AS Media Studies Audience Research / Survey Results Analysis

1. Survey Results
Audience Research
Survey Results Analysis

2. Question No.1 – What is your gender?
Collecting my responses
I had a total of 43 responses on my survey. I achieved these initially by asking classmates, friends and family to complete my
survey. I then posted the link to my survey on Blackboard followed by Twitter and Facebook. I received the most responses
through the link posted on Facebook. The links posted took all participants to the same page of my survey. In this
presentation, I have screenshotted and analysed results and explained my findings.
I received a full 43 answers to this question and I will use
the answers to categorize the more advanced question
results. I posted this link on social media etc. so I was
expecting to receive a reasonably balanced range of
answers. 30 of the participants were female which equates
to 69.77% of the results and 13 of the participants were
male, giving a percentage of 30.23%. Due to the rather high
number of 42 participants, I believe the 30.23% of males
still gives me a good representation of a male point of view
however if the number of responses was smaller I think I
would have had to find other ways to receive more male
responses. This is because I wanted the data to be as even
as possible. Also, as expected, I received no participants
selecting the ‘other’ answer. This made it easier when
analysing results to just categorise into the two standard
options; male and female. I will average my results out to
give the best possible image of what each gender wants
and thinks about the music magazine industry.

3. Question No. 2 – What is your age?
I received again a full 43
responses to this question.
Participants only fit into 4 of
the 6 categories with 2 not
fitting any of the participants
in. I predicted I would receive
the most answers in the first
half of the options mainly due
to the fact I have more people on social media etc. that fit into the younger age categories. I received 36
participants (83.72%) out of the 43 which fitted into the 16-19 age range. The second most popular choice
was the 40+ category in which 4 participants (9.30%) selected. 2 participants (4.65%) fitted into the 20-24
category and 1 (2.33%) into the 35 to 39 range. These results will specifically help me choose the target
audience for my magazine. The distribution of results will help me to choose whether I have a reasonably
wide age range or a narrower range. Looking at these results I know I am going to aim my range around the
16 to 24 mark.
Question No. 3 - Would you prefer to read a weekly, monthly or annual issue?
On this question I received 42
responses out of a possible 43. This
small anomaly wont affect the
findings I receive from these
responses. I personally would of
On this question I received 42 responses out of a possible 43. This small anomaly wont affect the
findings I receive from these responses. I personally would of chosen the monthly option and I
predicted most people would due to the popularity of existing monthly magazines. I received a
majority of 30 responses in the monthly answer, followed by 10 in the weekly answer and 2 in the
annual answer. These answers have made it easy for me to choose an option for the frequency of my
magazine and allowed me to get a good representation of when the readers will be willing to buy the
magazine which helps me shape the rest of the magazine.

4. Question No. 4 – What genre of music do you like to read about?
I received 43 responses
to this question. I
wasn’t sure whether to
expect every
participant to answer
this question due to
the way it is laid out, it
requires the participant
to write their own
answer rather than
selecting from a range
of multiple choice
answers. I was
expecting a wide range
of answers to this
question due to the
open format. I
predicted I would
receive a large number
of responses who
chose more commercial, mainstream genres such as pop and current chart music. In this answer there was 3 genres which proved to be the most popular. The most
popular choice was Pop. Pop is probably the most mainstream, current genre so I was expecting to receive a high number of answers stating this genre as their
preferable choice. The second most popular choice was Indie music and the third Rock. There was also a few less popular answers, for example, Dance and Electronic.
These answers have reassured me that the genre I was initially thinking of doing, which was Indie, will work well with readers and the genre will be a popular choice.
The answers I was expecting the most were the answers that chose pop, a reason for this could be the fact that the majority of music magazines out there now are
heavily circulated around the pop genre. I am pleased their wasn’t a wider range of answers because that would of made decision making and analysing the results
harder as I would have had more options to consider and choose from rather than just choosing and reading from a select few.

5. Question No. 5 – Please rank what you would prefer to read about
This question required the participant to rank the
options between 1 and 6, 1 being the most
favourable and 6 the least favourable.
SurveyMonkey, the platform in which I created my
survey, collects the results together and turns the
responses into a score. The higher the score, the
more popular the choice. The highest scoring option
was Artist’s lives followed in chronological order by
Artist interviews and Live music reports. Features
and Local News both scored the same with Music
reviews scoring the lowest. I believe the most
common option in existing music magazines is Artist
interviews as most issues, if not all, feature some
kind of interview with an artist linked with the
brand. I expected this to score as one of the highest
answers due to this however not the highest as
people may be bored of reading the same form of
article and may be more interested in a different
choice. Music reviews, in which scored the lowest on
my survey, was something I was looking to include in
my magazine just because they would be something
I personally would enjoy reading about. The 2 or 3
most popular choices will definitely have a slot in my
magazine and then taking into consideration the
composition, style and layout of the magazine, I will
further decide whether I want to choose any more
options to use in my magazine.

6. Question No.7 - How much would you be willing
to pay for a magazine of your chosen genre?
Question No.6 – How do you listen to your music?
This question gained a full total of 43 responses. The most popular option was
participants listening to music through a music subscription. This option was
selected by 20 participants (46.51%) which shows that music subscriptions are
predominantly popular and take up nearly 50% of the responses. The second most
popular option was through digital downloading, taking up 19 responses (44.19%)
The least popular option was through buying physical copies which only resulted in 4
responses (9.30%). The two digital options completely cancel out buying physical
copies due to their popularity. These results show me if I wanted to include a freebie
in my magazine it would benefit me a lot more if I included an interactive freebie
rather than a physical freebie.
This question gave me 2 popular answers. These two answers were took up 23.26%
and 34.88% of the results. The answer that took up 34.88% of the results was the
£2.00 to £2.99 option which gained 15 responses. The answer that took up 23.26%
of the results was the £3.00 to £3.99 option, this produced 10 responses. The other
options all tend to have a similar popularity. I was expecting the £3.00 to £3.99
option to be one of the most popular because the price range represents the lower
end of the average music magazine price. Taking this information, I know that people
would rather pay a mid-range price rather than the cheapest price for a magazine if
they receive good quality. When choosing the price for my magazine, I will keep the
range around the £3-4 mark due to the popularity in the options and existing prices.

7. Question No.8 – Would you be willing to subscribe to an online
edition of the magazine?
This question, although there is a small range in between the two answers, shows the
majority of participants would be willing to subscribe to an online edition of the
magazine. There were 24 (55.81%) responses to the yes option and 19 (44.19%)
responses to the no option. These results will help me when deciding what features I
will include in my magazine, e.g. an online subscription 3 month package.
Question No.9 – What unique feature would you look for in a music magazine?
I received a total of 38 responses to this question out of a total 43. I
wasn’t expecting every participant to answer this question because
of the open style of question and how it wasn’t the most easy to
understand out of all the questions on the survey. I have
screenshotted the results of those genuine answers and removed 3
or 4 of the same repeated answers. One of the most popular answer
choices is those including the aesthetics of the magazine. Some
examples are as follows; simplistic design, photos and colours. The
idea of a simplistic design is an idea I have wanted to work with ever
since I began market research. This is because I believe that a
simplistic style of magazine is unique in itself and different to the rest
of music magazines in which most are usually crammed full of
information, features etc. I also picked up on unique article features
that I would like to include in my magazine such as; tour dates,
unique chartings and the history of music genres. A lot of the
responses included recommendations of freebies. I am going to
include a freebie in my magazine so these results and results of
previous questions have helped me to think of how I can incorporate
a unique freebie into my magazine rather than something
stereotypical such as a free t-shirt.