Audience Research

Target Audience Profile

• Female 
• Age 16-21
• Middle Class - Student
• Sociable, enjoys partying with friends and visiting the beach
• High interest in music, keeps updated with new music
• Dresses to make an impression; bold patterns and colours, lots of jewelry and big hair
• Part time job, some disposable income
• Spends money on clothes (vintage, also highstreet; topshop, river island etc.), gossip magazines, beauty products; takes pride in her appearance
• Interested in the Reggae, Dance & Hiphop scene
• Enjoys going to gigs with friends

Target Audience research

I asked a number of questions to a sample of my target audience (female, aged 16-21, students etc) and from their responses I was able to identify their preferred genre, favorite artists, importance of the music video and how they find out about new music. I then asked them their opinion on Reggae music if they had not already mentioned it.

I also researched a few sample males of the same age group to compare their results with my female target audience. When asking the males what their preferred genre was they said; Rap and Dubstep, mentioning artists such as Eminem, Dappy, Zeds Dead,  Skrillex, Knife Party and Foreign Beggars. Whereas, when I asked my target female audience group, they said Reggae, Dancehall and R&B, and named artists such as Shaggy, Atumpan, Vybz Kartel, Rhianna, Ellie Goulding, Rudimental, Sean Paul, Sean Kingston, Bob Marley and Major Lazer.

One thing that was similar about both groups was their way of discovering new music - both groups identified the Top Charts on TV & Radio, Radio websites (upcoming artists) recommendations from friends, Soundcloud, YouTube and generally looking at other songs by a favorite artist or related music.

When asked about the Reggae genre, they all seemed to enjoy it, they found it fun and upbeat to listen to, making them feel very summery and positive. Some were unsure what the Reggae genre covered, but when given examples of a variety of artists under this genre they admitted they did listen to some of these on a regular basis.

I also discussed the importance of a music video, and what they felt is vital for a music video to include. There was a mixed opinion on the importance of a music video, some said that they didn't feel they were necessary because they didn't bother watching them anyway, however, others felt they were more useful as they could use sites such as YouTube to discover new music. The majority believed videos are key to an artist's success, that they can make a song more popular and they provide a chance for the artist to show their face and become more recognisable.

Typically the males said that they felt that women were a key part of a music video, and the female target audience group agreed, they also felt that attractive models/actors were vital.

Other key aspects that people thought were necessary were at least a few shots of the artist to help create an artist's persona; some fun or clever twist to keep the audience engaged; a story line to engage the viewer and make it memorable; live footage of a concert with a wild audience enjoying the music.

Other things that people said play a huge part included the idea of money and power; fancy clothing; women; fast cars and aspirational locations. However, a few people said that they didn't like the way artists show off and brag about the money and power they have, and felt they would prefer something that they could relate to, with less materialisation, less sexualisation of women and more positive hidden messages and story lines.

The audience research has been an important part of planning my music video - finding out what people want to watch and widening my views and ideas for my own music video. I will definitely take on board peoples' opinions when creating my final video to make it not only what I would like to see, but also what my target audience would enjoy and want to watch.