Market research for

UK magazines

NMEFounded by: Theodore InghamPublished since: 1952In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music newspaper.

KEY STATSMale: 74%Female 26% Median age: 23Student 42% ABC1: 68%Circulation: 33,875Readership: 325,000ABCe Unique Users: 5,342,246

-NME's Mission Statement To Provide up to date and new information, reviews and listings of the best new music.Their slogan is "first for music news"

-“I can trust it”- “Its full of facts that we should all know but don’t BUT we do now thanks to NME”- “Honest no-holds barred reviews”.

From researching into NME magazine, we can see the average reader would be a 23 year old Male. 68% of the readership is made up of upper middle class, middle class and lower middle class, with the remaining 42% being made up of students.The magazine is largely associated with rock, alternative and indie music. It started as a music newspaper and it was the first British paper to include a singles chart, in 14 November 1952 edition. In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. Gradually it moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s and 90s, changing from newsprint in 1998.From the mission statement we can see it is a magazine that keeps up to date with all the latest music, so that the magazine provides something different each week.

NME

Q magazine • Circulation 89,450* • Readership 550,000**• AbC1 profile 72%**• Median age 29**• Male/Female 68%/32%*ABC Jan-June 2010 **NRS Jan-Jun 2010 ***Reader poll 2008

Mark is 29 and lives in leeds. he is a passionate music fan, as a lad he got into ‘proper music’ in the mid-’90s, inspired by the rock ‘n’ roll swagger of liam and Noel, Blur and the Britpop scene. he’s in full-time employment but revelling in life without any dependents or family responsibilities. Mark has high disposable income to spend on himself alone, being a heavy consumer of music, buying up to 6 albums per month. He loves reading Q to discover new music, as well as filling in the gaps in his back catalogue. New music forms part of his social currency, so Mark is keen to know the new Mumford & Sons before they go mainstream and uses this knowledge as influence within his friendship circle. Mark is highly savvy to digital technology, a keen social networker and uses online services to enhance his social life. He’ll regularly welcome his mates round to his for some Spotify dj-ing and a few beers as a warm-up for a big night out. An open-minded experience seeker, Mark loves the live music experience, opting to go for a mixture of gigs, especially huge arena shows for the likes of Kings Of Leon and Kasabian. He attends Leeds festival religiously annually and this year he’s off to Benicassim in Spain for his mate’s stag weekend. Though a hugely passionate music fan, this is not to the detriment of his other interests – film, gaming, sport, TV and comedy.

The MISSION‘Q is a Bastian for music of substance – guiding its readers through just the good stuff in all forms of music each month via its unparalleled access and Q Review, the world’s biggest and best music guide.’Paul Rees – Editor-in-Chief

A Q magazine average reader would be a 29 year old male. However, 32% of the readership is female, unlike NME where the readership is on 26% female.72% of the readership is made up of upper middle class, middle class and lower middle class. We can see that the average reader would be a religious festival goer who has a passion for music and enjoys attending gigs regularly.The readership is 550,00 which is significantly bigger than NME, this shows it is a market leader.

Q

MOJO

THE MISSIONMojo is an educator, a living archive and a trusted source of musical excellence. Mojo provides its audience with an authentic, independent, and emotional connection to the music. Its also the last word on what's good, for music that is timeless, and where to go next. Mojo is loved by its readers, the music industry, and by musicians alike, because it engages them on the subject they love the most. Its basic editorial proposition every month consists of: A definitive, book-like cover feature (i.e. you don't need to read a book on the subject, you can just read Mojo to know everything). An editorially themed cover mounted CD. A 30 page plus reviews section known as Filter, which brings you the best in music that month. Mojo goes in deeper than any other magazine and creates an experience that is immersive, and that the readers can luxuriate in. From The Beatles to Battles, and The Ramones to Radiohead. Classic, sitting comfortably with cutting edge, and quality being the one constant.

Circulation 91,678* readership 218,000**abC1 profile 66%**Mean age 37**

THE MOJOREADERJohn is 37, a passionate and discerning music fan, long-time musician himself and dedicated record collector. With his high disposable income, John loves nothing more than sneaking off to the local independent record store to see what’s in. John proudly invests in an extensive mixture of vinyl (classics and rarities), CD’s, and carries a well stocked iPod that covers everything from prog to nu-folk, Motown to 60’s garage, blues and psychedelia. John’s heroes are Bowie and Jimmy Page, he has played the guitar since his school days and gets together now and again for a jam with his muso pals. A heavy gig goer, he also likes the more ‘boutique’ festival experience, having begun to outgrow Glastonbury, he is now just as likely to head to a smaller scale shindig such as Latitude or Green Man Festival. John and his partner occasionally like to unwind at the weekend by packing the toddlers off to their grandparents and inviting their friends around for dinner, whiskey and a rifle through his record collection to unearth some hidden gems. Well read and media-savvy, they chat into the small hours about music, books and films.

Mojo targets at a slightly older audience than NME and Q, with an average age of 39.66% of the readership is made up of upper middle class, middle class and lower middle class. The average mojo reader normally is a musician themselves and is a passionate music lover. Like the Q reader, the mojo reader enjoys attending gigs and going to festivals.

Mojo

METAL HAMMER• Key Facts• Circulation: 41,777• Readership*: 91,909• Launched:1994• Frequency:13 pa• Price:£4.25

Young male (85%) music influentials, average age 22, 41% in employment, 51% are studying. Engaged: Readers are spending on average 3 hours reading each issue and 85%are keeping it for reference. Responsive: 41% of readers have made a purchase as a result of reading Metal Hammer, 61% have visited a company’s website and 2/3 have consulted a the classified section. Readers ARE the music scene :Half see live music at least once a month, 79%will be attending a festival in the next 12 months. Creators as well as consumers: 2/3 of readers play the guitar and 1/3 are in a band. Informed and Influential: 76% feel they are the first to know about new music with 93% giving advice to peers and family. Spreading the word about Metal and your products: 93% of readers are talking about music with their friends and family adding valuable Word of Mouth marketing to your campaign.

The music magazine Metal Hammer is a very different genre to any of the other magazines I have looked at. It has a significantly lower readership than any of the other magazines as it is targeted to a specific group of people in society, where as the others include music that is much enjoyed by many people. The average reader would be a 22 year old male who is currently studying.This magazine is a highly priced magazine at £4.25 so therefore would be aimed at people who can afford to spend this amount on a magazine.