Blog 5- Target audience of Artist/Band

The genre of our chosen band (Florence and the machine) is modern indie pop, therefore the target audience would be a wide range of people interested in indie music and also those that listen to popular music that is currently played on radio stations. This shows there is potentially two main target audiences that our video will be aimed at. We need to match the style of the music and the target audience to our music video. The style of music and the band is more feminine, therefore we also need to aim to make the video creative in a feminine style to match the sound of the music. We can do this by having an enchanted them using bright colours and bright floaty dresses to create a more feminine atmosphere.

Florence and the machine appeared on the cover of the UK's biggest music magazine- Q.

The NRS (National Readership Survey) website shows current and previous readership estimates for all magazines on the UK market.

Readership estimates over the last 12 months (July 2009-June 2010) for Q magazine shows that 582000 people (1.2% of the population) have bought the magazine, 406000 (1.7%) being male and 175000 (0.7%) being female. This shows that although the style of florence and the machines music is more female orientated the bands attraction and style may attracted by male's. This means in our music video we need to find factors that appeal to male and female to attract both genders to our video.
It is also important to establish which age group to target when creating a music video. Q magazine statistics show that 505000 (2.1%) of the people who buy the magazine are ages from 15-44 and only 77000 (0.3%) are 45 plus. This shows a very small amount of the people buying the magazine are over 45 showing we need to target younger generations in the production of our music video as a larger number of the population under 45 read the magazine. The NRS statistics also show that 416000 (1.5%) of people in the ABC1 catogory (upper and middle classes) buy the magazine and 165000 (0.7%) in the catogory C2DE (working and lower classes) buy the magazine. This again shows the large different between classes that buy the magazine meaning we need to aim our music video towards upper and working classes more than lower classes as lower classes may still have interest towards the artist however upper classes have more access to viewing and taking an interest in the artist/band, because of being able to regulary afford the magazines, watching music video's on sky etc... Therefore the video needs to be mainly aimed towards upper classes however we need to be careful not to completely block out lower class audiences.


Florence and the machine has also appeared numerous times on the cover of NME music magazine. The statistics from NME mag are on a smaller scale than Q magazine showing the popularity of NME is smaller. However, NME is a very well known brand with its own radio station, tv channel, charts list and life events and awards showing the wide variety of music coverage it produces.
Looking at these statisics, as well as Q, should hopefully show us a similarity between target audiences.
NRS readership statistics show that 325000 (0.7%) people have bought the magazine over the last 12 months, 241000 (1.0%) being male and 84000 (0.3%) being female. This again shows us that the style of the the band is mainly aimes towards men however the style of music is more appealling to women. The age group statistics of NME show a clear similarity to Q magazine. 294000 (1.2%) of NME buyers are between the ages of 15-44 and only a small number are over 45- 31000 (0.1%). In the catogory ABC1, 218000 (0.8%) are buyers of NME and 107000 (0.5%) are in the catogory C2DE. Again showing similar statistics to those of Q magazine.

Comparing the statistics we can see a clear divide in age groups, gender and classes. This helps us select the target audience for the band we have choosen- Florence and the machine. Our main target audience after looking at these statistics would be younger generations under 45, male and middle and upper class. We can work off these statistics to create a video that appeals to these main target audiences.

Although males show up to be the main target audience for our style of genre in magazines of the same genre, many videos of florence and the machine have a more feminin and natural look to them suggesting they are aimed more to females. This could suggest that florence is used on the cover of top selling music magazines as an iconic face and a symbol of sexualisation to appeal more to men for her look rather than the music itself. Therefore, we will be using a similar feminin style like existing florence and the machine videos but still making sure this feminism will also appeal to males.

Below is the NRS topline readership page where you will find current and previous demographs showing statistics of all magazines sold in the UK (iuncluding Q and NME).

http://www.nrs.co.uk/toplinereadership.html

Here you can compare differences between genders, classes and age groups that are buying various magazines. Looking at statistics from various magazines has helped me select the correct target audience for the music video that me and my group will be producing.

Florence and the machine is currently 23 in the BBC radio 1 offical album charts and have been in the charts with the album lungs for 64 weeks!

I decided to put some further research into the target audience of florence and the machine by conducting a survey asking various questions to people on the subjects of musical interests and their awareness of the band. The questions I asked were:
(Genral information)
1. Age
2. Gender
3. Occupation
(Interest in music)
4. Favourite music genre
5. How many music magazines do you buy a month?
6. How many hours a week do you spend watching music videos?
7. Do you own a ipod or MP3?
(Questions related to Florence and the Machine)
8. Are you aware of the band?
9. Are you interested in their music?
10. If so, have you ever purchased a song, CD of music video of theirs?

I gave the surveys out to 12 people of various ages to come up with an outline of the target audience, therefore I can begin to make a generalisation.
Below are the 12 surveys I conducted:





















































































































Firstly we can see from the surveys in the first question that only 1 out of 12 people buys a music magazine in a month. However, 5 of the 11 people that do not buy a music magazine are all students therefore it could be argued that the reason they do not buy magazine is because of the expense of being a student. This can be argued further because all 5 of the students that said they do not buy a music magazine all watch music videos every week (which is free) and all own an ipod showing that they do take an interest in music. We can then see that out of the remaining 6 surveys, from people in full time work or retired, 4 of the applicants (who are all over 40) do not watch any music videos in a week and do not own an ipod, and the other two respondants are under 40 and do watch music videos and own an ipod. This shows that a younger population takes a larger interest in the music industry than an older generation who may not have been bought up into the same music orientated society as younger people are. Musical interest in general does not have an impact on gender.
Out of all the respondants, only 3 state that they are not aware of the band. All of these respondants are again over 40. 9 of the respondants are aware of the band despite gender. 2 respondants state that they are aware of the band however take no interest in them. 1 of these respondants is over 50 and does not own an ipod or spend any time watching music suggesting they may be aware of the band due to the band being forced onto society making many aware of them however may take no interest in them at all. The other respondant is under 16, however this respondant does take an interest in music but the band may not be in their taste. This could also suggest that Florence and the machine appeals more to a more sophisticated audience therefore in the age range of 18-24. Under 16's may be more interested in up to beat popular music which is not in the style of this band. 1 respondant stated that they were intersted in the band but had never purchased a song, CD or music video. However, this person is a student therefore purchasing music may be too much of an expense therefore they could resort to listening to music on TV or the radio which still shows their interest in music. Another alternative is downloading/sharing music where people are not physically buying the music but transferring it onto their ipods or mp3s which is a modern but illigal way of listening to music without having to pay for it. It is a problem well known within society that is very difficult to prevent.
This survey does not show a clear contrast between male and females interest in the band but more on age groups clearly showing how there is a big difference between generations.


I also joined a facebook Florence and the Machine fan page and posted a comment asking who agreed that florence and the machine only appeals to a younger age group.

Unfortunately I only recieved two comments back, however the first comment stated that the 36 year old person herself, her 41 year old boyfriend and her 13 year old son all love florence and the machine. And the second person states her opinion sayi9ng that she thinks florence appealls to all ages. Although this is only a very small minoroties opinion, it begins to open up the idea that florence can appeal to and age and gender therefore specifically aiming our video at a very small percentage of the population could lose us existing fans interest if they are outside of this target audience.

Through out my research into the target audience for Florence and the Machine, I have come to a conclusion that there is not one specific group we need to aim our video at therefore we can be very open minded when fliming because we have a broad target audience to cover. I will continue to follow a continuing theme that florence and the machine seem to have which is a modernised old fashioned style which looks very querky, new and individual. Although there is no specific audience, i have found in my research that younger people under around the age of 40 take a higher interest in music in general than older generations do, therefore, I need to assure that the video has a new modern look to it and isn't out of date which could start being aimed toward an older generation who are less likely to take an interest in the first place.

Blog 4- permission

Copyright is important to the music industry because it prevents unwanted exploitation, and in doing so allows the original creators to recieve income from their work, preventing others from gaining income from work that is not originally theirs.

Blog 3- Song Choice

After looking at many genres and styles of music, we came to a decision to create a music video for flourence and the machine- my boy builds cofffins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7baoTqocJs
the link above is the song we have selected.

We decided to choose this song because it has an individual style and sound to it and when we listened to it we already came up with a few ideas of what we could do for the final music video. We would like to set it in a woodland area and maybe flick to old fashioned black and white scenes which we think match the style of the music. We now need to pick an appropriate storyline for the video and make sure if we have two seperate scenes that we somehow relate them back to eachover in terms of theme and narrative.

We tried many other songs and artists which we rejected because we found it difficult to come up with ideas of what we could do for them, where as the first time we listened to our selected song we instantly had idea's for what we could do. At First, we picked some popular bands such as lostprophets, marina and the diamonds and all time low. However, we found it difficult to select a good song that didn't already have a video for it therefore we found it easier looking at smaller bands. We also looked at the band 3oh3 but found the language in most their songs were not appropriate and very difficult to find a storyline to match them. The style of Florence and the machines music is very abstract therefore it is easy to create a video without a large storyline which is why we liked this video as we felt we could try all sorts of abstract idea's to create an interesting video to match the individual style of music.

Below are the lyrics for florence and the machine- My boy builds coffins

My boy builds coffins with hammers and nails
He doesn't build ships, he has no use for sails
He doesn't make tables, dresses or chairs
He can't carve a whistle cause he just doesn't care

My boy builds coffins for the rich and the poor
Kings and queens them all knocked on his door
Beggars and liars, gypsies and thieves
They all come to impact he's so eager to please

My boy builds coffins he makes them all day
But it's not just for work and it isn't for play
He's made one for himself
One for me too
One of these days he'll make one for you

My boy builds coffins for better or worse
Some say its a blessing, some say its a curse
He fits them together in sunshine or rain
Each one is unique, no two are the same

My boy builds coffins and i think it's a shame
That when eachones been made, he can't see it again
He crafts every one with love and repair
Then its thrown in the ground and it just doesn't fit

My boy builds coffins he makes them all day
But it's not just for work and it isn't for play
He's made one for himself
One for me too
One of these days he'll make one for you

Blog 2- Exploring Music Video

Lostprophets- Last Train home (music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjKmCxyKmas

The genre of the music and style of band is rock therefore the audience that is targeted for the video is rock fans. The narrative of the video is about broken hearts and how their is still a chance to mend things. The main storyline is two people in the back of a car not talking and the audience does not know their story. Put together with the lyrics we can tell they were once together and by the end of the car journey they are pushed back together. Aside to this, the video keeps flicking back to the band on a stage on a lorry with many rock fans surrounding them possible representing their popularity and genre of music.
The representation of the rock genre is put across in this video by the clothing and style of people in the video, including the band. Also the setting of the rockband on the stage show's the audience the style of the band by the instruments used (drums and guitars) and the mannerism they play their music in.

Marina and the Diamonds- Hollywood (music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1VTcJfL7RE

The genre of music is pop therefore the audience targeted would be people who are interested in pop music and would most likely range from children to teenagers. The music video is about glamour and fame using a main theme of the American dream showing how everyone wants to be famous and live in a movie. The representation of this is shown in the many American characteristics displayed such as people eating hot dogs/popcorn, cheerleaders, people waving American flags, wearing glamorous red carpet style dresses and mainly, most backdrops and props are covered in the american flag (e.g a cake with the American flag on). Also Marina wears many outfits with the American flag on to portray the representation even further. Basically every shoot throughout the whole video has a representation of america in it. Glamour is also represented in the hairstyles and make up of characters in the video.

Basshunter- Now your gone (music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgFwiCApH7E&ob=av2e

The genre of the music is dance therefore will target audiences mainly over 18 who can go clubbing and listen/dance to this style of music. The storyline invloved two people breaking up at the begining of the video, their friends take them both out clubbing to cheer them up, they accidently bump into each other and realise they miss each other. The representation of dance and nightclubs is portrayed strongly in this video by the majority of the setting taking place in a club with various shots of people dancing. Strove lights and other lightings make the representation of the dance style even more believable.

The Kooks- Naive (music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkaMiaRLgvY&ob=av2e

The genre of music is indie pop therefore targeting people interested in pop music and have an indie style. The audience mainly targeted would be teenagers. The storyline of the video is the main vocal leader walking through a concert, cutting from shots of him singing and others of him looking for someone. Near the begining we also cut to a shot of the singer in bed with a woman sitting looking over him. We are not yet sure of their relationship but asume they are in some way involved with eachother. At the end we see her very drunk with another man and the singer see's them togther and walks away, her reaction doesn't seem very affected by this relating to the title of the song, naive. The representation of the indie style is shown by the clothing of the main character/singer and also by the clothing of other people in the setting. The setting is at a concert and has a indie style about it involving clothing, the band on stage and other props visible in the scene. The music video doesn't put across a clear storyline yet it is a very simple and relaxed video posibly representing an indie styled atmosphere.

A2 Blog 1- Introduction

This task will involve me (in a group of 2-4) producing a media portfolio which includes creating a music video and various tasks leading up to it. This project should develop my skills further from the AS coursework and also develop my knowledge of the media industry.
I will show the development of skills during this project by choosing and preparing a music video, writing a letter too a recording artist relating to copyright, shooting two music prints and finally creating the music video itself after planning the setting, costumes and idea behind the video.
I Am looking forward to putting the range of editing skills i learnt during AS into process and learning how to use these skills when editing a video which will be more of a challange than the previous task.

http://sdcmediaasemmanoel.blogspot.com/

Above is the link to my AS blog.