Focus Group Interview Questions to Ask

What is your favourite music genre? Do you listen to hip hop music? Which artists do you listen to? Do you agree with the name I have chosen? (Underground) Which of the fonts provided would look best for the masthead and why? Do you agree on the colour choice (black and yellow) and why?

Audience
This is the average stereotyped group of males that listen to hip hop artists. It is stereotyped that hip hop artists are black and gangstas in the way that they dress and act, the fans of these artist also try to be the same as their idols which are these artists, they were the same clothes that hip hop artists, however their clothes also represent the struggle and their graft for money, their t-shirts are normally one colour with a small pattern on the front and worn out jeans. It is stereotyped that they are black as black people are stereotyped by the media to commit more crimes which also supports their claim that hip hop artists are criminals. They normally have fancy footwear and spend a lot of their money on them as this is what they use as their statement if you have nice shoes; you have money.
Balaclava Cap

Baggy trousers Watch/ arm accessory Fancy trainers

Findings
I asked 5 males all aged 17 which I found in my college library which I felt looked as though they listen to music in a focus group interview about some of the topics I needed to know more about which I did not get from my questionnaire. I first asked which is their favourite music genre and all 5 said hip hop. I asked which artists they listen to and they responded with artists such as Eminem, Jay Z, 50 Cent, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, etc. These were all hip hop artists showing how popular hip hop artists with males aged 17. The fact that they all said hip hop is their favourite gender made me feel as though I had chosen the right genre. I asked if they agreed with the name I have chosen Underground and they all said yes; one of them then told me that it would be better if my magazine was more about underground artists rather than mainstream artists, I thought this would be a good idea as no magazine has really grasped on underground artists and they are most of the time the upcoming artists that are trying to make it. This would also allow me to reach out to their fans and get more customers as it will give their fans a chance to learn more about the artists. Also the name underground is associated with the artists therefore it would be good. The majority of music magazines focus on mainstream artists and they all have the same artists which make them too much like each other and therefore the audience will choose the cheaper of the two as they expect to see the same information in both magazines. Hip hop is a genre which is considered all about money and the best way to save money is to spend less therefore the target audience may not want to spend as much. Another of the males then said to me that college students that listen to hip hop music are more interested in underground artists nowadays as they are seen as more real as the mainstream artists. He said that mainstream artists are famous and they try to brag about their everyday life therefore may not talk about the struggles of everyday humans. Underground artists will try talk about their life in as much detail as possible as they would try to reach out to fans and get more known which could attract a record deal. He also said that as they have not made it yet they are more real as they are the same as us except they are trying to make it, hence they will know more about the fans and should have a better bond with them. Then another of the males said that look at Krept & Konan which are two upcoming hip hop artists, he said that they have a really good bond with fans as they see them in everyday life on the streets of their area and the bond was good as the artists actually take time to talk to fans and dont have paparazzi chasing their every move. This helped me decide that I will base my hip hop magazines about the underground artists as they are seen to be more real with my target audience and there is a better bond so their fans may want to buy this magazine to find out more about the particular upcoming artists. I then showed them 8 different fonts that I could use for my masthead and they all said that the first one was the best but four of them felt it would look better if the font had some drip on it as that would represent struggle and that when youre trying to make it theres always things weighing you down. I felt this was a great idea and have decided to go for it!

Lastly I asked them about the colour scheme of my magazine and the fact that my questionnaire respondents chose black and yellow they then said that it would be a good colour scheme but probably not the best for an underground magazine. One of them said black and red would be better as black symbolises darkness and red is the passion to achieve their dream. Another then said that I should use red and blue as this would bring a brand recognition as these are the colours used for the London Underground railway station. I decided it would be good as I wanted to create brand recognition for my magazine and the colours of London underground would be perfect as the colours would link to the word underground. Also the colour red represents passion and blue represents the sky and the sea and it is associated with the statement the sky is the limit which the artists would feel when chasing their dreams.