The document analyzes magazine advertisements for three R&B artists: Michael Jackson, David Gerald, and Monica. It summarizes the use of color, transitions, positioning, reviews, and availability in each advertisement. It then draws some general conclusions about trends in R&B advertisements, noting that artists prominently display themselves to represent confidence and meet fan expectations, use reviews to promote accomplishments, and advertise availability more if less mainstream.

1. Analysis of Magazine Advertisements

2. Michael JacksonColor- Artist wearing red suggests a rebellious, new style of music. In addition the name of his album and biggest selling track is written in goldgiving it a universally great status.Transitions- Use of lighting shows a higher and lower tone which may suggest a more versatile style of music, as well as outlining the artist’s personality showing him not be linear or one sided like his competition might seem to be. Reviews- Multiple reviews & achievements show the artists to be in a well established light. It allows him to reach a wider demographic, as he as an artist has impressed people before they have even heard his music.Positioning- He is positioned to be standing in front of a microphone performing one of his signature dance moves. This increases chances that those who listen to his music will be tempted to come to one of his live concerts.Availability- Lack of showing where his music is available symbolizes how much confidence he has an artists, as he will trusts his fans to know how, or already have his music.Defining statements that will be sure to separate his album from that of others.

3. David GeraldReviews- The majority of the artists ad is made up of reviews, showing him to be proud of his accomplishments, although it may signify that he feels his reviews speak louder than his actual tracks on his album.Pack shot connotes a strong image of the artist and his attempt to make a connection with his audience. Transitions- Using grey as his motif color, suggests his musical style to be quite subtle, while in the background we can also see an image of the artists with a guitar showing that rather than just hearing a voice, his potential audience can have some instrumental music to look forward to. Sunset and dark clouds in pack shot represent a dark and light theme that may be represented in his music.Positioning- On his album cover as well as in the image in the background, the commonality is that he seems to be at peace with himself, relating back to the title – “Hell and back” giving his music a peaceful vibe to it.Availability- The bottom of the ad shows a long list of where his music is available, making reference to his own website twice. This may indicate he is not as exclusive as other artists and needs to verify to them where they can access his music.

4. MonicaColor- The use of the color chrome shows a perhaps more wealthy side to the artists character suggesting her music to be niche. Transitions- The use of lighting showing her to be in higher key lighting may suggest a new style of music to her fans, or one without gimmicks which brings a stringer emphasis on the artists voice than anything else.Positioning- Seen to be leaning, showing off all her glamour from the use costume and props such as the sofa to show that she has class and that this may reflect the type of audience she is trying to reach.Guests stars- Long list of collaborations which act as personal reviews in themselves, as the list the artists various accomplishments.Availability- Doesn’t say much about how or where to acquire the artists tracks, so it symbolizes confidence in artists ability to promote themselves.

5. General trends in R&B AdvertisementsI have noticed that the general conventions for most R&B magazine advertisements are that the artist is prominently shown, this may represent self confidence in the artist as well as just being a requirement for their fans to see an image of the person(s) music they might buy.Most of the time, reviews are used just to back up what the artist thinks of themselves and what the expect their target audience to know as well. It acts as a reminder of their accomplishments and it also has the ability to separate them from other artists who may not have the same or similar achievements to them.Those artists who are less exclusive or mainstream to others in their genre tend to also be the ones who advertise their availability extensively as they have to compete with those who are mainstream. All artists tend to use a specific color on their ads to demonstrate a particular theme regarding their albums & their tracks and this color is shown to a degree we can assign the color to them, their personality and their style of music.For R&B it seems to be important for the artists to make an appearance themselves on the cover, most likely as their videos tend to be performance and it is expected of them to show more of themselves compared to other genres. This is why the artists usually poses on the magazine advertisement, or pack shot to connote confidence in their ability to sing as well as showing some bravado for their fan base.