Poster from digipak analysis - Research - A2 Media

This poster was from Rihanna’s album ‘loud’. This album was mainly about being free and living your life as much as you can. This poster represents that well as Rihanna looks like she is living her life and being free as she is wearing a flower crown and she has bright red hair.

The pattern that is on the poster is also flowery which is a symbol for being free and independent.

The makeup she is wearing is very natural, this suggests she is being independent and embracing her natural beauty instead of wearing lots of makeup to make herself look better.

In the picture she also looks like she doesn’t have any clothes on, this suggests she feels free enough not to want to wear whatever she wants, and in this case that is nothing.

This poster was from Taylor Swift’s 1989 album, the poster came with the digipak.

This poster is meant to look like a polaroid picture to fit in with the name of the album ‘1989’.

Although the picture was clearly taken by a modern high tech camera, it is given the frame around the edge to look like a polaroid picture from the 80’s, this gives it a professional but vintage look even though the picture itself is very modern, the style is vintage.

The picture itself is very bright and has a very white colour to it, this could make it feel more happy to the buyer, and if it is more happy then they are more likely to buy the album.

The brightness also goes well with the songs on the album, they are very happy and upbeat.

Taylor is alone on the poster, this could reflect her songs well as they are mainly to do with being independent and not needing to be in a relationship to be happy.

The marker pen writing at the bottom also gives the picture a homemade feel to it, this makes the album feel more personal and the buyer may feel like they are getting to know Taylor personally.

This poster was from Beyonce’s album ‘I Am Sasha Fierce’, this shows Beyonce and her alter ego Sasha fierce on either side of her face. The Beyonce side of the face is natural and kind soft looking, this side looks very gentle and kind, while the Sasha Fierce side of the face is fierce and intimidating, this could be done to show that Beyonce can be kind, but if you get on the wrong side of her she can be very intimidating. This can make her a good role model to her audience as it sends the message of be kind, but if someone tries to get on the wrong side of you then you need to stand up for yourself.

The background of the shot is two beaches, pone side is light and sunny, while the other side is cloudy and dark, this corresponds with the different sides of Beyonce.

The whole poster is black and white, this adds a more serious tone to the poster and adds more tension to the two sides of her personality.

The Sasha Fierce side of her is more black than the Beyonce side, this could be because the Sasha fierce side needs to be more hard hitting and more intimidating.

Music website analysis Ed Sheeran - Research - A2 Media

Right away as soon as you enter the site you see the artists name in a bold font and a contrasting colour from the background, this is done right away to make the viewer know that they’re on the correct page. Right in the center of the page is a YouTube video with a playlist attached entitled “Ed’s Videos” which contains a lot of his latest and best songs along with other interesting videos he has created, this is here so that fans will be able to go on the site and see the latest videos from him first. On the top right there are a collection of flags, which change the language of the site, this shows that he is an artists who aims to appeal to audiences worldwide.

Below this there is an advert for his latest album “X”, this also has a review next to it saying “Album of the year” in full caps and a very contrasting colour from the background green, this has been done to really advertise and show off his album to site users. His album is further shown below the advert with a “store” section where you can buy individual MP3 files of his songs, or just the whole album. This is done so that fans can easily find where to buy the album, it’s also cheap advertising as it’s on his own website so viewers of the site will be interested. Also on the left he features a black box which allows users to sign up to the “official mailing list” and receive a free EP, this allows new fans to get free songs from him and become bigger fans through knowing more songs.

Next to the store in the center is both Ed’s latest tweets and news from him for fans, this is good since it keeps fans up to date with what he’s doing. Fans enjoy interacting with their favourite artists as it makes them feel noticed by them; this is a big plus point if you want to maintain a healthy relationship with your audience.  The latest news allows fans to know when new tours are happening, but also allows them to possibly even go to secret gigs where the artist will, on one random night, make a spontaneous concert and invite fans down and usually won’t charge them for it. On Ed’s site, for example, he is advertising his latest tour lots on the front page through the news section and videos.

Music website analysis - Research - A2 Media

http://www.justinbiebermusic.com/

As soon as you go on the website you see a slideshow of pictures and advertisements as the main thing on the screen, this includes a date for his latest album release, along with videos for his newest songs and links to his shop for merchandise. Similar to Ed Sheeran's site he uses a "#" when talking about his latest album release to get people on social media talking about it, this therefore brings more fans and more revenue. Top right of the homepage are links to all of his social media pages along with a "follow" button for his spotify to hear his latest music for free. Also at the top there is a "sign in" and on the other side a "sign up" button which allow users to make an account and get the latest news and information instantly through emails. Just under his name at the top are a selection of links which go to all sorts of different things that fans may want to see, along with this there is a "fan art" section to show fans that Justin does appreciate things sent in and sent to him on twitter, doing this is good to keep a nice relationship with your fans.

Just under the slideshow is a section which gives all the latest news from Justin along with tour dates and album dates, this is done so that fans don't have to go searching for them but instead just have to go on his website to find out. The "read more" buttons are a much bolder colour than anything else and bigger to entice readers into finding out more about the information, this is done to get fans who aren't that engrossed to become bigger fans through learning about him. Below this section there are sections for music, videos and photos that are easily accessible to any fan that may come on the site. After all of this there is a section where viewers can join the newsletter and keep up to date, this is a form where you can put your email and postcode to get news regularly about him. The artist wants this as the fan will then go and talk about him with their friends meaning more people will know about him, this therefore brings him more revenue. 

Music Website analysis - Research - A2 Media

http://www.maroon5.com/

The first thing when you enter the website is a big slideshow of advertisements and information from Maroon 5, the first image is about their latest album "V" and tells the viewer that it's on iTunes now available to order. A long with this in the slideshow is a link to tour dates along with merchandise link, this is a good feature on their homepage as fans can instantly get to what they want. At the top right are a list of social media links along with their iTunes, Spotify and Pandora links, these are set out clearly and easily accessible for fans and viewers on  the site. Along with this there are a list of languages the site is available in, these include German and French so that they appeal worldwide. On the top left there is a "sign in" icon where fans can join the site and most likely a mailing list for newsletters, this allows fans to keep up to date with the latest information. Just beneath the header there are a list of links going to different pages of the site such as store, videos and photos, these are here so that fans can enjoy lots of free content from the band and even buy some merchandise or content if they like them that much, or even join the "fan club".

Below this there is a section filled with dates and news about the band such as tour date announcements and new videos about the band, this is very good for fans as it means they can look forward to new content from them. They also use a "#" under one of the pictures saying "#MaroonVTour" so that fans can communicate on Twitter and other social media and raise awareness for the tour. Below this is the footer of the page where they just have a list of their record labels and foundations/charities that they support, this is done so that fans scroll down and may even support the foundations to if they agree with what they do.