Research: Audience Identification

Introduction:
Audiences are people that are targeted with certain media content including music videos. It is important to know about audiences because they are crucial to the success of a music videos, they decide if a media product is successful or not.Therefore, a survey of the target audience should be carried out before the release of a media product, which could include a music video.

The categorization of audiences:

Audiences can be categorized differently through age, gender ethnicity etc.

 This is a table survey example of a target audience being categorized, so that the people launching the media product can know the specific element of their target audience their aiming their media product towards. People will have to write their age gender and ethnicity as well as ticking their favourite music genres.

         Age          Gender         Ethnicity 





Jazz 

RnB

Hip Hop

Other


The basic categorisation of target audiences:

A= Top management, bankers, lawyers, doctors, and other professions.

B= Middle management, teachers, many 'creatives' eg: graphic designers etc.

C1= Office supervisors, junior managers, nurses, specialist clerical staff etc.

C2= Skilled workers, tradespersons(white collar).

D= Semi skilled and unskilled manual workers(blue collar).

E= Unemployed, students, pensioners, casual workers.



Advantages and disadvantages of categorising audiences:

Advantages of categorising audiences is that it could help makers of a media product (music video) to know what type of market to target. Also, you will have an idea of what certain types of audience are interested in when it comes to music videos. This also helps to make the content of the music suit what the audience are interested in. Most Importantly, you will know what sort of music videos appeal to them based on their interests.

However, there are disadvantages with categorising audiences. There is no consideration that people are different, despite having a similar job or background.

Audience table reactions: How did you find the music video?

Amazing

good

satisfactory

Disappointing

Terrible

Audience Engagement

Audience expectations

Audience Foreknowledge

Audience Identification

Audience placement

This is how an audience interacts with a media text. Different people react in different ways. This links in with Hebdige's theory of subcultures.
These are the expectations an audience has towards an artist and their genre. Conventions of their genre are expected. This links with Goodwin's theory.
This when the audience have knowledge about a music artist, their song and music video.

The way in which the audience relate to the artists. This links in with Dyer's star theory.

How the music/media producers target a particular audience to make them feel that the media product(music video) is made especially for them.


Conclusion:

This information has helped me to know the type of target audience I am aiming my music video towards. My audience will be E, students etc. The reason being is because I usually observe their music interests. Therefore, I will know the music video that will appeal to them.