Target Audience Questionnaire Results

Q1: What is your gender?Although this question is a general enquiry, a request regularly found in almost every questionnaire, the answers do help us to determine a specific target audience. The results show that the majority of those who answered were female, at 55.17% and 37.93% being males. Only 2 answered with ‘other’, making this third and final option possess a total of 6.90%.With these results, we acknowledged that our music video must appeal to all different genders and not just one specific sex such as male or female, which we would, thus, address in several different forms, mostly through our male protagonist.Having a leading male role firstly defies the usual stereotypesof having a ‘female victim’ suffering. Often, stories which include themes of pain, tragedy and self-discovery feature a female character. Having a male protagonist, nonetheless, addresses the male audience, making it appealing to this specific sex by suggesting that everyone suffers and that it is okay for males to express their inner emotions (like the male protagonist does in the music video) without feeling embarrassed, ashamed or as if they will be shunned by society or by their peers.In this way, the male protagonist also appeals to females too because the character is a slight change to expectations and traditions, opting for a reverse in traditional gender roles by having a male, who is the subject of pain, and a woman who ultimately gives help. Audience will witness such scenarios when a funeral attender hands the male protagonist a bible, ultimately prompting the beginning of his newly found faith as well as the scenes which the male protagonist shares with a female vicar. The inclusion of the female vicar also defies traditional gender roles, suggesting that females can also take such jobs, even when it is quite an uncommon sight.

Q2: What genre of the music do you watch the most?

The answers to this question appeared as we had expected, with the majority of the questioned selecting pop as the genre of music they mostly watched. This option had a total of 37.93% with 11 people. Thankfully, alternative followed closely after, with 9 people and an overall percentage of 31.03%. The fact that these were the two most popular choices meant that we would have to combine both genres in our music video, which we would ultimately achieve through the song choice. Although Bastille is mostly part of the alternative genre, the band have also achieved several number one songs and top hits, such as ‘Pompeii’, ‘Good Grief’ and ‘Of The Night’. These songs were regularly and are still being played on the radio and in chart shows today, marking them as a popular alternative band in a database where pop singers are mostly found. Because of this fact, we are, thus, combing both genres by using the material of an alternative band that is also very popular and renown at the same time, something different to many other alternative bands who often remain less popularised.

Q3: What is your favourite music video of 2016?

From these results we found that the most liked music video of 2016 was ‘Heathens’ by Twenty One Pilots. It can be assumed that the reason people enjoyed this music video was for multiple reasons: because twenty one pilots is a band that have recently been introduced into the charts with their song ‘Stressed Out’ therefore people want to listen and watch their other music tracks, or it could be because the song was featured on a blockbuster film of 2016 so it is more likely that people would watch a soundtrack music video rather than an average music video released. Additionally we found Bastille was 3rd, therefore we know that the band and their music videos are popular, meaning out target audience is most likely the mainstream general public. We gather that due to Grimes’s song ‘Kill V, Maim’ being the least favourite, it is either because of the artist itself not being in mainstream pop music or because of the wild and unique music video that can be perceived as weird or strange. Therefore we know that in order to appeal to the current mainstream market and our target audience, we need to provide a music video that provides typical themes that fit with our song.

Q4: What artist do you believe is most renowned for good music videos?

The results show that Sia is believed to be the artist who is known for good music videos which may be due to signature motifs that are present in a lot of her music videos, namely the ballerina girl. This conveys that audiences prefer familiarity, which we can incorporate in our music videos by providing normality and relatable motifs or themes. The results also show that Kanye West and Twenty One Pilots were artists that are believed not renowned for music videos, with Kanye West’s result more surprising due to his popularity in mainstream music therefore the result cannot be attributed to low popularity where as Twenty One Pilot’s music videos can. We found that Bastille came 2nd along with Katy Perry, which allows us to believe that our song and music video will already be popular due to Bastille’s recognition with good music videos in the past. Therefore, this information is valuable to us as we know that the general population are already aware of the standard of Bastilles music videos due to their mainstream popularity, so we have to incorporate typical characteristics of Bastille’s music videos in order for ours to succeed.

Q5: What is the most important element in a music video?

We asked this as we wanted to know what our target audiences preferred features were, so then we could include them in our own. Our results showed that 33.01% of our audience thought a music videos narrative was most important to our audience so we made sure our video centred around a strong narrative. These results have been adhered as we have made the video centre around a son losing his mother and trying to find peace and faith in god/ religion. Relationship between lyrics and music video and originality was voted the next highest. We have chosen Bastille “Anchor” as our song and we feel this links very well to our video concept as the sons search for faith is his search for an anchor, or the person who has lost was his anchor. Originality was an aspect we strived for and think we have achieved as there are a very few music videos centered around religion and none about a son losing his mother, this was a relationship that has not been explored before so we wanted to show the effects that losing a parent has on a child.

Q6: What platform do you watch music videos?

We wanted to find this out so we knew where to put our video, consequently it could be viewed by our target audience. Youtube gained over 80% of responses, so we have decided this is the platform in which will distribute our video.

Q7:Why do you think there is a demand for music videos?

For this question, there was a common pattern in the replies that were given. The first one is that many hold the opinion that the demand for music videos is because artists and labels want to promote their songs across multiple different venues and channels with one commenting that it “Gains the artist and song popularity.” whilst another stated “Music videos are often used as a means of promotion for the song, which is why they’re significant in passing on awareness of the artist.” This is a common belief because it adds for the artist another way for them to promote themselves by creating a music video to go with the song. It is for this reason why the artist and the label behind them would use a music video as it offers another route to promote themselves. The other common point was that it helps the audience gain more insight into the artist’s mind and their own interpretation of the video swell as making it easier for audiences to see what message’s the artist is trying to convey to them. Some of said comments were “Because it gives an insight into the true meaning of the song.” and “A curiosity about how the artists look / represent themselves. The way YouTube has established itself as a platform for audio as well as video.” This shows how many people think that music videos can help them understand the song and therefore the messages behind them easier as it allows them to digest it in another platform

Q8:Does a music video change your perception of that artist? Why?

For the vast majority of responses, most stated that this would change their perception of that particular artist, with most stating that it could make them more negative of the artist. The reason for this that is commonly stated is that if the artist isn’t able to express themselves in an actual way then it shows whether they’re creative or not. Also, and more commonly said was that if they’re promoting the wrong type of messages (e.g. sex, drugs) then they are not being good role models and would make people look more negatively on them. Some of these statements were more neutral and open such as, “Yes, it can make me think of the song in a different way therefore making me view the artist differently, this can be either positively or negatively.” whilst other comments are more negative about this possibility “It depends, based on what common themes they’re trying to promote. If the artist does multiple songs about sex etc. I would gain a negative perceptive of that artist.” and “Sometimes – if an artist such as Rihanna, Miley Cyrus or or female groups such as Little Mix and Fifth Harmony sexualise themselves I often lose my respect for the artist and grow to dislike them.” This shows a clear theme that a music video can drastically change an audience members opinion of that artist depending on what they’re being shown and more likely to be negative.