The document discusses several audience theories that can be applied when designing a music magazine, including: - Burton's theory of socially and media grouped audiences, which the magazine would divide by gender, age, ethnicity, and interest in music. - Hartley's concept of dividing the audience by self-identification, gender, and age group to appeal to older teenagers and young adults. - Dyer's theory that audiences will engage with messages addressing their personal inadequacies, like isolation, which the magazine could do through artist interviews. - Fiske's additional factors of education, region, and urban vs. rural when identifying the target audience.

1. Audience Theory

2. Burton, Hartley and
Fiske Theory
Following Burton’s theory, for socially grouped audiences, my
music magazine audience will be divided depending on
gender, age, ethnicity and education. I am planning to aim it at
older teenagers and young adults (17- 21) and be targeted at
both genders. It will not be directed at a particular ethnicity and
although I will not be aiming at an educated audience, the use
of formal words and lack of ‘slang’ may possibly present this.
Burton’s theory also suggests that an audience is not only
socially grouped but media grouped. For media grouped, my
target audience will be people that are interested in music of
all genres.
By using Hartley’s developed idea of how an audience is divided I
am planning to follow the following concepts:
Self: The aspirations of my audience include being a ‘music-lover’
and interested in upcoming music events and new artists.
Gender: My audience will be both male and female.
Age group: I want to appeal to old teenagers and young adults
therefore my magazine should include features which attract
this audience.
Fiske adds a further 5 factors which should be considered when
identifying an audience such as; education, religion, political,
allegiance, region and urban vs rural. For example, when
designing a magazine, I could consider what factors might
appeal to urban or rural region. Rural regions may prefer to
see well known, rich idols featured to inspire towards.

3. Dyer Theory
Richard Dyer states that people will respond to a message
if it offers them compensation for their inadequacies in
their own lives. My target audience could have the
inadequacy of feeling isolated and turn to music as part
of a way of ‘comforting’ themselves. Therefore my
music magazine could offer advice, company and
sympathy through the contents. By using an interview
or biography on the double page spread, an artist that
has experienced situations which the audience may
have experience, could offer company and provide
advice.
This is his ‘Utopian Solutions’ theory:
If we tired to fit an anti-smoking campaign to this, there
would be clear motives we could offer, based on theory,
e.g. gain money, understand the facts, gain energy, join
a quit club.
Inadequacy Poverty Confusion Exhaustion Isolation
Solution Abundance Clarity Energy Community

4. Herbert Blumer
Ways to describe an audience:
• Age
• Gender
• Culture
• Education
• Class
• Region
Herbert Blumer described “mass audience” in 1950.
The mass is very loosely organised and is not able to act with the
unity of a crowd.
In the second world war, Hitler in Germany and Stalin in Russia
attempted to use media as propaganda (through films, radio
and poster art), they attempted to persuade mass audiences.
A lower and poorer audience may not have enough money for a
computer or television so they have to use other media forms
such as print and radio but they could access other media
forms through public house such as library or pub. It also
depends on the reader as they chose what media form they
want to use such as an older man may not want to use a
computer and a younger girl may not want to read a
broadsheet newspaper.
Most of my experiences are on my own so I may not be influence
until after I received the information.
I talk to people after I have received the text so I may be
influenced by them and if the same information comes up I
would have already been influenced by other people.

5. Generic Conventions
and Audience Theories
Ways to describe an audience:
• Age
• Gender
• Culture
• Education
• Class
• Region
Herbert Blumer described “mass audience” in 1950.
The mass is very loosely organised and is not able to act
with the unity of a crowd.
In the second world war, Hitler in Germany and Stalin in
Russia attempted to use media as propaganda (through
films, radio and poster art), they attempted to persuade
mass audiences.
A lower and poorer audience may not have enough money
for a computer or television so they have to use other
media forms such as print and radio but they could
access other media forms through public house such as
library or pub. It also depends on the reader as they
chose what media form they want to use such as an
older man may not want to use a computer and a
younger girl may not want to read a broadsheet
newspaper.

6. Most of my experiences are on my own so I may not be influence
until after I received the information.
I talk to people after I have received the text so I may be influenced
by them and if the same information comes up I would have already
been influenced by other people.
Following Burton’s theory, for socially grouped audiences, my music
magazine audience will be divided depending on gender, age,
ethnicity and education. I am creating an urban (Grime, Rap, DnB)
magazine so the stereotypical audience would be adolescent (13-20)
black males from a lower background and education but other people
from different ethnicity, age, gender and class may listen to this music
and therefore read this magazine.
The stereotypical representation of the grime genre would typically be
an audience of lower class with interest in rap music similar to a
crime culture, this could come from their role models and idols being
footballers or rap ‘gangsta’ without having a family father figure to
look up to.
Generic conventions of the grime genre mise-en-scene would be
different depending on the artist and how would like to be portrayed to
the audience. Their clothes would generically be dark, negative
coloured hoodies and baggy jeans with matching trainers, usually
wearing gold chains and sun glasses to show their wealth. The use of
formal words and lack of ‘slang’ may possibly present this. Burton’s
theory also suggests that an audience is not only socially grouped but
media grouped. For media grouped, my target audience will be
people that are interested in music of all genres. The media types I
can use could be the internet, magazines, television and maybe
radio. The internet would be my main media type as it is accessible
wherever and whenever where as radio can be used mainly within in
a car. I could use television to advertise my magazine with adverts.
Through product research the main colours or an urban magazine
would be black, red and parts of white. The main artist on the front
cover will have medium/close up shot of their face to show facial
emotion; also the artist will take up most of the page and have other
features round the side.

7. By using Hartley’s developed idea of how an audience is divided I am
planning to follow the following concepts:
Self: The aspirations of my audience include being a ‘music-lover’
and interested in upcoming music events and new artists.
Gender: My audience will be male.
Age group: I want to appeal to old teenagers and young adults
(adolescent) therefore my magazine should include features which
attract this audience.
Richard Dyer states that people will respond to a message if it offers
them compensation for their inadequacies in their own lives. My target
audience could have the inadequacy of feeling isolated and turn to
music as part of a way of ‘comforting’ themselves. Therefore my
music magazine could offer advice, company and sympathy through
the contents. By using an interview or biography on the double page
spread, an artist that has experienced situations which the audience
may have experience, could offer company and provide advice.
Fiske adds a further 5 factors which should be considered when
identifying an audience such as; education, religion, political,
allegiance, region and urban vs. rural. For example, when designing
a magazine, I could consider what factors might appeal to urban
region. Rural regions may prefer to see well known, rich idols featured
to inspire towards.

8. They used Dyer’s Utopian Solutions Theory to motivate and
engage their audience, offering their target audience ways of
saving money
They also applied Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, but
threatened their audience’s need of ‘safety’ by using an
unfamiliar environment in the setting that our main character
would explore. This should engage their media literate
audience, using their foreknowledge and understanding of the
genre to establish meaning.
They used photographic techniques to encode messages
about the characters; the use of low angled shots on our
protagonist for example, as well as the use of subjective
photography to engage their audience actively with the main
characters.
Levi-Strauss’ Binary Oppositions theory helped them to
consider the characters they wanted to create as Chris
Brown’s character represents powerfulness, dominant and
authoritative.