My focus group is made up of 4 different people 2 of which are in year 12 and the remaining two are in year 13. All 4 participants have different levels of interest in rock music and music magazines in general. In addition to this rock has many sub genres meaning that im not just focusing on one particular niche market, this is useful as I am working on a magazine that will attract a wider audience therefore having different types of people with varied opinions will allow me to gain the information I need in order to attract as many consumers as possible.
Me - What is the first thing you look for in a music magazine? –explain why.
Kim – the first thing I would look for in a rock music magazine would be the feature article, if I like the band that appear on the main image then I will probably purchase the magazine.
Ali – I don’t really read music magazines but I am a fan of rock music so I suppose if the content and coverage of the artists is of some of my favourite bands then I would probably purchase it.
Kevin – The first thing I would look at would be if there are any freebies like posters etc. because they always attract and entice me to purchase rock magazines.
Emily – I would probably check the cover lines in order to find out more about the content of the magazine and the articles within it etc. Because if I don’t know what the magazine contains then I am more hesitant to purchase the magazine.
Me - Would you prefer general coverage of rock music as a genre or would you rather content about specific artists? – explain why.
Kim – I like a mixture of both because it makes the content more diverse and keeps me entertained for longer.
Ali – I agree with Kim and would also like to add that even though coverage of specific artists is essential in order for a magazine to be successful, it is dependent on the artist covered for me and whether or not I read the article because if I don’t like the artist then I won’t read the article.
Kevin – I would prefer an overall coverage of rock music as a whole in order to get to know more about the genre but I would also enjoy artist specific coverage because I may find new music that I enjoy.
Emily – I like rock music as a genre and I basically like all artists so I enjoy coverage of both rock music as a whole and specific artists much like Ali, Kevin and Kim.
Me - Would you enjoy reading about new and upcoming artists or more well established popular artists? – explain why.
Kim – I enjoy the current popular rock bands so coverage regarding them would be more appealing to me than new upcoming artists however I may find a new upcoming artist that I like so content regarding new upcoming artist is nothing but useful.
Ali – I like to be ahead of the trends so content regarding upcoming artists means I could find new bands that I enjoy and can follow through there developing career.
Kevin – im not much of a rock fan but I would like to find out more about the newer rock bands.
Emily – as an avid rock fan I appreciate and enjoy coverage of both because it means that I am kept up to date with both the new upcoming artists and the well-established more popular rock bands music, that I can add to my collection.
Me - What sort of colour scheme would you look for in a rock music magazine? – explain why.
Kim – black and white text because it is easy to read and stands out, I also like the colour blue as it is my favourite colour.
Ali – in my opinion I believe that a rock music magazine should have a colour scheme that relates to the genre. Therefore I believe that the colours black, white, yellow and red should be used as I believe they are suitable colours.
Kevin – I am not too bothered about the colour scheme of a magazine, because as long as it is readable, suitable and appears professional then the colour scheme doesn’t really matter in my opinion.
Emily – I believe that the colour red should be used a featured a lot throughout a rock music magazine as it has connotations that link directly to the genre for example rebelliousness and passion.
Me - Are you more inclined to read a magazine if it had promotional offers and or freebies or not? – explain why?
Kim – Of course, who doesn’t enjoy free stuff?
Ali – I am not too bothered about freebies and promotional offers but I can see why they would attract a lot of different people.
Kevin – I am definitely more inclined to read or purchase a magazine if it has promotional offers or contains freebies as it makes the magazine more interactive and therefore more fun and interesting as a whole.
Emily – It depends on the freebies or promotions because if for example it is a poster of a band I don’t like then it doesn’t interest me but if it is more broad freebie for example a chance to win something then yes I am more inclined to purchase a music magazine.
Me - Would band merchandise or exclusive in magazine materials entice you to purchase a music magazine or not? – explain why.
Kim – It depends on the band because if I don’t like the band then it won’t interest me but if I like the band then yeah of course it will entice me to purchase the magazine.
Ali – No band merchandise doesn’t really interest me but exclusive materials sounds good to me but then again it depends on the materials that are featured.
Kevin – yes of course, I particularly enjoy exclusive materials because it means that I’ll get something new and different every time a buy another magazine.
Emily – I am an avid rock music fan and I like all different types of rock music including different sub genres so band merchandise is always nice and will of course be a factor when it comes to me buying a music magazine.
I will take into consideration my focus group's participant's answers and opinons when constructing my own music magazine in order to appeal to a wider target audience.
I will ensure that my front cover has an image of the feature band for the main image in order to attract my target audience, furthermore I will also ensure that my front cover contains promotional offers and freebies etc. in order to attract my target audience and as you can see in the data above people are attracted to and enjoy free stuff.
Secondly I will also ensure that the content of my magazine consists of articles, images and information for both well established rock music artists and the more up and coming artists, because from the data i have gathered from this focus group I can infer that i need to provide coverage of both of these types of artists in order to appeal to a wider target audience.
Thirdly from the data I have gathered I have also decided to use black, white, red and yellow for my colour scheme as I believe that they are a suitable and professional choice for a rock music magazine as they are both aesthetically pleasing and easily readable due to there contrasting tones, when applied correctly to a page. In addition to this some of the colours e.g. black and red have connotation that link heavily towards the genre making it even more suitable and aesthetically pleasing.