Audiences Research

Secondary Research
In the first part of the post I will be looking at secondary research and I will be following the theory by Hall and Holmes 1998 that is: "Any media text created is for a particular audience and will usually appeal most to this particular target audiences." This quote pretty much means for every target audience there is a select text  that has been created to appeal to that audience and helps to pull in the target audience.

The key thing about the magazine industry is that it is a money making industry which means each magazine is a product that needs to made for and sold to the right target audience in order to make a profit. This impacts every part of the production process and every media language decision, in other words everything is done with the target audience in mind.

Due to this being the case a lot of money is invested in audience research and in the industry this refers to key theories which is know as secondary audience research when thinking about the pitch of a magazine and how to attract and represent this group.

Leading institutions like the BBC are experts at this, the magazines produced are commercial and are pitched at a mass audiences to gain more profit. Although stereotypically by contrast independent magazines companies tend to produce magazines that are considered more creative but they are less financially viable because they pitch at niche/small audiences as opposed to a mass audiences like the pop genre.

Type of audiences

Mass audience: mass audience are basically large mainstream audiences who consume  mainstream or popular culture such as Hollywood films Soap TV like Eastenders, reality TV, Premiership football and film magazines like Emipre, music magazines like Top of the Pop etc. High culture,by contrast, it is usually associated with broadsheets,opera, ballet, Jazz and Opera magazines and BBC four.

Niche audience: A niche audiences is a smaller than the mass audiences such as Nuts is usually very influential. Another example  such as Marxist would define as a upper class/ middle class who are controlled the media may wish to see" huge culture" programs therefore the launch of BBC Four for those who wish to hear or see the high culture programs. The niche audiences don't have to be this group though, the small dedicated group who advertise feel they are worth marketing this product for example this could include, certain films (e.g. adult magazines which you would not call high art), fishing magazines, farming programs. For example Top of the Pops does not appeal to a niche audiences it appeals to the mass audiences although family guy appeals to a niche audiences as does South Park.

Audiences Profile

When a company profiles the audiences for there product they need to account audiences demographic (class/economic status, gender, age geographical location) along with their viewing preferences/needs:

Magazine publishers think about the following questions below when developing a magazine.
1) What is the social class the target audiences will full under?
2) What is the gender of the magazines target audiences?
3)What age will the target audiences be?
4) What nationality will the target audience be?
5) What ethnicity is  the target audiences?
6)What is the sexuality of my target audiences?
7) What will the primary target audiences be looking for in a magazine?
8) Is the magazine for a niche or mass audiences and how will it generate profit.

I will now under take the primary audiences research by using survey monkey and I will be putting my survey on social media sites like twitter to work out the audiences demographic.

Primary research

After doing my survey monkey for the preliminary task I learnt from my mistakes and got more people to answer my survey. I also tried to get a better range of age groups to answer the survey but I wanted mainly 6 to 15 year olds and 15 to 24 year olds as they are the target audience for the magazine genre I was thinking of doing. I have also tried to get people from the age of 20 to 44 as they are the average age of parents that have children of the target audiences and the parent sometimes buy the magazine for young members of the target audiences.

Because females are the prime target audiences of the pop genre I tried to mainly focus on getting females to answer and some men as some do like pop. As you can see on the chart to the right I ended up getting 68.75% of people that answered to be female because they are the target gender however I also got some males to answer as they also sometimes read pop magazines but mainly gay men and females.

When looking at social groups in the pop genre it is mainly people from the c1 to categories that reads pop magazine and listens to pop. This is one of the main reasons I am happy with my results as most of the people who have answered my survey are in the D to C1 category.















This graph to the left simply tells me that the most people that answered my survey are caucasian which is good because the target ethnicity of pop is caucasian people.

The reason I asked this question is because I wanted to now what effect it would have on my results knowing what sexuality each person is as straight females and gay men are the normal people that like pop magazines however it would be good to get a wider selection of people to answer the survey.

The reason I choice to ask this question is because I wanted to see the range of answers between people who read music magazines and people that don't read them.














I thought I would ask this question as I thought it would be a good to see what genre of music magazine the public think I should do as its not to late to change it however they answered pop I think the reason most people choices pop is because its the most main stream music genre.

The reason I asked this question is because I wanted to know how to attract people to my magazine because of the graph I know that I need to use colours that relate to the audience for example female stereotypically have pink as their favourite colour. The chart also tells me that the price is important  so I will need to see the competitions prices and then equal it or have lower price so I attract the target audience.

Use of stereotypes and representation theories to sell magazines.

After professional institutions profile who their target audience is they refer to representation theories also audiences research and existing products to find out what stereotypes and media language should be used to represent and attract the target audiences. I am now going to look at the key theories and stereotypes of gender, youth, nationality, class, sexuality and ethnicity and how they are applied to the music magazine similar in the genre to the one I am going to create. this will teach me how I could use stereotypes to sell my products.

Gender

The first cover I am going to look at is Q a pop and rock genre magazine. The cover supports Laura Mulveys theory 1975 called the Male Gaze theory this says that women are used as; "Erotic object of desire," this magazine supports the theory because they have used a well know pop star called Lily Allen to sell the magazines to the male audiences, she is also well know for songs like "Not Fair" shown below. In the image she is  pulling a provocative pose which also helps prove Laura Mulveys theory as she is selling herself to male audiences. In terms of mise-en-scene, she is half naked which makes males in the target audience more attracted to the magazine and intern they will want to purchase the magazine as they find her sexually attractive and want to read and see more about her. In terms of lexis its used very well as they have wrote the words "SEXY BEAST," which once again makes males see her in a erotic and sexual way. The colours on the magazine also help add to the connotation this is due to the red on the cover which connotes; passion, lust and love, this once again makes the male  target audience think about Lily Allen as an object of sexual desire however the colour red also symbolises anger. 

When making my own music magazine cover, contents page and feature article, I may also use women in the same way however I am appealing to a young target audience and more towards the female gender so  naked females will not work very well for my magazine. As I have decided not too have females on the font cover wearing nothing to sell the magazine I am going against Laura Mulveys theory


After looking at the Q magazine I decided it would be a good idea to look at a magazine that relates to my target audience and  at my select genre pop so I chose to look at Top of the Pops. Unlike the other magazine the Top of the Pops magazine goes against Luara Mulveys theory but agrees with Hebdige theory 1979 that said youth are represented as either "Fun or trouble". On the cover page it shows Justin Beiber who is trying to look like a bad boy, there are also stories like "11 lads who go dare to go bare," which indicates a sense of fun. Although the magazine  also follows Gamman and Marshment theory 1988 female gazer the quote says : "Men can be seen as objects of sexual desire in the same way that women are." the reason I believe the theory relates to magazine is instead of a female like Lily Allen they have used Justin Beiber a well know pop singer, the magazine also has Justin in a vest so it gives the females a little more sense of attraction. Unlike Q magazine Top of the Pops have not made red the main colour for two reasons. Reason one is that red is not a very feminine colour they have also not used the colour red very much because with young kids they don't see people in as much of a sexual way like in Q magazine they instead see males as more of a crush.

When making each part of my magazine I will take parts from Q but mainly from Top of the Pops as the magazine relates more to the target audience. As I am aiming my new magazine/product at a younger target audience I have found  from doing my secondary research, magazines are all about making money, this is why I will be following theory's such as Laura Mulvey,Gamman and Marshment  and also Wolf which suggest: "That images of  females by media present females as sex objects," although in reflection I will try not to go to extreme when following the theories. I don't want my magazine to look like a porn magazine or overly trashy, additionally I do not want my magazine to discourage the parents of the target audience meaning they will not buy the magazine or put of  the children buying the magazine. I will be mainly focusing on Gamman and Marshments theory as I think a male is easier to sell to a female target audience as he just needs to be stereotypically "hot" and I believe it is hard to promote to a female audiences with a females as she must relate to the audience or set a good example as they would be seen as role models not object of sexual desire.


Youth
In 1904 Stanley Hall wrote the theory  called the "Storm
and Stress Model,"despite being written over 100 years ago there is still relevant behind the theory and in short Hall argues the following: "Adolescence is inherently a time of storm & stress when young people go though some degree of emotional and behavioural upheaval, before establishing a more stable equilibrium at adulthood." The theory partly relates to my magazine as they people on it are in the age group described in the theory however they are not going though a behavioural upheaval they are have fun which also goes against over things Hall argued like: "the common mood of teenagers is a state of depression."

Although a quote that relates to the magazine is Hedgie 1979 theory which states youth are either represented as either "fun or trouble," and in the main image of two members of Union J they both are smiling and looking happy which is reflected in the pop genre.Top of the Pops have also used bright colours like yellow which represents the fun, jolly and ecstatic side of pop.The way they have place the two boys helps connote the sense of rivalry as there backs are against each overs which helps link with the story however at the same time they are happy which is showing the fun side to a competition. One key thing I notice about all the young boys on the magazine is that they have long hair or they have is spiked up and this relative as it helps capture the sense of youth, in my magazine I need to include images with young health males with long hair so that I can risible the youth side of pop.

Race

In pop there is one main race white British/ Caucasian however there is a hand full of singers that are not Caucasian, they are normally mix race such as Rihanna shown on the We Love Pop magazine to the left.

Richard Dyer said: "There is a danger of stereotyping different groups of people because of what one person has done," for example Black men are stereotyped as gangsters and because of this in rap and hip hop magazines Black people are portrayed as gangsters. Although pop does not follow this idea and in turn disagrees with Richard Dyers theory as Rihanna is being protrude as very happy and bright and bubbly which is reflected in the pop genre. In the image of Rihanna she has red hair which will appeal to the male target audiences as red symbolises lust however at the same time the magazine has used the colour pink which relates to the female target audience. Pink is the main colour on the magazine however it is not very bright so it makes Rihanna's  red hair stand out a lot more

However Rihanna also appeals to the female target audience as they see her as a role model and she shows people no matter your nationality you can be a pop singer. The magazine may not follow Richards theory however it does follow Kilbourne theory that argues: "the media representation presents women as mannequins tall and thin often size zero with very long legs," the reason this quote relate to the magazine is because Rihanna is being portrayed as thin and tall with the size zero body every girls dream to have. Although Rihanna is shown as a mannequin she is not as she is one of the only female black/ mixed raced person who has got into the pop industry and  people see her as much more than a mannequin.

Although going a little more into the topic of race Rihanna is not big portrayed as a gangster or a drug dealer as people wrongly stereotype black people, instead Rihanna is being more portrayed as a white person as she is being shown as any l pop stars as in having fun, being happy and much more.

In conclusion when it comes to race in pop it should be someone either Caucasian or mixed race as they are the main/only race that is really involved in the pop genre. Although  if I use a image of a mixed race person I should not follow stereotypes of black people instead focus on the Caucasian stereotypes as this is what sells a pop magazine.


National/Regional Identity

Theorist Andrew Higson (1998) writes;“Identity is generally understood to be the shared identity of naturalized inhabitants of a particular political-geographic space – this can be a particular nation or region.” One classic example in British music magazines of connoting it is a magazine for British readers is using the Union Jack flag and colours which you can see has been done to on the We Love Pop magazine to the right, the magazine also has a image of the queen in the top left side of the page this helps connote the British theme.

The thing that best connects the British theme though is the Union Jack colours which also contrasts well together on the magazine. When making my magazine I may want to include the union jack  as its a very bright exciting theme that relate to the genre however at the same time puts of people of a different nationality.

Class
The majority of music magazines you look at are pitched at C1-E mass or niche audiences. One thing is that even though the bands/star are rich because of their success , and therefore in the social class of band A/B, they are generally though the use of mise-en-scene made to appear 'poor' to allow the target audience to relate to them as most of the pop genre target audiences is in the social class band of C1 down to D. The theory this relates to is Keith Grandal's 2007 theory, Grandal states that lower class people are portrayed as a; "Cultural other," though fashions that deviate from the middle and upper class. Medhurst's 1998 theory is also relevant it states; "They are awful because they're not like us,"(the us is the middle class people)  the reason this is relevant because mise-en-scene is taken to the extreme in magazines like We Love Pop so the star look different and it makes them look more poor which intern makes them more appealing to the target audiences, as no one want to see someone flash there cash in a pop magazine as it is just rubbing it into peoples faces. 

All of this as well ties into Richard Butch (1992) theories he said the working class males in the media are presented as;"Incompetents and ineffectual, often a buffoon, well-intentioned but dumb. In almost all working-class , the male is flawed, some more than others.......he fails in his role as a father and husband, is loveable but not respected." This ties in with the stereotypical rock-&-roll image however in pop man are show as responsible, but at the same time males in pop are sold for there bodies following  Gamman and Marshment 1988-Female gazer that states: "Men can be seen as objects of sexual desire in the same way that a women is."

In conclusion when it comes to nationality I need to remember that the clothing pays a important parts of the magazines as it allows the target audiences to relate better to the pop star. For example Jessie J  on the magazine above is not wearing high end fashion that only a hand full can afford instead she is wearing what us the public can afford and because of this it is easier to relate to her and at the same time it is easier to see her as a good role model and has fashion that most people can afford.


Sexuality
Theorist Andy Medhurst 1998 claims that sexuality disrupt representation claims, like those made by Dyer ("How we are seen determines in part how we are tread; how we  treat others on how we see them; such seeing comes from representation" Dyer 1993)because in the "REAL" world you cannot see sexuality. Unless someone tells you they are homosexual you have no way of knowing.

In pop there is mainly straight people however there are people like Lady Gaga who is unsure about her own sexuality. Although people in pop also name songs in may that can be seen as sexual from example I Kissed a Girl by Katey Perry shown below this song had a lot of revelation as after the song came out, she said in a French magazine interview in her teen years she fell in love with a female  friend.I found out all the information about Katey perry in the site below: http://celebrities.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspxblogentryid=1159162&showcomments=true


Although it is not all females in the pop industry that are confused about there own sexuality some times it has included men in the past such as George Micheal however at present it is mainly females that are bio/gay however going back to Lady Gaga she is not only unsure of her sexuality but wears a range of made clothing giving this male transvestite look sometimes, and has in past years been in the news for speculation of her being male.

So in conclusion you can intrigue the read because of the way a celebrity dresses which gives the reader the idea sometimes that the person could be gay however  you don't know if they are gay just from the way they look. In reflection it could be a good idea to do a Lady Gaga style dress images as it will appeal to the pop genre readers.