Target audience

I created a survey using the website SurveyMonkey.com to find out more about what audiences like from music videos, what they dislike and to find out what kind of music videos tend to attract my target audience.

How old are you?
Below 18
18-25
26-35
36-50
51-70
71+

What is your gender?
Male
Female
Other

What is your occupation?

Please tick which of the following are of interest to you:
Music videos
Television Series
Films
Documentaires
Radio

Do you prefer videos which have a narrative or concept videos? (concept videos are videos with have a theme and are often abstract, not quite fitting with the lyrics)

Why do you prefer concept or narrative?

Do you have any interest in indie rock/folk music?

Please name any indie rock/folk bands or musicians that you are interested in.

What do you not like about music videos? (of any genre)

What is your favourite music video?


I shared the link on Facebook and a few people shared it with their friends which allowed me to access a greater range of people.

The results for this question were as I was expecting. People tend to prefer a story line that they can really feel involved with and despite social media seeming to be one of the most used media outlets today, Television Series' and Films still were the most popular option. The social media option may also have been slightly bias as most people who answered my survey accessed it via Facebook.

The options below were responses to the 'other' section of the question. I thought that web series was an interesting answer as they are growing in popularity and many people was series' on the internet but forget that it is regarded as a similar option to that of television programs and films.

It is clear by the responses to this question that narrative is far preferred in music videos to concept. In the results to the explain further question, it seems to be because people view concept videos as not being relatable and they want a video to have a strong sense of meaning.

Reflecting upon these results, I will incorporate a narrative theme within my music video and will make sure that if I have concept elements, they will be relevant and add to the song. One respondent said 'puts more meaning to the song if it has a lyrical dance'. I personally love lyrical dance and I would like to use it within my music video, it will fit well with the song Born Again and it also fits well with the conventions of Folk music.

The demographic of my target audience is split quite evenly between male and female and the age range is also rather varied. Because of the style of Josh Garrels' music, his target audience is adults generally. The target audience of folk music is very widespread, it it dependent on the band/artist's status in the industry and also the nature of their songs. For example, James Bay and Mumford and Sons are very popular with a younger audience due to their appearances on MTV for example. However, if you attended a Mumford and Sons concert it is likely that there would be teens, adults and families enjoying their music.

What do my target audience not like?

It was quick to see that my target audience do not like the sexualisation of women or violence in music videos. Almost three quarters of the respondents to my survey found that these representations of people put them off of the music video. Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory states that women are viewed through the eyes of males however, times are changing and lots of male viewers do not wish to see women presented in such a way.


Representation: It is clear from my research that my target audience that they do not like it when the artist or actors are represented in a sexualised or negative way within music videos. Representation is incredibly important when aiming a product towards children, Disney are incredibly successful due to their portrayal or characters and the stereotypes of countries, they are easy for children to recognise. Adults do not need this affirmation of characters which only have basic qualities identified, television series' such as Glee try to represent every person and create characters who are sometimes incredibly complex but they also represent some groups such as the lgbt community in a very stereotyped manor.

Within my music video I do not feel that there is a need to hugely develop on my characters' likes and dislikes, or fine details about their moral codes. It is a music video which will last for a few minutes and these characters will cease to exist afterwards. I want the concentration to be upon the song itself and the meaning, the idillic settings and allow the audience to read through the movement of the characters.