Audience research

Reader Profile

Mark is 29 and lives in Leeds. He is a passionate music fan, as a lad he got into ‘proper music’ in the mid-’90s, inspired by the rock ‘n’ roll swagger of Liam and Noel, Blur and the Britpop scene. He’s in full-time employment but revelling in life without any dependents or family responsibilities. Mark has high disposable income to spend on himself alone, being a heavy consumer of music, buying up to 6 albums per month. He loves reading Q to discover new music, as well as filling in the gaps in his back catalogue. New music forms part of his social currency, so Mark is keen to know the new Mumford & Sons before they go mainstream and uses this knowledge as influence within his friendship circle.

Mark is highly savvy to digital technology, a keen social networker and uses online services to enhance his social life. He’ll regularly welcome his mates round to his for some Spotify DJ-ing and a few beers as a warm-up for a big night out.An open-minded experience seeker, Mark loves the live music experience, opting to go for a mixture of gigs, especially huge arena shows for the likes of Kings Of Leon and Kasabian. He attends Leeds festival religiously annually and this year he’s off to Benicassim in Spain for his mate’s stag weekend. Though a hugely passionate music fan, this is not to the detriment of his other interests – film, gaming, sport, TV and comedy.

Reader profile

John is 37, a passionate and discerning music fan, long-time musician himself and dedicated record collector. With his high disposable income, John loves nothing more than sneaking off to the local independent record store to see what’s in. John proudly invests in an extensive mixture of vinyl (classics and rarities), CD’s, and carries a well stocked iPod that covers everything from prog to nu-folk, Motown to 60’s garage, blues and psychedelia.

John’s heroes are Bowie and Jimmy Page, he has played the guitar since his school days and gets together now and again for a jam with his muso pals. A heavy gig goer, he also likes the more ‘boutique’ festival experience, having begun to outgrow Glastonbury, he is now just as likely to head to a smaller scale shindig such as Latitude or Green Man Festival.John and his partner occasionally like to unwind at the weekend by packing the toddlers off to their grandparents and inviting their friends around for dinner, whiskey and a rifle through his record collection to unearth some hidden gems. Well read and media-savvy, they chat into the small hours about music, books and films.

Reader Profile

Conclusion The readers of my three chosen magazines are people who love music no matter what genre, time period or style. They Enjoy music as an experience and consider it a huge part of life. They also seem very keen on experiencing the newest acts and artists before anyone else. Concerts, festivals and gigs seem to play a huge part in their musical enjoyment, whether they be more mainstream and popular festivals such as Glastonbury and Leeds Festival, or perhaps more mellow and less-know festivals like Green Man Festival. I would like to create a magazine that caters to a target audience like this, people who love music and don’t associate themselves with any genre because they have an open mind and like what they like. I would also like to allow for newer or lesser know acts to be featured so that the audience gets the best possible chance of experiencing as much good music as possible.