Focus Group

For this task, I asked 5 people both male and female within the age of my target audience of 16-25 with an interest in rock/pop music. I asked what they would like in a rock/pop magazine along with 11 other questions about the front cover, contents page and a double page spread. I then summarised there results to see what would be best suited for my target audience in the magazine.

Front Cover Questions

1.What images would you like?
The image on the front cover should be one striking image, which should be a long shot showing body language of the singer/bands. Also the image should be suitable and portray positive attitudes towards the genre. The image could a be male or female and any age, a magazine like Q magazine is a good example because it is always different and attracts different audiences each monthly release.

1. What would like to see on the front cover e.g. sell lines?
For rock/pop magazines, there should sell lines which would interest the audience, such as famous singers/bands both male and female, this will encourage more people to read and be interested in music magazines. Also interviews and fashion stories to show the magazine has more to offer inside and let the readers know inside stories that are only available in magazines. The title of the magazine is the most important and should be the biggest font on the cover making it recognisable and memorable to the readers.

2. What colours would be appropriate?

There should be bold and bright colours that set a colour scheme all through the magazine; this would make the magazine look professional. There shouldnt be too many colours which would make it look confusing and it should be simple. The fonts should be clear and big and also the background shouldnt contrast the colour of the cover lines, everything should stand out on its own.

The language on the front cover should not be too formal; as rock/pop is a general language there is no differences from speech, meaning everyone understands the rock/pop language as everyone speaks it. Having formal language can make the magazine too serious which could possibly loose readers and the magazine should be simple and easy to read.

3. What type of language would you expect?

Contents Page Questions

4. Contents page - what type of images would you like and how many?
There should be more then one image in a contents page, because usually the images show whats going to be in the magazine. There is normally 1 dominant image of the person on the front cover and then smaller images. There should also be a list of the content of the magazine and also page numbers. There should also be an offer or a subscription packet on the contents page.

The magazine should offer a wide range of things, all of which relating to rock/pop and to show it focuses on more then just music, to keep the audience interest. Such as fashion trends, gigs, interviews and latest gossip, which should be categorised and clearly numbered to be able to find.

5. What would you want to be contained within the magazine?

On a contents page the text should just be mainly on the features and also an editors note, however there should a variety of images to keep readers interested and to show them what else will be included in the magazine. There should be the same fonts and the only large font should be the title of the magazine, the contents page shouldnt look rammed and should be easy to read and easy to find what you are looking for. Images should all have captions to the readers know clearly who is who.

6. How much images and text would you expect?

The language should correspond to the genre, using terms such as interview with the top bands/artists it should more informal rather than formal, due to the target audience. Using lines such as the best will attract more readers and show that the magazine is the truth and that you can depend on the information you are told, this will secure monthly buyers.

7. What type of language?

Double Page Spread Questions

1. What choice of images would you want?
The images should reflect the artists personality, as the rock/pop genre shows artist to have a laid back style. If the image is of girl they should be portrayed quite powerful, dominant and full of attitude, but also fun to show their personality. A range of different shot types should be used, to show there facial expressions but also their body language which can relate to what the interview is about and can express the band/singer themselves.

2. What would you prefer the article to be about?

Most popular, would be an interview with a rising star, as it gives fans an insight about a person and there musical background getting to know them more. The interview could also be a new singer/band making a breakthrough this way it will increase their popularity.

3.

How would you expect the language to be?

The language reflects the singer/band that is being mentioned, if it is a interview, the language tends to be more informal. The language should also be direct and allow for readers to follow it easily by understanding it. It should be as though you are sat with the singer/band and they should be talk to you and involving you as a reader.

4. Would you prefer more image or text based articles?

The double page should be balanced between images and text; there should be too much text, as it will bore the reader. The images need to be fun and exciting and usually there are 3 or 4 which is plenty, also the text is not too much, it should be straight to the point and easy for the audience to understand in clear fonts, size and colour.