Evaluation Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

The main audience for my magazine would be both male and female between the ages 16 - 26 who have a keen interest in being original and unique, within a society that is struggling to keep the idea of the 'underground' and 'unique' music society a personal thing compared to the mainstream 'pop culture'. I have looked on the website 'UK Tribes' and I have found out that my target audience would be 'Young Alts' and 'Indie Scenesters', they are both groups of people that like to stand out of the crowd and be original. This is important to me because of the fact that they are so open to new music and fashions which means that my new and unique magazine would fit into their style and their expressive nature. I have used 'UK Tribes' all throughout this process to really find a market that would be ideal for my magazine and luckily I have found it and it has helped me to centre my design and to help me make sure that I do not go overboard with the layout and features. My audience would also be interested in new major films and also the new indie films on the market. You mostly find that many people who like indie/alternative music are also interested in films and film culture as well. However I do understand that this is still a very niche market and I also would expect that many people interested in fashion and style as well would be interested in my magazine because I would include new and exciting fashions on the artists that are gracing the cover of my magazine. 

The audience for my magazine, as described in my previous question, is based from the facts I have found from UK Tribes. In which I found out that my main target market was ‘Young Alts’ and ‘Indie Scenesters’, this is useful especially when looking at how I want to attract and address my audience because for me it is important to see how that would be possible within the market that I am working in. To figure out how I am marketing my magazine to this audience is crucial in how it is going to turn out in the final product and also if I imagine how the product will sell within the actual retail market. I have been very imaginative throughout this process and I have always kept an open mind in how I would market my product.

My magazine would be a monthly magazine at the price of £3.50, I feel as though this is a very reasonable price for a monthly magazine so I would be able to reach a possible wider audience because teenagers (who perhaps don't have masses of money to be spending on expensive magazines each month) will have more of an opportunity to buy this magazine which if they did it would mean that I would be able to develop the magazine more and create a credible title that would interest and engage my chosen readership. The audience that I am trying to reach would really be the type of people to set themselves apart and and not conform to what society tells them to be. I feel as though this is apparent in my double page spread mainly, because the layout of the page is very unique and not something that I myself have seen in all of the research I have done. The only comparison I can make is Clash magazine who also layout their magazine in a very unusual and unique way; the audience that follows Clash magazine would probably be the one that I would expect to follow mine as well because of the fact that I have tried to use some of their techniques in my magazine, I have not blatantly copied anything out of the magazine but what I have done is to try and take some of their ideas and twist them into my own style and my own brief for my magazine.

 I would say that the main bands and artists that my readership would listen to would be: Slow Club, Warpaint, Yuck, Miles Kane, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, etc. I have listed an extensive list on the front cover of my magazine which also show you what type of music that my audience would be listening to. I am also focusing on film and fashion as well in my magazine, although these are definitely smaller aspects in my magazine because I do want the majority of the attention to be focused on music. I think this would appeal to an audience that is still interested in the film and fashion industry however the reason that they have bought this magazine is so they can read up on the music industry and they want that focus to be on that particular area.

 I feel as though that the general layout and design of the front cover, contents and double page spread really represents and showcases the indie/alternative market really well because they have unusual images on them (inspired by the likes of Rankin) and the layout and font is very different that you would expect to find in a 'mainstream' indie and alternative magazine (such as NME). I have tried to stay outside the comfort zone with the design of my magazine and I would hope that my intended audience would appreciate and understand why the magazine is laid out the way it is. I have also included the tagline of 'the psychedelic issue' on my front cover. I feel as though that this is something that my audience would be interested in because of the fact that it really draws your attention as to what is on the inside of the magazine, this would attract my audience because they would be curious and the mystery of what is underneath the cover would be really effective in making people pick up my title.