A2 media research

1. ANCILLARY TASK FOR WEBSITE
Oliver Robinson

2. EXAMPLE 1 – Cult Records

3. EXAMPLE 1 – Cult Records
• From the images from the first slide (going left to right) show
what the websites home page looks like when scroling
down. The website has a rather cluttered layout with most of
the linked pages in the header being available on the main
page just by scrolling down. The colours and imagery used
is there to create an aesthetic that is usually seen
throughout the indie genre. It is made to look retro to appeal
to it’s target audience, which is the younger generation, as it
has become a trend recently to listen to music in an ‘old
fashioned’ way through vinyl's and tapes.
• The vibrant colours aid the cluttered look of the website. The
red used for the titles helps the audience navigate the
website as the colour red makes them stand out as the first
thing you see. The style is quite unique which helps it appeal
to the audience as, stereotypically, their style is unique as
well. The Red and black colours have also been chosen to fit
the colours of the record label’s logo, which gives the
website a theme and makes it aesthetically pleasing.
• When scrolling down the links drop down so that the
audience does not have to scroll back to the top to continue
navigating the site.
• There is a scroll bar at the top of the page to access the
most recent aspects added to their site. This helps promote
their artists as well as introducing their audience to new
strands of music. The titles help the audience navigate to
the list of Cult Artists; Politics; Store; Radio; TV; Upcoming
Shows; Street Team. The use if a page dedicated to politics
is unusual but shows how contemporary music artists and
bands are turning to music as a medium to express their
political values. This is not a new idea, as music has been
used before to ridicule the political sphere. However, it is
now being exploited on the whole, from the alternative bands
represent by this record to the mainstream.

4. EXAMPLE 1- Cult Records
• The mode of address is informal and casual. This is
highlighted through the font used for the main titles, as they
look like graffiti which makes it difficult to classify them
under a serif or san serif font, which when used can come
across as informative. This makes it different from other
websites as usually you will have a Serif font for titles to
make it legible for their audience. This is a purposeful style
choice as indie/alternative music are made to be different
from the mainstream. The subheadings of the artists
however, are written using san-serif which gives the website
a sense of modernity.
• The target audience for this website will be late teens (16+)
as this is the time when they really begin to explore the
alternative side to music and culture. This can also be
highlighted through the use of title font as it is informal. Most
of the images are of the artists/bands looking at the
audience. This creates direct mode of direct and establishes
a link between the audience and the artists as the audience
believe the artists are looking at them.

5. Example 2- Sony Music

6. EXAMPLE 2- Sony Music
• As with the first example the images in the slide above
(going from left to right) show the contents of the first page
when scrolling. As with the Cult Records home page, the
Sony Music home page is very busy in terms of imagery.
However, the Cult Records page relies quite heavily on text
as well, where as the Sony Music page puts most of its
emphasis on its eye-catching imagery to draw it’s audience.
Text is available when you hover over the images which
helps the audience find out more about the artists they are
interested in. The use of red conservatively means that It
helps Sony draw their audience to what they want them to
look at. When hovering, the image also turns red and this
helps the audience navigate where they are. Red is also a
good colour to use as it stands out and seems closer than
the other colours hence why it is used in traffic light systems
across the globe.
• Because Sony represent so many artists from a range of
different genres, they have gone for quite a simple aesthetic
that appeals to all audiences. For example, the text fonts
used for their title and the body text are san-serif. This along
with the black and white colour scheme used in the
backdrop of the website gives it quite simplistic feel, which in
turn shows that it is not simply trying to appeal to a specific
audience of one genre, making it accessible to all. This is
different in comparison to Cult Records who have
specifically targeted audiences who are interested in
alternative music.
• Furthermore, when scrolling down the title header follows
allowing the audience to navigate the website with more
ease. There are also several links within the photos that can
take you to social media sites.

7. EXAMPLES 2- Sony Music
• The mode of address is very formal on the Sony website. The
website is easily navigable and very informative on the artists and
Sony Music as an entity. It also has to be formal as it is offering
careers to those interested in the music industry. This leads me to
believe that the target audience is rather broad as careers in the
music industry can appeal to everyone, but if I were to specify an
age range it would be from late teens to middle age people.
• There is a wide range of direct address with a lot of the images of
artist’s being used are looking at the audience, this makes the
audience feel immersed in the experience and feel as if they are
important to the artist.
• The paintbrush swish logo as much as it is simplistic looks artistic
and draws the eye. Red is a warm colour and can connote love,
passion and desire. So the red used in the Sony Music logo can
appeal to the audience as a whole as it can show that they have as
much of a passion and desire as their audience does, creating a
sense of belonging. The red in the website in general gives it a
passionate feel which could allow the audience to connect to what
they are presenting.

8. EXAMPLE 3- Ed Sheeran

9. EXAMPLE 3- Ed Sheeran
• The images (from left to right) show how the website looks
to scroll down. Unlike the previous two websites this is an
artist specific website. The layout is very simple with the
plain white backdrop with elements of grey and black in
there. There is not much content to the homepage or the
website in general. This could be an intended style choice,
as Ed Sheeran’s music takes a ‘tell it how it is’ approach and
so to appeal to the fans the website has been produced in a
simple manor that maintains the same approach. In some
aspects it is very similar to the other two websites in terms of
it is easily navigable and the content. They all have links to
their social media accounts and upcoming events. The style
of this website is closer to that of Cult Records’ than it is of
Sony Music’s website. This is because both websites have
more specific target audiences and so they are very stylistic.
However, I believe the style of Ed Sheeran’s website is also
kept simple because his music transcends age boundaries
and so as much as he is targeting his fans the audiences of
the pop genre, the website needs to be accessible to all age
groups. The use of blue for his website also helps to appeal
to his audience, as fans will know it is the same blue that
dominates his most recent albums cover. Not only this but
blue is a relaxing colour which ,again, works well with the
websites simplicity.

10. EXAMPLE 3- Ed Sheeran
• Ed Sheeran’s website takes a different approach to
addressing the audience as the others do. There are
images as such of Ed looking straight at the audience.
Instead the text used try's to persuade the audience to
be ‘one of the first to know the latest news on Ed’. The
persuasive technique used her makes the audience
believe that they are close to the artist and that they are
bing let in on exclusive news. This approach is also
used in the other websites but they focus on using other
persuasive techniques.
• The text used for the website is serif, this creates a
more hand written feel, which makes the text look more
like something from a letter. This can appeal to the
audience as they will feel as if the messages they are
reading are more personal to them.
• The photos used on the website are quite personal
photos of Ed Sheeran’s life and can make the audience
feel like they are being given an insight into the ‘real’
Ed. This will keep the audience interested in the site as
they will believe they are getting to know him.

11. Conclusion
• In conclusion, I will style my website closer to that of Cult Records and Ed Sheeran’s as
I will be targeting a specific audience in the indie genre. I will be using links to social
media and other pages that are seen within all the websites. My colour scheme will
follow a retro style like the muted colours seen in polaroids. Instead of using images of
artists represented by a record label, I will use my own images from shoots in-between
filming.
• Because the song that has been chosen ( Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley) transcends age
boundaries, the website will be similar to Ed Sheeran’s in terms of its simplicity.
However, I will be using the graffiti/handwritten fonts found on Cult Record’s website. I
will use the persuasive techniques used by Ed Sheeran’s website in terms of text as
well as the direct address from my images.