PLANNING:
AUDIENCES
Why
is it Important to know about audiences when creating a music video?
Before
creating a music video, it’s important to know about audiences as it gives us
an insight into their interests and expectations. It is also important to find
out about who your target audience is and what they like. If we are familiar
with this then we will be able to make the music video relatable to the
audience, and create it according to the audience’s expectations. An audience
is extremely important as they are the consumers who can make our music video
successful, as their viewings will determine how popular a music video is. If
we make the music video according to the audiences needs and expectations, it
is more likely that a mass audience will watch the video whereas, if we create
a music video in relation to our own interests without taking the audience into
consideration, there is a bigger chance that the product will lead to the
audience not taking any notice in the video and possible money loss. In order
to find out about your audience, it is suitable to collect primary and
secondary data, such as various internet research and questionnaires. These
methods will allow us to find out about the audience in a more personal way and
understand what kind of conventions they would expect to see in a music
video.
Age,
Gender and Ethnicity
After
looking at our questionnaire and analyzing our results we have come to the
conclusion that our product will aim to attract people of mixed gender and
ethnicity, and generally anyone above the age of 15. This is a large target
audience however it is evident that the indie genre will only appeal to certain
tastes and selective people. Most indie tracks are aimed for anyone yet only
some will truly enjoy it and appreciate it due to its unconventionality and
originality. The themes of morality, youth, happiness and love, which we plan
to use in our music video, are also quite universal which could help to attract
wider audiences as anyone will be able to identify with these ideas. On the
other hand, we plan to challenge the common ideas of happiness and morality through
our narrative and main artist which can be considered niche and attract certain
people rather than masses. Despite the main character being white we reckon
that ethnic audiences will still be attracted to our product because we are not
promoting any ethnicity but trying to convey a different issue/message which
all races will be able to identify with. Overall our music video will be aimed
at a mass audience but only the active viewers will be able to either reject it
or actively consume it.
Income
Bracket/Status
These
are the common categories the audience can be placed into, depending on their
income and occupation.
Category
Who
Are They?
A
Top Management, Bankers, Lawyers, Doctors and Other Professionals
B
Middle
Management, Teacher, Many ‘Creatives’ e.g.: Graphic Designers and etc.
C1
Office
Supervisors, Junior Managers, Nurses, Specialist Clerical Staff
C2
Skilled
Workers, Tradespersons (White Collar)
D
Semi-Skilled and Unskilled Manual Workers (Blue Collar)
E
Unemployed, Students, Casual Workers and Pensioners
We
will be targeting audiences from working unemployed/ working class individuals
who are in the E/D category to people with skilled manual work who are in C2/C1
category. This is because the narrative we have chosen is aimed at this
audience which will include a main artist who will have working class values
and who will behave in a working class manner, through their persona, behaviour
and values such as drinking problems which are conventionally associated with
lower classes. An unemployed/ working class audience will be able to relate to
the themes that are evident within the narrative as they are likely to
experience this due to their age and working background. The audience is likely
to be young students and part time individuals who will be attracted to the
music video as a result of the narrative and themes involved. It is unlikely
that full time workers will be able to relate to the plot, as this audience is
likely to be more mature and stereotypically less likely to have
self-disruptive tendencies and addictions. After choosing the status of our
target audience we are more confident that we will meet the audience
expectations through our music video as we are aware of audience expectations
and common conventions.
Interests
and Hobbies
The
target audience of our products are likely to have quite niche hobbies and
interest due to the niche genre of our campaign. Many indie listeners belong to
subcultures which help them to carry out an original lifestyle and have
contrasting interests if compare to the masses. Therefore, their hobbies may
include going out on marches or protests, which are common amongst minorities.
In addition, they will likely to be hanging out in their own crowd who share
their interests in indie ideas etc. people who listen to indie often hang out
in quieter places and may enjoy reading or recreational sport. They are often
creative so my target audience could enjoy art galleries, photography or
theatre.
Audience
Reaction
- · Identification: As
stated by Richard Dyer, to an extent, the star has to be ordinary in order
to allow the audience to identify with them. Identification can be an
important part of media consumption because it can help the viewer to feel
similar to the star and possibly create a relationship with them, which
can help their album sell. Our artist will be ordinary which will be shown
through her struggles with alcohol addiction which is something many
people can identify with or relate to. In addition, her overall look will
be very casual to fit the genre and show the viewer that she is just like
them.
- · Expectations: When
waiting for a product the audience are likely to hold their own
expectations of the media. They will want to have their ideas
fulfilled in order to feel satisfied with the product and consume it.
Goodwin stated that artist use genre characteristic and common conventions
to target appropriate audience and meet audience expectations. Therefore,
in my product I will use appropriate conventions to attract the right
audience. For example, the star will be wearing casual clothing which
won’t glamourize the artist which is conventional of indie performers.
- · Engagement: Engagement is linked to Hebdige theory. He stated
that different people can react in different ways to the same stimuli, or
a media product in this particular case. This can be linked to his
subculture theory and how different groups of people react similarly
within their group but differently to other groups, if exposed to the same
media text. Subcultures actively reject media texts and chose which
ones they want to engage with. They also react in an individual way.
Our video can be read in different ways depending on peoples own past
experiences and memories. This will allow them to attach to the character
or actively reject them.
Why
we have identified this group as our target audience?
We
have identified this group as our target audience because our song choice
reflects these viewers through the narrative content, themes and the character
we have chosen. This has made the video suitable for 15+ year-old audiences
allowing them to relate to the music video. The narrative we have chosen is
specifically for this group as it involves our main character struggling with
addiction after a tough moment in her life, which I believe will attract anyone
as everyone struggles at some point in their life. Other groups such as the
younger audience wouldn't be able to relate to the music video due to the
narrative and themes that are explored in the music video. They are more likely
to be interested in Hip Hop music video which most of the time talk about money
and living a wealthy lifestyle which they aspire to have. Therefore, the age
group we have chosen is more suitable. By aiming the music video at both
genders and any ethnicity its more practical as it allows the music video to
gain more viewings.
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