I have analysed the results of 18 people answering my survey and stated how this is likely to influence the production of my magazine.

1. Market Research
The purpose of this research is to help me to design a magazine which will be appropriate for a
particular audience, and to grasp an understanding of what appeals to whom. This is a primary
method of data collection using qualitative and quantitative data. To select the features of my
magazine,Ihave createda ten-questionsurveyvia‘SurveyMonkey’inordertofindoutwhat I should
include inmyownproduct.This has been answered by eighteen people; I have collated my results
below.Similar customer profiling is evident throughout many major magazine companies. We can
deduce by looking at ‘Kerrang!’ magazine that young people prefer cheap magazines with a lot of
content and free things. In the
same way,it isimpliedthat the
readersof ‘mixmag’ are people
who like the nightlife abroad,
alcohol and partying.
The first question is one
conventional to all
questionnaires. We have to
know how old the people we
are questioning are. This way,
when using the information I
have gathered to create my
ownmagazine,Iwill know who
my targetdemographicisinmy
own.
Thirteenoutof eighteen of those that filled in my questionnaire were between the ages of 15 and
20. This means that the information gathered from my survey will, if applied, make my magazine
appeal to an audience of this age group. Never the less, there is a slight impact from an older
audience. Taking into account the views of three very different age groups will increase the
likelihood that my magazine will attract a larger readership.
On average, 60% of the people
who answered my survey were
female.40% were male. This may
influence my decisions as I may
be more likely to make my
magazine appeal to female
readers rather than men if I use
the information I have gathered.
Nevertheless, there is a large
male input into this so, if some
answers still significantly stand
out, it will serve to prove that a
lot of the content can be
consideredunisex. This would be

2. preferable asit means that there is a
larger readership for my magazine.
The next question was multiple-
choice. The question of what genre
of music do most people prefer is
extremelyimportanttoconsideras it
influencesnearlythe entire contents
of my magazine. In this graph, it is
evident that the most favoured type
of music is Rock, chosen by 70% of
the people I asked. Notably, Indie
music is favoured by 60% of the
sample,andElectronicmusicby 45%.
These are the three most popular
genres of music that my sample has
chosen,which means that the public
will probably be more interested in buying a magazine if it features content around these types.
Therefore, I will try to aim my magazine towards fans of the most popular genres. On the other
hand, it is important to try and make my magazine unique. Because a large proportion of people
prefer music that is Indie/Electronic, I can use this to try and design a magazine brand that aims to
be more unique andcutting-edge.Thismaymeanthatitappealstoa niche audience;howeveritwill
be different to other magazines and therefore more likely to sell.
Accordingto the analysisof my results,
mostpeople find out about new music
viasocial mediawebsitesandYouTube.
A very small percentage (17%) use
musicmagazinestoupdate themselves
with upcoming musical artists. One
reason for this may be because very
few people buy music magazines.
Alternatively, existing magazines may
not actively encourage readers to look
into new music as they tend to focus
on what is ‘in’ and popular. As a
potential unique selling point, my
magazine could feature new musical artists on the front cover in the model credits. The danger of
thiswouldbe that I cannotuse star marketing to attract people to buy my magazine. Nevertheless,
other incentives to purchase the magazine can be used, such as giving free things, exclusive
information or interesting images. This graph tells me that most people use social media and
YouTube to find information about music. This is useful to me as it provides a destination for my
ownmagazine’sfeaturettesoradvertisements. A lotof people have stated that they find out about
newmusicviatheirfriends,familyorwhenitisplayedinshops.Thismeansthatit maybe beneficial
to advertise mymagazine onplaceslike YouTubebuttoalsoactivelyencourage people tospreadthe
word about it to other people.

3. 45% of my sample claim to listen to more than two
hoursof musica day. Fromthis result which is near
half of the people I asked, we can assume that a
large proportionof the people who have answered
my questionnaire have agoodknowledge aboutthe
music industry as well as a strong interest in music
in general. These are the people who would be
most likely to buy a music magazine. A good
knowledge of musical backgroundandgenre means
that the information I have been given can be
considered more useful as these people are those
who may potentially buy a good magazine.
Therefore, taking their advice on what they want to see in a magazine is more useful as a lot of
people who are like them and will want similar things out of a music magazine.
The three most popularwaysin
whichpeople keep up with the
music industry are via
Facebook, YouTube and by
buying CDs and Vinyl. There is
an interesting clash here;
people who listen to music on
YouTube tend to prefer
listeningtomusicforfree,yet a
similar percentage like to buy
physical copies. Where my
magazine is concerned, this
means I should try to include
both musical platforms within
the content. For instance, I
could include sale prices for
purchasingCDs or competitions
to win them. This would act as
an incentive to buy the
magazine. Similarly, it can
discuss popular YouTube
movements, promoting
upcoming stars or passing
opinions and reviews. In this
era, YouTube is an extremely popular streaming service which is easy to use. Some magazine
companies,suchasVIBE and Rhythm,even have their own YouTube channels to discuss changes in
the musicindustryor to showinterestingvideos.Thiskindof ideaappeals to people in this new age
of Web 2.0.
A large part of the likelihoodof amagazine beingbought by the consumer relies on the price of the
magazine. The price links to the quality and quantity of the content, as well as the standard of

4. publishing.The difference iseasilycomparable if we lookat ‘Kerrang!’and ‘mixmag’. ‘Kerrang!’ is of
far lessqualityandis a lot thinner, pricing at £2.20 a week. ‘mixmag’ is a thick and stylish magazine
producedmonthlyata rate of £4.95 per edition.However,thisdoesn’tnecessarilymeanthatpeople
are more likely to buy a cheap magazine. With quite a mixed response, it would appear that, at
around 28% each, the majority of the public would prefer to buy a magazine that is £2 or less.
Nevertheless, these
percentagesare not that high.
If my magazine was cheaply
produced, the content would
be minimal and there would
be less chance that it would
give ‘freebies’. With due
consideration to the question
“what would encourage you
to purchase a music
magazine?” a consumer may
prefer a more expensive
magazine if itiscomes with an
incentive with a stronger
gravitas than the price.
Therefore, it is likely that my
magazine could sell equally as well with a price of £2+ than if it was cheap, so long as I can locate a
strong balance between price and content.
In a survey of 18 people, a massive 78% said they would be more encouraged to buy a music
magazine if itincludedextrafree content, such as posters, CDs, pens, or other small miscellaneous
items. Other features of the magazine which are appreciated by readers are good quality
photography and exclusive content. This is one of the most important factors of my magazine to
consider as it directly influences the
number of sales. Most of the desired
featureswill prove tobe quite expensive to
publish. However, the more that are used,
the more likelythe magazine will sell. A lot
of people have no real interest in buying
magazines that are solely print-based. By
looking at the individual responses
gathered, we can tell who has an
experienced understanding of the music
industry, includingmagazines.The recurring
preference among this portion of my
responses is to include new bands and
interviews. Therefore, I should endeavour
to include these in my magazine.

5. 76.5% of my survey respondents
have said that they do not read
music magazines. This is an
understandable figure as most of
the informationthatyoupay for in a
magazine is free and simple to find
on the internet. Print-based media
can be expensive and have few
exclusive benefits. Therefore, for
the magazine to actually sell, it
needs to contain content that
cannot be simply found on social
networks and websites. Exclusive
content will attract people to the
brand. Similarly,the website having
a website to its name and an online
infrastructure will create a more
interactive readership. This may be
preferred by modern readers.
Likewise, the use of a strong online
force wouldworkas a unique selling
point(USP) formy magazine. The most popular of those that people do buy are Kerrang! and NME.
These are two verydifferentmagazineswhere House Style and genre is concerned, suggesting that
there is no real connection between the genre of a magazine and the strength of its sales.
In a question with a very similar purpose, I asked eighteen people how often they buy music
magazines.Eventhoughthe majorityof peopleansweredonce more againstbuyingmagazinesatall,
the other most popular options were 'weekly' and 'monthly', both of which resulted in the same
percentage. This figure will affect how
oftenmymagazine ispublished. Some are
thin with weaker but more up-to-date
content and are released weekly. Others
are thicker and show more care in their
layout and general aesthetic, but can
quickly become dated. Subscriptions are
popular with magazines that are released
on these time scales. The
indie/electronic/rockmusicindustry is not
the fastest developing, so I don't think a
monthlyrelease wouldholdanynegatives.
This would also mean that the quality can
be much greater, which is one of the features that people wanted to see in a magazine.
Overall,the general consensusappearstobe pushingtowardsthe ideathatmy magazine company
shouldbe a well-developedindie,rockand/orelectrobrand.There are some natural clashesof
ideologies,suchasthe desire forfree thingsata cheapprice,butotherwise Iwouldsaythatthe

6. surveyhascreateda solidframeworkforthe foundationsof mymagazine.Collatingall of myresults,
my magazine brandshouldconsiderasmanyof the preferencesof the publicaspossible,illustrated
below.
 Aimedata readershipof people aged15-20
 A general mix of the stereotypical genderfocusornone
 Shouldbe an indie/rock/electronicmusicmagazine
 Convergentmediadefinitelyneedstobe used - my magazine needsitsownsocial media,
website andYouTube channel
 Carry offers/vouchersforpurchasingphysical copiesof music
 Aimto be purchasable ataround £2-3
 Feature exclusive content,interviews,new bands,goodphotography,andfree goods.
 Publishmonthlywiththe abilitytojoinasubscription