The magazines I evaluated and their target audiences

I looked at the front cover, contents page and double page spread of NME, Q and Classic F. I chose these magazines specifically because they all have different target audiences and all are intriguing to take a closer look at. I will be looking at the target audience each magazine tries to attract.

Classic FM

This magazine targets a niche market because it is unlikely to appeal to a large group of people. I believe the age group it appeals to varies significantly though because it is possible you could be a teenager and like listening to classical music. However if I am to put an age group on most people who purchase this magazine I would say 60-70 because they enjoy this sub genre of music and also from looking at the double page spread there is a lot of text to suit their preferences. I also feel the social class of this magazine is white middle/upper class. This is because I classical music is quite a historical sub genre of music and a lot of it originally came from the church and those who play the instruments are usually middle or upper class. I do feel though that this stereotpye we have of those who listen to classical music is becoming more and more outdated with some believing it’s a "myth." More people who do not fit this target audience are enjoying the genre and being inspired by the music so classic fm can target this initial target audience of white, middle/upper class and 60-70- years of age but they should include other features to appeal to those outside of this.

NME

I feel the age of the target audience would be around 17-29 and they would be mainly males. The first NME magazine was released in 1952 so the magazine has been published for over sixty years. It appeals to those who have enjoyed music for quite a long time and enjoy the music that they believe is superior to today's conventional pop music. The target audience often enjoy film and technology and are trendy. I feel the people who make up this target audience are more likely to be white however only just. Dizzee Rascal featured on the front of the front cover I analysed and he is very popular with black people in particular. The target audience in my opinion is very flexible because this magazine appeals to the mass market and therefore lots of people can enjoy this magazine.

Q

The target audience of Q is around 16-24 and the publishers of this magazine believe that Q's target audience is "younger and more affluent than any other music monthly."The target audience is more male than female perhaps because this magazine focuses on rock and roll which is more a sub genre of music that appeals to the male audience. In terms of social class 72% are ABC1 which supports their claim that their magazine is the most affluent because those from these social classes have the most well paid jobs. Q has been published since 1986 and has been popular ever since. They do major interviews with music superstars and this will appeal to the majority of music fans as they often wish to find out more about those whose music they enjoy.