Applying Audience Theory to a Rock Music Video

The uses and gratifications theory is an approach to understand why people seek specific media platforms to satisfy specific needs, in this case music videos. The uses and gratifications theory focuses on 'what do people do with media?' - it discusses different factors to why the audiences selects that specific media product. These factors are information, relaxation, social iterations, entertainment or escape. 

Information: this is the idea that audiences watch media products to find out about relevant events in immediate surroundings or around the world, they want to seek advice on practical matters, to satisfy curiosities, or to learn something new.

Personal Identity: this is the idea that audiences watch media products to gain an insight to their personal self, to find reinforcements for personal values or to find models of behaviour. 

Social Interaction: this is the idea that an audience watch media products to gain an insight into the lives of others, social empathy, to identify with others or gain a sense of belonging, to find a basis for conversation or social interaction, to have a substitute for real-life companionship or to connect with family, friends and society. 

Entertainment: this is the idea that the audience watch media products to escape or be diverted from their real-life problems, to relax, to fill time, emotional release, sexual arousal and for general enjoyment. 

Now we can apply this to an alternative rock music video. 

We Are The In Crowd - The Best Thing (That Never Happened)

If we apply the uses and gratifications theory to this video to see why people would watch this video then we would rely on Entertainment or social interaction. This is because the typical target audience for We Are The In Crowd are teens/young adults probably aged around 16-22.

If we apply social interaction as most teenagers watch music videos because they've heard a friend talking about it so they want to see what its about. This means they then have something to talk about at school. It may also be because they feel they can relate to the song specifically girls as its about a boy who you're glad you never got together with.

Similarly if we apply entertainment we know that teens often have spare time on weekends or evenings therefore they could be watching music videos to fill time, similarly they may enjoy watching music videos to get away from the stress or troubles that comes with school work. In terms of sexual arousal this video would appeal to both boys who would find the lead singer attractive or to girls who find the rest of the male members attractive. 

Therefore to a teenager this would satisfy both their social interaction and entertainment needs which is why they would watch this music video.