Music Blogger Question: Who Is Your Ideal Reader?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Out of curiosity, I'm wondering if any of the music bloggers here write for a hypothetical ideal reader, or gear your writing towards the audience you know that you have. What's your ideal reader like? Do you think that you're reaching those people?

Answering my own question, I think I write Fluxblog in the hopes that it is useful to the Lane Kims of the world - people just a bit younger than me who are enthusiastic about pop music and want to hear new things all of the time. Obviously, I'm that way too, so maybe it's more accurate to say that I'm writing to a slightly younger version of me.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:10 (twenty-one years ago)

My ideal audience is myself, and shag-happy single girls & boys who want to fuck me.

― Sick Nouthall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:13 (twenty-one years ago)

That's actually an honest and considered answer, believe it or not.

― Sick Nouthall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:13 (twenty-one years ago)

just myself, since i don't believe i even have any readers at this point. i guess that's what lapses in posting will do to you. either that or my Kid Rock/OC props scared both of them off.

― jonviachicago, Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:15 (twenty-one years ago)

holy shit, I have no idea! maybe someone who enjoys reading all the random associations that music brings up in my mind, or maybe someone who likes it when reviewers just go the hell off. Lane Kim would hate both these blogs, but maybe my buddy Jim from high school might dig it.

― Begs2Differ (Begs2Differ), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Not that I'm a blogger, but I'd imagine the target audience for them would be dewey pantsless nubiles.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:16 (twenty-one years ago)

NYLPM - People who are interested in current pop music and want to talk about it.

PopNose - People who are interested in pop music of whatever age, and enjoy hearing curious and like dipping into pretty much any genre.

Popular - People with an interest in the history of pop music, people who like the charts, people who appreciate huge obsessive quixotic formal online projects.

All three - my mates. (this goes for any blog really)

NYLPM's audience is vaguest, and unsurprisingly NYLPM is the one I'm least happy with at the moment.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:18 (twenty-one years ago)

curious = curios

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Mostly for myself, but, as Nick states above, also for "shag-happy single girls ~~& boys~~ who want to fuck me." I try to write in a style that lends itself to conversation, but sometimes I'm just angry and like to rant.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:20 (twenty-one years ago)

It's so telling that almost all of us are writing for hypothetical cute young girls.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:22 (twenty-one years ago)

And boys.

― Sick Nouthall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Don't go alienating potential gay fanbase!

― Sick Nouthall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:25 (twenty-one years ago)

It's where the money is.

― Sick Nouthall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha, 'money' for blogging!

― Sick Nouthall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:26 (twenty-one years ago)

really small people. like.. the little folk from 'Land of the Giants' type small.

http://searchanddelete.com

― donny dorko, Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Sometimes I'm baffled as to why i write anything on a blog, aside from it keeping me from being a completely passive listener. My audience is Google, and i don't know what It wants. More porn probably.

― badgerminor (badgerminor), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:39 (twenty-one years ago)

A month ago, my audience wanted Janet's boob. Now, they hardly come anymore. Fickle googlers.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:42 (twenty-one years ago)

i am surprised at the international readership, from stats on sitemeter, links and some e-mail received: various Eastern European countries, Israel, Russia, South Korea, Japan, Oz, Western European countries such as France, Germany, Netherlands as well as the obvious English speaking countries such as US/Canada/ Oz and ..ofcourse UK.

When I first started I thought it would be primarily Brits reading, but this is the reverse - indeed most general [not music only] Brit bloggers
http://www.timemachinego.com/ukblogs/
probably don't even know about my blog and will carry on listening to ordinary rock such as Coldplay and Oasis regardless.

Also my music interests have continually developed/ expanded over the past few years, so I just reflect what interests me.

Ideal reader: any one from teenager to 50s something, that wants to expand their music listening interests. I guess most of my readers would be 25-40 and male.

There are only a few female bloggers that run music blogs anyway, so I don't think many women would be regular readers.

I have no idea, what age the youngest readers are - but I suspect I don't have many teenager readers.

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Judging by the reader email and comments that I get, along with the number of female friends and acquaintances that I know read my blog, I seem to have a substantial female audience. Nevertheless, I suspect that my readership is still mostly male - I'd guess maybe 70% male, 30% female?

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Ideal reader for my site = me. Even though I write like someone else is reading it (and I know there are a few folks that skate by every so often - hi Maura!), I'm just trying to keep myself entertained (& writing). My site's more an organizational resource / exhibition for my ideas & thoughts than anything else, albeit one that's readily accessible by G00glers, so if people wanna comment on it, then go wo/man go.

My sidequest - to be noticed & acknowledged by peers - is merely an ego-stroking exercise.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 17:01 (twenty-one years ago)

David R, which blog do you do?

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 17:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Funny you should ask, Matthew, as you already link to it. Popshots - it's near the bottom of your link list, I think; I'm not sure when or why you were linking to it (as I've been flaky as hell re: posting habits the past couple of years), but I've been getting 3-4 referrals from you almost every day since I started up again (again), earlier this year.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 17:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh, okay. I click on you maybe once or twice per week since you don't update very often. I'm guessing that the rest of those hits are from visitors of my blog who use my links like a bookmarks page.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 17:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Holy crap, David R. summed up my feelings EXACTLY. When I started, I wrote for clones of myself. Even if I wrote about something obscure, I made little attempt to give any background on it. I would assume that any (hypothetical) reader knew as much about the music as I did.
Now, I try to delve a little more into detail and make each post more of a complete, stand-alone piece.
Since others are plugging, Diary of Musical Thoughts

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 17:31 (twenty-one years ago)

other bloggers

― Nate in ST.P (natedetritus), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 17:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Anyone who likes David Banner and Arthur Russell in equal degree.

― djdee2005, Tuesday, 2 March 2004 17:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I mostly write Mystical Beast for people interested in the kind of band that isn't obscure enough to get collectors excited, but isn't famous enough to be famous. I have a feeling that it appeals most to my own (mid 30's) age group. I try to give details about less well known bands, but I'm not a good judge of what is/isn't well known. My ideal reader gets really excited when they find out that band x has covered band y's song which was originally written by songwriter z inspired by his favorite chocolate bar. Or things like that.

― dlp9001, Tuesday, 2 March 2004 17:58 (twenty-one years ago)

my writing.

― cozen (Cozen), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 18:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I think I write for people who are sympathetic to my own excitement about music. I sometimes try and have the same conversations with friends that I have (if you can call blogging a conversation) on Skykicking, but a) it's easier to articulate my thoughts using a keyboard, and b) the reaction is usually 'yeah, Tim, whatever...'(in fact there's only one or two people I know of in real life who don't actively distrust my tastes!)

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 01:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Wow talk about stating the obvious.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 01:40 (twenty-one years ago)

so matthew, are you pulling tail by blogging?

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 05:54 (twenty-one years ago)

My ideal reader:

Someone who a) likes the same stuff I do, and b) knows other stuff like it and isn't shy about recommendations. They know who they are.

― edward o (edwardo), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 06:39 (twenty-one years ago)

in fact there's only one or two people I know of in real life who don't actively distrust my tastes

w. t. f.

― g--ff (gcannon), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 07:57 (twenty-one years ago)

so matthew, are you pulling tail by blogging?

No, not at all! If blogging has helped anyone in that regard, I'd be amazed.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 13:11 (twenty-one years ago)

someone with similar tastes in music as me who makes me discover new stuff (via the comments).

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 14:22 (twenty-one years ago)

fellow shut-ins

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 14:25 (twenty-one years ago)

people who love humping inanimate objects. preferrably rare bootlegs of DNA and Fleetwood Mac.

― nathalie (nathalie), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 14:38 (twenty-one years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.