Cross media case study

Background info

Before getting a record deal Ben Howard had created his own music and even released an EP himself in 2008 called games in the dark. His first big release was These waters EP, which featured six tracks. In 2010 he released Old Pine EP. In 2011 he signed to Island Records, which had a history of UK folk singers. His album Every Kingdom was released in 2011. Howard plays along side two band members; India Bourne and Chris Bond. In 2012 he released his EP Burgh Island and Esmeralda is his most current single.

Website screenshots

The website is quite minimalistic, which could reflect his music as it has a raw acoustic guitar and voice sound and not many other sounds that would appear on other artists songs e.g. Computer generated sounds., it features the most current new at the top of the home page and then the music video from the most current single nearer the bottom. This is a typical feature of a band or artist’s website. The same blue colour that’s on the album cover is translated on the website too. The beige background colour reflects Ben’s organic roots as he built up his fan base and career from scratch. The fact that you can sign up to his website is also quite common on music websites. It shows that he thinks his fans important with keeping them up to date with the latest news. Ben’s appearance does not feature on his home page suggesting his appearance isn’t important within his brand it is more about the music.

The fact Ben has a store offering merchandise for fans is quite a common feature on a band or artist’s website as it allows fans to connect with the singer and physically have something with their favourite singer’s name or face on. In Ben Howard’s case his face doesn’t appear on the merchandise again showing that his appearance isn’t key unlike other bands or artists who’s appearance is very important to their brand.

Ben Howard’s images page again features minimal images of the artist himself, they are often images of live performances or places that he has been to, which still allows fans to get an insight on his life without his face been plastered everywhere. This is often common of more independent singers and bands.

These three Ben Howard album/EP covers all feature nature, showing his love of natural and organic things, which reflects in his music. Throughout all three his ‘logo’ or name is consistent as they all have the same font. This font not only features on these covers but his other three EP covers too, this is a must for any artist/band who is trying to create a brand as it creates a sense of consistency so the audience recognize it automatically. Again Ben appearance doesn’t feature in the covers, with him only appearing as a silhouette in Every Kingdom and Old Pine, this is so we still get a sense that it’s his album that we’re looking at, and his music. But again his appearance isn’t dominant at all in his branding.

These three Ben Howard EP covers are all consistent. These are his earlier EP’s so he developed a style he wanted to push at the time and wanted all his EP’s to be in keeping with the theme. Again his logo features throughout all three. Also his appearance is vacant again.

Album promotion

Most of Ben Howards promotion was web based as a lot of his fans discovered him this way. Not only this but posters promoting his album when it came out were placed in the underground tube stations as many people would see it on a daily basis and also the people using the tube would be the ages that he targets his music at. Previously his promotion consisted only of his album cover and images that related to the music however as he has now received two Brit Awards his following tour promotion poster featured his appearance, which could suggest he is growing a larger fan base and maybe his image is becoming slightly more prominent. However saying this, he isn’t using direct eye contact and isn’t centered in the image, showing that even though his image may have become more prominent recently, his main selling point is still his music, which is a point which runs throughout his branding.

Music Video

THE WOLVES BEN HOWARD

In one of Ben Howard’s first music videos it features him and his band walking through a country setting with cuts to them performing the song

These are some shots from the music video of Ben walking through the country setting. As you can see in all of the shots only the silhouette of Ben is visible and not his face. This reiterates the point that appearance isn’t an important factor in his brand. As it was one of his first video it also shows that from the get go he wanted this fact the be apparent. Although this is evident the video doesn’t not feature him at all as it was one of his first videos so the repetition of the similar shot of his silhouette drills into the minds of the viewer that this must be the singer and the main person throughout the video. Another point is that quite a few times Ben is out of focus in the background showing that his appearance isn’t the main focus again. The repetition of this point will drill it into the minds of his fans

Along with the walking, there are many shots of Ben and his band performing with their instruments. This is a common feature in music videos and is often more prominent in more indie bands/artists who are more about the music than their appearance brand.

Artist shown even if not clearly

Performance based

Goodwin analysis

Lyrics and visuals – lip syncing

Music and visuals

clapping in music and in clip.