We Interviewed 7 people in our target audience, both in person and over the phone and shadowed 3 of them. They ranged in age from mid 20s to mid 30s

Major Themes:

Mood-based listening Creates playlists based on time of day, travels Morning vs. evening music Creates total sensory experience through lights, scents, sound Plays music to either enhance or change mood

Access Huge music collection- wants all music in one place (ipod) Portability is important Digitize music –annoying to switch btw radio, cds and mp3s

Control Wants music everywhere and anywhere Speakers in every room Parties: letting guests influence/control what’s played “ Hates aiming” doesn’t want to have to point the remote to control things

Quality Sound quality important Wants controls that feel substantial Surround sound is popular “ I only want to buy things once” Reads reviews online

Appearance Has to look cool Presentation influences buying Heaviness Feel of the controls Brushed metal/silver Mahogany “glow” of the device Small is better

Buying Factors:

Buys to impress other people
Need to see and hear to buy
Lots of options
Flexibility
Friends recommendations
Reads reviews online
Love/hate Best Buy

Current Devices

Ipod
Cd/DVD players
Satellite radio
AM/FM tuners with style and character
Laptops playing MP3s

General Listening Habits

Genres: varied, but Jazz, ambient popular.. Usually stayed away from top 40
Eclectic tastes
Ambient/world music – relax, set mood
NPR in the morning

Web Survey

To get a broader sample of users, we also conducted a brief web survey.

Survey questions:

• What kind of music do you usually listen to?
• What kinds of devices do you use in your home to listen to music? Do you own any portable devices( e.g. an iPod)?
• Is the music you listen to different in different situations, e.g. around guests, when running, in the office?
• When buying a music player, what factors are important to you and/or affect what you buy?
• Where do you usually go to buy music players?

7 respondents

Key findings:

different situations/people require different music

Sometimes mood is more important than situation: "I listen to all kinds of music at all times. It depends on my moods."

Wide range of music tastes, large music collections, use both portable players and stereos, satellite radio

Additional Information

• Notes (MS Word) [48 kb]
• Notes (PDF) [96 kb]