Jack Glennon

Jack Glennon

Music magazine market research

The purpose of this research is to identify the target audience for a new music magazine. I also

wanted to identify the different genres of music that my target listens to. The information that I

have gathered is quantitative data and this will help contribute to the development of my music

magazine. The method I used was a questionnaire that I handed out to people.

The percentage of females to males is 60%-40%. This shows that the answers given will be

more related to females and their tastes in music. As an overall this could be seen as more

biased

I asked my participants to give detail of their age. I found that the majority were aged

between 16 and 25. This shows me that ideally I should aim to create my magazine to suit

people between 16 and 25.

Gender

Male

Female

Age

16-25

26-35

36-45

46-55

56+

Jack Glennon

Jack Glennon

I asked in my questionnaire if the participant was employed or not. My results show that

60% are unemployed compared to 40% that are employed. From these results I will base

the price of my magazine quite low so it would suit my target audience.

Of those who said they were employed, the results show that they only work part time. This

would mean that they do not earn a huge amount of money in their wages. This again would

affect the price that I would make my magazine.

Employment

Employed

Unemployed

Full time or part time

Full time

Part time

Jack Glennon

Jack Glennon

I gave my target audience a selection of music genres and asked them to select the ones that they

listen to the most. I found that R ‘n’ B, Pop, House and Indie music were among the most popular

music genres of my participants. Overall R ‘n’ B came out top, this means that I will be basing my

music magazine around the genre of R ‘n’ B.

I found that the 90% of the participants that I asked attend a live music event on a regular event.

From this, I feel that within my music magazine I should include concert reviews and live music

reviews as it may attract more readers to my magazine.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Pop House Rock R 'n' B Metal Indie Classical Country

Favourite genre of music

Do you attend many live music events?

Yes

No

Jack Glennon

Jack Glennon

The majority of participants had only attended one concert over the past year (60%). This shows that

although it is only one concert the majority attended, it will still be an important to include in my

magazine.

Many of my participants stated that they will visit a music shop to attain their music, but as an

overall percentage, the internet came out on top for how people attain their music. This shows the

change that the music industry is going through and that I should consider this when designing my

magazine.

If so, how many have you attended in the past year?

1

2 to 4

5 to 7

7+

Attainment of music

Music shop

ITunes

Spotify

Other

Jack Glennon

Jack Glennon

With this question, I wanted to find out how long my participants on average, spent on the internet

during a single day. The answers given prove that technology is changing and that many people’s

lives revolve around the internet, meaning that in my magazine I will include features to do with the

internet to suit my target audience.

Many of the responses I got about if my participants read a music magazine showed that they did

not read any music magazines. This could be a problem in terms of sales for my magazine because

only a small amount actually read a music magazine.

On average how long do you spend on the internet during the day?

0-1 hours

1-3 hours

3-6 hours

6+hours

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Kerrang NME Q Rolling Stone

Vibe BillBoard Other None

Do you read any of the following music magazines?

Jack Glennon

Jack Glennon

I asked my participants whether the quality of the photographs in my magazine would matter to

them. The response was overwhelming, 80% said that the quality of photographs did matter. When

creating my magazine, this will be something I focus on.

I also asked my participants if things like the colours and design of the magazine mattered to them.

The response was in favour of yes at 70%. This is also another important factor that I will consider

when designing my music magazine.

When reading through a magazine, does the quality of the photographs matter to you?

Yes

No

Do things like the colours and design of the magazine matter to you?

Yes

No

Jack Glennon

Jack Glennon

From these results, it is easy to see that the majority of my participants are not willing to pay more

than £2 for a music magazine. This again is another consideration to take in to account when

creating my magazine.

I asked my participants, what type of content matters to them the most. Out of all the options I

gave, all types of content seemed popular but interviews with artists and festival guides came out on

top. To attract my target audience, I will ensure that my magazine includes this type of content.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

£1-£2 £2-£3 £3+

What would be the average price you would pay for a music magazine?

012345678

In a magazine, what sort of content matters to you?

Jack Glennon

Jack Glennon

With this question, I wanted to find out what type of masthead they found most appealing. I found

that the NME and VIBE masthead were the most popular. Because of this, when I am designing my

music magazine I will have to take in to consideration that a design like NME’s or VIBE’s masthead

would be most popular.

In conclusion, from the quantitative data I have gathered from the participants who filled out my

questionnaire I have gathered vital information about my target audience and what to include in my

music magazine. The age of my target audience is between 16-25, the majority are unemployed and

the price they stated they felt was appropriate to pay for a magazine was between £1-£2, therefore

the price of my magazine will be quite low. R ‘n’ B, Pop and house music were among the most

popular genres of music meaning my music magazine will be mainly based around these three

genres, Many of my target audience use the internet quite regularly and attain their music through

the internet as well. This will definitely have to be a consideration when designing my magazine

because many people these days don’t read magazines because of the internet. In terms of the

general design of my magazine, my target audience clearly stated that the quality of photographs in

a magazine is quite important to them, this means that in my magazine close attention will be paid

to the quality of photographs in my magazine. As well as this, the participants in my questionnaire

showed that the design of the magazine and the colours played a role in why they are attracted to a

certain magazine, meaning that if I want to attract as many readers as possible, then I will have to

spend quite a lot of time focusing on the colour scheme of my magazine so that I can attract as many

readers as possible. Finally, my participants were asked which sort of content was most important to

them when reading a magazine. Festival guides and artist interviews came out on top with concert

reviews, album reviews and free download coming second. This shows to me that in my magazine,

festival guides and artist interviews would be most popular with my target audience.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

NME Q Rolling Stone VIBE

Which masthead do you find most appealing?