The document summarizes market research for several UK music magazines. For NME, the average reader is a 23 year old male, with 68% of readers coming from upper-middle and middle class backgrounds. Q magazine's average reader is similar, a 29 year old male, though it has a larger readership that is more evenly split between genders. Mojo targets an older audience of 37 years old on average, who are passionate music fans and collectors. Metal Hammer has the youngest audience on average at 22 years old and predominantly male, focused on metal music genres.

1. Market
research for
UK magazines

2. NME
Founded by: Theodore Ingham
Published since: 1952
In the 1970s it became the best-selling
British music newspaper.
KEY STATS
Male: 74%
Female 26%
Median age: 23
Student 42%
ABC1: 68%
Circulation: 33,875
Readership: 325,000
ABCe Unique Users: 5,342,246
-NME's Mission Statement To Provide
up to date and new information,
reviews and listings of the best new
music.
Their slogan is "first for music news"
-“I can trust it”
- “Its full of facts that we should all
know but don’t BUT we do now
thanks to NME”
- “Honest no-holds barred reviews”.

3. NME
From researching into NME magazine, we can see the average reader would be a 23
year old Male. 68% of the readership is made up of upper middle class, middle class
and lower middle class, with the remaining 42% being made up of students.
The magazine is largely associated with rock, alternative and indie music. It started as
a music newspaper and it was the first British paper to include a singles chart, in 14
November 1952 edition. In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music
newspaper. Gradually it moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s and 90s,
changing from newsprint in 1998.
From the mission statement we can see it is a magazine that keeps up to date with all
the latest music, so that the magazine provides something different each week.

4. Q magazine
• Circulation 89,450*
• Readership 550,000**
• AbC1 profile 72%**
• Median age 29**
• Male/Female 68%/32%
*ABC Jan-June 2010
**NRS Jan-Jun 2010
***Reader poll 2008
Mark is 29 and lives in leeds. he is a passionate music fan, as a lad he got
into ‘proper music’ in the mid-’90s, inspired by the rock ‘n’ roll swagger
of liam and Noel, Blur and the Britpop scene. he’s in full-time
employment but revelling in life without any dependents or family
responsibilities. Mark has high disposable income to spend on himself
alone, being a heavy consumer of music, buying up to 6 albums per
month. He loves reading Q to discover new music, as well as filling in the
gaps in his back catalogue. New music forms part of his social currency,
so Mark is keen to know the new Mumford & Sons before they go
mainstream and uses this knowledge as influence within his friendship
circle. Mark is highly savvy to digital technology, a keen social networker
and uses online services to enhance his social life. He’ll regularly
welcome his mates round to his for some Spotify dj-ing and a few beers
as a warm-up for a big night out. An open-minded experience seeker,
Mark loves the live music experience, opting to go for a mixture of gigs,
especially huge arena shows for the likes of Kings Of Leon and Kasabian.
He attends Leeds festival religiously annually and this year he’s off to
Benicassim in Spain for his mate’s stag weekend. Though a hugely
passionate music fan, this is not to the detriment of his other interests –
film, gaming, sport, TV and comedy.
The MISSION
‘Q is a Bastian for music of substance –
guiding its readers through just the good
stuff in all forms of music each month via
its unparalleled access and Q Review, the
world’s biggest and best music guide.’
Paul Rees – Editor-in-Chief

5. Q
A Q magazine average reader would be a 29 year old male. However, 32% of the readership
is female, unlike NME where the readership is on 26% female.
72% of the readership is made up of upper middle class, middle class and lower middle
class. We can see that the average reader would be a religious festival goer who has a
passion for music and enjoys attending gigs regularly.
The readership is 550,00 which is significantly bigger than NME, this shows it is a market
leader.

6. MOJO
Circulation 91,678*
readership 218,000**
abC1 profile 66%**
Mean age 37**
THE MOJOREADER
John is 37, a passionate and discerning music fan, long-time musician himself and
dedicated record collector. With his high disposable income, John loves nothing more
than sneaking off to the local independent record store to see what’s in. John proudly
invests in an extensive mixture of vinyl (classics and rarities), CD’s, and carries a well
stocked iPod that covers everything from prog to nu-folk, Motown to 60’s garage, blues
and psychedelia. John’s heroes are Bowie and Jimmy Page, he has played the guitar
since his school days and gets together now and again for a jam with his muso pals. A
heavy gig goer, he also likes the more ‘boutique’ festival experience, having begun to
outgrow Glastonbury, he is now just as likely to head to a smaller scale shindig such as
Latitude or Green Man Festival. John and his partner occasionally like to unwind at the
weekend by packing the toddlers off to their grandparents and inviting their friends
around for dinner, whiskey and a rifle through his record collection to unearth some
hidden gems. Well read and media-savvy, they chat into the small hours about music,
books and films.
THE MISSION
Mojo is an educator, a living archive and a trusted source of musical
excellence. Mojo provides its audience with an authentic, independent, and
emotional connection to the music. Its also the last word on what's good, for
music that is timeless, and where to go next. Mojo is loved by its readers, the
music industry, and by musicians alike, because it engages them on the subject
they love the most. Its basic editorial proposition every month consists of: A
definitive, book-like cover feature (i.e. you don't need to read a book on the
subject, you can just read Mojo to know everything). An editorially themed
cover mounted CD. A 30 page plus reviews section known as Filter, which
brings you the best in music that month. Mojo goes in deeper than any other
magazine and creates an experience that is immersive, and that the readers
can luxuriate in. From The Beatles to Battles, and The Ramones to Radiohead.
Classic, sitting comfortably with cutting edge, and quality being the one
constant.

7. Mojo
Mojo targets at a slightly older audience than NME and Q, with an average age of 39.
66% of the readership is made up of upper middle class, middle class and lower middle
class. The average mojo reader normally is a musician themselves and is a passionate
music lover. Like the Q reader, the mojo reader enjoys attending gigs and going to
festivals.

8. METAL HAMMER
• Key Facts
• Circulation: 41,777
• Readership*: 91,909
• Launched:1994
• Frequency:13 pa
• Price:£4.25
Young male (85%) music influentials, average age 22,
41% in employment, 51% are studying. Engaged:
Readers are spending on average 3 hours reading
each issue and 85%are keeping it for reference.
Responsive: 41% of readers have made a purchase as a
result of reading Metal Hammer, 61% have visited a
company’s website and 2/3 have consulted a the
classified section. Readers ARE the music scene :Half
see live music at least once a month, 79%will be
attending a festival in the next 12 months. Creators as
well as consumers: 2/3 of readers play the guitar and
1/3 are in a band. Informed and Influential: 76% feel
they are the first to know about new music with 93%
giving advice to peers and family. Spreading the word
about Metal and your products: 93% of readers are
talking about music with their friends and family
adding valuable Word of Mouth marketing to your
campaign.

9. The music magazine Metal Hammer is a very different genre to any of the other
magazines I have looked at. It has a significantly lower readership than any of the other
magazines as it is targeted to a specific group of people in society, where as the others
include music that is much enjoyed by many people.
The average reader would be a 22 year old male who is currently studying.
This magazine is a highly priced magazine at £4.25 so therefore would be aimed at
people who can afford to spend this amount on a magazine.