Research into 6 Digipacks

Caitlin Macdonald

Digipack and album O The difference between an album

and a digipack is that a digipack offers more to the audience, there is more content within the pack and when you look at uses and gratification, for the audience that has a digipack they get a lot more out of it than a normal album by offering extra images and text. I’m going to look at both and evaluate about the two.

Albums

Beyoncé

Beyoncé – “Dangerously in love”

Dangerously in love was Beyoncé's first album away from destiny’s child. The album follows the typical conventions of a ‘pop’ genre album. The clothing and pose is very over sexualised linking to Male Gaze(Laura Mulvey) theory where you see a artist through the eyes of a heterosexual male. The clothing that shows a lot of her body creates attention around the album cover equalling in attention around the album. There is high lighting in the photograph this sticks to the conventions of this genre. The clothing with the bright diamonds signify wealth, follows the convention of the genre and also he race. The mid shot shows off the artist as much as it can, making her the main enter point.

The CD continues the theme of the digipack through out, it is the same colour and uses the same stars this links it all together which is a big convention that many follow.

With the back cover they have stuck to the conventions of using the a similar photo to the cover, they have kept the text to the right so it isn't cover the artist keeping her as the main focus

Beyoncé This is Beyoncé's latest album and was famously realised with no promotion which is what conventionally done by artist. The album cover is simple and only has her name which does not follow the conventions of her genre. Now Beyoncé is a massive name that everyone knows, she doesn’t big promotions and posed album covers to show herself off to spread the word about her album. Comparing this to her first album they are very different, the first shows off the artist making her the main focus point on the cover however now its much more simple and it speaks for itself.

The cd has kept it the same as the cover making it more simple, even though through out it is only the name and nothing else features it still makes the artist the main feature

The colour theme is consistence through out linking all the sides together. Again the back is simple like the other sides.

Arctic Monkeys2006-2013

Arctic Monkeys – “what ever people say I am, I’m not”

The main focus of this album cover is the image however the band didn’t follow conventions as the picture isn’t of any of the band members, the picture has more of a story. On the cover is a close friend of the band and the night before he was given £70 to spend to go out and then in the morning the album cover was taken. Although this didn’t follow the conventions of a genre like pop like before it follows the conventions for there genre of ‘alternative/rock’ as the story behind the image fits well with the stereotype of ‘rock and rollers’ as they are known for their partying. The album has a depressing feel to it because of the low light and grey tones in the image also fitting with the genre and conventionally on their albums bright colours aren't used. The album cover will appeal to the target audience of the band as conventionally, alternative/indie music fans get into trouble. The album cover only has the bands name which will be known to all fans, and doesn’t have the album name however this could be down to the fact that the album name is really long and fitting it on without taking away from other aspects of the album like the image would be difficult

The album was criticised because of the constant theme of cigarettes and was said to idolises smoking and that it will have an influence on fans however the lead singer said he didn't believe this and said it would do the opposite. Like the album cover the cd is simple and basic, the cigarettes that feature on the cd and the cover create a link for the audience.

The back of the album cover links in with the rest of the album as it taken from the same shoot. The text is to one side so it isn't covering the person this makes sure that it doesn’t take away form the image. The colour of the text again is simple and plain and not distracting from the image

Arctic Monkeys – “AM”

For their latest album arctic monkeys and stripped back their album cover to just a digital photo of a sound wave. The fact that the album is bare isn’t a big convention however it still is used by many different artists from different genres. Comparing this cover to their first album cover It is a lot more simple and has less of a story toward its as he first, this could be because the band is very famous now and the they are easily recognisable from their target audience

The CD for the album is the same image a the front cover, this has slight similarities to the first one as it has links through out the album however this is a very common convention. The colour theme of black and white keeps it simple and minimal which is a common convention for he genre and allows it no to be over crowed

The back of the album cover is where the majority of the text is and this makes the album mainly about the songs as there is not much else for a viewer to look at if they saw this. The main eye grabber is the bands name and it is in the bands font which is known around the world by fans. The line across the middle links in with the sound wave from the CD and he cover an links it all together

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift – (2006)

When Taylor started out her genre was more country, this cover sticks to that genre conventions. Her hair is natural and the mise en scene, like the background being of nature and the butterflies make sure it has the country feel. The mid shot of the artist brings attentions to them making her the main focus of the album

The cd sticks to the country feel with the bare feet and grass. The song tittles form the album are also on the CD which I have found to be a common convention for albums that are fairly old digipacks

Again the back cover’s mise en scene fits the country genre, she is in some sort of field sticking with the theme of nature. She also bare foot in the photo linking in with the cd

Taylor swift – Red (2013)

Her latest album Is very different from her first, her genre has moved since she started to pop and there for how she is presented on albums is differently, she no longer has the natural hair or the nature in the background it is a close up of her making her the main attention, she is wearing a bright red lipstick, the colour red it associated with being sexy and seductive which is what the record label want her to be represented it also has a link to the album name which stands out against the rest of the album because of the colour however it doesn’t take away from the image of her as it’s a colour match to her lips

The colour theme of red and white carries on through out the digipack keeping it consistent the disc is plain with no image which is different to her first album and from there conventions have changed.

The way the titles of the songs are layout are normally how they would, however they do fit in with the lines the cd. There is still a photo of the artist on the back still keepping the focus on her

Katy Perry

Katy Perry – “one for the boys”

This is her first album, there is high and low lighting through out the image however the high light is over her making her standout more and keeping her the main focus, the pose and the clothing is sexualized linking to the male gaze theory (Laura Mulvey) and this will help the album get notices and also links in with the name of the album. The clothes link with the colours of the typography

The cd has a big strawberry on it which fans of the artist may identify with has she has a tattoo of one, it also links in with her front of the album as the picture is set outside and it looks like summertime, linking with the fruit. It also links with the back cover as she is wearing a top with strawberries on, this one aspect makes it work all together

For a back cover this is quite crowded which is isn’t normally the case for the back cover. There is a lot of legal stuff in the corner talking about the record label, this is a convention however because it is white and it is against a dark background it stands out more. The mise en scene of the image connects with the strawberry as it has summer feel about it because of the clothes, the flowers and swimming pool

Katy Perry - prism 2014Her latest album stands out much more than her first, however now that she is a discovered artist and she is very famous she doesn’t need to follow or break conventions to grab attention. The album is called prism and there are many connotations throughout the album that link to this. There is a lot if light in the photo and that is what makes it grabbing, this also links in with a prism as they reflect light. The typography is very clever, there are certain breaks in the wiring for example the ‘M’ a prism when it reflects the light is goes off to a different direction, by having the typography link in with the name it allows the audience to understand the meaning of the album. Round the edge of the album the flower boarder isn’t a convention that they have followed, normally it will be just the image, in the image of the artist there are similar flowers that are round the edges, by having them in the sides as well makes the image more 3D. The Typography for her name ‘Katy Perry’ the ‘A’ is replaced with a triangle, this could have been added for many reasons however again it links with the prism and they are triangular

The cd is left bare apart from the writing, the blank cd again links with the album name, prism. A cd reflects light and there is always a rainbow that is created much like a prism. Even though that a cd already does this naturally, by keeping it this way it gives a good link with the album name. the typography of the text on the cd is the same as the cover, this a big convention that the majority of artist follow and it connects the sides together and makes it look like one.

Again the lighting in the image is high and the effect of the image has a rainbow colour this again links to the album name. the typography of the songs name is places into a shape of a triangle and there is light that is reflected off of it once again this links with the album name of prism, it is a convention to make links like these as it helps the audience understand the meaning however this particular album has made many. The sides all look good together as a set as there is relations to the sides, this photo is from the same shoot however just a different pose, they have followed conventions as this normally happens so the sides work well together

Bastille

Bastille – ‘Bad Blood’

The genre of the band is alternative so they can break certain conventions that a genre like pop would follow, the act ‘bastille’ are a band however there is only one band member that is on the cover, the main singer. This has been done by many bands in the genre alternative they either feature no members or they only have one, however this isn’t seen in the genre like pop, the band would all be features with a close up or mid shot. In the long shot the artist you cant see that man that clearly keeping his identity a slight mystery, he looks like he is running away from something, this links with the name of ‘Bad Blood’ saying that something bad has happened. The lighting is low is places by having the bright light in the middle it places the focus onto the man, low lighting is a convention of the genre alternative. The typography of the is bold and stands out, the letter ‘A’ is replaced with a triangle and that done throughout, because of their genre they can break the conventions of having all letters

The cd for the album is simple and plain, they have stuck with the dark coloured theme and have only used the text that is on there cover. By using the same typography it create a relationship with the cover and it works well together

The images for the cover and back have a really good link between them, on the cover where the man is running and the light is sinning now that you’ve seen the back with the image of a car with lights on you make the connection and realise that its the car that is following the man. I really like the relation between the two images and I think it works really well as it tells a story and has more depth to it than if I was just a close up or mid shot of the band. The typography of the albums name is placed perfectly and fits well within the gap of the lights. Like the band name and album name where the ‘A’s are in triangles they have also carried this into the back cover, keeping it continuous

Drake

Drake – “Take care”

The photo cover there is a lot of gold that features, which is a stereotype of the genre rap, it also links to John Stewart theory where certain aspects are emphasised to make an aspirational lifestyle and is a convention of his genre of rap. The artist does feature on the album but doesn’t make eye contact with the camera, by featuring on the album fans get what they want in terms of uses and gratification theory and they get to see the act that like , however by not making eye contact he distances himself from them. Not making eye conntact has been used in albums before and in his genre of rap but compared to the pop genre you wouldn’t see this

With the disc they have carried on with the colour theme of black and gold linking them together and making them look like a set and they work well together. The layout has been kept simple and that is a common convention on the disc as they don’t get too cover crowded as when someone picks it up people cant see that part

they have kept with the black and gold colour scheme this makes it look together and works well as a set as there is no image on the back cover which is a common conventions sometimes they have placed the text in the centre so it is the main attention. The rest of the back is all common conventions of a back cover on an album for example the legal writing about copy write and how it belongs to and the barcode.

Drake – “nothing was the same”

Drakes latest album ‘nothing was the same’ had to different albums covers, both similar album layouts ad the same background however the image of who was on the cover is different. One was of the drake now and the other of him when he was younger and when placed together they look like they are look at each other. The background is of a sky and clouds this helps the idea of him dreaming and aspiring, and supported by the two picture enhances the idea of him dreaming when he was younger to be where he is now to him now looking at what he used to be like. This message gives more to the audience and fans as they get to see another side to him and when he was younger. The typography of the artist name and album name and in the right or left hand corner in tiny writing, this isn't a common convention and not one he has used before however it is common when the album is considered a ‘story’ and the text want to take away from the image

The disc for the album is the same as the cover, when the public buys his album they can decide if thy want the child picture version or the adult drake version, so what one they pick the disc will be different depending. By keeping the disc the same as the cover enhances the message he is putting across. There isn't any typography on the disc about the artist name or the album name, this is a convention when the album cover is about the image and they carry this on to the disc, however this isn't normally don’t in his genre of rap, it id normally done in alternative or indie music

I don’t think that the back cover of this album fits in with the rest of the album compared to the albums I have looked at. The colour scheme is different I think they should of kept with the blue or white, however I think if they carried on with the clouds or just plain colour of blue or white it would of looked slightly childish. The typography is different and I don’t think goes that well wit the rest of the album

Digipack - A Digipack will offer more to the audience and fans as

they get to see more text and images and gives them this ‘access all areas’ feel as they get to more compared to an album

The album is a lot more spacious as they have more room throughout where they can add various of things

There is more images of the artist in a digipack than an album and this will satisfy customers who are fans

there is normally one or two or maybe three disc in a digipack, a convention of them being used in genres like pop or alternative is if there is a band that have been around for a long time and they have a ‘greatest hits’ album and they need more room for multiple disc and more pictures or writing

With this Digipack they have used the convention of an album by having a front cover, disc page and back cover, by having this as a start layout the audience gets what is needs and they have information they the name or song names. Now that it’s a Digipack and they have more pages they have added more photos giving more to the audience