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AUDIENCE PROFILES FOR MUSIC VIDEOS & THEORY

AUDIENCE PROFILES FOR MUSIC VIDEOS
& THEORY

USES & GRATIFICATION

This is a theory which strongly suggests that the audiences are not passive consumers as they actively take part in the media they consume. Blulmer and Katz devised the following list:

DIVERSION when the audiences escape from everyday problems and routines.

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS using the media for emotional uses and other interactions.

PERSONAL IDENTITY finding yourself reflected in texts, learning behaviour and values from texts.

SURVEILLANCE- information which could be useful for living e.g.; weather reports, financial news or holiday bargains.

YOUNG AND RUBICAM

MAINSTREAMERS : they go with the flow and dont want to stand out.

ASPIRERS: they want more money and status, buy flashy products and the latest products send out this message.

SECCEEDERS: they spend their money on status goods reflecting their success.

INDIVIDUALISTS/ QUIRKLES: they want to show the world they are different.

REFORMERS: they look for the organic, the recyclable, the environmentally friendly

Stuart hall : Encoding/Decoding

Encoding: the message /idea created by the creator of the text.

Decoding: the message interpreted / received by the consumer / audience.

Besides from that Hall argued that the message is not fixed / determined by the sender, the meaning is never transparent and the audiences is not a passive recipient of meaning.

Stuart Hall
Audience Reception Theory

Preferred reading : the dominant view and what the creator wants you to see.

Oppositional reading: the complete opposite reading to what the creator had intended.

Negotiated reading: an understanding of the dominant reading but can also see it from other perspectives.

Aberrant reading: completely reject the product and have no view at all.

Ien Ang

Ien Ang linked the dominant ideology of mass culture with social debate.

She believed that even if audiences found a show trivial, they could create some kind of cultural discussion based around the idea.

She encouraged readers to become negotiated readers.

GRS- General Registrar Scale

A Higher managerial, administrative, professional (e.g. : chief, lawyer, doctor, architect, judge, optician, accountant).

B intermediate managerial, administrative, professional (e.g. : nurse, bank manager, teacher, police officer).

C1- supervisory, clerical, junior managerial (shop floor supervisor, cashier, secretary, bank clerk, estate agent).

C2- skilled manual workers (e.g. : electrician, carpenter, plumber, banker, hairdresser).

D- semi skilled and unskilled manual workers (factory worker, bin collectors, messenger, bar attendant).

E casual labourers, pensioners, unemployed (students, pensioners without private pension, those on benefits).

Mosaic

Mosaic Classifications demonstrate a much more varied and specific way of defining audiences. This is only one part of it, as I thought it would be most useful for my chosen music videos. Besides, from that I decided to introduce the mosaic along side with GRS because its more detailed, allowing me to make more accurate conclusions about the audience profiles.

http://media1.policymic.com/site/article-items/27957/2_gif.gifhttp://www.billboard.com/files/styles/promo_650/public/media/beyonce-feb-2014-billboard-650.jpghttps://academiaparaninfo.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/ed_sheeran_05.jpg

Beyonc Yonc &
Ed Sheeran - Sing

AUDIENCE PROFILES:

AGE & GENDER

The music video titled Yonce strongly focuses around young women, exposing their bodies throughout the video. This is the main purpose / concept of the clip. This creates clear assumptions of the audience s gender and age profiles. The models are portrayed in a sexual manner, creating a stereotypical image of sexually objectified woman. This links to the theory of John Berger Men look, women appear. The representation of women suggests that the audience of the video would be mostly based around male gender, from male teenagers to middle aged man. At the same time it can be argued, as being appealing to the sexual appearance of women can be inspirational for young girls who want to follow the stereotypical and attractive image of women, meaning they could also be the potential audience. The fact that Beyonce is a mainstream artist, allows us to view the audience as mixed, depending on particular clip and message. However, this specific video is directly linked to mans gender from teenage years +. This can be linked to Laura Mulveys theory of male gaze where woman are portrayed from mens perspective due to the sexualisation within the video. Besides, from that the product might be also viewed by woman as a creation used for personal identity development, as suggested by Uses and Gratification theory.

RACE & OCCUPATION

This particular music video particularly focuses around the black race, as suggested from the screen shots. Throughout the video the audience is exposed to the representation of black woman who are continuously objectified and sexualised, strongly reflecting the colonist view of black women from the past. This builds up stereotypical representations, meaning they are passed on to the audience, in this case possibly the black race due to the black majority exposed within the video. However, the fact that Beyonce is a mainstream artist who reaches to a wide range of audiences, suggests that many different races of people could be potential consumers.

Similarly to the audiences race, the occupation could be based around the entire General Registrar Scale, due to the artists popularity and mainstream approach of music. However, looking at this specific video the audience would be based between the E to C1 section due to their young age. The occupation jobs would include: students, bar attendants, hairdressers, secretaries or supervisors.

The low set occupations can be also suggested through the blur of race and class suggested by Stuart Hall, meaning that a particular race in this case black is often associated with particular class. Due to the historical background. Black culture is often related with lower class, meaning their occupation status would be also low.

DEMOGRAPHIC & PSYCHOGRAPHIC PROFILE

Following the previous slide, the music video focuses around the lower to middle General Registrar Scale due to the fact that the video is aimed at youth males and females upwards. This means that their demographic is most likely to be based between E and C1 class that include following careers: electrician, carpenter, plumber, banker, hairdresser, factory worker, bin collectors, messenger, bar attendant or students. The lower class audience profile can be also supported through the screenshots which empathize estate environments including old brick walls, fences and pavements. The psychographic profile of the audience is based around mainstreamers who tend to go with the flow and trends set by the celebrities. Aside, from that I think the female side of the audience would fit more within the aspires section as their approach would be to follow the intrigue appearance of the artists.

GEO-DEMOGRAPHIC& MOSAIC

Looking at the screen shots on the right we can infer that the geo-demographic of the audience is focused around urban estates. The audience is less likely to be living in the central parts of city. As they are more likely to fit into environments around the edges of city such as estates. This can be supported through the screen shots which demonstrate poor roads, fences and ageing walls. This demonstrates clear representation of estate environments which are often associated with young people maximum approaching to middle age. To support this, I think the audience fits well within the section of Rental Hubs on the Mosaic Classification, particularly from O62 to O66. This range includes individuals such as students who live in high density accommodations but also youngers who are attempting to rent houses near central in vibrant locations close to jobs and night life. The audience profile includes; students, learners & earners, bus-route renters, flexible workforce and people who feel central pulse.

AUDIENCE RECEPTION THEORY

Preferred reading : the dominant view and what the creator wants you to see.Oppositional reading: the complete opposite reading to what the creator had intended.Negotiated reading: an understanding of the dominant reading but can also see it from other perspectives.Aberrant reading: completely reject the product and have no view at all.The Audience Reception theory of Stuart Hall divides the audience into four different categories. The reading of this particular video can be considered as negotiated. The understanding of the dominant reading of Beyonce, representing women in a sexualised and appealing way in the eyes of men is very clear and strong. However, the audience might interpret the video in different perspectives. For example, the female side of the audience might understand the video and use it for personal identity, which allows them to obtained and follow the behaviours and appearances of the women portrayed within the video, suggesting that the decoding of the audience is not passive, its open to interpretations, while the encoding of the artist is also clear. Additionally the listed points above can be linked to Ien Angs theory as she believed that the audience is open to create cultural discussion based around a specific idea. This video definitely encourages consumers to become negotiated readers.Ed Sheeran - Sing

AGE &GENDER

The music video Sing focuses around a narrative of a middle aged artist. Throughout the video, the audience is exposed to different representations, which makes the age profile of the audience vague. The beginning of the video focuses around the artists manikin driving the car in a dangerous and powerful manner. This creates a negative representation of young people. This can be seen as supporting the stereotypical representation of young people. This is then broken down by the artist as well as middle aged men who are continuously drinking in the bar and singing karaoke. All these scenes demonstrate a representation of middle aged individuals / singles who are motivated to continuously have fun although they are starting to reach the Urban Cohesion scale, meaning they reach more successful jobs. This profile of age is aimed at both, males and females although the narrative is portrayed through the eyes of a man. The story itself is very casual, reflecting the stereotypical representations of middle aged individuals for example; visiting bars, consuming alcohol and simply attempting to have fun. This can be seen in further screenshots where the artists is exposing himself with a limo, crowded with girls, in a way reflecting the representation of the artist he is but also other celebrities. He seems to be very casual and spontaneous within these scenes.RACE & OCCUPATION

Throughout the music video many different races are introduced including; White, Black and Asian. Although there is no tokenism portrayed, there are stereotypical associations represented throughout the video. The black woman is sexually objectified in the eyes of a man, as she is exposed through presentation of pole dancing. The mise-en-scene significantly suggests this representation as the character is confidently exposing her body. The sexualisation of women can be also seen within the white race. The focus of sexualising white women is even greater within the video suggesting a countertype. This differs from the representation of black men which is kept positive. While the Asian representation can also be considered as stereotypical due to the mise-en-scene which portrays the characters in a suit. This appearance is often seen in films and videos, while the stereotype is supported through the karaoke association as a way of entertainment in their culture. All these ideas portrayed within the video show that the race profile of audience is open, meaning that the song is kept mainstream and available to wide range of audience particularly under race circumstances. The occupations might also have quite wide range including; semi- skilled workers bar attendant, skilled manual workers such as bankers, hairdressers, supervisory/ junior managerial - secretary, bank clerk, estate agent. This demonstrates the wide range on the GRS from D class work to C1.

DEMOGRAPHIC &PSYCHOGRAPHICPROFILE

As mentioned on the previous slide the demographic profile of the audience is based around the range starting from D and going up to C1 with some individuals aiming higher. This idea can be strongly supported through different representations of jobs and characters within the video which vary from bartending to managerial, professional jobs which go even up to A class. Another demographic representation in the video is based around the wealth individuals who are on top of the hierarchy due to their privilege of inheritance or amount of properties. This is shown in the eyes of popular musician who is throwing the money around throughout the narrative. This can be linked to the psychographic profile of the audience which can be focused around various categories. For this particular video the mainstreamers suit the best with the audience profile due to the mainstream image of the artist as well as the song, which is open to wide range of audience. However, looking closely at the Young and Rubicam theory the audience could be also placed in the Aspires section, which states that the audience wants more money and status, buy flashy products and send out the newest trends. This idea can be supported through the wealth representations within the video, linking it to Jacques Lacan Ideal I theory where the audience passively follows the representations of a celebrity, demonstrating lack of individualistic approach and style.

GEO-DEMOGRAPHIC& MOSAIC

Linking back to the previous slide, the geo-demographic profile of the audience will be based around the urban estates, moving onto central. This is because of the wide range starting from D upwards, aiming even at C1 and higher. This association can be explained through the scenes in the music video which strongly represent different occupations and classes. The screen shots on the right demonstrate three different jobs - an managerial / professional workers, an successful musician and a bartender, meaning the geo-demographic of the audience will be different depending on their GRS, demographic and occupation. However, looking at the mosaic allowed me to look at the geo-demographic profile in more depth. The audience is more likely to move between the M- modest traditions, N- urban cohesion and O- rental Hubs. This includes, motivated singles and couples in 20s and 30s progressing in their field of work from commutable properties but also self starting young renters ready to move to follow worthwhile incomes from service sector jobs e.g. ; bartending. Moreover, the GRS low ranking doesnt suit really well with the representation of audience and characters in the video, as it hasnt been recently updated. The fact that the mosaic is more accurate is due to the fact that its new, reflecting more detail and useful information for present society. THEORY

Preferred reading : the dominant view and what the creator wants you to see.Oppositional reading: the complete opposite reading to what the creator had intended.Negotiated reading: an understanding of the dominant reading but can also see it from other perspectives.Aberrant reading: completely reject the product and have no view at all.The encoding of the music video is focused around revealing an successful and fun life of an artist through the use of mascot. The representation of age and gender is also assigned to the scenes portrayed in the video for example; drinking alcohol in the bar or driving a limo. This can be directly decoded by the audience who would be in similar age to the characters within the video, meaning their interpretation would be alike, showing how to have fun during a night out.

The music video also supports the negotiated reading within the Audience Reception theory. This means that an understanding of the dominant reading can be also seen from different perspectives as the music video doesnt have specific focus. It portrays different situations to which the audience can relate. From here we can link this to the Uses and Gratification theory of personal identity, suggesting that the audience can reflect in texts, learning behaviour and values from it.

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