- Indie Genre

ANALYSIS OF ARTIST DIGIPAK AND MAGAZINE

ADVERTS

TOM ODELL BRAND IMAGE

Musician

Maverick

Raw

PerformerAuthenticHonesty

EmotionEnigmatic

Imagery

• The image on the digipak features the main artist, who will be recognisable to fans and consumers. Being a solo artist, Odell is the ‘brand’ so featuring him on the front cover of the digipak will help the product to sell.

• The back of the digipak features a gritty wall with the artist walking ‘off shot’. The grittiness of the street wall conveys the raw authenticity of the artist in the sense that he has not got the budget for big ‘studio produced’ album artwork and perhaps isn’t interested in creating a ‘flashy product’ which is conventional of the indie genre.

• Inside the digipak the image conveys Odell as a musician, singing and playing the piano at a gig conforming to his brand image as a performer.

TOM ODELL“LONG WAY DOWN”

Font

• The font furthers the idea that the artist is not concerned with a flashy brand image and has opted for a effective but minimalistic typeface that stands out from the dulled and blurred background.

Colour

• Conventional of the indie genre is the use of muted or dulled colours which is prevalent throughout Odell’s digipak. This has to create a sense of humility when compared with the bold and vibrant colours of pop artists for example.

TOM ODELL “LONG WAY DOWN”

Costume/hair

• The artist’s messy, un-brushed hair conveys the notion of carefree, effortless style which seems to be a convention of the genre. This is further extenuated through the artist baggy bomber jacket and open shirt which connote the sense of a calm and collected artist. That being said the smart-casual clothing also helps to frame the artist as someone who wants to be taken seriously. The vivid blues contrast well with the artists long blonde hair as well as the dulled and blurred out background making the artist further stand out on the cover.

Body language

• The artist body language appears very laid back conforming to the notion of ‘carefree’ style’, this relaxed attitude also connotes the sense of laid back artist making music for the craft over money.

Facial Expression

• The artists is looking wistfully into the camera this direct mode of address is very effective in catching and maintaining audience attention. The expression also lends the artist to appearing as enigmatic and aloof leaving the audience intrigued.

Setting

• It is often that indie music productions do not have the budget for large scale sets or expensive studios so this street is a conventional location for an indie music photo-shoot. This urban environment helps to ground the artist as authentic, working for his fame and by placing him in an urban environment he is instantly more relatable to the audience.

TOM ODELL SYNERGY

• A consistent marketing campaign has been achieved through the use of the same imagery and typefaces throughout. The album artwork being used on advertisements and posters is recognisable and conforms to both Odell’s brand image and the indie pop genre.

• The advertising of the album often lists the artists own website (www.tomodell.com) as well as the brit awards and complementary reviews of the album which further advertises products by the artists and will help to sell more copies.

• Featuring a review from MOJO (a successful music magazine) will be able to attract more customers to the product almost verifying its integrity for potential customers.

• The Brit awards have a similar effect in the fact that they are a trusted music awarding body, not only does this advertisement advertise Odell as an award winning artist but it also advertises the magazine MOJO and the Brit Awards.

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS BRAND IMAGE

FunQuirky

Retro

PerformerConfidentAlternative

EdgyStylish

Imagery

• The image on the front of the album is a close up of the artist staring into the camera.

• The image has been treated to feel quite old (as if it had been captured from an old television).

• The image on the back of the album features palm trees. Palm trees reminding people of the beach and holidays furthers Marina’s brand image as fun and quirky.

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS “ELECTRA HEART”

Font

• The font conforms to Marina’s quirky and cartoonish brand image. The rounded, bubbly typeface. The bold white colour of the font allows it to be easily read from afar and stand out from the background.

Colour

• The colour has again been dulled down to give it a retro feel. It allows the image to look like the image produced by a VHS conforming to the artists brand image.

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS “ELECTRA HEART”

Costume/hair

• The artist is wearing a plain white shirt which could connote a sense of innocence or vulnerability.

• Her hair has be pulled into hair curlers which is reminiscent of the 196o’s which confirms to Marina’s retro image.

Facial Expression

• The fixed stare that the artist is giving to the camera creates an engaging album cover as it makes the cover more intense for the audience to look at. It also portrays the artist as strong and determined.

Setting

• It is not clear where the front image of the album has been taken. Possibly in a studio yet equally possible to have been taken against a wall. Both images would have been relatively easy/cheap to acquire which once again conforms to the indie genre.

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE BRAND IMAGE

SoulQuirky

Unique

PerformerConfidentAlternative

EdgyStylish

Imagery

• The imagery used throughout the digipak and its promotional material portrays Florence as an eccentric artist.

• It also conforms to the ‘cared’ and ‘crafted’ conventions of the genre.

• Florence is often portrayed throughout the album and promotional material as an aloof and enigmatic artist to maintain audience interest.

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE “LUNGS”

Font

• The font adheres to the notion of a cared and crafted product as the typeface has been made to look as if it were handwritten.

• The simplicity of the font and colour helps to maintain the audiences attention on the artist.

Colour

• The colours are slightly dulled which really makes the artists characteristically vivid hair and lungs pop out. This fulfils the audiences expectation of the artists image.

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE “LUNGS”

Costume/hair

• Florence’s ‘quirky’ style is immediately addressed through her see through top and pair of lungs on her chest. Not only is this quirky but it is also a good visual queue for the album.

• Characteristically her ‘wild’ orange hair is on full display as this is one of the recognisable features of her brand image.

Facial Expression

• Alternatively to the other two covers the artist is not looking into the camera but towards the ground. She looks quite upset which connotes the sense that the artist is a very emotional singer that sings ‘for art’.

Setting

• The setting used to takes the images contained within the digipak range from biological drawings (continuing to link with the albums title) to Florence leaning against a floral curtain surrounded by birds and branches.

• The naturalistic environments that the artist can be seen in is representative of the indie genre which often sees its artist in a more rustic or down to earth environment.

Body language

• Florence’s body language mirrors her facial expression. She seems to be caught up in the emotion that her music has bought about. This furthers confirms the audience expectation of Florence as a soulful performer.

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINESYNERGY

• Again the marketing material of the product links back to the artists own website which will always help the product to sell.

• The product also features record label logos.

• However synergy for this product seems to be relatively low.

- Things to consider

ANALYSIS OF ARTIST DIGIPAK AND MAGAZINE

ADVERTS

• It seems to be consistent to the genre that the products feature dulled colours that highlight vivid aspects of the artist/artists clothing. I think this works well to create an eye catching image but also highlights the artists importance.

• It also seems like a convention using a direct mode of address is a very effective way to make a album cover.

• Synergy doesn’t seem to be the most important aspect of the digipaks or their promotional material and only seem to list the artist website and adhere to the demands of the record label.

• It is also of vital importance that the artist has a very distinct and alternative style that often makes the artist appear quirky.