Research: Audiences

Audiences are groups of people who consume the entertainment given to them which suit their interests. It is important to know about audiences in order for media to make a profit, therefore, audiences are important to attract and it is important to keep them interested, so they can continue to buy and engage with the media. By meeting the audience’s expectations, they will stay satisfied and continue to stay engaged. Furthermore, audiences can be categorised by age, ethnicity, class, status and income so they can divide audiences with their basic features. Meaning that individuals in the same categories have similarities and have the same interests, although this is not completely relevant and true.

Advantages of Categorising Audiences:

• By categorising an audience, it makes it easier to target an audience.
• It allows you to have an idea of what people are interested in.
• Allows you to make specific changes.
• You can identify what sort of products your audience can afford to buy based on how much money they have to spend.
• You can use the information to encourage companies to advertise your radio station.

Disadvantages of Categorising Audience:

• Categorising audiences does not consider that people are different. For example, if two individuals have the same job, it does not necessarily mean that they enjoy the same hobbies, as there are other factors that influence this.
• It does not consider people’s interests, only their income and status
• Assumptions

In my opinion, categorising an audience is beneficial, despite the disadvantages because it allows you to identify your target audience and make a product more suitable for the audience taste and expectations. Without categorising an audience, it would be difficult to make a product that would satisfy a mass audience, as it difficult to please everybody.

Common features of audience categories:

Classical- Females, aged 45+, white ethnic background, middle- upper class background (middle management jobs and top management jobs)

Pop- Females, aged 11-25, no particular ethnicity, working class backgrounds (unemployed, students, semi-skilled workers and skilled workers)

Hip Hop- Males and Females, aged 15-25, working class background (unemployed, semi-skilled workers, unskilled manual workers and skilled workers)

R&B- Females and Males, aged 15-25, working class background (unemployed, semi-skilled workers, unskilled manual workers and skilled workers)

Rock- Males and Females, aged 23-50, White ethnic background, working class background (unemployed, semi-skilled workers, unskilled manual workers and skilled workers)

Reggae- Males, aged 24-60, black ethnic background, working class backgrounds (unemployed, semi-skilled workers, unskilled manual workers and skilled workers)

Audience Reactions:

Audience reactions links to the ways in which an audience, consumes and reacts to the media product. Although each reaction holds significance the most important reactions include: Audience engagement, audience expectation and audience identification, and these are linked to Goodwin's, Hebdige's and Dyer's theory.

Audiences in relation to Hebdige, Dyer and Goodwin:

Audience Expectations- This is linked to Goodwin's theory as they similarly suggest that the audience have expectations regarding the artist and conventions they expect to see from different genres. Goodwin also identifies the features that he believes are evident in most mainstream music videos, which includes, genre characteristics, star image motifs, intertextual references etc. These features are all conventional to music videos are should be used to meet the audience’s expectations.

Audience Identification- This is linked to Dyer's theory as it highlights how an audience relates to an artist. Dyer also states that an artist is constructed to look the part, and must be ordinary in order for the audience to relate to them as well as extraordinary so the audience can view them as an iconic figure.

Audience Engagement- This is linked to Hebdige's theory as it highlights that different people react in different ways to the same text. Hebdige similarly states that subcultures exist within society which suggests that everyone in society is different and therefore have different views and reactions. He also suggests that companies attempt to assimilate this resistance attempting to provide products which these subcultures are more likely to consume resulting in the audience deciding whether to accept these products or to resist them.

Conclusion:

Overall, this research helped me on my decisions regarding the audience I intend to target. I am aware that audience reactions evoke audience engagement, audience expectations, and audience identification which is important, meaning that I must target the correct audience. The genre of my music video will be Alternative Rock, therefore, I believe it will suit the D and C2 categories of audience because they are lower class people, unemployed and semiskilled workers. Also due to the genre which target both gender and individual aged above 18 with white ethnic background video I will ensure that I include features that appeals to this target audience.