Who would be the audience for your media product?

1. Evaluation 4: Who would be the
audience of your media product?

2. OVERVIEW
From the research I conducted in the research and planning stage of my magazine I found that
my audience would be aged between 15-25 and I would target both male and female
audience members. I felt that this age range would be easier to attract as they are young
enough to be involved with the trend of reading magazines and subverting from the
mainstream crowd. I based my audience on the outgoing stereotype of the young person who
goes out to small gigs performed by small bands that aren’t very well known and would be
accessible to those under 18 as they would have to be accompanied by an adult. I chose not to
have a target audience older than 25 as it is the age where people are most likely to be
completing university courses and might not have any more interest in magazines. The
popularity between the genders would vary from month to month as it would depend on the
artist that I chose to feature in my magazine,. For example, if I chose a predominantly female
band or a female artist, then more females might buy my magazine.

3. GENRE
I think that my magazine fits in with my chosen genre, grunge/alternative. The
magazine focuses on the stylistic elements within the genre such as the fashions
exhibited by the bands and the colour scheme I used (using its connotations to reflect
typical ideas such as rebellion). As my magazine explores a subgenre, there is
therefore a gap in the market as there aren't really other magazines similar to it that
are well known by the mainstream audience. The made me aware of the fact that I
had had to offer something that not only stood out against the prominent magazines
within the alternative genre such as NME and Kerrang! But I had to make it stand out
as a subgenre as well. I priced my magazine at £3.99 so that it would be placed
higher up in the market in order to gain initial acknowledgement.

4. DESIGNING
I kept my research in mind when designing my magazine so that I made sure to show
the fashion and overall style of the genre so that it was easily recognisable. For
example, my model/artist: ‘Michael Dewing’ was styled in such a away that he looked
conventional in terms of having the lumberjack style checked shirt with skinny ripped
jeans and messy hair. This gives him a look that isn't clean and polished like the kind
of artist you might find on a mainstream magazine where they’re very precisely
styled. I made it so that model looked quite stark as I converted my images into black
and white so that they would stand out against the dark background. I used messy
white jagged cut-outs behind the images to comply with the messy theme with stark
edges. The rest of my magazine is styled so that it looks messier and less polished,
however it is still organised and has a sense of order to it. Similar to my artist.

5. AUDIENCE PROFILE
I have created an audience profile of the kind of person I would want to buy my
magazine, e.g.: my target audience. The audience member has an interest in the
grunge bracket, is of the designated age range and is therefore a potential customer. I
asked them the following questions regarding my magazine which would be new
within the magazine market:
Would you buy a new,
unconventional magazine
in the alternative market?
How much would you be
willing to pay for a Niche
magazine?
What would you expect
to find in a magazine
labelled as ‘Grunge’?

6. AUDIENCE MEMBER
• Name:
Harvey Granger
• Age:
17
• Favourite clothing shop:
Harper and Lewis
• Favourite bands:
Nirvana, Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian
• Would you buy a new, unconventional magazine in the alternative market?
Yeah I think I would, I mean I'm all up for something new and I love it when things are done differently to sort of change things up. I think especially in the
alternative market as well, there’s so much room for new stuff.
• How much would you be willing to pay for a Niche magazine?
Maximum £5 I think, but I guess it would depend on what was in it and how well it was done. I personally like to see lots of images as too many words clutter
it and make it less aesthetically pleasing.
• What would you expect to find in a magazine labelled as ‘Grunge’?
For me I wouldn’t expect to see a lot of colour as black and white is a major theme given the grittiness of the genre. I think that there would also be a lot of
information regarding the artists themselves rather than the music as its what’s behind the music that generates audience interest.