Music Magazine Questionnaire Data Analysis & Evaluation

The chart on the left above illustrates the various ages of the 20 participants surveyed. The majority of participants fell in either the 16 to 20 age range (35%) or the 21 to 29 age bracket (30%), this denotes that there were a significant number of college/university age participants completing the survey.

The chart on the right illustrates the responses received during the three interviews. Due to the small number interviewed the participants were evenly split between the following three age brackets: 16 to 20, 21 to 29 and 30 to 39.

It was important to ensure participants from a wide range of ages were surveyed and their various views/opinions considered. This would enable me to develop a magazine that has the potential to reach the widest possible market and not be restricted to a particular age group. Analysing their responses would highlight any specific age related trends that I could then potentially adopt for my magazine and therefore maximise distribution and sales.

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1) How old are you?

16 - 20

21 - 29

30 -39

40 -49

50 -59

60+

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Interview responses

16 - 20

21 - 29

30 -39

Male 40%

Female 40%

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2) What gender are you?

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F 1

R 1

Interview Responses

To ensure the outcome of this survey was not unduly influenced / distorted by gender bias, an equal number of male and female college students, friends and family were asked to participate in this survey. The chart above (left) illustrates that 20% of participants felt that gender was irrelevant or that not enough categories were offered and or would rather not say what gender they were. However, the remaining 80% was split evenly between male and female. Ensuring that there were an equal number of participants from each gender will enable me to ascertain whether, either male or females are more likely to be interested in a music magazine and I could use gender bias when developing my magazine.

The second chart (right) illustrates the responses received during three interviews. It was not possible to ensure an equal number of both males and females due to the odd number undertaken. However, you can see that each person responded differently, continuing the trend identified for the questionnaires.

The question is whether or not I should allow my magazine to conform to this convention and have a gender bias, if indeed these results are representative of my target audience population in general. However, in order to appeal to the widest possible audience and to maximise sales, I will adopt a gender neutral magazine, ensuring that it appeals to both sexes. This data will provide me with a clear focus during the design / development phase of my magazine, so I can maximise its popularity with my target audience.

3) Do you read magazines?

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Yes No

Male

Female

Male / Female Split

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Interview Responses

Yes 70%

No 30%

Yes / No %

The chart above (left) illustrates the split between those of who usually read music magazines 70% (14 people) and those who generally do not 30% (6 people). The graph (right) illustrates the even split between male and females (70%) who regularly read music magazines. This result was similarly replicated during the three interviews, all three interviewees confirmed that they also read music magazines, though as already stated there was not an equal number from each gender, none the less it supports the wider population analysis results.

These results would suggest that my magazine should not have any gender bias towards either as music magazines have the potential to appeal to both genders equally. I will conform to this convention and will ensure that the magazine is gender neutral. Therefore, the remaining analysis of the questionnaire results will consider male and female separately.

Another possible way to attract readers would be to replicate the successful elements of other popular music magazines. The graph on the left above illustrates the favoured magazines as read by the participants in my survey. Each person was required to select their two preferred options. The most popular choice was ‘Q’ with 8 (20%) of the votes, closely followed in second spot by ‘NME’ with 7 (17.5%) of votes. ‘Billboard’ and ‘Karrang’ claimed third position securing 6 (15%) votes each. ‘Rolling Stones’, ‘Vibe’ and ‘Mojo’ followed with each securing 3 (7.5%) votes. The least popular music magazines were ‘Jazz Wise’ and ‘The Source’ with only 2 (5%) votes each.

‘Billboard’ was the magazine of choice for my three interviewees with 3 votes, closely followed by ‘Q’ with 2 votes and ‘Mojo’ with only 1 vote. The least popular options were ‘Karrang’ and ‘Vibe’, which failed to received any votes during my interviews.

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4) What music magazines do you like to read?

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Interview Responses

These results show that participants had a somewhat varied taste in magazines. The mainstream music magazines typically did well in the survey, whereas a more specialist music magazine ‘Jazz Wise’ was less successful. Therefore when developing / designing my magazine, I will need to ensure it stands out, has content that students will want / need to read , thus creating demand, whilst also ensuring it has the widest possible appeal in order to maximise sales / distribution.

The graph on the left above illustrates the individual participant’s preferences when they were asked to confirm where they regularly purchase music magazines each month. The results indicate that the majority of participants buy their magazines in either a ‘Supermarket’ or ‘WH Smith’ as these both jointly secured the top spot with 6 (30%) votes each, closely followed by a ‘Newsagent’ with 5 (25%) votes. The least popular place with those in this survey was a ‘Music Store’ as this option secured 3 (15%) votes.

This result was similarly replicated during the three interviews, with each of the interviewees selecting differently, either ‘Supermarket’, ‘WH Smith’ or ‘Music Store’ as their preferred places to purchase music magazines.

I feel this question is particularly pertinent and I will therefore need to seriously

consider the participants purchasing habits as understanding these will provide me

with sufficient information as to the most likely locations/outlets and to use to sell my

music magazines and therefore maximise sales.

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5) Where do you usually purchase magazines?

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Interview Responses

WH Smith /Book Shop

Music Store

Supermarket

The graph on the left above illustrates the individual participant’s preferences when they were asked to confirm how much they regularly spend on magazines each month. The results indicate that the majority of participants 7 (35%) spend between £4 and £5 on a month on music magazines, closely followed by £3 to £4 with 5 (25%). Third spot went to £5 with 4 (20%) votes, followed by £2 to £3 with 3 (15%) votes. Only 1 (5%) participant regularly spent between £1.50 and £2 each month.

The three interviewees differed slightly as illustrated by the graph on the right above, with 2 participants regularly spending between £4 and £5, whilst the other regularly spends £5.

I feel this question is particularly pertinent and I will therefore need to seriously

consider the participants spending habits when setting the price for my music

magazine, because as we know many people live day to day on a tight budget. This

should ensure my target audience is not deterred by the price I set.

The participants were to confirm their favoured genre of music, as gaining an understanding their likes and dislikes would enable me to develop a music magazine that would appeal to the widest possible target audience. The two most popular genres were ‘Pop’ and ‘R&B/Soul’, securing 6 (30%) votes each, closely followed by

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6) How much do spend on magazines per month?

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Interview Responses

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7) What genre of music do you like?

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Pop R&B/Soul Miixture

Interview Responses

‘Hip Hop’ with 5 (20%) votes. ‘Indie’ and ‘Rock’ genre jointly secured 2 (10%) votes, whilst ‘Classical’ genre failed to secure any votes.

This trend is also evident in the graph on the right which highlights the preferred genre of my three interviewees, particularly as their chosen options with one vote each were ‘Pop’, ‘R&B/Soul’ and a mixture of genre.

These results provide me with a clear insight as to the potential focus/content that I should consider for my music magazine, particularly given their popularity with the participants in this survey, my target audience. Selecting the most popular genre / mainstream music would ensure my magazine appeals to the widest audience possible and therefore maximise sales / distribution.

The participants were to confirm what the most important selling point of a music magazine was to them. The most popular choice was a ‘Particular Band Feature’, with 8 (40%) votes, closely followed by ‘Who is on the Front Cover’ with 7 (35%) votes. Freebies finished in third spot with 5 (25%) votes. The people surveyed felt that ‘Brand Loyalty’ was irrelevant to them as this failed to secure any votes. Gaining an understanding their likes and dislikes would enable me to develop a music magazine that will appeal to the widest possible target audience.

The three interviewees differed slightly as illustrated by the graph on the right above, as ‘Content’ was the most important selling point for two of those interviewed and ‘Who is on the Front Cover’ was other option selected.

These results provide me with a clear insight as to the potential focus/content that I should consider for my music magazine, particularly given their popularity with the participants in this survey, my target audience. It is important to consider what sells a magazine so that I can attempt to incorporate the key elements in my music magazine and therefore ensure it appeals to the widest audience possible and therefore maximise sales / distribution.

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Freebies Who is onthe Front

Cover

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8) What is the most important selling point of a music magazine to you?

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Who is on the FrontCover

Content

Interview Responses

The individuals surveyed were asked to select what they would like to see more of in magazines from six options and the most popular option as illustrated by the graph on the left above was ‘Album Reviews’ with 8 (40%) votes. ‘New Music’ was the second most popular option securing 6 (30%) votes, closely followed in third spot by ‘Concert Reviews’ with 5 (25%) votes. ‘Gossip’ was some way behind in fourth spot securing only 1 vote. The least popular were ‘Posters’ and ‘Photo Shoots’ as these failed to receive any votes.

This trend is also evident in the graph on the right which highlights the preferred options of my three interviewees, particularly as ‘Album Reviews’ was the most popular with 2 votes followed by ‘New Music’ with one.

These results provide me with a clear insight as to the features that I should consider including in my magazine, particularly given their popularity with the participants in this survey, my target audience. Selecting the most popular options would ensure my magazine appeals to the widest audience possible and therefore maximise sales / distribution.

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9) What would you like to see more of in

magazines?

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Gossip NewMusic

ConcertReviews

AlbumReviews

Interview Responses

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10) What do you like to see on the cover?

Artist

Band

Music RelatedImagery

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Artist Band MusicRelatedImagery

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Interview Responses

In order to attract my target audience my magazine front cover needs to be eye

catching, draw readers in and stand out more than other magazines. The graph on

the left above illustrates that the most popular theme/choice for the cover, securing

11 (55%) votes, was an image of an ‘Artist’. This was closely followed in second

place with 9 (45%) by an image of a ‘Band’. The least popular choice was ‘Music

Imagery’ which failed to secure any votes.

This trend is slightly reversed in the graph on the right which highlights the preferred options of my three interviewees, particularly as an image of an ‘Artist’ was pushed into second spot by an image of a ‘Band’ which secured 2 votes.

I need to consider the views expressed by those surveyed/interviewed further before

conclude which of the two image options would best suit my target audience.

However, for my magazine to appeal to my target audience, I will need to adopt a

similar image on the front cover, in order to maximise sales. Both options would

allow me to create a front cover which has no gender bias as music has the potential

to appeal equally to both genders.

The chart on the left above illustrates the split between those of who regularly download music 85% (17 people) and those who generally do not 15% (3 people). The graph on the right illustrates a similar trend with 2 of the 3 people interviewed also confirming that they regularly download music via the internet. It is important to consider the views, opinions and habits of my audience as this will allow me to focus on their needs and requirement in order to maximise distribution and sales.

These results would suggest that I should give some consideration as to how I could incorporate this in my magazine, whether this is in the form of advice, website links and or offers of some sort I have yet to decide. This would ensure that my magazine appeals to the widest possible audience.

85%

15%

11) Do you download music?

Yes

No

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Interview Responses

The chart on the left above illustrates the split between those of who regularly purchase music 45% (9 people) and those who generally do not 55% (11 people). The graph on the right illustrates a similar trend, although in this case more people indicated (2 of the 3 people interviewed) that they regularly purchase music CDs. It is important to consider the views, opinions and habits of my reader as this will allow me to focus on their needs and requirement in order to maximise distribution and sales.

These results would suggest that I should give some consideration as how I could

incorporate this in my magazine, whether this is in the form of purchasing advice,

reviews and or offers of some sort I have yet to decide and will need to give this

further consideration. This would ensure that my magazine appeals to the widest

possible audience.

The chart on the left above illustrates the split between those of who have attended gigs/festivals in the last year 70% (14 people) and those who did not 30% (6 people). The graph on the right illustrates that some participants attended more than one gig/festival. The most popular gig/festival with 8 votes was ‘Radio 1’s Big Weekend’, which I would suggest is probably due to the fact it was held in Norwich this year. The second most popular with 4 votes was ‘Latitude’, closely followed by ‘V Festival’

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12) Do you buy CDs?

Yes

No

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Interview Responses

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13) Have you been to any gigs/festivals in the

last year?

Yes

No0123456789

Radio 1'sBig

Weekend

V Festival Lattitude Isle ofWhite

HydePark

What ones?

with 3 votes and ‘Hyde Park’ with 2 votes. The least frequented gig/festival was the ‘Isle of White’ since this was attended by only one of my surveys participants.

The graph above illustrates a similar trend as highlighted by the questionnaire results as 2 out of my 3 interviewees had also attended a gig/festival in the past year, albeit the only festival attended was ‘Radio 1’s Big Weekend’. It is important to consider the views, opinions and habits of my audience as this will allow me to focus on their needs and requirement in order to maximise distribution and sales.

These results would suggest that I should give some consideration as how I could

incorporate this in my magazine, whether this is in the form of diary dates, reviews

and or offers of some sort I have yet to decide, though I will give it further

consideration. This would ensure that my magazine appeals to the widest possible

audience.

The chart on the left above illustrates the varying listening habits of the participants in my survey, between those of who enjoy listening ‘Daily’ 70% (14 people), those who like to listen ‘Every few days’ 25% (5 people) and those who listen infrequently or just ‘Not that much’ 5% (1 person).

The graph on the right illustrates a similar trend in listening habits with all my interviewees confirming that they enjoy listening to music on a ‘Daily’ basis. It is important to consider the views, opinions and habits of my target as this will allow me to focus on their needs and requirement in order to maximise distribution and sales.

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Yes No Radio 1 BigWeekend

Interview Responses

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14) How often do you listen to music?

Daily

Every fewdaysNot thatmuchNever

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Daily EveryFew Days

Not thatmuch

Never

Interview Responses

These results would suggest that I should give some consideration as how I could

incorporate this in my magazine, whether this is in the form of a free CD,

competitions with a music related prize (headphones, IPod/MP3, download voucher

etc.) and website links I have yet to decide and will need to give this further

consideration. This would ensure that my magazine appeals to the widest possible

audience.

The graph on the left above illustrates the individual participant’s preferences when they were asked to confirm how they regularly listened to music. The results indicate that the majority of participants 30% (6 people), used their ‘Mobile Phone’ to listen music, closely followed by ‘Radio’ in second spot with 25% (5 people) indicating that this was their preferred option. Obviously with radio being so widely available in cars, at home and played in stores, this was always likely to score well. The third most popular option was ‘Online/YouTube’ securing 20% (4 people) of the votes cast, followed by devices such as ‘IPod/MP3’ players which managed to secure 15% (3 people) of the votes. The least popular choice was ‘TV’ which managed to secure 10% (2 people) of the votes.

This result was similarly replicated during the three interviews, albeit each person was unable to identify a single preferred option. The graph on the right above therefore illustrates their various choices and you can see that both ‘Mobile Phones’ and ‘Radio were the most popular with 3 votes each, closely followed by ‘Online/YouTube’ with 2 votes. Third spot went jointly to ‘IPod/MP3’ devices and ‘TV’ with a single vote each.

These results would suggest that I should give some consideration as how I could incorporate this in my magazine, whether this is in the form of advice, reviews, website links and or offers of some sort I have yet to decide. This would ensure that my magazine appeals to the widest possible audience.

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15) How do you usually listen to your music?

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Interview Responses

The chart on the left above illustrates the split between those of who regularly follow the Chart/Top 40 music 55% (11people) and those who generally do not 45% (9 people). The graph on the right illustrates a similar trend with all 3 of my interviewees confirming that they regularly follow the Chart/Top 40. It is important to consider the views, opinions and habits of my target as this will allow me to focus on their needs and requirement in order to maximise distribution and sales.

These results would suggest that I should give some consideration as to how I could

incorporate this in my magazine, whether this is in the form of offers, reviews and or

feature focussing on new ‘Up & Coming artists’, I have yet to decide though I will

give it consideration. This would ensure that my magazine appeals to the widest

possible audience.

Selecting an appropriate, yet effective name for a magazine is always going to be a difficult and tricky proposition. Particularly, as it choosing the right name can be pivotal to the magazines success or failure. Participants in the survey were given six options from which they had to select two. Their preferences are illustrated in the

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16) Do you folow the Chart / Top 40?

Yes

No

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Interview Responses

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Artist Fresh Beats Tunes BeatBox

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17) What do you think would be a good name for a

new music magazine?

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Artist Fresh Beats Tunes OldSkool

BeatBox

Interview Responses

graph on the left above. The most popular choice was ‘Beats’ with 12 (30%) votes, closely followed in second spot by ‘Tunes’ with 10 (25%) votes. ‘Artist’ claimed third position with 6 (15%) votes. ‘Fresh’, ‘Beat Box’ and ‘Old Skool’ were the least popular securing only 4 (10%) votes each.

‘Beats’ proved to be the most popular choice with my three interviewees also, securing 3 votes, followed in joint second position by ‘Artist’, ‘Tunes’ and ‘Old Skool’ with a single vote each. ‘Fresh’ and ‘Beat Box’ proved to be the least popular options as they failed to secure any votes.

An effective title will need to be one that will stands out amongst other titles and has audience appeal. Unfortunately for me, there was only a slight difference between the two top scoring options and I will therefore need to consider the merits of each of these popular names individually before deciding the best name. I may consider obtaining the views of an additional number of students to see if there is a clear favourite. However, this would require more time and as a result, I will put this decision on hold for the time being and see if during the design / development phase, one name suits the magazine more than the others.

The graph above illustrates my target audience’s preferences when they were asked to confirm the colours/themes that would appeal most in a magazine. The most popular choice with the students was a ‘Natural’ colour scheme, which secured 6 (30%) votes, followed in joint second place by the ‘Seasonal’ and ‘Links to genre” colour scheme with 5 votes each (25%). The ‘Pastel’ colour scheme was the third most popular, securing 3 (15%) votes, whilst the ‘Bright’ option proved least popular securing just 1 (5%) vote.

The graph on the right highlights the preferences of the three interviewees, they were also asked to select their preferred colours/themes and similar results were obtained. However, each person was unable to settle on one preferred option and instead offered two. ‘Natural’ proved the most popular, securing three votes, followed by ‘Links to genre’, ‘Seasonal’ and ‘Pastel’, which secured a single vote each, whilst ‘Bright’ colour/themes failed to secure any votes.

Selecting an appropriate colour scheme is important to ensure my magazine appeals to the widest audience possible and therefore maximise sales / distribution. The

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Seasonal Natural Pastel Bright Links togenre

18) What colours/themes would you like in the

magazine?

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Interview Responses

‘Natural’ colour scheme would have been my preferred option, had I participated in this survey and I will therefore conform and go with the majority in this instance.

The participants were asked to select two topics that they would like to see feature in a music magazine. The graph above illustrates that the most popular choice was ‘Up and Coming Artists’, selected by 10 (25%) of those survey, closely followed by ‘Recent releases’, with 8 votes (20%), ‘News’ and ‘Live reviews each scoring 6 (15%) votes. The forth most popular topics, each achieving 4 votes (10%) respectively, were ‘Album Reviews’ and ‘Interviews’. ‘Historical feature’ scored 2 votes (5%). The ‘Biography’ option failed to achieve any votes.

The graph on the right highlights the preferences of the three interviewees, they were also asked to select two topics and similar results were obtained. ‘Up & Coming Artists” proved the most popular, securing three votes, closely followed by ‘Recent Releases’, a new category, ‘Gossip’ and ‘Live reviews’ with a single vote each. Both reviews’ secured a single vote each. The remaining four topics: ‘Album reviews’, ‘Interviews’, ‘News’ and ‘Historical features’ failed to secure any votes.

These results provide me with a clear insight as to the features that I should consider including in my magazine, particularly given their popularity with the participants in this survey, my target audience. Selecting the most popular topics would ensure my magazine appeals to the widest audience possible and therefore maximise sales / distribution.

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19) What features would you like to see in a music

magazine?

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Interview Responses

My target audience were asked to confirm what font they would want to see used for

the main text of the magazine. From the graph on the left above you will see that the

popular choice of participants was Sans Serif, securing 7 votes (35%), closely

followed by Serif with 6 votes (30%) and then Tahoma with 5 votes (25%). Arial was

selected by only 2 participants (10%), whilst Calibri failed to achieve any votes.

Similarly the graph on the right above also highlights the popularity of the Sans Serif

font as this was the preferred choice of 2 of the three people interviewed.

I will need to consider the merits of using a combination of fonts to maximise the

magazines appeal or opt for a single font after further consideration / investigation of

other available magazines and their preferred choice of font. However, my own

preference would be to utilise a combination of fonts, as I feel this will ensure the

magazine has wider appeal.

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Calibri Serif SansSerif

Arial Tahoma

20) What font would you prefer for the main text?

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Interview Responses

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21) How much would you be willing to pay for a new music magazine?

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Intervirew Responses

The graph on the left above illustrates the individual participant’s preferences when they were asked to confirm how much they would be prepared to pay to purchase a new music magazine. The results indicate that the two most popular prices, with each chosen by 9 out of the 20 participants (45% each) were £1.51 to £2 and £2.50 to £3. Both the £1 to £1.50 and £3.50 to £4 price ranges were each selected by one participant (5%). The remaining price ranges failed to receive any vote/interest.

Similarly the graph on the right above replicates this trend, with £2.50 to £3 securing just one more vote (2) than the £1.51 to £2 price bracket (1).

I feel this question is particularly pertinent and I will therefore need to seriously consider the participants preferences when setting the price for my music magazine, because as we know many people live day to day on a tight budget. This should ensure my target audience is not deterred by the price set.

From the graph on the left above we can see that the majority those surveyed, namely 7 out 20 (35%), favoured a monthly published magazine, whilst both the bi monthly and annual options were selected by 5 participants (25%). The remaining three students (15%) indicated that a quarterly publication would be their preference. This trend is also evident in the graph on the right which highlights the preferred option of the three people interviewed, namely a monthly publication.

If this we were considering publishing a magazine for actual distribution, it would be important to consider the financial implications / benefits related to how regularly it was to be published. However for the purpose of this exercise I will conform to the majority view and publish my music magazine monthly.

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Monthly Bi Monthly Quarterly Annually

22) How often would like the magazine published?

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Monthly BiMonthly

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Interview Responses

The participants in the survey were asked to confirm whether they would be prepared to subscribe to a music magazine. From the chart (left) above you will see that they were fairly evenly split, with a slightly higher number, 11 out of 20 (55%) willing to subscribe, whilst the remaining 45% reluctant to commit themselves financially to a magazine subscription. Similarly in the graph on the right above illustrates that of the three people interviewed, two people would consider a music magazine subscription, although they explained that this would obviously depend on the cost.

These results suggest that I will need to consider whether to offer my music magazine as a publication people can subscribe to. However, as the main financial consideration would advance sales and assurance as to income there would potentially be no disadvantage to providing this as an option, perhaps other administrative costs. I will conform and go with the majority, on this basis although realistically I would need to evaluate the cost of administering this.

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23) Would you be willing to subscribe to a music

magazine?

Yes

No

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Interview Responses