Vicki Cook

Focus Group

What are the main reasons you buy a magazine?Depends on who is on the front cover as that could be a reason as if it is someone they’re interested in and they don’t normally buy the magazine they could still buy it to know more on the artists they like. Some people like the idea of getting something new along with a magazine such as vouchers for discounts off shops or free music downloads. A reason people will buy them regularly is to get information and gossip on artists of certain genres that they are particularly interested in and to keep up to date with music.

What do you think of current magazines?It’s good that each magazine has a new featured artist or theme each week which still relates to the genre the magazine focuses on and they’re more useful than using the internet as each topic and subject is normally much easier to find and magazines have the shortened most important information.

What do you feel is missing from them?Articles that make the reader feel more involved such as quizzes or articles that are aimed at the reader to help them out with their lifestyle or to do with topics the magazine is focusing on such as becoming part of the music industry themselves . Also some people find the way some interviews are laid out and can be confusing like when they try and turn it into more of a story but people still prefer the typical layout of a question and then what the artist/artists answer was.

What comes to mind when you hear the word Hip Hop?America, Music, Street, Party, Dance, Black Culture, Drake, are the main words that came up. Showing that Hip Hop is a very modern genre of music and the artists tend to be black Americans.

What style of front cover do you like? Minimum or lots?Lots of bigger eye catching writing but tidy and not in your face too much, a lot of the focus still should be on the main image.

What sort of things do you like to know on interviews?What the artist has been up to lately and their plans for the future such as creating a new album, upcoming concert and other various information about it all. A bit of their personal life to get a clearer idea of what the artist is like such as what they do in their free time and relationships with other celebrities, partners and friends.