The target audience for the media product (a music magazine) is the younger generation, primarily targeting males as hip-hop magazines tend to be purchased more by men. To attract this audience, a focus group was used to incorporate their tastes and preferences into the design and content of the magazine. While primarily aimed at males due to hip-hop's male exclusivity, some aspects appeal to females as well, such as images on the contents page. The pricing was made affordable for most people to access the genre of hip-hop/rap music. Both mainstream and underground artists were featured to broaden the demographic. Common magazine conventions like bold text and imagery were used, along with relatable artistic mise-en-scene, to

1. Question 4 & 5-Who would
be the audience for your
media product?
&
How did you attract/address
your audience?

2.  The target audience for my media product (music magazine)
is the younger generation of people, aiming at both genders
but primarily targeting the male demographic; this is because
hip-hop magazines are more often bought by men than
women. Addressing my target audience was key in creating
my magazine, as I felt it was important to incorporate the
personal preferences and tastes of the demographic. I did
these by using my focus group to my advantage, often asking
for advice on production and design in order to create a
product to suit the tastes of the majority, therefore attracting
the audience.
 Gender wise, I found it tricky to primarily aim at both genders,
as I felt hip-hop still maintains a sort of male exclusivity to it,
as many more males listen and appreciate the genre
compared to the female percentage of the market share.
However, this is not to say I completely narrowed it down to
appeal to men, aspects of the magazine are clearly
implemented to please the female percentage of the
readership (for example, the inclusion of an admirable image
on the contents page, this targets female gaze). I felt that
implementing an element of stereotypical marketing would be
the best for distribution, as it would be quickly accepted into
the market and had more chance of growing in sales.

3.  I didn’t base the pricing of my magazine to benefit any
specific class in particular; the pricing was purely based
on profit margins and to make it affordable for the
majority of the population. I felt it just had to be
accessible for anyone who adores the genre of music
(Hip-Hop/Rap).
 The nature of my audience would be mainstream, as
this was clearly the most effective one to distribute my
product to, and being the largest group in the
demographic and considering it is the hegemonic norm
in the industry. However, some of the artists featured in
the magazine are aimed to be less well known and
perhaps underground, this then also broadens the
demographic as it could be targeted at it indie music
lovers, who enjoy underground music. Similarly, it also
includes featured artists that are clearly in the
mainstream and will attract people’s attention.
Therefore with the inclusion of both styles of artists, we
can gain (partially) both demographics.

4.  To attract my audience, as well as using the focus
group for input and feedback, I included common
conventions I found within my research, of magazines
with the same age range. The codes included bold
texts, imagery and no crowding within the layout.
 The Mise en scene of the magazine was kept vaguely
simple and also similar to the audience, this then
satisfies the uses and grats theory of creating
engagement and personal connections, as they see the
artists as relatable characters. I felt like as the genre of
music was the main attraction for the audience, perhaps
the clothing and other parts of the Mise en scene
weren’t that important, so therefore not much attention
needed to be paid to them.

5.  The images I made eye catching, to attract them, and
features of opposing Mulvey’s Male Gaze for example
the contents page addressing women with an influence
of desire; I felt a counter typical aspect was important to
catch the reader’s attention. Similarly, both the front
cover and double-page spread address the audience in
a relatable manner, as they perhaps feel a personal
connection to the artist, also maybe even a feeling of
admiration or idolisation.
 The lack of direct mode of address attracts the reader
by creating a mystery behind the artist. The lack of
personal relationships immediately created by the
image, are later created through the use of text which
engages the fans and answers questions in their heads.
This is often important to the fans, as they like to feel a
connection with the artist. This would also allow me to
give a preferred or dominant reading.