Readership Profile for Indie Rock

Readership Profile: Indie Rock Magazine

Age range: Indie rock’s audience can range from 13 upwards. People under the age of 13 tend to be interested in other music genres such as pop. Music in the indie rock genre tends to be older this could be due to the music tending to be aimed for older people. The artist’s music tends to involve explicit topics and other things that only older generations would understand. This is why people are introduced to the indie rock when they reach 13 as they entre their teen years.

Gender: Majority of the bands/artists that are categorised as indie rock tend to be male and male-based bands. Bands like Catfish and the Bottlemen, the 1975 and Arctic Monkeys are all made up of men. However new and upcoming band called Wolf Alice contains a woman who plays guitar and sings majority of the vocals. The audience is mostly woman and men who are interested in indie rock, however it stereotypically men who prefer hard rock/ punk whereas women prefer indie rock. However the magazine can target the audience of both men and women.

Brands: Indie rock audiences tend to keep up with fashion; clothing is a big part of the music industry. The audience would shop at places like Topshop/Topman, Urban Outfitters, and bands like Adidas and Nike. Vintage clothing is also very popular which is commonly found at festivals. Festivals are a big part of the indie rock genre, festivals like Reading&Leeds and Bestival are very popular with the indie rock genre. Food including Wagamama, and coffee shops like Starbucks and Costa coffee targets this audience.

Music: Younger generations tend to listen to bands like the 1975 and Catfish and the Bottlemen. Bands such as Arctic Monkeys appeal to a wider audience as they have been around for a long time. Older generations tend to listen to bands such as Oasis, Blur and The Libertines.  Other genres that might interest the indie rock audience could be rap, alternative and dance/house music. 

Socio-economic group: The audience would tend to have a good amount of money, however this could differ depending on people’s situations. The younger generation could be students and therefore it would be a good idea to make the magazine cheaper/ more affordable to attract more buyers. Whereas the older generation would be able to afford the magazine as they would be in a full time job and be earning. By keeping the magazine at an affordable price this means that more of the audience would buy it. 

Survey Results and Analysis

Online survey- Majority of respondents on the online survey were female. The female percentage of participants was 62.50% compared to males which was 37.50%. These results show that our magazine will have to appeal to both men and women, this benefits the magazine as it means we can attract a wider audience.

The age range varied from 13 and upwards, the majority showed respondents in between 13 and 19. However there was still a fraction of the results showing that 19 and upwards would be interested in the magazine. Indie rock can be enjoyed by a wide range of ages. This again helps us with a wider audience. However the magazine will focus more on the younger generation as they are the majority and the most influential. Participants from the age of 13-19 was at 75%, compared to both 20-30 and 31&above was at 12.5%. This was expected as the indie rock genre is widely popular with the younger generation.

The respondants showed to want articles on bands&artists, competitions&quizzes, serious features and fun articles. This means our audience wants a range of features in our magazine and they have to appeal to a wide audience. We then asked what magazines the respondents liked to read, the answers were varied. Some magazines mentioned were Rolling stone, NME and Q magazine. The features of those magazines that our audience liked was the colour schemes, and the articles on artists. This will help us understand how other magazines are successful and we will try to do this for our magazine to appeal to our audience. The participants also want a bold and eye-catching colour scheme and images of bands and artists. 

Regarding the front cover, the participants were given 3 options. 62.5% of the participants chose 'Main image, surrounded by coverlines and a large masthead'. We will try to incorporate these ideas into our magazine as it will appeal to our audience more. I have presented this in a pie chart.  

The most popular colour scheme was 'Black with accent colours of red,yellow and orange' with 75%. A respondent chose 'Other' and specifies that they would like earth tones for the magazines colours. The idea of using tones of red, yellow and orange connotes with fire and excitement, however earth tones will be more sophisticated. We will consider these choices and make a judgement as to which will work best for our magazine. 

The most popular font for our magazine picked was Arial. 87.5% of respondents chose this option as the most preferred font. We will take this into consideration when choosing the typography for the magazine. The majority of the respondents wanted the colour scheme to be continued throughout the magazine. 

Paper survey- There was an equal response from males and females. This shows that our magazine can appeal to both genders and we have a wider audience range. This means we will have to take into both male and females needs when creating the magazine. In comparison to the online survey, there was an equal percentage of respondents being aged 13-19 and 31&above. This could be due to more younger people being able to access the internet whereas paper surveys are more accessible for older generations. There was a variation in answers towards the front cover, as the participants of 31&above chose to have just a main image and coverlines. Comparing this to the participants aged 13-19, they chose main image surrounded by coverlines & a large masthead. This shows that the generations have different preferences when looking at a front cover. We will have to take this into consideration when creating the front cover, this will help us appeal to different generations and create a wider audience. Again, on average the most chosen font was Arial.

Survey- Paper version

For my paper survey I used the same questions as my online survey as this would help when comparing the results of both surveys. I converted the online survey into a document and then printed it off copies. I will then ask respondents to fill them out and return them. By printing out the survey as well as having an online this means a wider audience can be reached. A paper survey will be able to reach people who don't use a computer or don't have access online.

Music Magazine Research Survey

Create your own user feedback survey

Research Survey continued- (Please click title for survey)

Create your own user feedback survey

Music Magazine Analysis

Music Magazine analysis from elliescobell

Users and Gratification theory- Research

  

Uses and Gratification theory

The theory is a well-known audience centred approach to understanding mass communication. It is derived from theories affected by media which question, for example “what do people do with the media?” and “what does media do to people?”

Audiences tend to seek out certain types of media messages in order to fulfil their existing needs. The need is anticipated beforehand so media effects are bound to be beneficial rather than malign if you agree with this approach. The media is goal-oriented due to active audiences seeking out their needs.

Some uses and gratifications:

·      Information: able to find out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the world.  People are able to also seek advice on practical opinions and matters and decision choices can be affected.

·      Integration and Social Interaction: People are able to gain insight into circumstances of others- social empathy. There is a sense of social solidarity and belong with others. People are able to find a basis for conversation and social interaction. People are able to connect with family, friends and society, and are able to feel companionship.

·      Personal Identity: People are able to indentify with others and valued opinions. People are finding reinforcement for personal values and finding models of behaviour.

·      Entertainment: People can find an escape or be taken away from their problems. It can be seen as relaxing and can also find emotional, sexual release as well as just enjoying time and filling time.

 There are three stages to how media can influence an audience:

·      Strong: this is supported by Agenda-setting theory, Magic Bullet theory and Propaganda. This means the audience is passive.

·      Medium: Supported by Two-flow step theory.

·      Weak: Supported by Uses and gratification theory, which shows an audience being active.

The Internet had increased the developed of the newer media, as it is more convenient for the audience to satisfy their gratification.

Analysis of Contents page:

Information: The information on the page is fulfilling the needs of the reader.  The issue number of the magazine and the date is clearly marked on the page. The contents of the magazine is also clearly marked as well as information and pictures being presented nicely. 

Integration and Social Interaction: There areas which help social interaction as there are interviews with bands and people, as well as competitions which can involve the readers. ‘This could be you!’ encourages the sense of inclusiveness and helps people have a feeling of solidarity. 

Personal Identity: People can use the magazine for their interests and musical needs. People passionate about music will be able to gain a lot of insight from the magazine. For example, if someone were a big fan of the band All Time Low this would be a good article for the reader to meet the band.

Entertainment: The magazine has a lot of different articles and information to entertain a reader. The theme of the magazine is full of colour and also contains pictures, as well as quizzes and interactive pages for the reader. For example, at the bottom of the page there is ‘THE ULTIMATE ROCKSTAR TEST’.

Music Magazine Institutions : Future Plc - Research

 Music Magazine Institutions -  Research

Future Plc: http://www.futureplc.com

Future is a small and developing media company, it was ranked the sixth-largest media corporation in the UK in the year 2006. The company publishes over 30 magazines which focus on technology, gaming, film, sport and photography. Future is the official magazine company of two of out three major gaming consoles manufactures with Official Nintendo Magazine as well as owning the company Future US.

The company was first founded by Chris Anderson in 1985 with the sole magazine called Amstrad Action. The company was the first to offer the inclusion of free software on magazine covers which was helpful to their success. In 1994 Anderson sold the company to Pearson PLC for £52.7m however then bought it back in 1998 for £142m.  Future announced in March 2010 the idea of exploring the possibility of bringing back its brand called GamesMaster on television. The show focuses on gaming and had a run from 1992 until 1998, it has always produced a spin-off magazines which is published to this day. Future song its U.S music-media brands such as Guitar World and Revolver, in January 2012, to New Bay Media LLC which earned them $3 million. The company completed the sale of major areas of its UK media-music brands for £10.2million to Team Rock Ltd in April 2013. It was awarded in 2010 the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) Consumer Digital Publisher of the Year Award for the third time running.