Uses and Gratification TheoryThe uses and gratification theory suggests that consumers and prosumers (audience) play active roles in choosing and using the media we consume. The theory says that a consumer seeks out the media sources that best cover the needs of the consumer.

According to McQuail, Blumler and Brown (1972) the consumers has 4 needs:-Diversion-Personal Identity-Personal Relationships-Surveillance

Diversion:A change from every day life, an escape and something to relax to.Personal Identity:Using media to explore yourself, maybe by someone you can relate to or is presented and sounds like you/what you relate to.Personal Relationships:To form a relationship, be part of a social group.Surveillance:Using the media to find out what's going on in the world around us.

Applying to magazines

Diversion:A magazine like METAL HAMMER is good to sit back and relax with and have a calm time of reading, and helps you escape from everything around you.Personal Identity:In magazines such as METAL HAMMER they offer articles, and with some of these articles you will relate to what is being said or to the person, the letter from the editor also.Personal Relationships:A magazine like METAL HAMMER has all the up to date news so you can stay on top of the gossip with your friends.Surveillance:METAL HAMMER helps us get the insight into the latest news in our music celebrities lives and what they’ve been up to with reviews.

Research into Magazine Institutions/Companies

IPC Media produce over 60 iconic media brands, their prints alone reach almost two thirds of women in the UK and 42% of men men in the UK – making almost 26 million UK adults – while their websites in total reach over 20 million users every month (Omniture).

Emap specializes in the ‘b2b’ (business to business) publishing space. It has publications for a variety of genres and these are quite different and contain detailed content relating to an industry, such as nursing, retail and media. By having this a wide audience is attracted through magazines and on-line versions, including rssfeeds.

Bauer Media is Europe’s largest privately owned publishing group. The Bauer Publishing Group is a worldwide media empire with over 230 magazines in 15 countries. They also feature heavily online, TV and a wide range of radio stations.

Kerrang

NME(Mainstream)

Smash Hits(Mainstream)

Kerrang(Niche)

Ideal Publisher

Future, is an independent company with a portfolio of magazines aimed at niche market sectors.

“We base everything we do on enthusiasts who are passionate about their interests.”

Future PLC are my ideal publisher, they run METAL HAMMER magazine, and are perfectly made to fulfil niche markets. As they’re used to dealing with smaller markets it’s easier to give the consumers what they want.

Future PLC

QuestionnaireWhat type of music do you listen to?1) Metal/Hard Rock iiii2) Mainstream iiii3) Dubstep, Drum & Bass, etc. iiiiiii4) Country i5) Classical i6) D’n’B/ Hip Hop iiiiii6) Other iii

Which of these would you prefer to read?1) Kerrang iii2) METAL HAMMER ii3) NME iiii4) Rolling Stone iii5) Q iii6) Other iii

How do you prefer to listen to your music?1) Radio iiii2) TV/Music Channel ii3) Itunes iiiiiii4) Spotify ii5) Personal device: MP3/Ipod/Mobile iiiiiiiiii

Which of these would you first look at before purchasing a magazine?1) Free Cd’s, Posters etc. iiiiiiii2) Front cover image iiiiiii3) Special Edition ii4) I purchase a music magazine regularly iii

What do you expect from a music magazine?1) Interviews iiiiiiii2) Release Reviews iiiiiii3) Gig Guide/Reviews iiiiiii4) Festival Reviews/News iiiiiii5) Other iiii

What price would you pay for a music magazine?1) > £1 ii2) £1 - £3 iiiiiii3) £3 - £5 iiiii4) < £5 i

What tribe are you? (Findyourtribe.co.uk)

What type of music do you listen to?

17%

17%

29%0%

4%

21%

12%

Results

Metal/Hard Rock

Mainstream

Dubstep, Drum & Bass, etc.

Country

Classical

These results show that Dubstep, Drum & Bass etc. was the most popular music choice. Although as I let this question be multiple option, while collecting my results I found that a lot of people that chose this option chose Metal/Hard Rock as well, the third most popular choice.

How do you prefer to listen to your music?

17%

4%

29%

8%

42%

Results

Radio

TV/Music Channel

Itunes

Spotify

Personal Device

This question had a clear answer of Personal Devices being peoples favourite choice for listening, this shows people only want to hear the music they like, and suits my magazine as I want it to be genre specific, and not have genres that my readers don’t like. Itunes is also another big choice, which again like Personal devices allows a personally controlled playlist.

Which of these would you prefer to read?

23%

15%

23%

8%

8%

23%

Results

Kerrang

METAL HAMMER

NME

Rolling Stone

Q

Other

This question didn’t give a very clear answer seeing as all the answers were pretty similar apart from Q and Rolling Stone being the clear least favourites, Kerrang and NME came top, one being Niche and one being Mainstream shows me that there would be people interested in Metal magazines, with Kerrang and METAL HAMMER together being the biggest portion of the results and both covering the same genre.

Which of these would you first look at before purchasing a magazine?

46%

27%

9%

18%

Results

Free CDs, Posters etc.

Front cover Image

Special Edition

Regularly Purchase music mag

This question gave a very clear result that people like freebies in their magazines, CDs being a special give away but posters a regular thing, such as Kerranggiving away posters every week, and it especially appeals to a Metal fan base. This also shows that the front cover image is another important selling point, and captures attention, and can judge whether or not a person will take a second look or buy.

What do you expect from a music magazine?

25%

22%

19%

22%

12%

Results

Interviews

Release Reviews

Gig Guide/Reviews

Festival Reviews/News

Other

The results to this question came out pretty similar, interviews on top showing that people favour interviews the most, but the fact that they are so similar shows that you can’t define one important one, all of them are favoured and necessary to please consumers and make a magazine with information people will pay the price for.

What price would you pay for a music magazine?

13%

47%

33%

7%

Results

> £1

£1-£3

£3-£5

< £5

This question showed that most people would rather pay the price of £1 to £3 for their music magazine preferably, but coming in a close second is £3 to £5 showing that people will pay more for what they want, and if it fits their consumer wants, so a guideline of £1 to £5 would be accurate and would depend on production costs.

What tribe are you? (Findyourtribe.co.uk)

20%

5%

15%

20%

10%

5%

5%

15%

5%

Results

Mosher

Emo

Indie Scenester

Clubber

Scene Kid

Townie

Indie

Rah

Trendie

The top results were Mosher and Clubber, so fits my first question quite well with Metal and Dubstep, Drum & Bass etc. being the two of the most popular choices. The fact that Mosher was one of the top results shows a promising target audience for my magazine, and Scene Kid and Emo fit into the Metal genre. Although a lot of the people that did this test for me, didn’t feel that they fitted into the type that was given to them.

My Find your tribe result, it fits my personal taste, although not sure about the description, and fits the target audience I am aiming for.

Target Audience Evaluation

From this research I have learnt more of what people want and expect from a music magazine, and seen how successful Niche Metal/Hard Rock magazines such as METAL HAMMER and Kerrang, have already applied these things to their magazine.By doing this questionnaire and finding out what people expect from a magazine, it’s helped me to further realise what my magazine needs to be successful, and has helped me to notice these things in magazines that I look at and how they’ve applied conventions.