CD Advertisement Research

In a CD Advertisement, there are certain elements that must be included in order to ensure it is successful and draws people in. These are as follows:

• Artist name
• Album/single title

These are both included as it helps the company to promote the artist or the album itself. It is important as it allows the audience to recognise the artist and name of the album.

• QR code
• Main image

The main image is an important aspect as the audience will need to know the artist for them to be able to purchase the album, however not all albums have the artist's image on the album but the artists name will still get the audience to buy it. It is also done to promote the artist. This also links with brand identity because it will have to link to the digipak. 

• Tour dates

The tour dates information is important because it lets the audience know when they should book their tickets for so that they can watch the audience perform, it is basically quick and free advertising and distribution of information for their tour so that they can make more profits that way. 

• Release date (out now/pre-order)

This is important because the audience will want to know when they will be able to purchase the album or single. The purchase information is important because it lets the audience know when, how and where to order the album from. For example, a website, release data, HMV, iTunes and Amazon. 

• Ratings or reviews

These are very important as it tells the audience how good the album is so that they can make a decision on which album(s) to purchase. However, most artists only put good reviews and not the bad reviews and ratings so that their reputation and product name is not tarnished. 

• Brand identity (fonts/images/texts)
• Available on iTunes/amazon
• Record Label
• Formats available on
• Websites

Having a website on your magazine is very important because it helps the audience gain more information regarding your albums and singles. Depending on your target audience, websites are very good. For example, pop music's target audience is usually teenagers and teenagers are stereotypically very good with technology and things to be on the internet.

• Includes... (the single/the video or 'exclusive'/'featuring')

These are included so that it can also promote the artist to show that artists latest single or exclusive, or who they have featured in  order to intrigue the audience to buy their album and encourage fans of other artists to buy their album too.

• Logo

Magazine Advert #1

This is a print for an album advertisement for the artist Plan B's second album, 'The Defamation of Strickland Banks'. This advert would have likely been printed after the release date of the album due to the ratings on the left hand side, and the phrase 'the multi-platinum album of the year'. The message of the typography is clear in this album advert, the artist's name Plan B and the quote 'The multi-platinum album of the year' are highlighted in red and bold. This makes the two most important pieces of the advertisement stand out among the rest of the information and easily draws the audiences attention. Also, the ratings under the quote gives the audience a good idea of where the album stands, constistent 4 star ratings can sway the  potential customer to go out and buy the album as opposed to choosing against it. The main image is the actual artist which adheres to the typical pop/hip-hop conventions. However, the saturation level and the clothing of the artist insists a sense of elegance and class - expected of a soul/jazz album. This could attract a massive audience as these genres are largely mainstream and the ratings suggest that the artist is able to combine these styles cohesively and effectively. The target audience that this album advert is attempting to appeal to would be young males for the alternative hip-hop aspect and young females for the pop/jazz feature. Particularly working class/lower class, however it could spring up to middle class teens in some cases due to its elegance. 

Magazine Advert #2

This is a print advert in a magazine for Wretch 32's album 'Wretchrospective' released on 6th October 2008 (which means that the advert was printed some time before this or close to its release). The typography in this advert adheres to the general stereotypical view towards the 'Grime' or 'UKRAP' genre. The title is spread out across the middle of the page, making it difficult for audiences to keep their eyes from it. The text underneath is almost displayed in a 'rave' advertisement style which is a viable approach to promotion as a lot of grime/UK rap artists go to raves to promote their music. This style may be familiar to that audience, therefore, attracting them to read on and possibly buy the album on release. The main image mixes its style, keeping some UKRAP elements while slightly straying into the popular music category. It sticks to its urban style by having the artist as the centerpiece and the clothing being that of a working class or lower class man. Also, the buildings to the left of the artist suggest that the music is urban and the paint dripping from it also signifies this because it is linked instantly to graffiti. However, while a lot of urban UK artist' albums adverts have serious tones with the artist generally looking angry while this advertisement is bright and has a cheerful aroma. This cheerful sense can be exemplified through the blue shaded rainbow behind the artist or the bright sky above him, signifying happiness which is what popular music tends to do. The target audience for this album advertisement would be lower class male youths aged 12 - 19 from underprivileged areas.  

DigiPak Research

DigiPak



DigiPak #1

Rihanna's 'Loud' Digipak only features one character - the artist herself. The image used is a close up of the artist with bold red hair and lipstick to match. These striking colours relate well with the title of the album 'Loud'. She is shown to be looking down, not making eye contact with the camera which suggests shyness and innocence. It could also suggest that she has something to hide and may be telling what she is hiding in this album - which encourages people to buy it. 

The purity of this image is tainted by the visible tattoo on Rihanna's neck, which emphasises her as an RnB artist, relating the image to the genre of the CD. It also goes against stereotypuical conventions of an RnB artists CD which Rihanna has done in the past, as women of this genre in particular are usually portrayed in a 'sexy' style within minimal clothing - ultimately showing themselves as an object to desire. 

There also seems to be a narrative being explained within this DigiPak as the inside album artwork suggests a fairy-tale like setting, showing that the CD may be a story about love. This is because the roses used are symbolic of love and innocence. However, when listening to some of the tracks and lyrics, not all the songs featured on the CD are 'innoncent' as suggested by the digipak artwork. 

Roses are iconically used within this digipak, featuring on the inside artwork as well as on the CD art. The symbolism of the rose connotes love and innocence, and relates to the love theme of the CD tracks such as Only Girl. The danger connotation of the colour red is also used to link to the risky love themed songs such as S&M. In the song California King Bed, the artist creates love imagery using the lyrics 'inside of a rose', showing the connection between the flower and love. 

On the inside artwork, Rihanna is almost shown laying on a bed of roses. This gives off a fairytale atmosphere as she appears to be in a dreamlike state. The princess-like dress also shows Rihanna as innocent as if in a fairy-tale, with the roses showing love in the females life. This goes against the CD's RnB genre as it is more stereotypical of an indie genre. The main imagery used on the front of the artwork is shown to be taken within a studio, using high-key lighting to capture the artists facial features in the best way in order to make her look more appealing. This use of high-key lighting creates strong shadows around the artists face, which emphasises the focus on the artists made-up features. 

There is a strong use of the colour red within this digipak which is an extremely emotional colour connoting love and possibly danger. This could be relating to the emotional songs enlisted on the album. The artist is shown in a white dress, connoting innocence which relates well to a fairy-tale theme. The vivid colours relate well to the title of the album 'Loud' as the boldness of the red is striking and eye-catching for an audience. The text on the front cover shows the letters rather spaced out in capital letters which suggests the loud aspect of the name.

 

DigiPak #2

The album artwork for Kanye West's album 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' uses paintings created by artist George Congo. 5 alternative covers were created for this album. In this version, Kanye's severed head, crowned, being pierced with a sword. The character appears to be fearsome and powerful, with the facial expression and the portrayal of his eyes wide open, relating to the song 'Power' from this album. 

His assumed status is also conveyed through the crown that he wears, suggesting the artist believes he is dominant and higher than others. The CD art shows another one of the George Condo paintings, one which was banned by Apple and superstores for being too provocative, featuring a naked half woman half creature on top of a man that is drinking. The bizareness of the image suggests Kanye's desire to be different and willingness to break rules. It also further supports the suggestion of Kanye's powerful persona as he knew such a painting would cause controversy in the media and continued to use it anyway. 

As an album within the hip-hop genre, this digipak does not show the stereotypical features expected from it. Instead, the artists paintings are used for the front cover, suggesting a higher social class as opposed to the stereotypical street-raised rappers who emphasise their rough upbringings. Although, in the painting form, the character is still recognisable as Kanye West which could be classed as iconic as there is no artist name on the CD itself, just the image. This suggests that people already know who he is without having to be told. The use of folk-tale like characters for the album art show that Kanye West, as a hip hop artist is different and unique to the genre. 

The use of specially made intriguing imagery by George Condo for this CD entices the audience by being mysterious and creating a narrative enigma by forcing them to wonder what each of them mean. Once they listen to the tracks on the album, the paintings begin to make more sense. 

The album front cover painting appears to be set in a dream-like world, featuring clouds and vivid blue skies which convey an image of fantasy or a heaven-like setting. This relates instantly to the albums title 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'. The characters severed head appears to be on a podium display, further suggesting the artists power and supremacy thoughts about himself and also referring back to the track 'Power'. On the back cover, the albums tracks are written in a creative font. The type of font used suggests a similar quality to calligraphy - this font gives the album an almost regal sense, which again relations to power and royalty. 

The album art is all digital with no used photographs, only paintings and no cameras used. The use of colour red is frequent throughout the digipak, used on both the front cover, the back cover and the internal artwork. This colour connotes strength and power - a continuous theme of this digipak. Within the inside, typography of the artists name spreads across 4 pages. This creative design reflects the artists imaginative side, which could also refer back to the 'fantasy' setting/theme of the digipak.