Audience Research

Q1) Do you know any indie rock/pop rock music artists?

Female - Many did not know of any indie rock/pop rock music artists and were slightly confused when asked this question, however, when names such as Vance Joy and Two Door Cinema Club were mentioned, most caught on with the genre and then explained that yes, they did know of these artists.
Male - These answered in much of the same way as females did when asked if they knew of any of these artists. The only difference is some named a few artists that were in that specific genre, however, until I clarified that they were of that genre, they did not know what genre they fitted into.
Adult - Surprisingly, the adult age group knew more about some of these artists than the younger generation did. They named many artists quickly and, when asked why they knew so many artists, they stated that when they heard the word 'rock' they instantly thought back to the 70s, when rock music was popular.

Q2) Do you have a particular favourite song in the indie rock/pop rock genre?

Female - Due to the fact that the females I interviewed did not know of any artists in this genre, it was very difficult for them to pinpoint a favourite song, and, in the end, ended up stating that because of their limited knowledge on this genre, they did not have a favourite song.
Male - Much like the answer to the above question, the males were very hesitant when it came to stating their favourite song, much like they were when asked if they knew of any artists. Both males ended up stating that they both preferred songs by Two Door Cinema Club, however could not say that they had a favourite song by them. I made note of the fact that the songs/artists that the males stated were more modern and up to date songs and artists, in contrast to what the adults said, which I will explain below.
Adult - Again, the adult age group quickly named some of their favourite songs in this genre, and, surprisingly, one actually named Jet's 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' (the song I am creating my music video to). What I noticed about the adult's answers were the fact that they named more aged songs, unlike the males who named more modern songs.

Q3) Can you give me your opinion on the likes of The White Stripes, Vance Joy, The Lumineers etc?

Female - As stated before, the females knew of artists like Vance Joy, Two Door Cinema Club and The Lumineers, due to the fact that they are more up to date and modern, so they therefore said that they enjoyed listening to them, however not very often.
Male - As the males knew slightly more than the females, they did instantly say that, again, they liked Vance Joy and The Lumineers due to the fact that they are modern. I was surprised that one male said that he actually preferred The White Stripes to the likes of Two Door Cinema Club, Vance Joy etc. When asked why, he said that it was purely because he has grown up in a house where both himself and his parents listen to this sort of music quite often.
Adult - Un surprisingly, the adults answered in complete opposite to the males and females, stating that, because they are particularly modern, they did not really know Vance Joy and The Lumineers etc, saying that they preferred the likes of The White Stripes and Jet, due to the fact that they have listened to those artists for years and continue listening to them today.

Q4) Do you personally enjoy listening to this genre? Explain why/why not.

Female - Both females I spoke to stated that, as they didn't really listen to this genre much, they couldn't say if they liked or disliked it. The only thing they could say was that they liked the minimal songs that they listen to in this genre, but could not make a judgment based on that.
Male - Much like the girls, one male stated that, as he did not know much about the genre or many artists for example, he couldn't really state if he liked or disliked this genre. However, the male  that said in the above question that he did in fact like the genre, but preferred the older songs - this is because, as stated before, he has grown up listening to that sort of vintage indie rock music.
Adult - Both adults that I asked this question to agreed that they really did enjoy listening to this type of music, and stated that, although they preferred the older songs from this genre, they did also like some of the more modern songs.

Q5) Do you know anyone who likes listening to this genre of music?

Female - One of the females I spoke to, after I explained to her earlier what sort of artists and songs were involved in the indie rock/pop rock genre, stated that she knew a lot of her friends (mainly female) really did like this genre of music, and said that they listen to it most days.
Male - The males answered without hesitation to this question. They said that pretty much all of their male friends listen to this sort of music, as well as the fact they got to listen to this genre every now and again due to their friends listening to it.
Adult - Differentiating to the male and female answers, the adults answered this question saying that the only people they knew that listened to this style of music were close friends and family members like brothers and sisters. When asked why their family members also listened to this genre, they stated that, much like one of the males in the past question, it is the sort of music they have grown up with.

Institution Profile

A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies in various mass media, i.e. television, radio, publishing, motion picture and the Internet. 

What institutions/radio stations air indie rock/pop rock artists?
Popular institutions such as Walt Disney, Universal and Sony do not usually promote indie rock/pop rock music. However, it is likely that, if a song of that genre is played a substantial amount of times on Spotify, for example, one of the 'Big 3' will pick up on the fact that the artist/s are very popular among Spotify users, and will therefore promote the artist even further by signing them to their label.
This is uncommon, however, as indie rock/pop rock artists are usually promoted by what are known as 'independent institutions'. Independent institutions are essentially commercial since they need to sell sufficient copies of a track or sell their tracks to a radio station, for example. Their motivation may well be less commercial than artists signed to Sony etc, but most independent institutions etc have to sell their texts somehow in order to survive. The BBC, for example, buys and commissions a significant proportion of it's music to air on local and national radio, so, when indie rock/indie pop music is played on a radio, it will usually be played on stations such as BBC Radio 1-3.

What is the target audience for each station mentioned above?

Station	Target Audience
BBC Radio 1	The remit of Radio 1 is to entertain and engage a broad range of young listeners with a distinctive mix of contemporary music and speech. Its target audience is 15-29 year olds and it should also provide some programming for younger teenagers.
BBC Radio 2	The remit of Radio 2 is to be a distinctive mixed music and speech service, targeted at a broad audience, appealing to all age groups over 35.
BBC Radio 3	The remit of Radio 3 is to offer a mix of music and cultural programming in order to entertain and engage their audience, which is an audience of any age group.
BBC Radio 1 Xtra	BBC Radio 1 Xtra also targets 15-29 year olds. The remit of 1Xtra is to play the best in contemporary music with a string emphasis on live music and supporting new UK acts. This is the most likely radio station to play my artist.

What is the target audience for each music channel?

A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies in various mass media, i.e. television, radio, publishing, motion picture and the Internet. 

What institutions/radio stations air indie rock/pop rock artists?
Popular institutions such as Walt Disney, Universal and Sony do not usually promote indie rock/pop rock music. However, it is likely that, if a song of that genre is played a substantial amount of times on Spotify, for example, one of the 'Big 3' will pick up on the fact that the artist/s are very popular among Spotify users, and will therefore promote the artist even further by signing them to their label.
This is uncommon, however, as indie rock/pop rock artists are usually promoted by what are known as 'independent institutions'. Independent institutions are essentially commercial since they need to sell sufficient copies of a track or sell their tracks to a radio station, for example. Their motivation may well be less commercial than artists signed to Sony etc, but most independent institutions etc have to sell their texts somehow in order to survive. The BBC, for example, buys and commissions a significant proportion of it's music to air on local and national radio, so, when indie rock/indie pop music is played on a radio, it will usually be played on stations such as BBC Radio 1-3.

What is the target audience for each music channel?

Channel	Target Audience
Heart	Heart’s core audience are aged between 25-44. People who tune into and watch the heart music channel make time for themselves and are ‘determined to squeeze the most of out of life. They are very social people who enjoy shopping, going out and spending time with friends and family.’
4Music	The 4Music brand is already known for music programming on both Channel 4 and e4, so it has equity with its target audience fo 16-34 year olds.
Viva	A great deal of the music on this channel seems to have bene built up with 16 year olds in mind
Kerrang!	The target audience for the Kerrang music channel are predominantly influenced by rock music. Their individuality has been shown within this music channel with the use of songs. The audience have many interests, however, the age group Kerrang usually attracts is of the age between 14-23.

Why are indie rock/pop rock artists featured on these radio stations and music channels?

Indie rock and pop rock music usually have a target audience of between 14-mid/late 20s, and, likewise, these radio stations and music channels have relatively the same target audience. Therefore, indie rock/pop rock artists are featured here because the genre's target audience matches the radio/music stations target audience. This means that the radio station and music channel will get a higher number of listeners/viewers.

Demographics

Demographics can be defined as the measurable characteristics of media consumers, with examples such as gender, social class, age etc. In media, demographics are used to pinpoint potential audience growth and to spot underperformance. All forms of media are targeted to certain audiences.
For example, Woman's Day, Cosmopolitan and Better Homes and Gardens are magazines that reach the female demographic, however beyond that, they target different types of women.
Media companies constantly tweak their products and they way they are advertised to hit a certain demographic group. The publisher of one of the women's magazines who follows demographic trends may decide her audience is becoming too old to attract the top advertisers.

1. A - Upper Middle Class (Higher managerial, administrative or professional job employment)
          Upper Middle Class: "The social group that has the highest status in society, especially               the aristocracy."

• This demographic group would consist of doctors, bank managers, astronomers, politicians etc. 
• Wealthier and better educated counterparts prefer music such as classical, blues, jazz, opera, choral, pop, reggae, rock, world and musical theatre. 
• An example of this classical music would be George Frideric Handel's 'Hallelujah' - popular in theatrical music etc. 

2. B - Middle Class (Intermediate, managerial, administrative or professional job employment)
          Middle Class: "The social group between the upper and working classes, including                       professional and business people and their families."

• This demographic group would consist of solicitors, lawyers, managers, higher management engineers etc.
• This social class prefers music a lot like the upper class, however technically updated, modern versions are preferable

3. C1 - Lower Middle Class (Supervisory or clerical and junior managerial, administrative or                 professional job employment)
            Lower Middle Class: "The social group between the middle and working classes."

• Individuals in the lower middle class tend to hold low status professional or white collar jobs, such as nursing, teaching or paralegal.
• These counterparts prefer music in the genres of pop, reggae, rock, world and musical theatre. 

4. C2 - Skilled Working Class (Skilled manual workers)
            Skilled Working Class: "The socioeconomic class that work for their wages including                   skilled and semiskilled laborer's and their families."

• The skilled working class tend to prefer listening to many of the same genres as the lower middle class, for example pop and rock, however, they will also listen to genres such as country and easy-listening music.
• These counterparts have job roles, again, much like the lower middle class, however they are highly likely to be lower paid as they earn an hourly wage.
• Jobs include food servers, miners and construction workers.

5. D - Working Class (Unskilled manual workers)
            Unskilled Working Class: "The socioeconomic class that work for their wages including             skilled and semiskilled laborer's and their families."

• The unskilled working class tend to prefer listening to many of the same genres as the skilled working class, for example pop and country, however, they will also listen to genres such as country and easy-listening music, as well as disco and 'gold oldies' etc.
• These counterparts have job roles similar to the skilled working class, and again, are paid hourly on minimum wage.
• Jobs roles in this aspect include car park attendants, cleaners and vegetable picker etc. 

6. E - Casual/lowest grade workers (Pensioners and others who depend on the welfare state for             their income)
          Casual/lowest grade workers: "Unemployed with state benefits only."

• These people tend to listen to cheap, popular music. The unemployed, again tend to listen to disco and pop etc, however, pensioners are likely to listen to golden oldies, and older forms of classical music.
• These counterparts are unemployed and live off benefits.