Research into television music channels

The purpose of television music channels are to promote a music video, showing a video which you may not see unless you are watching the show, allowing artists to promote themselves and their music, advertising to a wider audience and therefore gaining more fans which can, in effect, give them more success in there music and future music

MTV

Target audience for MTV is 13-21 year olds, this is proven by the planned schedule for today, for example at 10:45 they have two maroon 5 songs planned, back to back, maroon 5 have been a bit hit recently and have had lots of success, specifically in this age group,  as well as tinie tempah who is a well known name within people between 13-21, finally they have the 'top 20 biggest dance hits', a genre for people between this age group that has huge success and is constantly listened to by this age group. Five artists that are popular within the MTV schedule are Maroon 5, Ellie Goulding, Jason Derulo, Wiz Khalifa and David Guetta, they always play chart music as it is requested by their audience as they want to listen to big artists and see their up and coming videos, engaging the audience and drawing in a wider audience and making the channel more successful. The owner of MTV is Viacom Media Networks, this company also own Comedy central, Nickelodeon and VH1, another music channel, the benefits of being owned by a big company like this is that MTV can be advertised on multiple channels, creating a wider audience, especially since the other channels owned serve different purposes (E.G- Comedy central is for comedy fans). 

The MTV logo appeals to the target audience, the M is bold and simple, appealing to those that just want a simple channel in which they can sit down and listen to music, the 'TV' however appeals to those of a younger age, the graffiti style writing emphasises that they also show rap music, etc, appealing to those that enjoy this genre, the black and white is also another way of showing that it is plain and simple, also it allows the logo to be snuck into the corner of the screen and not distract the audience from the actual music video itself, but being noticeable enough to allow the audience to keep in their mind that they are watching MTV, making sure that they come back in the future due to knowing what channel .

AKA

The target audience for AKA is around the age of 16-21, the age barrier is slightly higher as the content for the genres played (grime/urban/hip-hop) are more explicit and are not suitable for younger audiences. The station has things such as 'throwback hip-hop jams', 'grime kings' and the 'official AKA rap and grime chart' scheduled for today, showing the types of music genre it tends to stick to as their audience enjoy this, which is the reason they watch this channel. Artists that are popular on this channel are Kid Ink, JME,  Fetty Wap, Chris Brown, Lil' Wayne  and Big Sean, these are well known artists within the community of fans of the genres played on this channel. AKA is owned by All Around The World Productions Limited, this company own the channels 'Clubland TV' as well as 'Summer hits', this allows the channel to be advertised to fans of different genres, possibly changing them into a fan of grime, etc as well as the previous genre, creating a wider fan base/ drawing in a wider audience and therefore making the channel more successful.

The AKA logo is bold and stands out to the audience, making it extremely noticeable, the man in red, leaning against the 'A' represents the rap side, the man seems 'cool' showing the station in a trendy way, this draws in the correct audience and allows the channel to seem trendy and in time with current affairs/music, allowing the audience to be drawn into it.

Kiss

The target audience for kiss is a mix, it has a mixture of newly released songs and slightly older songs of all genres, widening the target audience, they play urban, RnB, hip hop and electronic dance music, this channel is unlikely to play songs with explicit material, on the schedule for today they have songs such as 'house every weekend' and tinie tempah - 'not letting go' which are different genres, showing the mixture of music they play, popular artists on this channel vary from the likes of Rhianna, to artists such as Calvin Harris. Kiss is owned by Bauer radio, this company also own Kerrang and the hits radio, this allows for the channel to be advertised on different stations, increasing their audience and making them more popular to fans of different, particular genres.

The Kiss logo is plain and simple, showing the audience that it is straightforward and will deliver good music with no fuss and with ease, it also makes the name of the channel clear so that it sticks in the audiences mind, therefore making it easier to grow as a channel and gain more fans and become wider renounced.

Magic

Magic has a mix of all genres, old and new releases, allowing it to have a huge audience although it puts fans of particular genres off, but overall draws in massive audiences, this channel does not play songs with explicit material however, due to the large audience it could cause offence. On the schedule there are artists such as take that and ed sheeran, showing the variety of music played. Magic is owned by Bauer radio and this means that it can be advertised on channels such as kiss and kerrang, widening the audience it plays music to, fans of all genres can listen to this radio/channel as it has lots of genres, pleasing all listeners.

The magic logo links up, showing the order it has and that it is very organised, the colours blue and yellow are mixed, showing the variety of songs played on the channel as well, the word 'magic' is clear, making the station stick in the audiences head, making it easier to become wider renounced and grow as a channel due to the memorable name, therefore becoming more successful as a channel.

Absolute

Absolute radio focuses on older music, its target audience are 30+ and plays songs from the older era, the channel would also not allow explicit music to be played, although this is a lot rarer anyway within the music this channel would play, on their schedule are things such as 'classic rock party' and 'foo fighters', the rock genre is slightly outdated nowadays and the foo fighters are for the older generation, this shows the audience it is aimed at and aims to attract and please, absolute is also owned by Bauer radio, this company own magic and planet rock, allowing this channel to be shown to younger and wider audiences, trying to draw them in to this type of music and channel.

The absolute radio logo features a fast forward button, showing it is ahead of other stations and the one you should listen too, the bold 'absolute radio' on a white background makes it clear and makes it stand out, locking it into the audiences head.

MTV have broken into different channels for each genre to please listeners of all tastes, there is a big chance of them losing fans if all music is played on one channel as there will be lots of music different people wont like and others they will, therefore they could lose viewers to stations that play particular music genres. Music channels allow for music videos to be shown, this can help advertise a song which would not be listened to usually, increasing the importance of music videos, to help artists songs be put out there and advertised, there are multiple channels which appeal to fans of different genres, it allows fans to listen to their favourite genre and not have to go through multiple genres from different songs, therefore they can cater for a much wider audience as they can give every genre fan exactly what they want without the audience having to wait for a song of their preferred genre to come on, I have learnt how important music videos are for the success of a song and that it is key to be a part if a large company to become a successful radio station/music channel, as you need to be advertised on different platforms.

The schedule sticks to the genre of the channel, therefore the audience will always be listening to preferable music and the schedule doesn't show too much, just that it sticks to the genre promised and will draw in the correct target audience, therefore making success easier for the channel.