This document provides guidance for analyzing album covers and music videos. It includes questions to consider when deconstructing elements of album covers like images, text, and relationships between elements. It also provides topics for researching the target audience of a genre of music, including how the audience consumes and identifies with the music. Finally, it lists essential questions for analyzing the relationship between music, lyrics, and visuals in music videos, considering genre, performance, narrative elements, and references.

1. Album Covers analysis
Look at a selection of album covers
1. What are the typical features that an album cover has? Make a list of all the
elements they have in common.
2. How would you categorise the covers in front of you? Are there any other ways of
distinguishing between them other than generically?
3. Album covers serve many different functions. What do you think these are (ie what is
their purpose?)
Choose one album cover out of your selection. It might be a particular favourite, or
one that is particularly visually interesting. Prepare deconstruction notes of the
cover (back, front, inside sleeve). Post notes and album cover on blog.
For the deconstruction you will need to explore the following:
• images used (layout, colour, style etc)
• text (fonts, size, positioning, colour etc)
• The relationship between text and images - how do they work together ie
anchorage
• Differing functions of the front, back, inside sleeve
• how the iconography represents the band, the genre of music and their overall
image.
• Are there any signifiers exclusive to the band/ genre
• what the cover says about the institutional context of the music ie the label,
• mainstream, underground, first album etc
• what can we learn about the potential/target audience from the cover ie
specialist,
• niche, familiarity with the band, compilation, mainstream etc.
• and anything else of relevance.

2. Thinking about the Audience
Take your track selection one stage further by developing your ideas on the
audience for this kind of music. Answer the following questions:
1. How would you describe the target audience for this kind of music? Is
there a core and secondary audience?
2. How would you describe the tastes and attitudes of the target audience?
What other media do are they likely to consume? Outline their media
consumption profile
3. What function does this kind of music serve to its audience (uses and
gratifications)?
4. Music fans often use music to help them construct their own cultural and
visual identity – how do fans of your artist or band do this?
5. How/ when/ where is this kind of music consumed?

3. Key features of music video
 Music Videos work around 3 codes – music, lyrics and iconography. The
relationship between these codes is key to understanding how music
videos work.
 They are designed to provide pleasure in order to keep the viewer
watching, and to encourage repeat viewings
 The starting point for analysis is to explore whether the video is primarily
performance-based, narrative-based or concept-based and how elements
of each are used in it.
The following questions are worth asking of any Music Video:
Question:
Do the visuals illustrate, amplify or offer disjuncture with the lyrics?
Question: Do the visuals illustrate, amplify or offer disjuncture with the
music?
Key terms:
Illustration: not always literal
Amplification: new layers of meaning added to the song
Disjuncture: contradiction between lyrics and image
Adapted from Fraser, P: Teaching Music Video

4. TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF MUSIC VIDEOS
Title of track:
Artist:
Year:
Features Observations Examples
Genre
Characteristics
Relationship
between lyrics
and visuals?
Relationship
between music
and visuals?
Are there
close-ups of
the artist and
star image
motifs?
Is there
reference to
the notion of
looking?
Are there
intertextual
references?
Is the video
performance,
narrative or
concept based?
How much of
each?

5. Adapted from Fraser, P: Teaching Music Video
Music Video Research/Analysis
Watch a variety of music videos, and make notes using these questions:
1. Does the song belong to a particular genre?
2. Do the images illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics?
3. Do the images illustrate, amplify or contradict the music?
4. How are the performers shown?

6. 5. Does the video present a voyeuristic view of women?
6. What other texts does the video refer to/ draw upon?
Summarise findings/compare and contrast/apply theory.
Considerations of genre, audience appeal, form and style should underpin your notes.
Adapted from Fraser, P: Teaching Music Video
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF MUSIC VIDEOS – ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
1. Institutional/ reference information
● Which video are you analysing, who is it by and, if you know, who directed it?
● What genre does the music belong to and what broad characteristics of that genre
does the video have?
2. What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals?

7. ● Work through the song and identify ways in which the lyrics are illustrated or
amplified or even contradicted by the visuals.
● Pick out some specific examples to back up your argument.
3. What is the relationship between music and visuals?
● Does the video cut to the beat?
● Are solo instrumental bits illustrated by the video?
● Does the video change pace with the music?
● Give examples to support your points.
4. Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?
● How is the record company looking to sell this track?
● What image of the artist/band is being offered?
● How does this video relate to previous videos by the artist?
● Arethere motifs which have been used previously? Or does this video
represent a change of image?
5. Is there reference to the notion of looking?
● Do you get the sense that the artist is on sexual display or that other people in
the video are used in this way?
● Does camerawork, costume, dance or something else imply sexualised
display?
● Arethere other references to ‘looking’ such as screens within screens or
binoculars, cameras, etc?
● Give examples and consider why these features have been chosen.
6. Are there intertextual references?
● Do
these relate to other music videos, to aspects of the star’s image or to
completely separate texts such as TV programmes or films?
● How are they used?
7. Is the music video performance-based, narrative-based or concept-based?
● How much of each?
Fraser, P: Teaching Music Video