Primary Audience Research

Copy of questionnaire
that i am going to distribute.

It is important that both quantitative and qualitative data are used during the primary audience research, therefore not only will I be distributing the above questionnaire to my target audience, gaining quantitative data, but also gathering a small focus group of my target audience, answering the same set of questions but able to expand on their response, creating qualitative data. This will ensure that my product meets the expectations of my audience.

I have focused my questionnaire on ages between 15 and 40, this is a wide range gap, however the average reader of magazines such as UNCUT and MOJO, in which my target audience shares similarities with, have an average reader age of mid 30's. The content of the questions focuses on the factors of a music magazine as a whole package, and how my production could be presented based on this, in knowing what the audience wants.

Write up:
I asked 10 males and 10 females from a variety of ages within my focus group, to complete my questionnaire. With the majority getting involved through the internet or another form of media, with at least one music publication, with the majority out of those who do get involved being male.

It is the popular opinion of those i asked, to go against the latest 'in' look, with them all astonishingly looking for their own individual look. Upon first looking at the front cover of a magazine, the most common appealing factor of the cover was the colour, with a minority of females making the topic of it a close runner up. All, both males and females, were in agreement that new/ unsigned bands should feature more on the cover pages of music publications. The majority would buy a music magazine based on its front cover without even looking inside, whilst the majority of males look for high quality articles as well as photographs,a small minority of females take strongly to it not being an issue. It was common in both male and female replies for them to want strongly to learn about music past and present and this to be a running feature in every music magazine. To generalise, the majority do not read music magazines to keep up to date with their social lives/ peers, whilst a minimalist layout of the front cover design is the popular opinion all round, although a minority of males preffered the informative layout.

Focus Group:
To collect qualitative data with a range of people the same ages as my target audience, i asked the group what they would expect to see in a music magazine, and for them to highlight preferences in areas such as layout, colour theme, content, photography and portrayal of musicians, using specific examples if they could. I recorded the response i got and below have transcribed each reponse in no particular order, and sticking by my word of leaving all anonymous.

Transcription:
"Simplistic and stylish designs are usually better, but i like to see the style of design change regarding the genre of the cover feature band, or even seasonal theme, an example of the seasonal theme i've got is from an NME from October 2007, it featued dave grohl holding a severed head - i liked the way it combined seasonal halloween theme with grunge music genre, and also mocking his 'nice guy' image"

"If there's an in depth interview with somone, i like there to be a cut out from the interview to epitomise the feeling of the interview - i like to know if its going to be an intense read or light hearted humour before!"

"I like the photography to look real, for me it doesn't matter if they're looking at the camera, all i want is sincerity in the photograph cover, for it to show the real them"

"I really appreciate the complexity of MOJO's sophistication, their colour theme always looks spot on, bold text is a must and as a general rule only one image to be used on the cover"

"On a whole, i think its important that a leading music magazine should have a main feature article about great rock and roll, punk, etc bands from the past, and then include a wide range of musical era, id be happy to see A mixture of more interviews with the younger lot, and articles on the older bands!"

"I'm a big fan of colour themes that manage to single handedly capture the essence of a generation, i'd use the example of the britpop issue from the questionnaire, MOJO do a great job it, something like that is really important too"

"I would expect, from a leading music magazine, the quality of the writing to be up to scratch, light hearted enough to just read pretty absent mindedly but enough sustance to actually enjoy, UNCUT do a good job of this, particularly in their anaysis and reviews of situations"

"I don't want a lot, quite simply - original music, original and stylish layout design and a minimalist compostion, originality is the key, which NME tend to have too many 'off' weeks on"

"For me, it's really important for music magazines to take themselves seriously, they should report an effective overview of the latest happenings in the music industry, and not be too caught up on who's watching who's paint dry etc. Monthlys tend to do a better interpretation of this and that's what i'm into"


Overall Write Up:
This audience has proved really helpful and crucial in me discovering exactly what my audience wants to see in its music magazine, I will now use these findings as the base for my own project and build it to the audiences expectations. I will use space effectively and stick to a minimalist approach, I will use a colour theme that stays in touch with my subject and i will be sure to integrate music from all the popular eras into the more contemporary music scene and create a very bold publication.