2. ‘LOUD’ is Rihanna’s fifth studio album which was
released on the 12th of November 2010. The main
image is suggestive of lust, passion and love due to the
use of bright and vibrant colours of red, this in effect
makes the image much more eye catching, which
could potentially attract more customers/fans to
purchase the album. The connotations of the colour
red taints the early image of Rihanna being innocent,
meaning that the album ‘LOUD’ may appeal to more
males. The title of the album could be a
representation of the artists personality, giving the
audience the impression that she’s an enthusiastic
character regardless of people’s opinions of her. The
use of framing is effective in the album cover because
it draws attention to the artists significance, due to
her being the main focus and filling the full frame with
a close up shot of her face. This also draws attention
to the fact that her name is not on the CD cover,
connoting that Rihanna is such a well known artist,
therefore she is easily recognisable, so her name is not
needed on the cover. The genre of the album is
possibly R&B, this is suggested through the use of the
colour red within the CD cover, connoting that the
album is going to be based on seduction along with the
flesh bearing image, which adheres to the idea that
the album is more so based around R&B like tracks.
3. ‘One Of The Boys’ is Katy Perry’s second studio album
which was released on June 17th 2008. The font used for
the album title and the artists name appears to be
extravagant and fancy. The name of the artist is big, bold,
and pink. This is effective because people commonly
associate the colour pink with females, as it is considered
to be more of a feminine colour. The bold font used stating
the artists name enables the audience to know who the
artist is, in effect, making the album stand out. The title
of the album is presented in the colour blue, which is a
colour commonly associated with males, this is effective
because the colour directly links to the theme of the title
which is about ‘boys’. The album cover consists of a range
of bright colours, which could be considered as eye
catching and alluring, therefore attracting more potential
customers. The artist is placed in the centre of the frame,
along with a long shot, indicating her significance. The
artist is surrounded by an array of brightly coloured flowers
suggesting that she is a pro feminine woman, and embraces
her inner femininity. The artist looks as though she is from
the 1970’s, due to her perfectly curled hair and vintage
styled clothing. This instantly suggests that the genre of
the album is pop, and females usually listen to pop music,
therefore the album may appeal to a female audience
overall. The artist is making direct contact eye contact
with the camera which seems as though she is personally
selling the album to her customers. The white fence in the
background suggests that the album is more suited to those
that live a lavish lifestyle, since the album cover is
indicative of a middle class background.
4. ‘Who You Are’ is Jessie J’s debut album which was released on
February 28th 2011. The text of the artists name is bold and in
a large font therefore stands out, along with the colour of the
artists name which is in gold, presenting a sense of
decadence, this could be due to her new found fame. The
artists name stands out more so because it heavily contrasts
with the other colour used within the image, which is black,
this makes the artists name more eye catching, especially
because both the colours are bold and complement each
other effectively. The title of the album is ‘Who You Are’, this
suggests that the artist is presenting a sense of honesty within
who she is as a person, within the album, which also appears
to have been projected through the album cover, with a
striking and fierce look presented through her facial
expression. The main image is of the artist, using a medium
close up, since she takes up the majority of the frame, it is
made clear that she is the centre of attention. The main
colour used within the image is black, this indicates that the
album is likely to be dark and edgy, giving the audience a
sense of who the artist is and her personality. The artist is
wearing a bold lip colour, along with a black netted top, and
black nails, implying that Jessie J is wild, and fearless, which
is presented through her body language also. This suggests
that she does what she likes, despite the impressions that she
may give off. Her fringe almost covers her eyes, giving her a
sense of mystery, this suggests that the audience aren’t to
know what to expect of her. I think this album would appeal
to all females, particularly younger females because it
enables them to feel powerful as the artist isn’t afraid to be
herself, so girls may feel the same way. The artist is looking
directly into the camera, implying that she is trying to
personally connect with her audience through her music.
5. ‘The Blueprint 3’ is Jay Z’s eleventh studio album which was
released on September 8th 2009. The main image is of a
group of musical instruments all bundled, tangled and
intertwined together. This suggests that the music tracks
within the album are likely to involve loud and possibly
rhythmical music, maybe even fast paced. However, the only
thing missing from the image is the main artist. This could
be because Jay Z is a world renowned artist, therefore
doesn’t need to go out of his way for more people to
recognise him, as he is already an easily recognisable artist.
There is a vast amount of empty space around the
instruments, which indicates to the audience that the album
is solely about the music, and only about the music, rather
than the artist personally. The cover could be considered
mysterious due to the peculiar image presented. The colour
scheme within the cover are red, white, and black which all
contrast, however, complement each other at the same
time. The red stands out the bold due to its bold nature,
therefore is eye catching and causes the cover to stand out.
The colour scheme subverts the idea that the main colour
likely to be used for the cover would be blue, due to the
connotations presented through the title of the album. The
colour red is suggestive of violence, indicating that the
album is going to consist of songs that are likely to speak of
danger and possible gang related issues/topics. For this
reason, it’s evident that the album is likely to be Hip Hop.
This is because most Hip Hop albums refer to violent acts
and gang affiliation. The print advertisement not only is
advertising the artists’ album, but is also advertising his own
record label ‘Roc Nation’. This insinuates that the artist is
releasing his album through his own record company,
possibly to save money, and also promote to the label at the
same time of the release of his album. This is therefore a
win-win situation for the artist. There is a link to the artists
website to enable audiences to find out more about his
upcoming album, and other events. The advert also includes
the release date of the album so that consumers are aware
of the exact date as to when they can purchase the album.
The album is likely to appeal to mostly males, because they
tend to have a liking towards rap music over females.
6. ‘LUNGS’ is Florence and the Machine’s debut studio album
which was released on July 3rd 2009. The main image is of
the artist, with her lungs outside of her body. This suggests
that audience will get a true insight into the artists life and
emotions, as it is suggested that the tracks on the album are
likely to be personal so that the audience can understand
who she is as both an artist and a person. A medium shot is
used with the artist in the centre of the frame, taking up the
majority of the shot. This indicates that she is the sole focus
of the album. The artists name is at the top of the
advertisement, in a fancy font, which contrasts to the title
of the album which is in a simplistic font in capital letters.
The extravagance of the font suggests that the artist is
presenting herself as someone she isn’t, due to the over the
top look of the font presented, therefore she is showing her
true colours within the album, connoted through the
typography style of the title being basic but true to its
nature. The background of the image contains flowers and
vines, presenting a sense of fantasy and a mythical nature.
This could mean that some of the tracks within the album
are more so an illusion, in contrast to the rest of the songs
which could be presenting the real her. The background
colour is dark, implying that the album may have a gothic
undertone to it. This colour directly contrasts with the
brighter spotlight which is being shone on the artist,
adhering to the idea that she is trying to distance herself
from the darkness and move closer towards a brighter life.
The artist is looking away from the camera, suggesting that
she would like to communicate with the audience through
her album rather than through a camera lens. Due to the
mysterious nature of the main image, it is implied that the
genre of the album is likely to be indie/rock. The album is
likely to appeal to audiences that gravitate towards indie
music, as it is more of a niche genre in contrast with genres
such as pop and R&B which appeal to most. The date of the
album release is shown so that audiences are made aware of
the exact date as to when they can purchase the album. It is
also made apparent that the album can be bought in four
different forms, therefore there are no restrictions for
someone who may want to purchase it in a different form.
7. ‘The Fame Monster’ is Lady Gaga’s second studio album,
which was released on November 18th 2009. There are two
images presented within this advertisement. It is evident that
Gaga is the focal point of the advertisement, due to the fact
that there are two images of her, both being close up camera
shots. These two images could present two different sides of
the artist that audiences may be unaware of. The top image
consists of the artist partially covering her face, suggesting
that she is hiding an aspect of her personality away. As
opposed to the image below, which seems more natural and
raw, suggesting that this is Gaga at her realest, and that the
audience will be given an insight into both her artificial lived
life, and the person she really is. The main colours used
within this advertisement, are black and white. The top
image creates a sense of mystery, because the artist is
covering her face. Due to the colour of her jacket being black
as she hides herself away, this could suggest that there are
some things that we as an audience can’t know, and that she
can’t say, therefore she will hold some things back from her
music within this album. The typography of the artists’ name
is in white font , and stands out against the darker
background shade, and is also noticeable because it is in a
large font and in capital letters. This in effect grabs the
audiences attention, especially because her name is in the
centre of the advertisement, therefore partially covering the
image in the middle. This in effect suggests that the artist is
more interested in her fame than her real personality, this is
hinted at within the title of the album, suggesting that she is
possibly fame hungry. The album title stands out, mostly
because it hints that Gaga is possibly religious, this is because
the ‘T’ in ‘MONSTER’ is a cross, indicating that Gaga is
Christian, and some of the songs within the album may
consist of her religious ties. The genre of the album is likely
to be Pop because this is the genre that Gaga typically sticks
to within her music. This album would possibly appeal to
females over men, due to the advert appearing to look more
feminine and mysterious. The artist is looking directly into
the camera lens, suggesting that she is personally reaching
out to her audience.
