Research into Target Audience and Fan Base - Noah and the Whale

Noah and the Whale is a lesser known British indie folk group. The song “5 Years Time” was released as part of the album Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down and also as a digital download, or e-single, and the version I am using is the e-single since it is generally better quality than the album version. The band is aimed at fans of the Indie and Folk music genres, but as the band is from the modern age I would suggest that their preferable audience would be younger generations, who might also be interested in Pop and Rhythm & Blues (R&B), as Noah and the Whale is part of the new age of Indie and Folk music, where Folk is traditionally linked with Country music.

The song 5 Years Time was re-released as an e-single (digital download) as it was such a success in the UK Singles Chart, then the band’s new album, The First Days of Spring was released in 2009 whilst the band were on tour. If their single "5 Years Time" could reach the Top Ten in the UK Singles Chart then they must appeal to younger generations (such as teenagers) who have grown up in the modern era of technological advancements, such as the ability to download music from the internet via torrents, peer-to-peer programmes and illegal "free mp3" download websites which are openly available. There are decreasing numbers in people who buy music CDs and instead download from the internet. There are legal ways of downloading these songs but the return received for the music is destroying the music industry, so many of the big bands are struggling for money whereas newer lesser known bands are succeeding. An example is the success of the UK band Arctic Monkeys who launched themselves via the internet, online forums and word of mouth until they offered downloads of their songs. Their popularity on the internet meant record companies were offering them an official contract. Therefore, through analysis of one band, I am beginning to understand that Noah and the Whale may only appeal to people who know about recent technological advancements and how widely available these mediums of technology now are.