Research into Target Audience - Miss Miller

Questionnaire

Our research was carried out because we wanted to find out what tastes and preferences people of different genders and ages had regarding the genre of music that we plan to work with during our final media project. The purpose of asking 40 people was to allow our group to gather information from a wide range of ages and genders because we hoped to end up with a variety of opinions based on the indie genre so that we could try to appeal to, not only our target audience, but people outside of our target audience as well, due to the fact that will give us more of an opportunity to be successful. We will use our results to create a music video that embodies the answers that we collected regarding music genres. For example, the majority of the 40 people asked were females, therefore we will be able to create more of a feminine video, for example, the narrative being a love story is often associated as something that will appeals to females more than males, who prefer videos that include the idea of wealth and women. However, we do not want to completely isolate our video to a niche target audience, as this will make it harder for the video to be successful, as less people will be interested in watching the video, and less views and likes means less money. If the finished music video does not appeal to our target audience, there is no chance of it appealing to an audience who does not like the indie genre.

Questionnaire results

We asked the 40 people what their favourite genre of music was and why because we wanted to see how many people within our target audience regularly listen to the genre of music that we have chosen to base our final music video on. The pie chart shows us that 5 people said they enjoyed the hip-hop genre because the artist often raps about things that the audience aspire to have, for example, wealth. 10 people said they favour the pop genre because it is the most mainstream genre of music and it is easier just to go with the flow regarding the type of music that the people they associate themselves with listen to. The remaining 25 people said that they prefer the indie genre, which is the genre that my group has chosen to work with, due to the fact that the songs from within this genre usually have deep and meaningful lyrics, and storylines within the music videos that make them much more interesting for them to watch. After seeing the results from the questionnaire, our group has decided to take on board and include some aspects from the other genres of music that people regularly listen to. For example, we can dress the characters in the video in costumes that are considered materialistic and mainstream, for example, the visuals of designer brands such as Hollister and Jack Wills which will appeal to the avid pop music listeners who prefer to go with the flow. Furthermore, towards the end of our music video, during the repetition of the lyrics "my salvation" our group plans on including visuals of the artist playing the piano which we believe will appeal to our indie target audience because they felt that the use of musical instruments allowed them to see how talented an artist is.
 

For question number two we wanted to find out the age of the people who were answering our questionnaire. We believed that our music video had more chance of being successful if the results that we received came from a variety of age groups, because this would allow us to collect a variety of opinions and help our video to appeal to a wider group of people who may like the same genre of music but for different reasons. It could be argued that the younger audience will be able to relate to a more modern music video because they are living in a world that is materialistic and technologically advanced, compared to the slightly older indie music listeners who will be able to relate to the more old fashioned aspects of the video..
Our music video will include a mixture of elements that are both old fashioned and modern, for example, black and white editing effects to make the visuals appear as though they are from a flashback. The use of both modern and vintage aspects within the video we will be able to differentiate our video from other indie songs and it will help our group to appeal to all age groups.

Similar to question number two, the purpose of the third question regarding gender was to allow us to see if there was a particular gender that preferred the indie genre compared to the other. Due to the fact that indie is often perceived as being a more feminine and emotional genre of music, and the fact that indie artists often have a vintage style, most indie music videos only appeal to people who have a style that is similar to that of the genre. As the results suggest, the majority of the audience that we will be targeting our music video at will be females. The indie genre is considered to be quite feminine, which means that its more likely to appeal to woman due to the fact that the narratives are often based on love stories, and the lyrics are often deep and meaningful.

Our group wanted to find out who the audience's favourite indie artist was and why, and as the pie chart shows, the most preferred indie artist was Ed Sheeran, due to the fact than in his music videos and through the use of media, Ed Sheeran is represented as being down to earth, and as well as this, most of the audience were attracted to his soft voice and style of music. The audience felt as though they could relate to Ed Sheeran because most of his earlier music was based on real life experiences, and in his music videos he always wore casual clothing and never overused special effects. In our music video, we can make our characters more relatable by showing the audience visuals of them doing everyday activities, for example, going to school, hanging out together or even walking the dog. Because the indie genre is so diverse, indie artists appeal to different audiences for different reasons. Our group has chosen a Gabrielle Aplin song for our final product, due to the fact that we felt as though we would be able to relate to her and her music more than Ed Sheeran because we are an all girl group, and we all often listen to her music, therefore we feel as though we will be able to make a better music video if we like and understand the song. The pie chart also shows us that Ben Howard and Birdy were the lower favoured indie artists, which is arguably due to the fact that they are less known or do not stand out as much in such a diverse genre of music. It will be beneficial for my group to chose an artist who is well know because it usually means they have a bigger following, which suggests that they are successful within the music industry, and therefore people are more likely to have heard and like their songs.

Most indie music videos are located in outdoor settings, because the genre is known for having a cheaper budget and for filming in places that are easily accessible to the audience. This is arguably why 68% of the audience wanted the video to be set in the countryside as they felt as though they would be able to relate to the video more because typically the countryside does not connote the idea of wealthy or luxury, which is often associated with the music industry. We have decided to create a video that is set in a mixture of the city and countryside. It will be easier for our group to film in the city because we live close to London city centre, therefore in our music video the audience will see visuals of iconic London landmarks such as Big Ben and the London Eye during the montage that shows the progression of the relationship between the girl and boy in our video. Having said that, because our results clearly show us that a large number of the audience would prefer for the video to be set in the countryside, our group will be able to use a green screen or film in areas that look similar to that of a countryside, for example, the park or a forest, large areas of grass and trees as opposed to landscapes. The audience will be able to see this in our music video when we show the girl character's car breaking down by the side of a field, and the boy character pushing the car from behind.

The visuals of artists playing musical instruments is conventional to the indie genre because it helps the artist to show off any other talents besides singing that they might have, which relates to Dyer's Star theory and his belief that an artist must be extraordinary. 19 people asked felt that the use of musical instruments aided the performance element of the music video because it allowed them to see that the artist was producing every musical aspect that they could hear. They felt as though this portrayed the artist as being more talented and committed to their music as learning how to play an instrument often takes a lot of time and effort. In our music video, we plan on showing the audience visuals of the artist playing the piano at various points throughout the video to break up the sections of narrative with performance. For example, towards the end of the video there will be a repetition of the lyrics "My Salvation" which is where we plan on showing the artist playing the piano. Furthermore, 16 people said no, while the remaining 5 said they did not notice whether musical instruments were used in the video or not. Those 16 people felt that the use of musical instruments was too samey-samey in the sense that in pretty much all of the music videos that indie artists produce include musical instruments. Our group does plan on using a piano to break up the narrative with performance, however, the video will not be performance based therefore we will not include too many visuals of musical instruments. We want to keep the video interesting, and the use of instruments allows will allow our group to use a variety of camera shots to show, not only the artist, but the piano as well.

The pie charts shows us that 28 out of the 40 people enjoy watching music videos that have a storyline due to the fact that narratives help to make the video more interesting to watch because it gives the audience something to focus on while they are listening to the vocals. Furthermore, a narrative is often used to explain the lyrics of the song to the audience which can sometimes be quite ambiguous, helps them to understand the deeper meaning of the song. The audience do not have to focus on the lyrics as much because the visuals do all of the explaining. However, the remaining 12 people said they would prefer to see the artist performing. Most indie music videos are a mixture of both, due to the fact that performance allows an artist to show off their talents, both vocally and usually with a musical instrument, which links into Dyer's Star theory that an artist must appear extraordinary to keep the audience envious and interested. However, narrative is often used to break up the sections of performance because the use of a variety of, and change in camera shots makes the more interesting to watch. The majority of our music video will be narrative based, which will be evident through the use of visuals of a boy and girl character which will show them when they first meet, to him going off to war, to when he dies. We will also include performance towards the end of our music video when the audience will hear  the repetition of the lyrics "my salvation". This use of performance will help us to show the audience how the artist is feeling at that specific moment in the video.

The pie chart shows us that 20 out of the 40 people asked said their favourite aspect of the indie genre was the vintage style of clothing that the artists and characters in the video are often seen wearing due to the fact that this gives an artist an individual style and helps the audience to recognise who they are. Indie artists are often perceived as having an old fashioned dress sense and as not fitting into the mainstream, which is arguably why the genre only appeals to a niche group of people. In our music video, the characters will be seen wearing clothes that makes them feel and look comfortable wearing, whether that be skinny jeans and a jumper, because the indie genre usually encourages its artists to dress in their own personal style, rather than what everybody else thinks looks good. 16 people said they enjoyed watching music videos that had a storyline that was based on a love story because it gives the video more meaning and makes it more interesting to watch, because it makes the video feel more like a mini cinematic experience instead of a music video. The narrative for our video will revolve around a relationship between a girl and a boy, who during the video gets sent off to fight in the war. The video will begin and end with the visuals of an elderly lady, who the audience will come to realise, through the use of flashback and editing, is also the younger girl from the video. It could be suggested that the fact that most indie music videos are based on a love story is why the genre is often associated with being more of a feminine genre of music. The remaining 4 people said they favoured simple locations, because they found it easier to relate to these videos as the audience cannot use recording studios or green screens on the daily, however, they can visit locations including the park or a café. Our group have planned to film our music video in various different locations, for example, in one of our group members house, the park and on the London underground. This relates to the idea in Dyer's Star theory that an artist must be ordinary because this helps the audience to relate to them.

The indie genre is often perceived as being quite feminine because the narrative behind the lyrics are often based on a love story between a girl and a boy, which will appeal to girls more than boys. 14 people asked said they found the love storyline more entertaining to watch because it was more relatable and realistic to their own lives, and that it would feel more like they were watching a mini film, rather than just a music video. Music videos with obvious storylines are easier to watch because the audience are not required to do any thinking, therefore they can just focus on enjoying the video. Having said that, the pie chart also shows us that combined, hate and war were chosen by 20 people, due to the fact that people enjoy watching other people fight and view music videos that have climaxes more attention grabbing. The idea behind the narrative of our group music video will be the progression of a relationship between a girl and a boy, from the first time they meet, until the boy gets deployed into the army, which links the love and war storylines together.

  

The pie chart clear shows that the results for the final question were pretty close, 19 people prefer every aspect of the video to appear modern due to the fact that they would be able to relate to the video more because society today is dictated by current fashion trends and fitting into the mainstream which is considered modern, while 21 people prefer more of an old fashioned style of video . The indie genre is often perceived as being quite vintage and as only appealing to a niche audience, therefore it could be argued that the people who prefer modern are the same people who prefer the pop and hip-hop genres, which when compared to the indie genre are much more mainstream. The results are beneficial for my group because it suggests that we will be more successful if we were to create a video that incorporates both old fashioned and modern aspects. The video will appeal modern through the use of settings, such as the visuals of the build up London city, including the Shard and the London Eye. The audience will be able to relate to these as places they may have been to already, or places that if they wanted to, they could go and visit. It will be easier for my group to create a modern looking video because we live in a time where being materialistic and fitting in are seen as important. Furthermore, we cannot say for sure what the audience will class as old fashioned, due to the fact that current trends are always changing, and older trends, such as tartan print clothing and boyfriend style jeans are often perceived as being more fashionable. Having said that, in our music video my group will be able to use special effects, such as coloured tints of orange and brown to make the video appear more vintage and worn out. The use of a black and white effect also helps to suggest that the video has gone back in time and that the visuals that the audience are seeing is from a past event, rather than having been filmed for the purpose of the music video.

SUBCULTURE THEORY

A subculture is a group of people who are united through a common value system or tastes, for example, genres of music. Sometimes a subculture can be a group of people who are positioned outside of the mainstream, meaning they go against what is popular. In the music industry, pop is considered to be the most mainstream genre of music, while indie is not. The theory that I have chosen to apply to my questionnaire and music video is Grant McCracken, who believes that not all subcultures come from one culture, that they come from various cultures and are able to stand without the mainstream cultures. Pop is considered to be one of the most mainstream genres, seen through the way the artists often dress in revealing clothing and use extravagant props and locations when filming. The indie genre is arguably in no way similar to the pop genre, indie artists cannot afford to make their videos appear expensive, and most of them dress with a certain style that only appeals to a niche group of people, therefore it cannot be considered that the two genres come from the same culture. My group will not be able to film in expensive locations because we, like most indie artist, do not have the money to spend on a producing a music video. Our indie music video will be relatable and will not include conventions that are typical of the mainstream genres of music, for example, the characters will not wearing revealing clothing, there will not be a dance number, and we will not use a large amount of special effects over the footage. The CCCS theory assumes that all subcultures come from one culture in reaction to the mainstream. I do not think that this theory can be applied to the indie genre, when comparing it to the pop, hip-hop, dance or rap genres, for example, because indie artists do not wear fashionable clothes, or expensive accessories, and they often film in cheap locations, all of which has the effect of making the genre more relatable. On the other hand, the pop genre often focuses on materialism and entertaining their audiences through the use of extravagant props and special effects. CCCS groups together all of the subcultures to be the same, the theory does not consider the fact that over time music listeners will change between subcultures as their preference in music changes, or that they will mix and match subcultures, rather than just sticking to only one. The mainstream is changing all of the time, which therefore means that there is nothing for teenagers to specifically react against. Furthermore, Hebdige believes that if you look deep enough, there is enough evidence to support renaming 'subcultures' as 'little cultures' because no two genres of music are the same. This theory is fairly similar to that of McCracken, as neither believe that all music is the same. It should also be taken into account that the audience is very unpredictable, therefore record companies will never be able to come up with a set way of targeting them. My results and music video will show this subculture theory through the combination of the past and present, for example, the past is highlighted through the use of a flashback at the beginning of the video when the audience see the elderly lady morph into the artist, which suggests that they are the same person. The use of a flashback is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that indie is often perceived as being old fashioned due to the fact that the genre does not fit into the mainstream like the pop genre does, and the flashback itself connotes the idea of the past and suggests that the video is going to be a memory from the artist. On the other hand, the use of visuals of a mobile phone and modern London landmarks such as Big Ben and the London Eye helps to give the video more of a current and modern feel, which is often associated with the mainstream and is therefore subversive of the indie genre. The combination of both past and present will help the video appeal to the typical indie music listeners as well as a more modern audience who will be able to relate more to the modern aspects of the video.

VOX POPS
 

The purpose of a Vox Pop is to provide evidence of the public opinion to back up the results that we have collected and analysed through asking those 40 people our questionnaire. It proves that the information from the pie charts has not been made up, and that our music video will be created based on what the audience want to see and not just what we think they would want to see. Also, they will be beneficial to our group as when we are in the process of creating the music video we will be able to look back at the Vox Pops to make sure we are including the audiences opinion.

 

In conclusion, it was very useful for my group to research to find out what people want to see in a music video because, at the end of the day, their opinions are what matter most. The target audience are the ones who have the power to determine the success of something, and in this case, the more views and likes that a video gets will result in more money for the artist and the record label that they are signed to. Successful artists will create more exposure for themselves and their record label because newer artists will view them as someone worthwhile to work with, and the audience may be intrigued to look into the label to find out which other artists are signed to them. There are many different ways in which our group can incorporate our results from the questionnaire into our music video. For example, for the first question, most of the 40 people also enjoy the pop and hip-hop genre because they are more current and are listened to on a regular basis. To appeal to these genres, as well as the indie genre, our group could dress the characters in our video in mainstream, fashionable clothing, for example, skinny jeans or brand clothing such as Hollister or New Look, which the audience will be able to relate to, and will appeal to the idea of wealth that is often portrayed in the hip-hop genre. Furthermore, the majority of the 40 people want the video to be set in the countryside, however, our group does not live in the countryside therefore it will be difficult for us to film our music video in this location. However, through the use of a green screen, our group will be able to show the audience what they want to see without having to travel very far by making it appear as though the characters are in the countryside. Also, the 40 people were pretty much split on question 5, which asked them whether they preferred the video to appear old or modern, therefore as a compromise our group has decided to produce a video that is a mixture of both. An old fashioned looking video is arguably more conventional to the indie genre because this will not fit into the mainstream, which is often associated with designer brands and vibrant colours. However, it will make the video appear more authentic and original which the audience may find more interesting to watch. We will be able to make our video appear old fashioned through the use of special effects, for example, colour tints of brown and orange to make the footage appear vintage and worn out, which will add a more personal, valuable touch to the video because it will look as though it was produced a long time ago. Having said that, a more modern video will make it easier for the audience to relate to because they currently live in a materialistic world, therefore a way of appealing to the modern target audience will be through the use of brand clothing such as Jack Wills or Forever 21. The music video will also appear modern in the sense that it will be set in the 21st century, evident through the use of visuals of new landmarks such as The Shard and Big Ben. If we were to carry out the research again, I would ask more questions that are specific to our chosen music genre and artist so that we can establish how they really feel about every aspect of the indie genre. I would also incorporate more questions that are based on the idea that my group has come up with so far to see, firstly if they actually like our war themed idea, or if there is anything we need to change before we start filming. Once we start filming, there will be no time for us to gather anymore target audience research, therefore we cannot guarantee that the audience will like our finished product. We should also consider asking the questionnaire to the same amount of people from each gender, as this will help us to keep our results fair, and to ensure that we do not conform to the stereotype that the indie genre is a female genre of music.