Question 4 & 5-Who would be the audience for your media product? &How did you attract/address your audience?

The target audience for my media product (music magazine) is the younger generation of people, aiming at both genders but primarily targeting the male demographic; this is because hip-hop magazines are more often bought by men than women. Addressing my target audience was key in creating my magazine, as I felt it was important to incorporate the personal preferences and tastes of the demographic. I did these by using my focus group to my advantage, often asking for advice on production and design in order to create a product to suit the tastes of the majority, therefore attracting the audience.

Gender wise, I found it tricky to primarily aim at both genders, as I felt hip-hop still maintains a sort of male exclusivity to it, as many more males listen and appreciate the genre compared to the female percentage of the market share. However, this is not to say I completely narrowed it down to appeal to men, aspects of the magazine are clearly implemented to please the female percentage of the readership (for example, the inclusion of an admirable image on the contents page, this targets female gaze). I felt that implementing an element of stereotypical marketing would be the best for distribution, as it would be quickly accepted into the market and had more chance of growing in sales.

I didn’t base the pricing of my magazine to benefit any specific class in particular; the pricing was purely based on profit margins and to make it affordable for the majority of the population. I felt it just had to be accessible for anyone who adores the genre of music (Hip-Hop/Rap).

The nature of my audience would be mainstream, as this was clearly the most effective one to distribute my product to, and being the largest group in the demographic and considering it is the hegemonic norm in the industry. However, some of the artists featured in the magazine are aimed to be less well known and perhaps underground, this then also broadens the demographic as it could be targeted at it indie music lovers, who enjoy underground music. Similarly, it also includes featured artists that are clearly in the mainstream and will attract people’s attention. Therefore with the inclusion of both styles of artists, we can gain (partially) both demographics.

To attract my audience, as well as using the focus group for input and feedback, I included common conventions I found within my research, of magazines with the same age range. The codes included bold texts, imagery and no crowding within the layout.

The Mise en scene of the magazine was kept vaguely simple and also similar to the audience, this then satisfies the uses and grats theory of creating engagement and personal connections, as they see the artists as relatable characters. I felt like as the genre of music was the main attraction for the audience, perhaps the clothing and other parts of the Mise en scene weren’t that important, so therefore not much attention needed to be paid to them.

The images I made eye catching, to attract them, and features of opposing Mulvey’s Male Gaze for example the contents page addressing women with an influence of desire; I felt a counter typical aspect was important to catch the reader’s attention. Similarly, both the front cover and double-page spread address the audience in a relatable manner, as they perhaps feel a personal connection to the artist, also maybe even a feeling of admiration or idolisation.

The lack of direct mode of address attracts the reader by creating a mystery behind the artist. The lack of personal relationships immediately created by the image, are later created through the use of text which engages the fans and answers questions in their heads. This is often important to the fans, as they like to feel a connection with the artist. This would also allow me to give a preferred or dominant reading.