Audience Research

Where have I published my survey?

•www.blondie.net - Forum

•www.michaeljackson.com - Forum

•www.amazon.co.uk – 80s Discussion Forum

•www.facebook.com – Fan Pages of 80s artists and bands.

•www.about.com – 80s Forum

Results of SurveyThe results show that 80s music is most popular with people aged 31+ however aged 13-19 is a close second therefore I will make my magazine suitable for both.

The most popular location is America however UK was a close second and similar artists are popular in both locations.

The majority have not read these magazines however his could have something to do with the date of release or location of where it is published. Smash hits was the most popular magazine and that stopped being published in 2006.

All of these 80s artists were popular especially Michael Jackson. Madonna and Blondie were also popular therefore I will consider featuring these artists when designing my magazine.

80s Music Magazine SurveyFrom my survey I found out that the audience of 80s pop/pop rock music is very varied. The popular ages groups were ages 13-19 and 31+ therefore I am going to produce my music magazine for an older audience however make it suitable for teenagers to read also. As the pop music magazines I have looked at are either for just a young audience or are published in America, I am going to carry out some further audience research to look at music magazines which are suitable for both an older and teenage audience. I will analyse Q magazine and MOJO magazine.

I found out what colours the target audience for my magazine believe represent the 80s. The majority of people answered bright colours; neon, pink, yellow, blue, red, green and purple. These colours match what I found out when carrying out my existing product research therefore when designing my magazine I will use a bright colour scheme.

From my survey I found out that more people haven’t read pop magazines than have. However this could have something to do with the date of release as Smash Hits and No1 magazine are no longer published and Billboard is an American magazine. However around a third of people had read these magazines therefore my research on them was worthwhile. About a third of people had read Q magazine, therefore this is another reason to why I will analyse this magazine as it is popular with the audience.

Michael Jackson is a very popular 80s icon as to many people he is there favourite 80s pop music artist. Madonna, Blondie, Bananarama and Bon Jovi were also popular artists from my results. There was a very wide variety of artists mentioned when asked ‘who would you like to see comeback’ which gives me an idea of popular artists I could use in my magazine.

From my survey I discovered that I will definitely have to include articles on 80s popstars in my magazine as well as comebacks, tour dates, song lyrics and posters. I will consider the other suggestions made when producing my magazine as this is the opinion of my target audience. Including; Q&A, biographies, then and now, fashion and interviews.

100% of people who answered my survey currently listen to 80s pop/pop rock music therefore the results will be relevant as my main target audience, in general, is people who listen to 80s music. A high percentage of people who answered my survey said they would by an 80s edition of a magazine if it was to be sold now which is also relevant because that is what I am producing. This means that they would be likely to buy the magazine if it had the colours, features and artists they suggested therefore I will consider these ideas when producing my magazine.

2010 Issues of MOJO magazine published monthly. The magazines tend to have basic colour schemes which suggests an older audience

The covers feature modern artists such as Foo Fighters as well as artists from past decades including Bruce Springsteen, therefore the magazine is targeting a wide audience.

There is an even ratio of text to picture with only slightly more text. This suggests a wide audience which focuses more on an older audience as its target.

Mojo Magazine Specials

Below are some of the front covers of the Mojo specials which have been published. This shows that the publishers of Mojo change their usual layout/colours to suit the special theme of the magazine.

The New Wave special edition of MOJO magazine uses an image of Debbie Harry, lead singer of the band Blondie, on the front cover as Blondie were one of the New Wave bands around at the time. This targets the audience of the magazine as it will appeal to New Wave music fans. Red, black and yellow colours are used to reflect the music genre which will also appeal to its audience.

Further Product ResearchThe colours used for these editions of MOJO magazine are bright which reflect the genre/era of music. A simple colour scheme of 3 colours; white, black an pink is used however it is effective as it is bright and eye catching.

Like the other MOJO magazines the photography used is posed in a studio probably specifically for this magazine front cover. However on these special edition issues the images have been edited on Photoshop to make them look brighter.

An even text/picture ratio has been used on these front covers which suggests an older audience as a younger audience would be attracted to more pictures.

There is little writing on these front covers as the text is written using a big font so that it takes up more space. ‘Where pop meets punk’ attracts its audience as people who like these genres of music are likely to want to read the magazine.

Bold and simple fonts are used on these front covers so that the text is easy to read. Some text is written on a slant to make it more interesting and ‘Elton’ uses a 3D looking font which suggests this is a exciting issue.

These front covers would stand out as they have very bright colour schemes and photography. Overall they work very well as they target their audience.

The MOJO READER

John is 37, a passionate and discerning music fan, long-time musician himself and dedicated record collector. With his high disposable income, John loves nothing more than sneaking off to the local independent record store to see what’s in. John proudly invests in an extensivemixture of vinyl (classics and rarities), CD’s, and carries a well stocked iPod that covers everything from prog to nu-folk, Motown to 60’s garage, blues and psychedelia. John’s heroes are Bowie and Jimmy Page, he has played the guitar since his school days and gets together now and again for a jam with his muso pals. A heavy gig goer, he also likes the more ‘boutique’ festival experience, having begun to outgrow Glastonbury, he is now just as likely to head to a smaller scale shindig such as Latitude or Green Man Festival. John and his partner occasionally like to unwind at the weekend by packing the toddlers off to their grandparents and inviting their friends around for dinner, whiskey and a rifle through hisrecord collection to unearth some hidden gems. Well read and media-savvy, they chat into the small hours about music, books and films.

-Bauer Media

Q MagazineI have decided to carry out some further product research due to the results of my survey. I found that the audience of 80s music comes in a wide age range and the majority of people who listen to 80s music are 31+ therefore I am researching Q magazine. The magazine is designed for an older audience however it is suitable for a younger audience at the same time.

The Q READER

Mark is 29 and lives in Leeds. He is a passionate music fan, as a lad he got into ‘proper music’ in the mid-’90s, inspired by the rock ‘n’ roll swagger of Liam and Noel, Blur and the Britpop scene. He’s in full-time employment but revelling in life without any dependents or family responsibilities. Mark has high disposable income to spend on himself alone, being a heavy consumer of music, buying up to 6 albums per month. He loves reading Q to discover new music, as well as filling in the gaps in his back catalogue. New music forms part of his social currency, so Mark is keen to know the new Mumford & Sons before they go mainstream and uses this knowledge as influence within his friendship circle. Mark is highly savvy to digital technology, a keen social networker and uses online services to enhance his social life. He’ll regularly welcome his mates round to his for some Spotify DJ-ing and a few beers as a warm-up for a big night out. An open-minded experience seeker, Mark loves the live music experience, opting to go for a mixture of gigs, especially huge arena shows for the likes of Kings Of Leon and Kasabian. He attends Leeds festival religiously annually and this year he’s off to Benicassim in Spain for his mate’s stag weekend. Though a hugely passionate music fan, this is not to the detriment of his other interests – film, gaming, sport, TV and comedy.

-Bauer Media

Q Magazine Front Covers From the 1980s – 2010

The design of the front cover of Q magazine hasn’t changed much since the 80s. The only real difference is the photography. The 2010 issues feature one large posed image whereas the issues from the 80s tend to feature several smaller photos with a variety of posed and live.

Q Magazine – Front CoverThis magazine front cover has a fairly basic colour scheme which hasn’t changed much since the 80s issues. It uses the colours black, grey and white with red to add colour. This is a sophisticated colour scheme therefore will appeal to a mature .audience

The photography used on this front cover is posed which suggests it has been taken specifically for this magazine. The photo is bright so that it stands out when contrasted with the dull background. The mise-en-scene of the photo tells us that the magazine isn’t aimed at a young audience as she is wearing little clothes. This suggests its for a male audience however Lady Gaga is a musical icon who has female fans so it also will appeal to them.

There are no paragraphs of writing on this front cover, instead short sentences are used and names of music artists. ‘Move over Madonna...’ ellipsis is used to make the reader want to read the magazine to find out more.

The text/picture ratio of this front cover is about half and half. There is only one picture however it is large, taking up a lot of the page and being the main feature. This makes the cover balanced which suggests a balanced/wide audience.

There is a wide range of fonts used on this front cover which again suggests a wide audience. Artists are written in bold fonts so that they stand out and ‘Lady Gaga’ is written in a bold large font so that its the main writing feature.

The overall look of this magazine is good as it features a photograph of one of the post popular artists around at the moment. The colour scheme is very modern and shows what my audience would like however because I am designing an 80s magazine edition I have to consider those colours too.

‘Open minded experience seekers, the Q audience don’t define themselves by the music they listen to. Music is an important passion, but their love of music will never be to the detriment of their other passions, such as film, sport and comedy.’ – Bauer Media Website.

Target audience – What the publishers say...‘Discerning and passionate music aficionados, the MOJO audience is predominately male (72%) and affluent (36% AB). These heavy consumers of music see their passion as discovery without boundaries, genre and decade being secondary to quality. ‘– Bauer Media Website.

"Smash Hits revolutionised the world of teen publishing when it was launched in 1978, but 28 years later, the world is a very different place and the magazine's role and relevance on the news stand changed."

"The audience for the magazine was getting younger... as teenagers migrated to new platforms to satisfy their interest in music."

"This is an audience very much open to change and new technology and teenagers now get their pop news and videos online. Our teenage digital platforms are well established but they aren't as advanced as, for example, the men's market, so we'll be developing them over the course of this year.“

EMAP decided to stop publishing Smash hits magazine in 2006 as teenagers in the modern day have other ways of keeping up with new music because of modern technology. The internet and TV has taken over therefore Smash hits kept there brand going by having a music channel and website to suit the modern teenage audience.

- EMAP