Audience Research Results

Audience Reseach Questionnaire

1. What gender are you ?

Male

Female

2. How old are you ?

16

17

18+

3. Do you take an interest in music magazines ?

Yes

No

4. What kind of music are you interested in ?

Hip-Hop & Rap

R’n’B

Alternative

Blues

Pop

Reggae & Bashment

Country
 
 Electronic
 
 Jazz

 Latin

Rhythm & Blues

Rock

World

5. What music genre are you most likely to read about ?

Hip-Hop & Rap

R’n’B

Alternative

Blues

Pop

Reggae & Bashment

Country
 
 Electronic
 
 Jazz

 Latin

Rhythm & Blues

Rock

World

6. What would you like to read about in your magazine ?

Competitions

Upcoming Artist Reviews

Music Tips

New Things in Music

Tours / Concerts

Reviews / Reports about Music

Artist Interviews

Artist Fashion

Music News

Non-Music Related Topics

7. Who is your favourite artist at the moment & why ?

8. List your 3 favourite songs at the moment

9. Do you think that the magazine should be free ?

Yes

No

10. If no, what would be the maximum to pay ?

20p

50p

£1.00

£1.50+

11. Do you think that it is advisable to pay more for higher quality magazines ?

Yes

No

12. How often do you read magazines ?

Often

Sometimes

Usually

Rarely

Never

13. Do you find yourself purchasing a range of magazines ?

Yes

No

14. Do you find that you attracted better by text or images ?

Text

Images

15. List 3 things that attracts your attention in a magazine .

16. Do you think that a music magazine should attract a wide rage of music genres rather than just a niche market ?

Yes

No

17. Should the magazine contain information about music worldwide ?

Yes

No

18. How long do you think the magazine should be ?

30 pages

60 pages

90 pages +

19. How would you like to purchase your magazine ?

Retail Stores

Subscription

From College

From Friends

20.  What free give-aways would you like to see in the magazine ? List 3 in order of preference.

Audience Profile

This magazine has a target audience that is mainly interested in the Hip-Hop and R’n’B genre. In the top centre of the page we see that there is almost something like a slogan saying, ‘Vibe; redefining hip-hop’. This automatically allows for us to know that this is a magazine with a direct target audience. This shows that they do not cater to the needs of those who are possibly interested in indie or rock, it solely being hip-hop.

The website has a clear and easy layout, with sections that when clicked leads the audience to different aspects of the magazine and its online features. This is clever as they are able to incorporate features that don not exist on the magazine that they print and sell in stores. Features like ‘Vixen’ and signing up for the newsletter might not be on  the actually magazine and having an online alternative could interest those that aren’t necessarily interested in buying handheld magazines.

Vibe magazine is a popular magazine that is mostly read and known about in the United States. Most people are unaware of the date that the magazine started, some thinking that it began in 2006 when in actual fact it was created in the late 90’s. It was created by musician Quincy Jones who wanted to make a magazine about music with the fact that he was musically inclined. So that the magazine would definitely be able to launch in 1993, he partnered up with Time Inc. Since that time the magazine has been bought and sold by various companies including Miller Publishing, Spin Magazine, Wickes Group of Companies in 2006 and InterMedia Partners. Even though this was the case, the magazine was created and launched by Jones and Time Inc.

There have been many artist and musicians that have featured in the Vibe magazine.

Having an idea of who has been in the magazine will give a rough idea as to when Vibe magazine really started. Among those musicians are the late Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Eminem, The Fugees, Lil Wayne, Keyshia Cole, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, TLC, and Brandy. Some, if not all, of these musicians were already popular in the early '90s. Being such a magazine which focuses Hip-Hop and R’n’B as a genre they have a large amount of competition. Vibe focuses more on Hip-Hop and R’n’B music than any other types of music. In this regard, the closest of its competitors may be XXL and The Source, which focus on rap music. Rolling Stone may also be considered a competitor.

 

The generation that the magazine is being aimed at is the age group of about 17 demographic. As this a generation where they are high on technology, having a website means that they can access the website from their handheld devices such as Blackberry’s and iPhone’s. The website has the option to sign up for a subscription. Having access to Internet and e-mail from handheld devices such as these mobile phones makes it more likely for there to be a wide audience who make use of the online services.

Audience Profile

Name: Ross Bayeto

Male / Female: Male

Age: 17

Ethnicity: Black African

Dress Style: I do what pleases me; I don’t follow a trend, fashion style or anything that is in vogue. I think that being yourself is vital in getting somewhere or where you want to be in life. Originality is key.

Technology: My DJ deck’s, my laptop & my blackberry are the only things I need to get on with what I am doing at this point in life. They help with everything I need and I know that with these three items I will go far.

Spare Time: I host events for the youth; some people would refer to them as raves but I think that they are more like social gathering where people are able to meet and interact with new people, both male and female.

Hobbies: I hardly have any spare time but in the time that I do have I sleep or work on my djing skills or I am usually at work

Brands: I don’t really have specific brands; I’m just me but I do wear, Ralph Lauren , Lyle & Scott , Levis , Nike etc.

Interests: My main interests are djing and music. I would like to have a deeper insight in music apart from being a DJ.

Textual Analysis of a Music Magazine Double Page Spread

The double page spread is taken from VIBE magazine, has a colour photograph of Jamaican artist, Mavado. He is leaning his body against a young child, and he is pointing upwards directing for the child to look into the camera. This allows for us to see the whole of his body but the child is stood between is legs. He looks very clean and simple, dressed in a white t-shirt with a simple green design and a pair of dark blue jeans. He has been photographed as a long shot and it has been taken from a slight high angle but it can only be seen slightly. He is photographed with 6 other visible people, which would have been deliberately placed in the shot. The image has been spread across both pages, which causes for the image to have a fold in the middle.

He is posed in way that shows the child is more important. He has allowed for the child to be placed in front of him which shows that even though the child is unknown, in this case the child is to be mad one of the main subject of the image.

The colours used in the double page spread are the colours seen in the image. In the article there are two sections where the beginning of paragraphs are changed and altered into a larger font and mirror colour green that is on the t-shirt worn by Mavado. The colour scheme used is white, olive and red. The red font is made very prominent as it is a quote line from what Mavado had said in the article. Authors usually do this as it is something that needs to be enhanced on and it is usually something that will attract the attention of readers and make them what to know what is in the article. The olive font is taken from one of the men in the photograph. He is seated to the left of Mavado and he has been made to look at Mavado with the young child and it was a discreet technique used by the magazine authors. The white is used as a background colour for the double page spread. This allows for the article to be seen on a visible and clear background that doesn’t clash with any of the other colours used. This allows for the words in red and olive to stand out on a simple background.

The headline on the double page says:

“Everybody Wanna See, What’s Mavado Gonna Do? Who’s Goin’ Up Against Mavado? Who’s Gonna Die?”

This is a direct quote from Mavado, so we are aware that he said it, and it being in bold red font allows for us to know that it must be in relation to who he is and what he does. There is an apparently rivalry between Mavado and other Jamaican artist such as Vybz Kartel, Beenie Man and Aidonia as they are from different areas in Jamaica and because of this they have different views and this is conveyed and spoken about in their music. They are separated in to the main sections called ‘Gully’ and ‘Gaza’ and in this case Mavado is from the Gully side. They have almost rules and laws that they abide by and they are mostly able to express themselves through their music.

The font used in this article is sans-serif font that diverts away from the traditions of using sans font like magazines such as The Rolling Stones. The font gives a sort of hardness and edge to the article and what is being spoken about. It is very serious and with the extract quote from the article showing that Mavado is speaking about a fairly important topic, the look and convey what message the article is based on. There has only been one font used but the size has been altered depending on how important the information is.

Many readers can find it off putting seeing a fair bit of writing and this double page has a fair amount of writing. There are 6 columns of writing, the 4 inside columns being shorter than the outer columns which mean that there is not as much writing as it looks.

Magazine Layouts & Design Influences

Contents Page Analysis

The content page here is for Kerrang magazine it is on a single page with a colour scheme of black, white and yellow. This is good use of simple primary colours with the brightness of the yellow reflects off the white and black very effectively. The masthead placed in the top left hand corner is easily visible and can be identified well, especially with the colour scheme and how it ha been presented in capital letters. There is one main image , taking up almost half of the page and there are 2 smaller images that are in relation to the editors comment and an article in the magazine.

These images are for on the contents page with a reference to what page they are related to. There is an editor’s letter to introduce the magazine and at the bottom of the page there is information on subscriptions with images and example of other magazines from Kerrang. The background of the main image expresses a feeling where a signing is taking place after a rock concert. It manages to bring the page to life and as the emphasis is on music and people it shows how powerful music is; they way it brings people to life including it's reader , making the magazine inclusive with all that take part in it.

Contents Page Analysis

Also I looked at Q mussic magazine's contents pge and i saw that they continously make use of similar layout patterns and similar colour schemes allowing for their target audience to identify the magazine anywhere. The structure is one that they creat a black banner and put the masthead on top in capital white letters. This is what the magazine does in almost all they publish. They put the Q masthead in the top left hand corner of the page allowing for readers to know instantly what magazine it is from despite the same use of structure and colour scheme. Also the magazine sticks to and continuously uses the uniform colours of black, white and red. This is a similar technique that used by Kerrang music magazine ; but they made use of different colour to red, it beig yellow. This convention is very helpful in how an audience identifies a product. Keeping close to some conventions of a music magazine and continuously developing them will allow for a reader to become comfortable and relaxed in what they are reading. This convention suggests to me that when creating my contents page I must refer back to fonts, colours and phrases used within the front cover inorder for the pages to have some sort of correlation between the two.Another feature that I have noticed is that , the positioning of thephotographs in comparison to the text is always made and layed out to be separate, so that the two do not clas , overlap or an image is not disturbed by the text. This allows for me to know that a photograph is a very important part of my contents page , as it is what inevitably draws the reader in. It being as important as the text on the pae, it is vital i get the positioning of my image correct. The photographs used on the contents pages are  linked to the image on the front cover; this shows that whoever or whatever is the main feature within the magazine must be of main attraction at all times.

Magazine Designs & Layout Influences

Looking at a range of magazine contents pages will give me a broader idea as to what I want my final piece to be like.

When creating my magazine I looked at a large range of music magazines but the main that I focused on was 'Vibe' music magazine. However I felt that when looking at my development of my contents page, I should adapt the work of other magazine that i researched with including Kerrang, Q ,NME and Rolling Stones.

The have a target audience that is very different  to that of my own and having this assisted me and gave me an harder and more difficult starting point. I was able to adapt ideas and techniques that had been used in those magazines and incorporate them into my work with the intentions of adapting them into my contents page.

Magazine Designs & Layout Influences

'Vibe' music magazine had the largest influence in the creation of final piece.

When creating my magazine I looked at a large range of music magazines but the main that I focused on was 'Vibe' music magazine. The have a target audience that is similar to that of my own and having this assisted me and gave me an easier starting point. I was able to adapt ideas and techniques that had been used in the 'Vibe' magazine and incorporate them into my work.

Textual Analysis of a Music Magazine Front Cover

Denotation : The magazine covers includes a colour photograph of a male looking directly at the camera. It is a close up shot of the male revealing only his head, neck and his shoulders showing only the collar of his jacket. The rest of his body is not visible to the audience. The background is a lighter grey compared to the colour of the jacket that is being worn by the male. The photograph covers the whole front cover of the magazine.

The barcode is visible at the bottom left hand corner of the magazine.

Behind the male is the Vibe masthead, and around the male are four separate cover lines in black, blue and pink. The cover line to the right of the male consists of six different celebrity names but they are all under one cover line as they are all to do with the same topic. The male photographed on the magazine cover’s name is written in a pink sans serif font. This could be due to the fact that the magazine would like to appeal to a female audience as well as a male audience. The colour pink is a unisex colour and is used three times on the front cover. This allows for the topics written in pink to stand out as they could be of much more importance to the other information that simply co-ordinates with what the male is wearing.

Masthead : The ‘Vibe’ masthead is very unique as the colour scheme of the front cover has been used in relation to the clothes worn by the male celebrity. It is a bold blue writing used with no outline or shadow added to it. The font used is sans serif, and all the letters are written in capital locks with none being joined up, but written individually instead. The font reminds me of words are written in a bold font to give a statement – it connotes the feeling of when a vibe is give in music – a strong , firm bold texture and feeling in melody and rhythm of a song. The word vibe means a feeling or emotional given of f by one person to another. The vibe that the magazine wants to give is one that is very welcoming and informative of what is taking place in the industry of music. It has a strong connotation with an individuals feelings and the magazine wants to give a feeling to the audience when they read the magazine. The word vibe is a homonym, a word that has more than one meaning. The title of the magazine gives a suggestion that it contains more than just music as vibe has many meanings and can be interpreted in many ways y different audiences. All the musicians that have been on covers of the magazine have had different sounds and inputs into the music industry. They all add their own vibe to music and this connotes that there is association with the name of the magazine and the musicians chosen to be front covers. The word vibe tells us, the audience, that the magazine has something to do with music and musicians.

The cover photograph is of Kanye West. He is posed in a very blank way; suggesting that he is just taking an everyday photograph, looking directly into the camera. His facial expressions are very plain and empty but his non verbal communication is showing that he is tired and the image has enhanced on his grey hairs, supporting his expressions. He is wearing a blue and grey varsity jacket, which is an American style footballer’s jacket. He has worn his to contrast his facial expressions as what the reader sees in his face contradicts what he is wearing. This outfit has been purposely chosen to appeal to the target audience, who are very likely to be of a younger age, being about 15 up wards. As the clothes represent quite a trend of American fashion, younger generations are easily influenced and with this being an outfit worn by a successful and influential music artist, younger people are sure to pick and make it a continuous trend.

The fashion and style in this image is very modern and has been in vogue for about the last year or so. It is a look that was made us of in the 80’s with artist like Salt’N’Pepper and it is a retro look that has been re-interpreted in a style that fits the trends of today. This has been done by using more appealing colours and colours that can be worn by both men and women, something that wouldn’t necessarily have happened during other time periods due to stereotypes.

The main cover line that relates to his photograph says:

“the truth hurts, KANYE WEST ‘I AM RAP’ + his 50 greatest songs ( and 10 to delete) “

This is making a reference to the fact that Kanye is a rap artist and at what he is doing , he is the best. He is calling himself ‘rap’ as he feels that there is no one like him in the genre and he has done all that a rap artist would need to be classified as a whole kind of music. He is an artist known worldwide and has had released amazing singles and albums, and has in his time, been called one of the greatest rappers around.

There being more than one coverline  shows that the magazine isn’t just focusing on rap music but it has take many other music genres into account. It shows that the magazine and its authors are quite diverse in what they choose to write about. Other artists mentioned on the coverline include Notorious B.I.G , The Dream and Britney Spears . Despite all of the artists being American , they range from different music backgrounds which shows the diversity in the magazine.

All of the coverlines use sans-serif font, connoting that they have diverted from traditions of using serif font but decide to use a modern aspect to the magazine. This suggests as Vibe is a fair recent magazine, it has decided that they will use fair modern features on their magazine to show that modern ways and attitudes can be beneficial as well. Something that readers can rely on for new, exclusive news that is interesting and vibrant.

When I review everything and take what has been analysed into consideration, I would say that the mostly likely target audience would be for the younger generation , both male and female , beginning at the age of 16. They would have a fairly good knowledge of music and what genres there are and they would also be interested in fashion and the latest celebrity news. They are likely to be still in school and at the age where they are developing opinions and views on certain areas and subjects in life.

Coventions Of A Magazine

When creating a magazine ; there are certain codes and conventions that need to be followed. I will be explain as to what they are for my music magazine's front cover , contents page and double page spread, inclusive with some examples.

Front Cover 

• Masthead
• Dateline
• Main Image
• Coverlines
• Main Coverline
• Left Third
• Barcode
• Selling Line
• Website Link

Contents Page

• Masthead
• Mix
• Columns
• Colour Scheme
• Main Image
• Other Images
• Title
• Categories
• Text Boxes
• Sub-lines

Double-Page Spread

• Strap-line
• Columns
• By-Line
• Headline
• Drop Capital
• Stand-first
• Quotes
• Subject Name
• Image
• Colour Scheme

Introduction To Music Magazine

My main task is to create a music magazine. I will be designing a the front cover, contents page and a double page spread in a magazine, from scratch, based on the results that I receive from my audience research. Doing an audience research survey will all for me to collect, collate and analyse my data that will assist me in creating my magazine. The results will be presented in a graph as this will allow for me to cater to the needs of my target audience. The purpose pf my audience research is for me to find out what my audience is interested and what they would like to see in the magazine. It gives me an idea of what I should and should not put in the magazine, things that would attract the attention of readers and what makes the magazine more appealing to my audience.

In my magazine, there will be a front cover, consisting of a theme that is in relation to the music genre that is Hip-Hop and R&B. There will be images that relate to my music genre and information will be specified as well. My front cover will include a medium close up shot of a model, possibly male, wearing a pair of Dr. Dre ‘ Beats ‘ headphones and this will be made as the main focus of the cover. I will also have a range of headings and sub-titles with extracts of information that will be in my magazine.

I will also have a contents page that will clearly list everything that would possibly be in my magazine. It will have brief titles about article summaries that I would like to put in my magazine. There will also be information about competitions as my audience would like to see free giveaways and competitions. As I am only creating a front cover , contents and double page spread , there will only be one article but  will put headings and number pages to what I would put in my magazine if it was to be made into a full blown magazine. There will also be images on my contents page, maximum of three relating to the information and articles that are in my magazine.

My double page spread will consist of an article that will be about 300 to 400 words long, an image, taken by myself, of what my article is in relation to, a title and possibly some sub-titles or quotes from the article. I would include some quotes to allow for my audience to be intrigued about what the article is about. The image would depend on what my article is based on as they have to co-ordinate with each other. My image will take up a whole page and my title and article will take up the second page which would make up my double page spread.