Analysis of Similar Artists to The Hype Theory

1. Analysis of Similar Artists to The Hype Theory Paramore, All Time Low, You Me At Six

2. Paramore formed in 2004 and are an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee. The band is made up of the lead singer Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and bassist Jeremy Davis, but over the years their line-up has changed. They have released three albums: All We Know Is Falling (2005), Riot! (2007) and Brand New Eyes (2009). According to Wikipedia they are classed as part of alternative rock, emo, pop punk genre. They are signed up to the Fueled By Ramen record label.

3. Album Covers and Website As Paramore are part of the alternative rock genre, they are different to many other rock bands. Firstly, they are arguably the best known female fronted band around. This feminine influence is reflected in their album covers which are also alternative. For example the use of the butterfly on the ‘Brand New Eyes’ cover but it’s a butterfly in many pieces which is different. Their logo is also present on all of the albums which links them together and makes them recognisable for the fans. The website has been designed to promote the album, again the use of the butterfly is very prominent and the same colour scheme has been used compared to the album cover colour scheme. The font is very alternative and edgy, the ‘P’ at the start of Paramore has been turned into a face sticking its tongue out. Also, on the right there is the Paramore community, the use of the word community is different to the term fan club and is more inviting.

4. Music Videos Throughout all of Paramore’s music videos the ideas are all very different from other videos and also from one another. For example, ‘Brick By Boring Brick’ is only narrative and shows the band digging a hole/grave in an alternative land, which links to the lyrics of the actual song. Again in ‘Monster’, the location is alternative it looks to be set in a hospital which isn't a generic location for a music video to be shot especially as the hospital is isolated and trashed. What actually happens in the video again links back to the lyrics of the music track. Finally, in the video for ‘Ignorance’ the alternative use of light makes the video different and interesting for the target market to watch. All of the videos also make a strong use of close ups of the artist. This is very common in all of their videos so that the fans feel as though they can connect with the band by watching the music video. Brick By Boring Brick Ignorance Monster

5. All Time Low are also an American rock band from Baltimore, Maryland, who formed in 2003. The band consists of Alex Gaskarth(rhythm guitarist), Jack Barakat (lead guitarist and backing vocalist), Zac Merrick (bassist and backing vocalist) and Rian Dawson (drummer). The name of the band comes from the lyrics of a song called ‘Head on Collision’ by New Found Glory. They are part of the pop punk genre and are signed to Hopeless Records. They have released 4 albums The Party Scene (2005), So Wrong, It’s Right (2007), Nothing Personal (2009) and Dirty Work (2010).

6. Album Covers and Website All Time Low’s album covers all have a running theme, the use of sketches and digitally created images. This is only different on their newest album ‘Dirty Work’ but even though it isn't designed digitally the photo is still heavily edited and the background looks as though it has been created on a computer. The band’s logo is a very important part of each album cover, it has only changed once and is the same on 3 of the covers. This is so the fans can identify the band’s album straight away and also the logo even looks slightly sketched. The logo again plays a very big part of the design of the site. It is at the top and stands out; its one of the first things you see. Another dominant section is the social networking area which shows which sites the band are one, this is so that the fans can find out how they can interact with the band which is important. Also, the hustler club is shown below the online section, this is basically a fan club but has a different name so that it is more appealing to fans of the band.

7. Music Videos All of All Time Low’s music videos are heavily edited like their album covers, it can be seen most in the video for ‘Weightless’ as words pop up throughout the video just like being able to see the persons thoughts. Their videos are narrative based but all contain some sort of performance scene, whether it be set to look as though they are performing at a gig like in ‘Weightless’, on a TV show in ‘Damned If I Do You (Damned If I Don’t), or shooting a performance scene for a music video in ‘ I Feel Like Dancing’. Also, they are very colourful which reflects the bands personalities and music as they are very upbeat and happy as individuals but also as a group. A colour which seems to run through all of the videos is blue and this can be seen in the screen shots below which all have a blue tone in them. I Feel Like Dancing Weightless Damned If I Do You (Damned If I Don’t)

8. You Me At Six are a British rock band from Surrey who formed in 2004. The members of the band are Josh Franceschi, Max Helyer, Chris Miller, Matt Barnes and Dan Flint. According to Wikipedia they are part of the alternative rock, pop, punk genre. Also, they are signed to Slam Dunk records. They have three albums to their name: Take Off Your Colours (2008), Hold Me Down (2010) and Sinners Never Sleep (2011).

9. Album Covers and Website Each of the album covers are very different, the first two are colourful but also make use of darker colours too; the bright and dark contrast against one another to create an interesting album cover. But the newest album is in black and white, this is void of all colours and is very cold and harsh when you look at it. The way in which the title is displayed on the plaque the person is holding is like one of the boards used when the police take ‘mug shots’ which relates to the album title, ‘Sinners Never Sleep’, because of the use of the word ‘sinners’. Just like the other two websites the overall design of the site is based around the design of the latest album cover. The feeling of criminality continues on the site as the background is made up of finger print sheets and the navigation bar is again made from a board used for ‘mug shots’ in police stations. There is no colour, just black and white, like the album. The bar across the bottom shows which social networks the band are on and how the fans can connect with them but it doesn’t stand out that much.

10. Music Videos Each of the videos have very different concepts but the colour scheme which runs through them is so similar. The red backgrounds in each of the videos I have looked at are so easy for fans to identify the band by. They are extremely similar in ‘Underdog’ and ‘Loverboy’. Some of the shots in the videos are very iconic such as the one of Josh with the light behind him from ‘Save it For The Bedroom’. As well as the use of colours the locations are quite similar, they are all some kind of set, in ‘Save It For The Bedroom’ they have used a TV set, in ‘Loverboy’ they have used a set like a stage and in ‘Underdog’ is also set up like a stage. This is because the band is touring a lot and focus lots on their live performance, so is something the fans would be able to relate to as they would most likely have seen the band live at a venue at some point. Underdog Loverboy Save It For The Bedroom