2. Typical Conventions of a
Main image, this can
Be an image of the artist(s)
CD cover
Or an abstract image Name of the album or single
Background, can be blank,
Patterned or have another abstract
Image. This background overlaps over
The main image but still maintains the
Background persona
Name of the artist, the typography may or may
Not suit the name of the artist (the font
Actually looking like a piece of text from a
Scropt)
3. Demon days is the Gorillaz’s second studio album
produced by the label “Parlophone”. The album title
“Demon Days” connotes a very sinister style of
music, a contradiction to the actual style of music on
the album. The title demon days suggests an
aggressive tone as the word demon can often be
associated with the devil, however the music on the
album is calm and collected. The main image is split
into 4 sections, suggesting that there is no “main
artist” but all of them are equally as important to the
group. The images also look like mug shots; again
signifying the sinister look to the album while also
completely contradicting the style of music. The
characters’ faces in the main image also have a sense
of anger but at the same time a calm feeling about
them, suggesting the content is serious but at the
same calm and reasonable. The genre of the music is
“Alternative Hip Hop” which suits the album cover as it
strays away from typical Hip Hop conventions. The
colours used in particular are quite dull and lack
vibrancy as opposed to a generic hip hop album that
would flaunt its bright colours to capture its audience.
Artist: Gorillaz Demon Days’ colours suggest that an album cover
Album: Demon Days doesn’t need to be flaunted to gain attraction, people
Release date: May, 2005 should already know about your music prior to buying
it; this is the message the album covers’ colours are
trying to convey. (Such as being a band as opposed to
a single artist) Since this is a Hip Hop album, its target
audience would typically be young males aged from
around 14-25 and around the working class/lower class
borough.
4. Good Girl Gone Bad is Rihanna’s third studio album which was
released in May 2007. The background of the cover is plain
black with a white low key spot light coming from the bottom
left hand corner. The background is simplistic which can be seen to
portray a sense of class and elegance. The long shot of Rihanna
brings out her womanly assets thus attracting the male gaze. The low
key lighting also pinpoints Rihanna’s legs (the brightest part of her
body on the album cover). Rihanna is posed almost as an ‘S’ shape
in that her head starts at the top right, this can be linked to the “lust
Factor” of the album cover.
The way in which she is posed is alluring and sexual as her
long legs and admirable physique are emphasized. The low key lighting
also brings out Rihanna’s costume; leotard suggesting that the
music in the album are going to be Ballad based. The title of
the album ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ suggests that the music in the album
Is going to be powerful ballad based music about life, Tragedy and love,
Which is what the audience would be expecting from the artist.
Rihanna’s name is written in Arial font across the album
cover in a large almost italic looking font; its turquoise whilst the rest of
the album cover is in black, white and grey which makes it stand out
Even though the spotlight is on Rihanna herself its perhaps suggesting that
The way others brand her isn’t as important as who really she is
(she’s still Rihanna even after problems with the media etc.)
Artist: Rihanna This puts a large amount of emphasis into who Rihanna is as
Album: Good Girl Gone Bad her name stands out amongst the rest of the album cover.
Release Date: May 2007 Whilst Rihanna’s clothing denotes a ballad theme, her
makeup is styled in an R&B associated fashion, which could
suggest that the music in the album is a fusion of R&B and Ballads.
This albums target audience would be 14-25 year old females
(despite the constant flux of male gaze attractions) that would
Range from middle class to lower class (the sense of elegance
May appeal to middle class females; as for the lower class, they may
Feel empowered by her music)
5. The name of the band as seen in the album cover above is Rage Against
The Machine (RATM). The album shares a similar name to the band and is
their debut effort. The record was released on November 10th 1992, being
distributed by the record label Epic. The album was received highly
positively from critics and fans alike and has been certified Platinum in
countries all around the world including the United States and United
Kingdom. The typography of this cover is simple, displaying the band (and
therefore the album’s name) in lower case letters across the bottom of
the cover. The black backgrounds on which the words are written seem to
be uneven, with the black background for the word “against” being
slightly out of line with the other three background labels. The album
shares its title with the band name, and as implied in said title, the band’s
music is very politically charged, as well as being generally having a very
hard and loud musical style, and indeed the genre of the band is rap-
metal, although they have also been described as alternative metal. The
name “Machine” has several connotations in the context of the band, all
of them similar. The “machine” could be an attack on the state or
government, often seen as operating as a machine, without
empathy, thought etc. It could also be an attack at society for being
robotic so to speak in following the government/state. Finally the word
could also be a criticism of capitalism. All of these aspects work together
to heighten and get across to a prospective listener the type of music that
RATM make. However the biggest indication for the genre of music of a
band typically comes from the picture or artwork emblazoned on the
front of the record, and this too is the case for RATM. The cover shows
the world famous picture of Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist Vietnamese
monk burning himself to death in protest of the authoritarian regime in
Artist: Rise Against the his homeland, at the time South Vietnam. This perfectly illustrates the
machines genre of music and the political content typical for RATM, especially in
Album: Rage against the terms of their criticism of the American political system, as hinted through
the album cover, as the oppressive South Vietnamese regime at the time
machines was backed by the US. This was probably chosen not just for how historic
Release date: November and well known the picture is but as mentioned, for its political
1992 connotations as well as the fact that it relates to the band’s grievances in
a very dramatic manner. The specific picture used is an extreme close up
of which as he burnt to death to convey to the audience the horror and
reality of this event.
Overall, all of these aspects come together well to convey to the reader
the politically charged rap metal music of RATM, and is clearly designed to
appeal to those interested in metal music, but more specifically, those
who hold similar political beliefs and are interested in political music as a
6. #3, The scripts’ 3rd studio album produced by Phonogenic
records. The albums title, #3 has two possible meanings.
Firstly, it could be signifying that it is their 3rd album
therefore naming it #3 or it could be considered that
because there are 3 of them in the band they decided to
name the album #3 (Although the first point is more likely
due to the “#” in front of the 3) The Typography of the
artists’ name can be considered to have a direct
correlation to the artists name “The script” as the font
seems to be a type that you would typically find in an old
script. The main image is an interesting one. The artists are
interlinked with each other. However it is quite clear that
the artist on the left is the lead singer because his head is
the largest and the other two seem to be manifesting from
him not with him. The background is clear to put all the
emphasis on the band. The genre of music could either be
Pop Rock or Soft Rock, depending on the consumers
classifications. This is why the album cover has a mixture of
tones about it; on one side, it can be seen as a rock album
because of the typography and the style it represents.
However it can also be viewed as a Pop album because it
Artist: The Script has the band on the front cover (Rock albums usually have
Album: #3 abstract images on the front cover). This albums audience
Release date: would be those interested in the Pop/Rock genre, perhaps
September, 2012 14-25 male and female working class/lower class. This is
because Pop isn’t such a restricted genre as opposed to
Rock itself therefore this album should appeal to both
genders.
7. Rise Against The Machines is an unusual rock band known for their
heavy interest in Politics. (These views can be found in the albums
music, such as the track “Prayer of the refugee” which questions
the U.S.A’s immigration laws indirectly) The artists’ name is in a
bold, paint splattered style. The title of the album is also done in
this style; however the extent is not as extreme. This style can
suggest that the artist is going against the convention of having a
clear name and title on the album. It can also connote the state of
the U.S. at the time (2006, the time of George W. Bush, potentially
one of America’s worst Presidents) Since Rise Against have high
political interests, this typography could be a symbol of the state
of the U.S. at the time. The state of the U.S. was dire, The sufferer
and the witness can be a referral to the Republican party’s leader
and President George Bush who was seen to watch people suffer
and not do anything about it, making him the witness
(Republicans generally believe in rugged individualism). The main
image is pretty abstract which upholds the typicality of a Rock
album cover. It appears to have a smudged/paint splatter style to
perhaps signify confusion within the nation (back to their heavy
interests in politics) The background is fragmented; small paint
Artist: Rise Against the
dots are scattered around the main image creating a sense of
machines
roughness to the image. The genre can be inferred from many of
Album: The Sufferer and The
the elements on the front cover. The abstract image suggests that
Witness.
it is a rock album; the title can also be used as it uses a distinctive
Release date: July, 2006
phrase “the sufferer and the witness” Suffer is normally associated
with pain, which is a main theme in a lot of rock/metal music.
Finally the name of the artist “Rise Against” seems to have an
aggressive and rebellious theme to it, which again exemplifies
what Rock is based off. The target audience for this album would
be young, perhaps rebellious males aged around 14-19 and are
probably working/lower class.
8. The band featured in the album that I have chosen for analysis are
Linkin Park, and the album entitled Hybrid Theory. Hybrid Theory is
Linkin Park’s first album released on October 24, 2000, and became
wildly popular with its mixture of rap and metal, which would become
the band’s trademark. The record was released on the Warner Bros.
label, and to date has sold over 24 million copies worldwide, including
10 million in the United States alone.
The title of the band is written in large, bold block letters to signify the
hard-core nature of the band’s music, and the album name is written in
smaller, yet still bold letter and encapsulated in square brackets. The
album’s title is, while unknown to many at the time, the original band
name of Linkin Park, until they decided to change it, however the title
Hybrid Theory has more connotations than just that, as it also
represents the band’s fusion of the rap and metal genre’s, as well as
the mix of hard and soft musical elements that the band demonstrate
on the album. This view is reinforced by the main image on the album
cover, depicting a soldier with white dragonfly wings, highlighting his
grace and strength at the same time, and this too represents the fusion
of hard and soft musical elements prevalent in the album as well as for
the band’s music in general. Additionally, the album, while admittedly
hard to see, also displays scrambled lyrics from songs off the album.
From all of these hints scattered throughout the artwork it is clear that
the album’s genre is rock orientated, and the connotations most likely
point towards a metal album.
The artwork and cover in general is clearly designed to appeal to those
interested in the rock and metal genre’s, as well as younger
audiences, typically ranging from the ages 14-24, due to its hard-core
look and connotations as a result of this. I personally think that the
Artist: Linkin Park album cover is extremely impressive and effectively conveys the
Album: Hybrid Theory message of the band and their music through the imagery of the
Release date: October, 2000 winged soldier as well as the title, Hybrid Theory, effectively describing
their music as a hybrid of melodic soft music and heavy metal and rock
music, and the artwork is certainly intriguing, as is the album name, and
I would be inclined to purchase the CD if I were to have no prior
knowledge about it.
10. Conventions of a Magazine Album Advert
Typography - artists name,
album title, album Main image (usually
content/guest appearance
(other artists) An image of the artist)
Background (Abstract,
Plain or patterned)
Title
Institutional info Promo info
11. This is a print advert in a magazine for Wretch 32’s album
“Wretchrospective” released on 6th of 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 stereo typical view towards
the “Grime” or “UKRAP” genre. The title (also the name of
the new album) is spread out across the middle of the
page, making it difficult to keep your eyes off it. The text
underneath is almost 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. Its sticks to its urban style by
having the artist as the centrepiece and the clothing being
that of a working class or lower class man. Also, the
buildings to the left of the artist suggests that the music is
urban and the paint dripping from it also signifies this
because it can be linked to graffiti (a lot of UK artists use
this to get their names recognised) However, while a lot
of urban UK artists’ album 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
around 12-19 from underprivileged areas (where
underground music is dominant)
12. • This magazine advertisement is for Rihanna’s
album ‘Rated R’ her 4th studio album. This album
advertisement is very secretive. The title that
immediatley stands out is “Rihanna, The New
Album” and not the actual name of the album and
because the album name is so small and out of
place, you almost have to search for it, thus
enhancing the “secret” factor of the album advert.
The main image is colourless/saturated and she is
holding her right eye. This secrecy may confuse
the audience and make them question why she is
doing this (which is actually linked to her personal
life, however this may make the audience go out
and find it out for themselves) Another feature in
the background is the “R” to the right of the main
image. This can mean either “Rihanna” or “Rated
R” (the name of the album) which again confuses
the audience as it is unclear. The audience may
feel intrigued through all this mystery and buy the
album to find out how much Rihanna has
changed/stayed idle with her style. The style of
this album advert strays towards the Punk/Rock
style and therefore may attract a new fan base.
This album adverts’ target audience would be
young females interested in R&B, Pop,Rock or
Punk and would generally be between the ages of
13-25.
13. This is a print for an album advertisement for the artist
Plan B’s second album, “THE DEFAMATION OF
STRICKLAND BANKS” This advertisement would’ve likely
been printed after the release of the album due to the
ratings on the left side and the phrase “The multi-
platinum Album of the year” The message of the
typography is clear in this album advert. The artists’
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 and easily draws the
consumers attention. Also, the ratings under the quote
gives the audience a good idea of where the album
stands; consistent ratings of 4 stars can sway the
potential consumer to go out and buy the album as
opposed to them not being there. The main image is the
actual artist which adheres to typical Pop/Hip Hop
conventions. However the saturation level and the
clothing of the artist insists a sense of elegance and
class, that expected of a Soul/Jazz artist. 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.
