my target
audience Im going to include links to the companys profiles on these websites; this will allow
them to access digital information and view updates on the release of new volumes immediately
and easily. Having account information included will make my magazine more successful as it can
be easily shared so a wider audience in likely to be informed of its existence. Sites such as
WhatsApp (1%) and Snapchat (9%) are clearly less popular so Im not going to include them in my
planning.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE BRANDS?

H&M

New Look

Converse

5%

Primark

Fatface

Topshop

Superdry

5%
30%

10%

10%

15%
25%

This pie chart represents what brands people like. Its clear that the majority like H&M (30%) and
a quarter like New Look (25%). This information gives me a better understanding of my audiences
interests and where they like to shop. The least popular brands were both Fatface (5%) and
Superdry (5%) so Im not going to include them in the planning of my magazine design.

WHAT ARE YOU INTERESTS/HOBBIES?

Music

Fashion

Sport

Travel

Film/TV

Gaming

Art/Photography

YouTube

Reading

1%
18%

20%

9%
11%
4%
7%

12%
18%

This graph shows the interests/hobbies of my target audience. A large number of people said that
they are interested in music (18%), YouTube (20%) and film/tv (18%) so Im going to incorporate
at least one of these in my planning. Since Im designing a music magazine it will already appeal to
my audience but on my front cover or contents page I could also include information on YouTube
and films so that its more appealing and therefore more successful. Very few people are interested
in sport (4%) and travel (7%) so Im definitely not going to feature them in my magazine design.

DO YOU BUY MUSIC MAGAZINES REGULARLY?

Yes

No

35%

65%

This pie chart represents the number of people that buy music magazines regularly and the
number of people that dont. Over half of the audience surveyed said that they did buy them
regularly (65%) which informs me that my target audience are likely to be interested in consuming
my magazine.

HOW MUCH AS YOU WILLING TO PAY FOR A MUSIC

MAGAZINE?
2

10%

10%

30%
50%

Here are the results from my questionnaire in which I asked people how much they were willing to
pay for a music magazine; half of the people questioned said that they would pay 3 (50%). This
informs me that my magazine should be at this price in order to be successful and a wider audience
are likely to be willing to pay for it. Only 40% said that they would pay over 3 so Im not going to
sell it at a higher price.

DO YOU GO TO GIGS/FESTIVALS?
Yes

No

35%

65%

From this graph you can see that over half of the people surveyed go to gigs/festivals (65%) so I
know that if it include information on upcoming gigs/festivals in my music magazine the majority
of readers will be interested. Therefore, in my planning and design Im going to remember to
include this feature in order it to appeal to my target audience and be more successful.

WHAT MUSIC FESTIVALS HAVE YOU ATTENDED?

Reading/Leeds

Download

Sundown

Reload

None

25%
45%

15%

5%

10%

This pie charts represents what music festivals people have attended. The most popular festival is
clearly Reading/Leeds (25%) as a quarter of the people questioned have attended. On my front
cover or contents page Im going to mention that there will be information on this music festival so
attract my target audience and they are more likely to purchase the magazine if it contains
stories/information that interest them. Very few people have attended Reload festival (5%) so Im
not going to feature that in my magazine.

WHAT GENRE OF MUSIC DO YOU PREFER?

Rock

Metal

R&B

Electronic

4%

Pop

4%

Alternative

Country

Dubstep

18%

9%
4%

39%

4%
18%

Here are the results from my questionnaire in which is asked people their favourite genre of music.
Over a quarter of people said that they prefer alternative music (39%) which is the genre that Im
basing my music magazine on. Therefore I know that my target audience will be interested in
reading my magazine and it will most likely be successful. A large number of people also said they
enjoyed pop (18%) and rock (18%) music. When designing I will try to appeal to these people as
well by having stories and interviews on bands of various genres.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE BANDS?

Fall Out Boy

Muse

P!ATD

Green Day

Coldplay

5SOS

TOP

0%
12%
4%

32%

12%

8%
8%

24%

From this graph you can see that a large number of people like Fall out Boy (32%) and Muse (24%)
and also Twenty one Pilots (12%). This will influence my planning as in order to appeal to my
audience Im going to include features related to these bands. When designing my front cover I
could include cover lines that mention the artists. Only 4% of the 20 people questioned like the
bands 5SOS so I most likely wont include them as its wont contribute to the appeal of my music
magazine.

WHAT STORIES WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN

READING?
Interviews

News

Top music

Gossip

Album reviews

10%
10%

35%

15%

30%

This graph shows what stories people are interested in reading; clearly the most popular options
chosen are interviews (35%) and news (30%) so for my double page spread Im going to have an
interview with a band that I have previously discovered my target audience are very interested in.
Also, for my contents page planning Im going to have pages on other interviews, news, top music,
gossip and album reviews as some people said that they would like these features. Therefore my
magazine will appeal to my target audience and be more successful.

WHAT COLOUR SCHEME WOULD YOU LIKE?

Black & White

Purple

Blue

Orange

Red

20%
40%
10%
5%

25%

WHAT TYPE OF MASTHEAD WOULD YOU PREFER?

Bold and colourful

Simplistic

Related to genre of music

20%

45%

35%

These graphs represent what colour schemes and masthead designs my target audience of young
adults prefer. The results show that the colour black & white (40%) are very popular as well as
purple (25%) so in order to interest my audience and catch their attention Im going to combine
these colour schemes. Many people said that they would prefer a masthead that is related to the
genre of music (45%) as nearly half of the people questioned show this answer. In addition, over a
quarter of people said they would prefer a simplistic masthead so when I come to plan my music
magazine Im going to design a masthead that both relates to the alternative, punk rock genre and
is simplistic.

DO YOU LIKE PLAYING THE GAMES PROVIDED?

Yes

No

20%

80%

DO YOU LIKE GETTING A FREE GIFT?

Yes

No

5%

95%

From both of the graphs above its clear that almost everyone plays the games provided in
magazines and enjoys getting a free gift. This will influence the planning of my front cover and
contents page and Im going to mention that it comes with both a free gift and there are games
included at the end. The result of this will be reaching the interest of a larger number of people. On
the front cover I could use a puff to inform the reader of one of these features.

DO YOU LIKE COMPETITIONS/GIVEAWAYS?

Yes

No

25%

75%

Here are the results from whether people like competitions/games in magazines. Three quarters of
the people surveyed said yes (75%) so Im going to incorporate them into my music magazine
design somehow.

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A MUSIC MAGAZINE?

Posters

Images

Events info

Updates

News stories

10%
6%
36%
19%

29%

The last question I asked in my questionnaire was an open answer question so that people could
give a final answer as to what features would convince them to buy a music magazine. Many people
said that they like news stories (36%) and updates (29%) so in order to appeal to the majority,
when planning my magazine I will remember to incorporate these features. Although, in order to
attract the larger audience possible Im most likely going to include all of the options above.