Apllied Audiences

Rat Boy - Sign On

The song that we have chosen to use for our A2 music video media project is the song 'Sign on' by Rat Boy. Stereotypically, a song like this (genre etc) would attract more of a so called 'indie' audience, and perhaps a teenage audience who are in school. They may be able to relate to the song in that they may be in a position where they are making important decision such as what options they will be taking and ultimately thinking about their future, and also with things such as upcoming exams putting the pressure on them. I would argue that Rat Boy is the kind of artist that would appeal to this sort of audience since he discusses the troubles that teenagers are going through at this stage in their lives in his songs, and also the potential pathways and problems that they will face throughout their lives leading up to them ultimately having a career. He often uses humour to express these points of view, which is displayed in his song 'Sign on'. I would argue that this offers the audience guidance and reassurance in their times of distress and that ultimately things will be OK.

Our target audience for our music videos is in the range of teenagers between fourteen and nineteen years old. We chose this audience for our target audience due to our view that the ideals depicted throughout the song would best relate to those within that age range. Lyrics such as 'Young, dumb, living off mum.' may be found to be relatable due to their current situations and not know what to do etc.

However, the lyrics in the song could be taken literally and have a negative impact on those listening to it as people within that age range are more than likely easily influenced. such lyrics as 'It won't be long before i sign on' may encourage people to simply automatically assume that things will be easy for them and they can claim benefits as soon as leaving school. Although this could be drawn from the song, this is later criticized in the song and the singer further encourages the listeners to do their best and try to make the best of their lives and whatever situation they find themselves in.

It's reasonable to conclude that the audience for this song are younger people who are in a situation where they are not quite sure what they want from their future and their lives. The song manages to offer support and encouragement to those in these situations, without dictating to people what they should do.