Audience research 1D

Audience Research Analysis

Chosen Artist ~ One Direction

Initial Assumption• One Direction kicked off their career with the X Factor, from this they gained lots of

fans and followers very quickly, and most of them are still fans now, showing that they are dedicated and stick to what they know and enjoy.

• Whenever I think of 1D fans I automatically think of them as young girls, mostly early-mid teens, who are self conscious and lack confidence, yet are happy to express themselves when they feel comfortable, e.g at One Direction concerts/gigs as they are surrounded by people who have similar interests and where they won't be judged.

• They have a very large fan base and I think that the majority of their fans like them because of what they have achieved and how far they have come, and also that they enjoy the music they produce as it may help them for a variety of different reasons, yet I think some of their fans are interested because of the way that they look/act and that their music is just a bonus.

• Personally I think that 1D fans are very up to date with technology/social networking sites as they want to keep constant track of what the group are doing, often losing track in the real world. I also think that they are in competition with other fan bases and sometimes even each other as all of them are trying to outshine the other so that they stand out to the band and are noticed.

Q1. What is your gender?• By asking this question

it allowed me to see who my audience was and therefore who was most interested in my chosen artist.

• From the results shown, it is clear that my prime audience are females, yet still some males, agreeing with my initial assumption of the bands fan base as the majority are girls.

Q2. How are old you?• This question allowed me to see the main

age of the bands fan base and who they mainly appeal to with what they produce.

• These results show me that the main age of my audience are between the ages of 16-21, which doesn't match my assumption, yet there were a couple of people that were aged below 15 showing that they still have fans of this age.

• I think the places that I put my survey had an impact on the results that I’ve received, since I put it in a few different places like twitter.com/facebook.com/youtube.com, but also a few fan pages to see if I could gain a variety of results and 4 of the results came from Facebook, showing that they are in link with social networking sites, agreeing with my assumption.

• The majority if the results I got were from the link that I sent to people and these people were people that I knew so they would be similar to my age.

Q3. Do you like One Direction?• The majority of people that

answered my survey said that they did like One Direction, a total of 82%, and only 18% of them didn’t like them, proving that they are a popular and well known band.

• When asked why they did/didn’t like the band there was a range of responses, a few said that they are “talented” have “beautiful voices” and that their songs are “fun, energetic and catchy”, yet others said that they weren’t their “style of music” and that they are “arrogant”.

Q4. Which describes your everyday style?

• This question outlines what the respondents wear on a day to day basis, 15 out of a total 22 said smart/casual which is similar to me any many people I know, making it right for the age range that answered, all the options were chosen with the next popular being cute & classy, maybe describing the clothes of the under 15s.

• Since the majority of the audience are mid teens it’s understandable that they would pick this option as most days its much easier to put on what you feel comfortable in, a common factor I believe that 1D fans have, making it relatable to my original assumption.

Q5. What is your favourite genre of music?

• Since One Direction are known as being a Pop style boy band, it makes sense that their fans would like that genre of music, hence why the majority of people, 72%, responded with that option.

• A few people picked rock and also indie/folk was chosen, showing that they are interested in different genres and that’s maybe why One Direction music doesn't appeal to them.

Q6. How would you describe One Direction fans?

• I asked this question so that I could see what their fans thought of one another and to see if they had many similarities/differences to what I think of them.

• A lot of the comments were quite similar and positive, a lot of them agreeing with what I initially said about them, “dedicated”, “they’re generally quite young, very dedicated, but a seemingly loyal & harmless fan base”, “supportive, cool”.

• Other comments suggested that some people didn’t like them or the way they acted, so much so that they don’t want to associate themselves with the other fans, “a little psychotic and obsessive”, “forward” , “annoying”.

• Since the responses overall were more positive, it shows that as a fan base they all seem like similar people who seem to think of each other in a good way, I think that from what I wrote in my assumption agrees with what they say about each other, and that they are a strong fan base who just want to support their favourite band.

Q7. Have you been a fan for a long time, if so what has kept you

interested?• This question enabled me to see what keeps One Directions fans so

interested in them and what they do that’s different to other artists/bands.

• A few responses, these show that they like the band because of the music they produce and that their personalities appeal to them; “I've been a fan since they were on the X-Factor. I'm still a fan because they're still the same boys funny, sweet and energetic.”, “Their music makes me happy and it's nice to sing along to”, “2 years and their music has changed with time to keep fans interested”.

• A few of the responses are based on the way that the band look, somewhat agreeing what I initially thought of why people like them; “they're hot”, “Yeah just look at them”, “attractive”.

• From this the majority of the reposes were that they had been a fan for at least 1 year or longer and that the music that they produce and the way it changes is what keeps them interested.

Q8. Do you attend concerts/gigs regularly?

• 12 out of 22 said that they don’t attend concerts/gigs regularly, this could be for a few different reasons, for example since the majority of the respondents are aged 16-21 they are most likely to be at school/uni, ruling out the chance to go to concerts on a regular bases as they have to put school work first over their hobbies and interests.

• Yet 10 people answered that they do go regularly, suggesting that they make time for their favourite bands/artist in order for them to feel dedicated and a constant part of the artists career.

Q9. Do you enjoy reading?• 62% of the audience that responded

said that they didn't enjoy reading, I asked this question to see if any of their fans liked to go back to basics and not use technology but from this I can see that maybe they don’t have time to read, e.g because of all the social networking sites that are now available that take up their time.

• The rise in technology now enables people to keep track on what famous people are doing, and some get so attached to following their every move it becomes an obsession and they lose focus in the real world, agreeing with my initial assumption.

• Obviously there are other reasons why people might not enjoy reading, for example they can’t grip onto the narrative or that they just don’t like it or maybe struggle with it, but from my experience as a teenager I’ve noticed that very few people still read and that maybe people pick it back up again when they are older.

Q10. How would describe yourself?• This question allowed me to see how their fans would describe themselves as

people and whether anything was similar to me and my results from the 4cs questionnaire.

• Here are a few responses, “anxious and anti-social”, “shy, friendly & honest”, “fun, happy and an extrovert”, “loud, bubbly, quite positive”, “interesting”.

• I found myself to be the ‘The Succeeder’-Succeeders possess self-confidence, have a strong goal orientation and tend to be very organised. As a result they tend to occupy positions of responsibility in society. Their investment in the status quo means they tend to support it. When it comes to brands, they seek reward and prestige. On the other hand they also seek out caring and protective brands-their aggressive attitude to life means they need to relax. Their core need in life is for control.

• In my initial assumption I said that I believe that their fans lack confidence, where as this includes self confidence, some of the responses say “shy” yet “bubbly, so I think that we are similar with this. Most of the succeeder relates to the fans as they are dedicated and supportive of what they like, will also protect fellow fans, yet they can be quite aggressive.