1) The document discusses the results of a questionnaire evaluating interest in a proposed pop/indie rock music magazine. It analyzes responses to questions about appealing magazine features, preferred artists to feature, and preferences around images vs. text. 2) Some open-ended questions did not receive definitive answers, and only a small portion of respondents currently purchase music magazines, indicating other sources may be more popular. 3) The key findings will still inform the creation of the magazine, which will focus on pop/indie rock content for the target 16-18 year old audience, and incorporate preferred visual elements, artists, and balanced images and text.

1. Questionnaire Evaluation
Open Questions
For some of the questions I chose to ask an open question, in order to offer the focus group and
target audience a chance to reflect their opinions and wishes for what they prefer and what they
would like to see in and on my music magazine.
9) What feature(s) of a Pop/Indie Rock magazine do you find most appealing?
The visual features were commented on the most, such as images of the artists featuring in the
magazine. Also, one individual wrote the front cover is important. This demonstrates that it is crucial
to have a stand out front cover, in order to appeal to the target audience and for the magazine to
become branded and successful.
13) Please provide examples of an artist/artists you would like to see featured in the magazine.
The 1975, All Time Low, Tonight Alive, Haim, The Smiths, Arctic Monkeys and Lorde.
By allowing the target audience to provide their own examples if artists they would like to see
featured, it gives me more ideas of which artists would be more appealing to the reader, so that
they would be willing to purchase the magazine.
Why Did I Ask The Question
1) It is important to establish which gender I am aiming my music magazine at, as it helps plan what
features and elements I should use in order to appeal to a certain gender. For example, pink is
typically associated with girls, so if my target audience was predominantly male I would avoid or use
very little of this colour. Using specific colours, imagery and fonts in relation to a certain gender links
to the code and conventions of magazine design; thus ‘GQ’, which is a magazine aimed at men uses
darker, bolder and more subtle colours.
2) Similar to the gender, by knowing what age category my magazine is based around, it helps
establish which colours, elements and fonts to use. From my survey, it is clear that my target
audience is solely 16-18 year olds. Therefore, I would not be expected to use a clash and broad
mixture of colours, as this can appear childish and distract the audience from the purpose of the
magazine.
3) Knowing the ethnicity of my target audience demonstrates to me what icons and articles would
be most appropriate. Also, in relation to the articles I may choose a specific costume and makeup.
Due to differences in culture, people would have different preferences and likes, such as someone of
a white ethnicity may listen to ‘Pop/Indie-Rock’ and would recognise the various bands and artists,
whereas an Asian-Pakistani may not be as familiar with the genre of music, as demonstrated by the
results from my survey.
4) Because I am carrying out a survey to find out information about whether people are interested in
music magazines, the most obvious question is if people purchase music magazines. This gives an
indication of how popular music magazines are and how large the target audience is, as I would only
be aiming my magazine at people who purchase/intend to purchase music magazines.

2. 5) This question was only for people who purchase magazines, as it does not relate to those who do
not. The question highlighted how often people purchase music magazines, which means I am able
to determine whether I want to create a weekly magazine or a monthly magazine.
From my results, it is understood that weekly and monthly magazines are equally popular, so the
amount I intend to publish my magazine would have to be based on the content.
6) The price is one of the most crucial elements when it comes to selling a magazine or any product.
Thus, if the price is too high, it will be unlikely that the magazine will sell, but if it is too low, the price
will not suffice the costs to publish, design and create the magazine. Also, prices will vary depending
on the target audience’s age, such as a younger audience will be willing to pay less.
7) My sub-genre is ‘Pop/Indie-rock’, so I needed to determine how many people actually listen to
this style of music. My results will allow me to establish how large my target audience is, so that I
can plan what content to include, how often the magazine will be published and whether I will
broadcast relevant content on other sources, such as an online blog. By using various sources I will
reach a wider target audience.
8) Not only do I need to establish whether people purchase music magazines, but I need to know
how many people purchase music magazines associated with my sub-genre. Like the previous
question it highlights the number of people within my target audience. However, it demonstrates
whether the people who listen to this genre of music also purchase magazines associated with the
genre, if not the magazine would not be successful.
9) This question was an open question and allowed the target audience to provide their own
opinions and answers. This form of question was more effective as it provided me with a direct and
personal answer, so that I could understand what the target audience actually wanted, as they are
the ones who will purchase the magazine. Otherwise I would be creating a magazine with content
that may not be as appealing.
10) This question is similar to the previous question, as it highlights what the target audience’s
preference is. However, this time I gave a closed question as I wanted a definitive answer. By
highlighting what colours they would typically associate with ‘Pop/Indie-Rock’, I can understand
their preferences, whilst beginning to plan a relevant colour scheme. This colour scheme is
important for developing a house style, so that the magazine may become branded.
12) It is important to pre-plan what type of artists to use in magazines, as it helps build an identity,
so that the target audience can begin to recognise the magazine without reading thru masthead.
Typically my sub-genre is associated with bands, such as All Time Low; however, the results of my
survey show that the target audience would prefer to see a mixture of both individual artists and
bands across the different issues.
13) In relation to the previous question, I wanted to find out which specific artists the target
audience would want to see. Therefore, I offered an open question so that they could provide
examples of their personal preferences. By including content and icons that the target audience
really want, the magazine is more likely to be successful.

3. 14) Finally, I wanted to retrieve information about the double page spread. Therefore, I asked the
target audience whether they would prefer more text, images or a balance of both. If I provided
unwanted content, the magazine would not illustrate the appropriate identity, so would not be as
appealing to the target audience.
What went wrong?
For some of the open questions, the target audience did not provide definitive answers. For
example, for Question 13, one person answered ‘anything’. However, this did not prove a huge
problem as I retrieved a sufficient amount of information from the rest of the focus group.
Secondly, out of the 15 people I surveyed only 4 people purchase music magazines. Therefore, this
may indicate that the age category I surveyed use other sources to retrieve updates about music. For
example, the internet has become increasingly popular, with companies using websites to upload
blogs, such as ‘NME’, the leading Rock Music Magazine, has its own interactive website.
Changes to my magazine
I still intend to create a music magazine, with the sub-genre ‘Pop/Indie Rock’, as there are not a huge
amount of magazines associated with this sub-genre. Nevertheless, this genre of magazine is very
popular with my target audience, including myself. Therefore, because I like this genre of music I
would have the personal understanding of what content and features I would expect to see in the
magazine.