I did some research about my chosen genre (R&B), specifically my target audience. I used ‘Yougov.com’ to research the characteristics, demographics and psychographics of a typical fan. I used Frank Ocean, SZA and Jorja Smith to find out more about stereotypical R&B fans. The information told me about demographics such as gender, education and age. Psychographics are also very important. Their political opinions, hobbies, style, music taste and beliefs to name a few are all aspects that identify them.
Jorja Smith
SZA
Frank Ocean
It is important to understand your audience so that they don’t reject your content or it’s ideas. The reception theory talks about how the producer encodes something with a preferred meaning in hope that the audience will decode/understand it. If a reader does not relate to the content or enjoy it, this is called oppositional reading. You need to know about what your audience on average will enjoy so that you can cater to this when producing something.
Below is a dating profile I created as if I was Olivia, an R&B fan. I used it to include some of the typical attributes of a fan. I spoke about her likes and dislikes, talents, music taste, where she lives and what she couldn’t live without. These things I listed helped give a brief idea of who she is and her lifestyle as a whole. The mention of her political opinions is important as we can get an idea of her morals and what she thinks is right. I would describe Olivia and others in the R&B community to be a ‘Struggling Single’, an ‘Individualist’ and a ‘Reformer’ when referencing to psychographics.