10 - Audience Research + Evaluation for Music Magazine

'Who are the audience? Are they the group that you initially targeted?'

My audience is primarily composed of 16-24 Year olds that are fans of hip hop, the music industry and modern dance culture. This hasn't changed much from my original vision from the magazine and has fundamentally stayed the same. I have based the design and construction of my magazine on what my audience would like to see and I have decided what this would be beforehand by taking feedback from my original pitch

'How are particular social groups represented - Fans of particular music, age groups, defined by social class / gender / ethnicity? Are these representations positive, negative, mixed?'

I feel I try to represent my audience in a positive way and I do this by engaging them in the magazine and involving them by doing monthly Q&A's and a readers column each month. This portrays them as critical, thought provoking individuals whose views must be respected and heard. It aims to rid any negative stereotypes that the general population may hold of my audience due to their age (they are young) or any other their musical interests as the hip hop culture has been known to seep into violence and criminality. My magazine is trying to rid this image.

'Which elements of the magazine does the audience like?'

In general I received praise for the overall design of my magazine and the colour schemes and layout that was used.

"I really like the front cover. It looks professional and real. I think the font choice is excellent and it sets the tone for the magazine"

"Your photography throughout the magazine is excellent, particularly the studio photography. The shot used on the front cover is good as the models pose and smile engage with the audience. His attire makes the audience aware that this is a modern hip hop magazine"

"The fonts look really nice. They are clear and easy to read which is excellent"

'What could be improved?'

Although most people though most areas of my magazine were fine there were a few improvements that they suggested. These include

"Although the design of the DPS is good I feel the article could have been longer"

"You could've used more models for the Studio photography as the same model appears once on the cover and twice in the contents page"

Looking back at feedback you received from the college magazine, how do you feel your technical and creative skills have developed?

Personally I feel my technical skills in terms of using the tools in Photoshop and InDesign have improved massively. As I used the software more and more, my skills developed and I became more used to the interface which allowed me to more easily translate what was on my head to what appears on the screen as the end product. In addition to the actual development, the feedback for my college magazine allowed to to know what to improve upon for the actual music magazine.