Digipak and contents analysis As Media coursework

1. Digipak and contents Analysis

2. What is a Digipak?
• A digital typically consist of a folded (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays
capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside.
• They usually contain:
• The Cd, A booklet, a poster and in some cases a DvD!
• They are usually released as a special edition to an album and were massively popular in the early 2000’s.

3. This strictly limited collector's edition
is housed in a stylish black gold foiled
box, with a rigid lift off lid
(Dimensions: 317mm x 317mm x
35mm). This package includes both
the Babel [Deluxe Edition] CD album
and The Road to Red Rocks DVD
housed inside a large format, cloth-covered,
full colour 96-page
hardcover book. The book contains
never seen before exclusive photos
and written parts, documenting the
bands 'Road to Red Rocks' and
'Gentlemen Of The Road' show
adventures.
As well as the CD and DVD, you can
also enjoy the Red Rocks concert
performance in its pure analogue
beauty via heavy 180sgm virgin vinyl,
packed in a gatefold sleeve (including
MP3 download card option).
The outer cover of this special edition
is printed on leather effect paper, with
a matte varnish finish.
Example of Digipak and contents

4. Front Cover
This cover is a hard case
that contains the digipak
within, this is an unusual
convention and is not
something that is
commonly found on
digipaks
This Digipak case
has a very simplistic
feel to it, this suits
the band as they
are a simple indie
folk band who's
music is honest and
natural, the
minimalist nature of
this cover doesn’t
only advertise the
band but expresses
the simplistic
nature of their
music
The name of the
band and the
album is
positioned in the
centre of the
front cover,
showing the
importance of
the band
The image on the cover is meant
to resemble Red Rocks the
historic venue where this live
album was recorded, the fact
that they have used a minimalist
drawn representation of the
venue keeps with the theme of
minimalism and indie within the
front cover and the music
A colour scheme of black and
gold is used on the albums front
cover. This shows the success of
the band.
The buzzword ‘Special
edition is used on the front
cover of the album, this is
to entice consumers and to
show that this is more than
just a standard album.
The fact that there is no image of the band
reiterates the idea that the band is all about the
music and not themselves!

5. MUMFORD AND SONS – SIGH NO
MORE
This Album cover is very
typical of the band and the
genre of music that the
band falls into. It has
various connotations and
lots of indie music
iconography such as the
instruments that in the
picture. The instruments on
the album cover are not
instruments you would
associate with popular
music, they are very genre
specific, e.g. the banjo, the
accordion and the double
base. By featuring these
instruments on the album
cover the band have been
given an image and it also
lets the consumer see the
type of music they play with
out listening to any of their
music.
The setting of the image is very
typical of the genre of music as it
is quite a quirky indie location,
not something that is featured
on the albums of popular main
stream artists who's album
covers usually feature an image
of the artist as the main focal
point, this album cover almost
makes the band seem small and
humble.
The font for the band logo is the
same font they always have their
name in, this helps build synergy
between the cd’s and the album
advert for the album that has a
completely different font but
features a different image.
The costumes worn by the band are typical of the genre of music they
play, by wearing things like waistcoats, tweed jackets and cowboy hats
they are going against the conventions of popular culture. And are
setting their own trend, this will attract an audience that will be able
to listen to and get into the music of the artist

6. The text used on the
back of the album is the
same text that is used
on the front, this helps
keep continuity from
the front of the album
to the back, this makes
the digipak feel more
like one product.
This track list keeps up
the indie conventions
that were made apparent
on the album cover, this
is done by having
another indie image that
wouldn’t feature on
many other artists
albums, it is just a picture
of a slightly ajar window.
This doesn’t really make
sense to have on the
back of the album cover
apart from it keeping the
themes established on
the front of the album
The track list is set out in
a way that isn't usually
seen on mainstream
album covers, track lists
are usually set out one
below another with the
track number at the
side. However on the
back of this album the
tracks are positioned
one after the other with
no track numbers next
to them, this keeps the
minimalist style that this
album radiates
The barcode and copyright details for the album are
positioned at the bottom of the page as they are
necessary but they don’t have the same feel as the
rest of the album, the text has been stylised and
made smaller so it doesn’t stick out too much
The Logos of the different distribution
company's and production company's
involved with the album are also at the
bottom of the track list, they have been
stylised to fit the themes of the album by
having the colour taken out of them

7. KASABIAN - EMPIRE
The name of the band is
placed in the centre of the
album artwork in a large
bolded font, this highlights
the importance of the
band, It could also have
been done to attract
peoples attention as
kasabian are a well known
band but because there is
no picture of the band
members themselves,
having the bands name as
the centre piece of the
album cover would attract
people to the album
The name on the album is in a font that relates to the renaissance style
image that is featured on the cover of the album. The image relates to the
name of the album Empire but it doesn’t let the consumer know much
about the type of music the Band plays, this could cause confusion
The colour scheme for the
digipak cover, is matching to
the colour scheme on the
magazine album advert. The
main image is also the same
image featured on the album
advertisement all of this
synergy makes the album
easily recognisable on the
shelf.
This album cover is in some
ways typical of the band as it
gives off connotations of
power something that is
frequent of the bands genre
of music.
The main image on the album
cover is a renaissance style
painting featuring a king
carrying a naked women, this
shows the power of the man
and his dominance over the
‘helpless’ women he is
carrying.
The symbol of the king of clubs
is featured on the album cover,
this continues the themes of
manliness and male
dominance as the K is for king
and for Kasabian, this could
also show their dominance of
the music industry and how
they have made it their
‘Empire’

8. The backing of the digipak
continues the renaissance
themes that are created on
the front of the digipak. This
is done through the font
used on the track list as it
looks to be themed around a
renaissance theme, it also
seems to be coloured so it
looks like blood, this shows
the link between war and
the renaissance and how war
shows power and
masculinity
By having the extra features
that are in the digipak
written on the back of the
album the consumer will
notice that there are special
features as most people
buying an album will look at
the track list straight away
and in doing so they will
notice the features.
The colour scheme is
continued from the
front of the album to
the back, the colour
scheme is designed to
make the alum look
more vintage and to
look more renaissance
themed

9. RAY LAMONTAGNE - TROUBLE
The main image on the front of
this digipak is a visual
representation of the term
‘dancing with the devil’ which
you would to refer to somebody
as doing if they were in ‘trouble’
which is the title of the album.
The image also portrays a male
dominance over women by
having the devil as a man
leading a blindfolded women in
a dance, this could also show
how men manipulate women.
This album cover is typical of the
artist as it features a vintage
looking image which matches
the indie genre music that the
artist performs. The image also
has a deeper meaning to it like
most of his songs. However if
somebody who had never heard
of the artist picked up this cd
they wouldn't know the genre of
music he played.
The name of the artist is positioned at
the top of the digipak as it is the only
way you could tell the album was by him,
the name of the album is also at the top
of the page, they are the same font and
size this shows the name of the album is
of equal importance to the artist. This
could suggest he is all about the music
and not all about himself, this is also the
case with their being no actual image of
the artist on the album showing that he
isn't the most important part of his
success. However this could be
perceived as he hasn’t got a picture of
himself on the digipak cover because he
isn't very well known and people
wouldn't recognise his face anyway.
This album cover is typical of the artist as it has codes and conventions associated
with the indie/folk genre. Minimalism is one of the key elements of this album
cover, as it only really has one thing to focus this is very different in comparison
to a pop music album cover that usually has a lots of things going on within the
cover, this album seems to have a message or a hidden meaning within the album
cover
The colour scheme for the album
cover portrays the theme of
minimalism by having a white
background with the only colours
really being on the main image

10. The back of this digipak album
completely breaks the codes and
conventions that were created
on the front of it, the colour
scheme of white that was
created on the front has been
reversed with the font now in
white over a red background
rather than the other way
around. Also the minimalistic
features on the front of the
album have been changed by
having an image with lots going
on to look at, however just like
on the front of the digipak the
image is a visual metaphor for
trouble.
The main image on the back of the
album is of a burnt out car, this is
unusual to have on the back of an
album as it means all of the track
listings and distribution company
logos have to be pushed off to the
side to accommodate the image.
This is very unusual to have on an
album cover.
Because of the size of the
image the track listing has
been pushed over to a small
section of the back of the
digipak, making it not the most
important feature, this is
unusual as on most modern
day digipak backs the track
listing is the most important
part. Other than being off to
the side this track list is quite
traditional to what you expect
to see they are numbered and
positioned one below the
other so the track and track
number is easily accessible to
the consumer
The colour scheme of the album is the reverse
of the colour scheme established on the front,
by having the white background and red font
change to a red background with white font
The logos for the distribution
company's are placed below
the track listing they have
been stylised to fit the style
of the album by being
coloured to match the colour
scheme of the album back

11. PLAN B – THE DEFAMATION OF
STRICKLAND BANKS
The cover for this digipak features a
main image of the artist sat in the
light of a spotlight, he is the only
part of the image that is lit, this
shows his importance as an artist,
although being the main image on
the album cover you cant see the
artists face this could show the fact
that the artist is well known so you
can recognise him without having to
see his face. The fact that the main
image is sat on a stage shows that
he is passionate about music and
that he is a live performer
The colour scheme for this
digipak album cover is black
white and red, this is created
through the black of the main
image and the white and red
of the font and stage. This
colour scheme is something
that is associated with vintage
soul music and this is a genre
that the artist partially fits into
The title of the album is the most
important part of the digipak cover.
It is at the top of the cover in a
Broadway or cinema style film
listing style it is placed on a light
board with a red font this makes it
stand out and draws the attention
of the consumer.
This album cover is typical of the
artist as it has elements of soul music
on it. This is the genre of the artist.

12. The colour scheme is
continued from the front
of the album to the back,
this is done through
having a black
background and having
the track listing done in
the same style as the
album title on the front.
The track listing is done in a
popular traditional manner.
The track numbers and
titles are placed one above
another in numerical order.
The track listing is done in
the same technique as the
album title is done by the
front, through using a light
box and a red font. The
track listing is used as the
main image on the back of
the digipak cover this
makes all the consumers
attention go to the track
listing and not get
distracted by other
elements
The names and logos of the various distribution
company’s involved in the making of the album have
been stylised to fit into the style that has been
created on the album. The logos have been coloured
to match the colour scheme