2. To find out what my target audience wants within my music magazine it’s
important that I do a form of audience research. I did primary research by creating
a questionnaire for the students at college to discover their personal thoughts and
ideas of music magazines. I included both Quantitative questions (numerical- for
example: “how many magazines do you buy per month?”) and Qualitative
questions (for example: “what’s your favourite music genre and why?”) to get
both opinionated and easy, clear responses. Open and closed questions were also
included to give the students a chance to express their opinion on particular
sections of the questionnaire. I have included questions about ethnicity, gender,
lifestyle, and age so its easier for me to create a target audience profile. From my
results, I can take in the feedback and create a front cover, contents page and
double that will entice my target audience into purchasing my music magazine.
3. 1) Out of the 12 people i gave my questionnaire to, 6 of those students were male and 6 were
female. This is so my survey is fair, reliable and unbiased. Despite aiming my music
magazine at teenage girls, i still thought it was important to get the opinions of the
opposite sex to determine their thoughts on elements of the magazine such as pricing,
appearance and how often an issue should be released.
50%50%
Male Female
4. 2) All my students were in the age category (16-21). As i’m aiming magazine at a more
sophisticated target audience, it was vital that my primary research came from students
who fit into that category so i can take their opinions and corporate them into my
magazine.
100%
16-21 years
5. 3) In my Questionnaire i have included a question about the
students ethnicity because it gives me an insight into what
genre of music certain ethnic groups prefer.
83%
17%
White Asian
6. 4) Its important to know how many times a month our selected students buy a
magazine so i can decide if my target audience are frequent magazine readers.
From this information i can decide if my magazine will release monthly or weekly
issues.
75%
17%
8%
0 1-2 5
7. 5) It’s important knowing what genre of music your target audience like so you know how to target
your magazine at a particular audience. The most popular choice was “pop” which means that the
feedback is even more worthwhile as my genre of music magazine is pop.
33%
25%
8%
8%
17%
8%
pop rock classical indie/folk everything none
8. 6) One of my questions was “Whats your ideal price for a magazine?” which indicates to me how
much my target audience is willing to pay for a specialist magazine. From my feedback, it allows me to
set a reasonable price for my magazine because i now know what my readers feel comfortable paying
for a decent magazine.
8%
17%
8%
8%
17%
8%
17%
17%
£0 £1 £1.50 £2 £2-£3.50 £2.50 £3 £3.50
9. 7) I also included a question asking “ What brand of magazine do you usually
purchase?” so i know what different elements to corporate within my magazine (
fashion, fitness…). However, many of the students i did ask stated they don’t buy a
particular brand as they don’t tend to read many magazines.
8%
8%
17%
8%
8%
50%
Elle Mens Fitness Kerrang music/film related clothes related none
10. 8) I thought it was important to ask my students what is their favourite feature of a
magazine so i know what to include in my music magazine. If i corporate their favourite
elements, the target audience is more likely to purchase the magazine meaning an increase
in demand and popularity. A couple of students didn't answer this question correctly so
there is an irregularity within this question.
47%
20%
13%
20%
Pictures News Adverts Information
11. 9) Asking the students if they only buy the magazine depending on the front cover is a vital
question as it emphasises the importance of appearance. The appearance comes down to the
colour scheme, mast head and main image and the questionnaire proves that if it doesn't visual
appeal to the target audience, they’re not persuaded to purchase the issue.
75%
25%
yes no
12. 10) Finding out what artists my students would like to see in a music magazine is
important as it gives me an insight into what kind of stars i should include in my
magazine. There are a variety of artists that were mentioned within my survey.
Musicians such as Green Day, Disturbed, Paramore, Muse, Justin Bieber, Bring me the
Horizon and the 1975 were highly requested within my questionnaire which gives me
an insight into what particular musicians i should include to entice my target audience.
There isn't a pie chart for this particular question as many students gave more then
one musician.
13. 11) One of my closed questions was “ Do you have a disposable income?” which
gives me information on the lifestyle of my readers. If they have a disposable
income, its more likely they will spend their earnings on pleasurable items such as a
music magazine.
67%
33%
Yes No
14. 12) “How many concerts do you go to per year?” gives me a insight on if my readers are
frequent concert goers. This information tells me if i should include articles on upcoming
concerts and gigs or if i should avoid this subject of writing. This also tells me about their
lifestyle and if they have disposable income to purchase tickets with. Ethnicity can also tie into
this question as different ethnic groups like different artists and therefore will go to different
styles of concerts and gigs.
33%
42%
17%
8%
0 1-2 3-4 5
15. 8%
23%
8%
31%
8%
8%
8%
8%
Upcoming artist Interviews Celebrity Interest Q&A Upcoming Albums None Music articles Instrument related
13)Asking the students what articles they would like to read within the magazine gives
us ideas and opinions on specific article styles and why they enjoy reading them. Articles
such as “Question and Answer” and celebrity interviews are the most popular as my
target audience finds them interesting to discover the lives of their favourite artist(s).
16. 14) Asking the students what attracts them to the front cover hints to me what i should put
most of my focus on within my main cover. Personally the main factors are the main image,
masthead, cover lines and colour schemes, however, i did give them the option to write an
alternative answer as i’m curious to know what attracts them to the front cover of a magazine.
For example, 1 student stated having small adverts within the front cover attracts them into
purchasing the magazine- shows the audience what they can get for their money.
91%
0%0%0%
9%
Main Image Mast head Cover lines Colour scheme other
17. 15) My last question for my students was “How often do you think my magazine issue should be
published?”, indicating if it should be more of a weekly or monthly magazine. If it was a monthly
magazine, there would be more news and celebrity gossip to include whereas if it was a weekly
magazine, the music charts may not have changed and there may not be any new music news to be
shared with my target audience.
17%
58%
8%
8%
8%
weekly monthly every few months none dont know
18. To conclude, I need to observe my primary research and look again at who my target audience is. Conventionally,
pop magazines are targeted at white teenage girls and I would like to challenge that stereotype by aiming my pop
magazine at a variety of ethnic demographics which will increase demand and popularity. I definitely think the
teenage age group is the best audience to cater for as they have a more sophisticated taste in style and content.
The result of the questionnaire is that the genre “Pop” was the most popular with those who filled out my
questionnaire, I think it’s also important to find a colour scheme, font and masthead to link with the connotations
of my genre. I believe my survey was feasible as I asked a mixture of people (who i know and don’t know) but I
would say I possibly didn't ask them at the right time. I carried out my questionnaire during break where students
are rushing around within their 20 minutes so therefore my answers are fairly rushed. As I felt a couple of my
questions weren't answered to its full potential, I will do a small focus group to get detailed opinions on specific
questions so i feel like I've made the most of my primary research. I do believe my results are valid as they are
honest, trust worthy and haven't been answered in a biased way.
