Album cover research:

Jack Johnson- In between Dreams:

Coldplay- X and Y:








Damien Rice- O:








McFly- Room on the third floor:








Amy Winehouse- Back to Black:








Alicia Keys- The diary of Alicia Keys:









Outkast- Speakerboxx/ the love below:














Maroon 5- songs about Jane:









Scissor Sisters- Scissor Sisters:








David Bowie: The best of Bowie:














Album cover conventions:

1. except for Coldplay's X and Y, all other albums have the artist's name and the album name across the cover in some way. The reason that Coldplay do not have their name is probably due to the fact that this wold lose the visual impact that the cover provides with its stark and contrasting colors and blotted style.
2. all covers ahve a central image (or a montage which creates a central image) which provides the album's identity. note that outkast has a split screen effect on their central image which provides connotations of the album which involves 2 different characters and singers.
3. colours: some of the covers have a colour theme which makes it more appealing, such as Alicia Key's and David Bowie's albums. Whereas others are less aesthetically pleasing yet attention grabbing none the less, with a mixture of vibrant colours such as Scissor Sisters and Coldplay.
4. Imagery tends to be either ...
   -of the artist themself which promotes their lifestyle and their unique identity which audiences are attracted to, e.g. David Bowie, Any Winehouse, Alicia Keys, etc
   -generic signifiers which may attract audiences with generic tastes such as Outkast, Alicia Keys, Jack Johnson.
   -completely random or plain to attract attention from the audience such as Coldplay and Damien Rice.
5. The cover ratio of imagery and text size usually is a signifier of whether the album is trying to increase sales off the back of the artist themselves or from the lifesstyle and genre that they provide to the audience. e.g. the Best of Bowie and Maroon 5 is dominant text which promotes teh album on the back of their reputation and the audience loyalty to the artist. For example the audience know what tehy are getting when buying a BOWIE album. A contrast is McFly and Jack Johnson who seem to promote more of a lifestyle and genre through the imagery of the covers. e.g. audiences would like McFly due to their down to earth lifestyle and genre they suggest, not from their reputation and audience loyalty through their music.

Summary of conventions of an album cover:

• an identifiable or representable image to accompany the image, ethics or style of the artist
• gatefolds, inserts, lyric sheets,etc, for promoting the band identity, i.e. style make-up, lifestyle, hobbies...
• artist name, cover name
• creative or bold picture to appeal.- not political or promoting a movement unlike earlier album covers. ( these days it is all about the music!!)
• underground music/non commerical album covers are plainer with institutional information mainly (nicher movements have a more dedicated following and so albums are for pure generic 'muso's'- the cover is not as important)
• Usually the main image or background of what is seen on the cover is on the inside ring of the vinyl.

Deconstruction - 'The Best of Bowie':

Front:

Images:

• montage which creates an overall David Bowie face. this montage encorporates different music trends and appearances/ styles that the artist has been through.
• overlapping gives feel of 3D movement,i.e. the cover jumps out to the audience
• album promotes purely Bowie's music and lifestyle through many phases- appeals to the loyal audience who like Bowie's music rather than the genre specifically.
• CU of face and direct address focuses on emotion and engagement with the audeince
• the predominant colour/background prvides a calming mood almost like an album of reflection whihc contrasts to the bold different tones of his face.
• The centering almost spoonfeeds the audience and there is little to persuafe an audience to buy it- you either like him or not!
• the pixelated background and range of style and colour on his face give a generic 'pop'feel yet i think the background is mainly used to contrast to the main image itself.

Image itself:

1. reflects the versatility and individuality of the artist and styles which teh artist has been part of (promoted), e.g. the lightning bolt, make up, different coloured hair, different coloured iris, lipstick, and age. The lighting shadows pat of his face which makes him more 3D on the cover but also may imply a darker side/alternative outlook to his music.

-the image relfects the styles and genre of his music such as: pop, serious, wackey, punk,

Text:

• The white font is largest at 'bowie' showing the importance of the instant identity for the artist and is completely different to all other colour on the cover.
• 'best of' anchors the actual content of the album to many previously release songs. Also these words imply that the content may vary in style which is supported by the montage image. This also invites the audience to literally pick, in their view, the best aspects of this artist.
• 'Bowie' directly undernear teh CU is instant identity!
• the font is clear and simple to read- it is more about the actual artist!
• the text throughout the sleeve is a range of vibrant colours showing the mixture of movements and music styles in the album.

Sleeve:

Maintains these connotations with:

• many different trends of teh artist, through a gallery of images.
• gives a more detailed breakdown of every song on the album
• changes of lifestyle reflected in the everchanging backgrounds through the sleeve.

Back:

• same image as on the front
• institutional information, e.g. website, barcode, record label etc.
• list of songs on CD1 and CD 2- purely for the audience's satisfaction of being in control. Also this allows browsers in teh shops o see if they recognise and see if they will enjoy the content before they purchase the album

More specific answers:

1. the cover implies the content is very mixed and is a compliation of music from one artist. This suggests the music label, EMI, have signed a versatile artist and that they are trying to appeal to many different audiences in terms of music trends etc through this one successful artist. EMI is a large record company which imples that Bowie must have a huge artist loyalty as he can produce record sales which keep the company successful.
2. The cover title 'the best of Bowie' shows this is more like a sumarising album of Bowie life in the industry- almost paying tribute to what he has brought to the music industry through many generations.

Audience:

1. A Niche audience appeal in the sense that the audience would have to like David Bowie to buy the album, however the sales would reflect the popularity of the artist. However the audience within this is category is wide as it caters for all Bowie's fans due to the diversity in music on the album.
2. any gender, race, religion
3. Bowie's career stretches from teh late 70's- early 80's up until the present and so the age of the audience can range from here. I would say those who were young in the 70's would probably be his core audience as they would have build up an audience-artist bond through the decades.