Music Magazines History, Genre and Audience

My Music Usage in the Last Month

Through my MacBook

YouTube

Grooveshark
Spotify

Personal iPod

Docking station

Singing in the shower

Mum singing

Television: music on programmes

Singing in my room

Radio

Singing everywhere in the house

Car CD player

CD player

CD in DVD player

Radio on the internet

iTunes user

Music in the art rooms

Callumn blasting music randomly in lessons

Concert

Music I have paid for:

Nirvana album (iTunes)

Forget and Not Slow Down- album by Relient K (iTunes)

Coldplay- album Parachutes (HMV)

Whoa oh oh oh- Ascetic Junkies on iTunes £0.79

Chroma album and The Ransom EP by Cartel

Album by Thirty Seconds to Mars –from ASDA

How do you use music to define yourself?

Nirvana- An old rock band who have gone down in history, their music is amazing and inspirational. The fact that the frontman killed himself makes it even more appealing for some sadistic reason.

Coldplay- Seemingly ‘uncool’ to mainstream  teenagers, which makes them different and unique. This, as a contrast to the mainstream scene, making them appealing.

Relient K- Their music is calming and really good for relaxation.

Who is uncool?

Justin Bieber- He has an unlikable persona and his music is unappealing, attracting predominantly twelve year olds. 

One Direction- Like Justin Bieber, but a group of them. I don’t consider them to be as bad, but still dislike their music.

Era	Technology	Audience
1. Cavemen	Singing, clapping, hitting things	Other cavemen
2. Civilistaion	Musical instruments built	Small groups
3. Composers	Collection of instruments	Larger audiences
4. Recorded wax cylinders	Phonographic equipment	Family/friends
5. Record (vinyl)	Record player	Family/friends
6.Radio (1930s)	Radio broadcast. Radio owned.	People near the Transmitter
7. Sheet music	Musical instruments	Musical people
8. Tape/ Cassette (1940s) (mix tapes for romance)	Tape players (better quality)	Recording Studio/Homes
9. CD	CD Walkman	Best quality ever. BUT rebuy all your music
10. Minidisc (1990s)	Half digital. Half analogue.	No one bought them. Audience refused.
11. Internet/MP3 2000s	Need: PC, internet access, palyer, headphones.	The world. All the music that has ever been made. Headphones: you listen on your own.

The pre-digital age (pre 2000)

Radio One

Top of the Pops

NME/Sounds/Melody Maker

Your Friends

The record company was a gatekeeper choosing what bands we listened to.

Music magazines come in various different genres, as different people have different tastes in music, and so will wish to purchase different magazines. This is the reasoning for niche magazines and mainstream magazines. People consume music magazines for differing reasons. In context with Bloomer and Katz theory, people consume them for three reasons only: entertainment, information and socialisation. A lot of people want to expand their knowledge of bands and artists, and they turn to specific genres of magazines to do so. These introduce them to various different artists in the world. Another reason for consuming music magazines is if they want to find a review for a specific album that has either just come out or is about to, and if the review is good, it is likely that they will buy the album. This supports both the magazine and band, as people will buy the magazine to see the review on the album, and the album will increase in sales, as will the magazine.

The target audience for magazine also differs, depending on the magazine. If it has an artist such as Justin Bieber, then it is going to be targeted towards young girls, possibly from the ages of eight to sixteen, whereas a magazine like Kerrang is targeted towards males aged fourteen to twenty six. The general target audience for music magazines is white heterosexual males from the ages of twelve to twenty five.

Magazines can affect bands concerning both success and failure. Good reviews make the audience curious to see what unknown bands are like, therefore they will research into them on youtube, promoting the band to the audience. If the review is bad, then people will automatically dislike the band, especially if the review is in a magazine they regularly purchase, resulting in negative opinions of the band. A lot of artists have posted videos online when they were not famous, and have become famous practically overnight, because people love their music. Music magazines are expensive, and people can just get the same and more on the internet these days for free than in one magazine, as the websites providing the information get money from advertisements.