Post 5: My Target Audience

The brief specifies that we make our music video for a mass target audience of 'fun loving 16-25 year olds'. I conducted come research into the target audience, in order to understand their music consumption habits, as well as current social trends within the age group.

target audience

I had a look at some of the research that Channel 4 conducted into the different types of youth groups that consume the media. There are 5 different groups, referred to as 'tribes'. These include alternative, mainstream, leading edge, urban and aspirant.

The Alternative tribe aim to set themselves apart from mainstream trends. They are passionate about music and tend to support 'authentic' artists. Tribe members often buy music and merchandise from artists that they love, and are frequent gig goers. The tribe are particularly active on social media, sharing their tastes with their friendship groups.

Mainstreamers are typically fans of popular chart music, prime time TV and high street fashion. There is little desire to search for alternative styles or sound, and they are happy to stick to what they know. They typically listen to Capital FM and Radio 1 and read Heat and Elle Magazine.

The Leading Edge tribe are very in touch with global trends. They are typically activists and creators, and they try to make a difference to the world. The tribe is becoming increasingly younger, as more young people are trying to make a change. (e.g. extinction rebellion)

The Urban tribe consists of young people living in multicultural areas, with influences from various cultures. Being part of the 'local' scene and supporting new talent appeals to this group. They tend to get involved in local movements, and they like to identify themselves with a specific area. They are proactive in searching for new music and trends, and like to share their findings online. They play a huge part in dictating which artists break through to the mainstream.

The Aspirant tribe are very determined individuals. They are heavily influenced by what's 'cool' and they tend to spend big in order to get what they want. They are massive consumers and have strong brand affiliations. If they like a brand, they tend to remain loyal to it.

As a class, we created an online survey about the way in which the target audience consume pop music. These were the responses we received:

An interesting thing that I learnt from this research, is that one of the most common ways of discovering new music is through the website and social media of the artist, as well as through friends and YouTube. This confirms the massive importance of creating a strong online presence to promote my artists music.

I intend to post BTS photos and videos from the making of my music video on my social media pages. This will create a buzz about the release of my music video, and encourage fans to talk about it.