Audience research

Questionnaire

1. What existing magazines do you read?

2. Do you read any music magazines?
Yes/No
If yes, please state which.

3. Would you be willing to purchase a new music magazine?
Yes/No

4. How much would you be willing to pay?
Under £1, £1.00-£2.00, £2.01-£3.00, £3.01-£4.00, £4.01-£5.00, £5.01-£6.00, over £6

5. How often should a music magazine be released?
Never, daily, weekly, every fortnight, monthly, every two months, yearly

6. What is your favourite music genre?
R&B, Rock, Soul, Hip-Hop, Rap, Indie, other

7. What should a music magazine include? Select any that you feel should be included.
Interviews, music reviews, film reviews, gossip about musicians, fashion

8. What is your preferred colour scheme?
Bright colours, black and white, light colours, florescent

9. Do you mostly purchase your own magazines, or read them from other sources such as friends/colleagues or at a salon etc.?
Purchase own, provided by other sources

10. Which type of advertisements should be included in the magazine? Select as many as wanted.
CDs, concerts, fashion, beauty products and cosmetics, electrical goods, food

11. Do you feel that there is a gap in the market for a new music magazine?
Yes/no

12. How should the magazine be written tone wise?
Formal, informal, jokey, slang terms, chatty.

Questionnaire results

Magazines such as Blender, Hip-Hop Connection, Billboard and Trace were listed as music magazines that are currently read.

Interview
An interview with Gina Vettese, someone in the target audience for the magazine, has been conducted.

Do you read any music magazines?
No, I have in the past however I stopped a few years ago.

Why did you stop reading this magazine?
It began to venture away from the genre of music that I prefer.

Which genre is this?
I like R&B, Soul and Hip-Hop.

Would you be willing to purchase a magazine if it met your genre perforations?
Yes, defiantly! I’m really into music and love reading about it. If a magazine that I liked was published then I would buy it.

So you think it is best for a music magazine to focus of specific genres than to be general music?
Of course, people know which genres they like. So they know what they want to read about.

What specifically would you want to find in a music magazine?
Interviews with artists and bands that I like. Music reviews, information on their concerts and tours, gossip, and I’d love it to tie in with the fashion associated with the genre.

Do you think that fashion is a big part of music?
Sure, what the artists were influences people who like their music to take elements of their style for themselves.

Research conclusion
My questionnaire has proven to be very helpful. I learned that 60% of my target audience are interested in music magazines. 80% would be willing to purchase a new music magazine which is good as my magazine will need to have members of the target audience willing to purchase it. The most popular price was £4.01-£5, upon learning this I have decided that my magazine will be priced at £4.99. The most popular chose for how often an issue should be released was monthly and I have therefore decided that I should have my magazine released on a monthly basis. The most popular choice of music genre with the target audience is soul with R&B coming second. The magazine is to be one that specifies in the genre of soul, with R&B and other similar genres present but to a lesser degree. All of the audience who participated in the questionnaire thought that the magazine should include interviews and music reviews; gossip was then the next most popular choice with fashion closely following. Film reviews were also a popular choice. With this information I know what to include inside the magazine. The most popular choices will be the most prominent. Light colours were the most popular colour scheme; the colour scheme for my magazine will be light pastel type colours. 70% of readers buy their own magazine copies, improving sales. The other 30% gain theirs from other sources giving a high circulation improving readership. When asked about which advertisements would be most effective in the magazine, CDs and concerts were the most popular choice. Other popular choices were fashion and beauty products. Food was not a well received choice, neither were electrical goods (except those which also fall under beauty products such as hair straighteners). 95% of those who fulfilled the questionnaire felt that there was a gap in the market for a new music magazine. This leads me to believe that my new magazine will be well received with the target audience. My questionnaire has also highlighted that the writing format should be formal however incorporating a chatty style when suitable. My interview has highlighted that the magazine must stick to the genre that it is created for otherwise readership will fall. The person that I interviewed also commented that she feels fashion to be a large part of music. Therefore my magazine will incorporate fashion into it.