SURVEY MONKEY AND SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSES

FROM QUESTIONNAIREMUSIC MAGAZINE AND TARGET AUDIENCE RESEARCH

QUESTION 1 ANALYSIS- WHAT IS YOUR GENDER? I asked this question because I wanted to find out which gender would be more likely to participate online which would suggest who is more interested in music magazines. 66.67% of the people who responded were female compared to only 33.33% of males. This suggests that women are more likely to join in so I will include competitions and quizzes which will improve their needs as they are interacting, this is because it is usually natural for women to take the creative role.As less men participated in the survey, I will counteract my interactive features with interviews and ‘how to play the guitar’ as they prefer intellectually stimulating entertainment. I will have my front cover with a male as this will attract females through male gaze which will make them purchase the magazine due to sexual attraction. This could encourage repurchases because the Dyer Star Theory may take place; making readers feel closer to their idol. The male gaze will attract male audiences as they may see role models and attempt to copy their physical appearance, in the hope to be just as successful. The connote masculinity I will also have a dark colour palette to create a feeling of mystery which is a common convention of rock music. This will be informative to readers to make them aware of what genre of music my magazine will focus on.

QUESTION 2 ANALYSIS- WHAT IS YOUR AGE?

It is a basic question but it gave me an insight to who was mainly taking part in the survey.91.67% of people said they were between the ages of 15-19 and 8.33% of people said they were between the ages of 20-25. Initially, my target audience stretched between the ages of 16-25 however I have not noticed that I may be targeting two different groups so I have decided to target 15-20 year olds as this is an older teenage market. This still allows me to have a level of maturity in my print however they may be more interested in competitions , quizzes and fashion features compared to 25 year olds who may only want to read facts .I think making my target audience smaller will make my magazine look more specific, for example, informal language will be an indicator. I may listen to conversations students have in my college and pick up slang to put in my print as this will make it relatable to the audience which will result in more sales.

QUESTION 3- WHAT IS YOUR OCCUPATION?This question may seem random however this question would signify the type of people who will be reading my magazine, for example, if most people responded with ‘design’ this would show they were creative so I would make my magazine very visual. 84.62% of people said that they were students. 7.69% of people said that they worked in retail 7.69% of people said that they worked in catering.These statistics show that most of the people who answered were students. This means that they spend a lot of time reading facts and statistics and looking at boring text books. Applying this to the Uses and Gratifications Theory, students will probably want to read a magazine that differs from their intellectual reading ( escapism) for example, looking at images, bright colours, informal language and relaxed layouts. This will feel more rewarding to them because this reading experience will completely differ from their reading at college or university, it will be a distraction from the stresses education bring. This is why I will publish my magazine on a Friday as audiences may purchase my magazine at the end of a working week to relax them for the weekend. They will also have more time to purchase on the weekend too so this will increase sales.

QUESTION 4- WHAT TIME OF THE YEAR ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO PURCHASE MUSIC MAGAZINES?By asking this question, it will give me an insight to when to release the first edition of my magazine. The results are below and this suggests to me that I should be using more conventions and advertising techniques to reduce the high figure of ‘Never’ which was a whopping 53.83%. Advertising techniques I could use is promoting it on social media such as twitter and Instagram and start a hashtag trend so it crosses into different circles of social groups which has a virtual two step flow effect. Another reason is having direct mode of address on the cover as this will make the reader feel involved and could be an intimidating tactic, for example, ‘you’ could put the reader under pressure to buy as it feels personal. I will use bright colours in my typography so it stands out with a large masthead to help my magazine get more recognition on the shelves because younger people are more attached to the way things look compared to content, suggesting there needs to be a level of superficiality. From the figures, I will publish my magazine in summer for example Friday 15th July. Purchase will be at a peak.

This is because people will be looking for ‘holiday reading’ for entertainment by the pool. Therefore sales in airports, shops and abroad which could bring a mass audience internationally which will connote the success of British Magazines. This would be beneficial as we do not dominate much of that market so it will show a break through which will bring pride for our citizens.

QUESTION 5- WHAT CONVENTIONS WOULD YOU WANT TO SEE IN A ROCK MAGAZINE

The leading figure was tattoos so this is one thing I will include, especially on the cover as it will instantly indicate the genre and show that I have attended to the needs of my audience. Tattoos may have been the biggest figure as it is a form of iconography as most rock stars have them such as, Dave Grohl ( Foo Fighters), Justin Hawkins ( The Darkness) , Slash (Guns N Roses) and many more hence why it is something audiences expect to see. Tattoos connote creativity so this will also reveal part of the star’s personality, allowing the audience to learn more about them which is another way it links to the Dyer Star Theory. Instruments was another large figure and this is because it is equipment used to make rock music. A student also mentioned this in my focus group so I will definitely include these. In my double page spread I intend to take a photo of the musician I have picked ‘playing’ their guitar which is a Gibson Les Paul. The importance of this is that it is a famous brand and could give my target audience ambitions to save up and purchase one to feel like a rock star. It could influence hobby’s to emerge which could bring more rock musicians in the future, making it popular among generations. Another convention I will use is dark colours, this does not necessarily have a lot of influence over people’s opinions however it indicates it is a rock magazine. Nobody seemed bothered about any specific gender of band which suggests I need to feature men and women to connote equality showing my institution follow the Sex Discrimination Act which will signify anyone can have success in rock music which reduces any negative stereotypes which could make rock bias. Colourful hair and jewellery gained no votes which suggests these conventions may outdated and only suit rock from the 1980’s so I will not feature these because it will not have any impact on the audience and may reduce the chance of male and female gaze. Fashionable clothing was ticked however only in small figures so I will not do a complete feature but note where the artists got their clothing from so people can go out and buy the same which will help them to gain a better connection with their idols as fans will feel they have something in common, linking to Uses and Gratifications, it will form social solidarity. Furthermore, their clothing will be from high street shops so they are affordable for all. Informal language was in the figures and this is because audiences want a relaxed feel when reading, this is because they do not want to feel as though they are reading serious content like the news. This will give my magazine a light hearted reputation, connoting that it is easy reading which will make it seem effortless to read.

QUESTION 6-WHAT PRICE WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PAY FOR A MUSIC MAGAZINE?

The leading vote was between £1-1.99, so I have decided my price mark will be within these figures. This is because if it is cheaper, my audience are more likely to purchase the magazine because it does not seem too much to dip into. If it was higher people may urge not to on a whole so this would reduce sales. If it is cheaper, I will not be depriving any individuals of opportunities and each teenager will have an equal opportunity to discover new facts about their favourite artist or find out the latest gigs so this will reduce any individual from feeling socially excluded.

QUESTION 7- TICK THE FEATURES YOU WOULD WANT A MUSIC MAGAZINE TO INCLUDE?

From these results, every feature I mentioned was ticked so I will include everyone as it shows that they will invite a mass audience as this is what people will be mostly interested in. Interviews was the leading result so I intend to include this in my double page spread, asking the musician of how he gained fame, upcoming singles, love life and other spontaneous information so it will reveal information that people did not know before, which will make the audience feel special. To emphasize this, on my cover it will called an ‘exclusive’ interview which will build curiosity of what the reader will discover.

QUESTION 8&9 - HAS LISTENING TO MUSIC EVER INSPIRED YOU TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT? ( IF YES, WHAT INSTRUMENT)

61.54% of people said yes.38.46% of people said no.

This shows that the audience are inspired by what they see so to help them achieve this ambition, I will include pages on how to play certain instruments which will influence the audience to become more interactive. The technique I will use to encourage repurchase is having different instructions of instruments each week which will build excitement of what it could be. This will benefit instrument institutions as teenagers may start purchasing more due to my magazine which could influence sponsors which will increase promotion.

Most people said that they would want to learn how to play the guitar so I will include this in my first feature as this will be what most people want to see, increasing my magazines popularity.