Target Audience Research and Profile

Q magazine is aimed at an older adult audience of both genders after the founders, Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were disappointed by the music press at the time, as they felt they were ignoring a generation of older music buyers.

As seen above, i researched Q magazines audience demographics to see the ratio of males to females, and how old the majority of the audience is. As evidenced by the large circulation figure, you are able to infer how popular Q magazine is in The UK. I also found a pie chart that illustrated Q magazines social classes. The larger percentage is made up of ABC1 readers, which shows that Q magazine is aimed at members of a high social class.

As seen above, NME magazine is predominantly aimed at male adults, like Q Magazine. Around half the audience are categorised into the social classes ABC1. The circulation figure is significantly lower than Q magazines, which shows that it is less well known and popular. The median age is also lower than the median age for Q magazine. 

Looking at these magazines demographics gave me a better understanding on how these music magazines are aimed at both genders - they are both primarily aimed at males. Statistically, this tells me that a higher percentage of males are more likely to buy these magazines. This is something I might need to consider when creating my own music magazine, as ideally I would like it to appeal to both males and females.

There is a number of ways in which a magazines target audience can be identified, such as the music genre, production values, the colours used, the social classes and income of consumers etc. A magazine can also look at demographics and psychographics to help them decide on how to represent their products depending on who purchases and reads them. For example, if the majority of a magazines audience belong in the social classes A and B, the magazine will have high production values and will most likely to be published once a month, as opposed to every week.

Social classes are broken down into 6 categories:

Both of the magazines I looked at in my sub-genre offered mixed results, because after researching and studying both the magazines demographics, I discovered that the majority (around 72%) of Q magazine consists of the ABC1 social classes, whereas NME magazines audience was made up of about 47% of the ABC1 social classes. NME has lower production values than Q magazine, so it is more realistic and practical for me to aim for their standards.

With my own music magazine I mainly want to focus on the C1 and C2 social classes, with the exclusion of the E class as they are not likely to have a disposable income high enough to purchase my magazine on a regular basis. I also don't want to focus on the A and B social classes, as they will expect a magazine with high production values, such as glossy magazines who use professional photoshoots of popular celebrities for their cover page and content. I don't have the materials and equipment to make my magazine look as professional as a magazine like Q magazine or Vogue.

Audience profiling

In order to understand how audience profiling works and how to create my own, I researched audience profiles belonging to my sub genre.

The image above is low quality so parts of it are difficult to make out, but it shows the audience profile created by and for Q magazine. Looking at this example gave me a good idea on what topics to include for my own profile. For example, Q magazine have used a male character because their target audience is dominantly males.

For NME magazine I was unable to find a official audience profile, so I continued looking until I found the closest thing I could find with relevance and importance. 

This audience profile is fairly similar to the one for Q magazine in the way that they have similar interests, such as using digital technology and enjoying live music. This shows me that the magazines are very similar in the way that they target and appeal to their audiences.

My audience profile

Matt is 18 and lives in Manchester. Matt is a bit of an innovator, and likes to seek new and different things for him to enjoy. He is a keen music fan and enjoys going to music festivals with his mates. He attends college so doesn't have much money, but with his part time job he is able to afford the latest albums of his favourite artists every month. He loves reading music magazines to discover new artists and music, and enjoys all the free stuff that comes with it, especially when the magazines advertise free concert/festival tickets.

Matt is a regular user of the latest digital technology, and has downloaded several music apps so he is able to listen to his favourite music on the go. He is a keen user of social networking sites, and is more than happy to invite his mates round for some beers whilst he plays his favourite tunes on his Spotify app.

As a enthusiastic music festival goer, Matt enjoys the experience of live music, and is keen to go to well known British music venues, such as Leeds and Glastonbury. Matt is seen as an explorer, and is often the first to try out new experiences, as he is driven by discovery. He has a close relationship with all the friends in his social circle, and is more than happy to go to concerts and festivals with them when he gets the chance. Matt is a bit of a trendie amongst his friends, and enjoys receiving their admiration for his open outlook on life. They all have similar interests, such as playing football, gaming and watching films. Matt is also a bit of an aspirer, as he can be materialistic and is often attracted to how something looks, rather than what it has to offer. Content is important to him but not as much as appearance.