Audience Research

I interviewed some random people from my school and in the local area about their music consumption. Here are some of the best responses.

Responses
 

• 15 years old, male, likes photography and gaming, listens to hip hop, rap and grime, primarily uses Youtube, Spotify and his phone, downloads music illegally

• 14 years old, girl, likes girl bands and fashion and singing with her friends, listens to pop and dance, listens to music on VEVO and Youtube, buys singles from iTunes

• 17 years old, male, likes playing guitar and socialising, listens to rock, indie and alternative, listens to music on his iPhone and car radio, buys CDs and downloads singles illegally

• 12 years old, male, likes gaming and the internet, no real interest in music, listens to what is popular within his social group

• 25 years old, female, likes running and clubbing, listens to house music, soul and jazz, goes to clubs regularly and listens to soul and jazz records at home, buys records

• 40 years old, male, likes being with his family and motorbikes, listens to acoustic singer-songwriter and classic rock, listens to music on his CD player and on Youtube, has a large collection of CDs from when he was younger and now buys music off iTunes

• 15 years old, female, likes going to gigs and writing poetry, listens to punk, metal and grunge, listens to music on her iPod and on Spotify, buys her favourite music on iTunes but mostly downloads illegally

 

Patterns and Conclusions

 

In general, I noticed that younger people tend to listen to pop music much more than older people and are more concerned about what their friends are listening to. Music seemed to be a much more social thing with younger people, who enjoyed sharing it with their friends and singing along to songs together. The older people that I talked to enjoyed music in a much more personal way and were more concerned about the meaning behind the lyrics than the catchy hooks. I also noticed that older people listened to and collected albums while younger people tended to listen mostly to singles that they had heard on the radio or at a party. The most striking difference between young and old was how they bought (or didn't buy) their music. Older people tended to listen to CDs and sometimes records while younger people either downloaded their music illegally or off of iTunes.

 

Of course there were exceptions to these patterns but, in general, the most striking difference between young and old listeners was that young people relied very heavily on the internet to consume music, while older listeners preferred more traditional formats like CDs and the radio.