My Reader Profile

Reader Profile Research

A reader profile provides information about the magazine (or other media form). Included in the readership profile are a lot of key statistics about who the audience of the magazine are. For example, it will tell you whether the audience is predominantly male or female, the average age of someone who would read the magazine, as well as the usual social demographic of the audience. The purpose of a reader profile is so that the magazine production company knows what their audience is interested in and how they can ensure that they are appealing to the audience. By having readership profiles, magazine companies can be aware of who exactly is reading the magazine, including factors such as their age, gender and social class bracket.

Example: 

This example of a reader profile is rather simple. It shows us three percentages, all of which are presented clearly, using different date representation methods such as pie charts and tables. The three bits of data that this reader profile gives us are gender ratio, social democratic profile and age range. As shown in the gender ratio data, there are slightly more male readers of Kerrang! magazine, than there are female readers. However there is very little difference between the two, meaning that the gender is quite well mixed, so that will not limit the amount of sales. The age range data shows that a majority of the audience are at a young age, with a large percentage of the audience probably being teenagers. It is very important for the magazine production company to understand their audience and profile their readers so that they know exactly who is reading the magazine and what their interests are. Examples of ways that Kerrang! magazine would do this, include featuring artists that fit the music genre and the reader profile, or placing plugs within the magazine that would interest the audience, such as a competition to win tickets to music gigs or chances to win new technology.

I think that the reader of my magazine will want a good quality magazine at a reasonable price. They will want the magazine to be filled with information about things that they are interested in. They will want information on bands/artists within the Indie Rock genre, such as when a band will begin touring or release a new album. My reader profile will help me sell my product as it will help me understand my audience, so that I know what to include in my magazine. So the cover of my magazine should feature an Indie Rock artist, as well as sell lines for articles in the magazine, which are about those such artists and other relevant things to the reader profile and music genre of the magazine.

NME Reader Profile

This reader profile has a lot of images on it, featuring many different things which would interest the audience of NME. These images include different clothing, brands, accessories, and food and drink which would be the sort of thing that you expect the audience of the magazine to enjoy. The reader profile also includes a lot of statistics and information, which you would expect to see on any reader profile, such as key statistics and hobbies of the audience. The Kerrang! reader profile is a lot more basic than the NME reader profile, but does include the same statistics. The reader profile for my magazine will likely look quite similar to this reader profile, as it features a similar music genre and the information presented and way that it is organised is quite conventional for a reader profile for a music magazine.

Music Genres

Music can come under many different categories, which are known as different genres. There are so many different genres of music which people listen to, and because of this there is such a large variety of music that people can listen to, so no two people like the exact same music and it gives people the person an opportunity to be an individual. There are many different music genres that are used in music magazines and so many different institutions that distribute a great range of magazines that appeal to all different audiences. Music magazines of different genres will include different conventions, so it is important that when making a music magazine you include all the necessary conventions that apply to your certain genre of music. The colour schemes of music magazines usually varies depending on the genre that it is focusing on. The artists in the main image of a music magazine will produce music of that genre and the plugs will also be focused on the target market of people that enjoy that particular genre of music.

Examples of Music Genre 

Genre Research

My Chosen Genre

The genre that I have chosen is Indie because it is a genre that I enjoy and can recognise the codes conventions that are used within the music magazines of that genre, as well the iconography that is related to the genre as a whole. The audience of this genre are often quite young people, between the years of 16-30. I would think the audience would be predominantly male, however there would be almost as many female listeners who are interested in the genre. The social class associated with the genre would be middle-working class.

As the Indie Rock music genre is becoming increasingly popular, there are many magazines which focus on this particular genre. However, the two most popular magazines from this genre are NME and Q magazine. As evident from the front cover of these two magazines, Indie Rock magazines are conventionally not very colourful, which is shown from the NME magazine shown, and my mood board which includes a lot of black and white photos of bands. They usually include a relevant band on the front cover and plugs/adverts of things like new albums and live performances from artists related to that genre of music.

Summary of Conventions

Front Cover

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

Conventions Analysis Double Page Spread

Conventions Analysis Contents Page

Conventions Analysis Front Cover