2. Q1: What is your gender?
Of my sample of 20 people, 60% were
‘Female’ and 40% were ‘Male’.
Although there were more females, my
magazine is going to be gender neutral
so it will not be based solely towards
a particular gender. My aim is to
appeal to both sexes, so I will use
gender neutral colours such as red,
black and white.
Male
40%
Female
60%
Q1: What is your gender?
3. Q2: What is your age?
The majority (45%) of the sample were
of the age range ‘18-30’. 30% of
people were ‘31-45’ and 25% were
‘Under 18’. My magazine is going to
be predominantly aimed towards
people of the 18-30 age range. People
of the 31-45 range are my secondary
audience. People under 18 can read the
magazine regardless of this, however I
have chosen these target audiences
based on their socio-economic codes
and how this would affect their
decision to purchase a magazine. An
18-45 year old may be more likely to
purchase a magazine costing £3-5 than
someone under 18, as they are more
likely to have an income and therefore
more money to spend. They also may
have more money to spend on
recreational luxuries, such as buying
albums and concert tickets.
Under 18
25%
18-30
45%
31-45
30%
Q2: What is your age?
4. Q3: Do you like music?
This was just a general question I
asked so I knew that each persons
opinion would be relevant regarding a
music-based magazine. As all
answered ‘Yes’ this gave me the
impression they would have a real
interest in what they were being asked
about.
On reflection I think I should have
asked them this question before they
began the questionnaire rather than as a
question in it. If someone had
answered ‘No’, they wouldn’t have
known what to put for some questions
(e.g. genre of music, new music,
current music magazines).
Q3: Do you like music?
No
0%
Yes
100%
5. Q4: How many hours do you
spend listening to music a day?
45% answered ‘2-3 hours’, 35%
answered ‘6+ hours’ and 20%
answered ‘0-1 hours’. Nobody in the
sample answered ‘4-5 hours’. This
suggests that the target audience are
people who have an active interest in
music and listen to it every day, so
therefore know what they like. Also it
would be reasonable to assume that
they have some knowledge of popular
music at the time, as they are in daily
contact with music. This is suitable for
my target audience.
Q4: How many hours do you spend listening to music
0 - 1
20%
2 - 3
45%
6+
35%
4 - 5
0%
a day?
6. Q5: What genre of music do
you listen to?
This was a multiple choice question, so
each person could choose whichever
answer applied. 32% of people
answered ‘Pop’, and 26% answered
‘Indie’. They were the most popular
and second-most popular answers
respectively, which is why my
magazine is going to be based around
the pop genre with a sub-genre of
indie. The cover artist for my magazine
is going to be a musician of these
genres. There is a wide audience for
this kind of music so the magazine
could be very successful. ‘R&B’ music
got 18% of the vote, ‘Rock’ 16% and
‘Metal’ 8%.
Q5: What genre of music do you listen to?
Pop
32%
Rock
16%
Indie
26%
Metal
8%
R&B
18%
7. Q6: How do you hear about
new music?
This was a multiple choice question, so
each person could choose whichever
answers applied. The most popular
answer was ‘Media’, with 44%.Taking
this into account I am going to make
sure that my magazine refers to new
music and that one of my sell lines
advertises a feature inside which
reviews the new albums of the week,
or something similar. As quite a large
amount of the sample said they found
music from ‘Social media’, ‘Charts’
and ‘YouTube’ (24%, 16% and 12%), I
am going to try to incorporate this into
my magazine. For example, on the
contents page I could advertise the
magazine’s Facebook or Twitter pages,
and a feature in the magazine could be
a weekly chart of the best selling
singles or albums.
Media
44%
Q6: How do you hear about new music?
Social media
24%
Charts
16%
Youtube
12%
Other
4%
8. Q7: How often do you read
music magazines?
The majority of people in the sample
answered that they read music
magazines ‘Monthly’ (80%). My music
magazine is going to be issued
monthly, partly because of the results
of the questionnaire, which suggests
most people of the target audience
prefer to read magazines in this time
frame. It is also going to be a monthly
magazine because I think that there
will be more content to put in the
magazine, as more new albums or
songs etc. would be released within
this period as opposed to a week or a
fortnight. If there is more content in the
magazine, it is likely the target
audience would feel the expensive cost
of the magazine is more justified and
would be more likely to purchase it. It
also means that each month a different
musician could be featured on the front
cover, either a celebrity or an
upcoming artist.
Q7: How often do you read music magazines?
Weekly
5%
Fortnightly
5%
Monthly
80%
Never
10%
9. Q8: Which music magazines
do you like?
This was a multiple choice question, so
each person could choose whichever
answers applied. The two most popular
magazines were ‘Q’ and ‘NME’, with 39%
and 22% respectively. They are the two
existing magazines that are most similar to
my own, and I have analysed both
extensively while doing my research. Q
Magazine is primarily a pop magazine,
however also features indie music. It is
arguably the most popular of its genre, and I
have been looking at how their front covers,
contents pages and double page spreads are
presented to give me ideas for my
magazine. NME focuses more on the indie
genre, however has been useful for me to
look at as it reports on news in the musical
world and the popular music of the time,
similar to my own magazine. I have also
analysed this magazine by deconstructing
front covers, contents pages and double
page spreads. 17% of the sample chose
‘Kerrang’, a rock magazine and 13% chose
‘Billboard’, a magazine that features many
genres. 9% chose ‘Vibe’, an R&B/hip-hop
magazine, and nobody in the sample chose
Spin, a grunge magazine.
Q8: Which music magazines do you like?
Billboard
13%
Q
39%
Kerrang
17%
NME
22%
Spin
0% Vibe
9%
10. Q9: What features attract
you to a magazine?
80% of the sample said that the ‘Cover artist’
on a magazine was what attracted them most
to it. This is why my magazine is going to
feature predominantly successful artists on
the cover, who would generally have a large
fan base. People who like their music may be
influenced to purchase the magazine if they
were on the cover, as they may be interested
to read the feature about them or interview
with them inside. This means more people
would be buying the magazine and may
continue to do so if they found they enjoyed
reading it. 15% of the sample said that
‘Images’ were the main attraction to them,
which is why I am going to use Photoshop to
edit my own photographs. I want them to
look professional and to stand out compared
with other magazines, so that the photo
makes you want to look inside. 5% of people
said ‘Sell lines’ were the main selling point to
them, which I agree with. My sell lines need
to draw people in not just by their content but
also the way they look. They need to catch
the readers eye and entice to buy the
magazines – so I would use a hook, such as a
quote from an article and then ‘…MORE
INSIDE!’ to draw them in.
Q9: What features attract you to a magazine?
Cover artist
80%
Sell lines
5%
Images
15%
11. Q10: Would you rather read
an interview or a feature?
This question asked the sample the
content they would like regarding an
article about the cover artist. The majority
of people answered ‘Interview’ (85%). I
am going to have a interview with my
cover artist on the double page spread of
my magazine. I think that reading an
interview is more interesting than reading
a feature, and it is more interactive for the
reader as it is like the artist is talking to
them. This can hold their attention for
longer. In my interview with the artist I
am going to ask them about their past,
current and upcoming music, such as
albums and singles. The article will also
feature them answering questions about
how they were discovered and tour plans
etc. I also may include an review of their
latest album on another page of the
magazine. This will be referenced in the
double page spread, for example: ‘Turn to
page 97 for our review of __________’s
new album, __________!’. It will also
feature a small piece stating when the
artists new album is out and where to
purchase it.
Q10: Would you rather read an interview or a
Interview
85%
Feature
15%
feature?
