General Audience Research

For our media course work we had to research:

1. Who still buys CD's? (However since this was asked to individual people I asked them do they still buy CD's)
2. Why do/don't they buy CD's?
3. What CD/Album cover art is their favourite?
4. Why is it their favourite CD/Album cover art?

I asked various people of different ages male and female and below is a list of their answers.

Stacy Myers age 52

1. I only buy them occasionally.
2. The reason for this is because I download them for free.  I also like the fact I don't have to store CD's as I don't have the room.
3. My favourite album cover is Stevie Wonder's 'Innvervisions'.
4. This is because it was the first ever album I had and was bought for me for my 13th birthday in 1973 the year, month and date it was released.  I still have it now and it brings back wonderful memories of my teenage years.  I love the cover as I have always found it haunting and interesting to look at.

Here is a track from Stevie Wonder Innervisions called Higher Ground.

Keeley Towns age 22

1. I buy CD's rarely.
2. This is because it is easier to download, however I will buy a CD if it is by my favourite bands.
3. My favourite cover art is for 'System of a Down' (Mezmorize and Hypnotize).
4. This is because the two CD's fit together which is unique.

Here is a track from Mezmorize. 

And the track Hypnotize.

Mrs Rockall age 61

1. I occasionally buy CD's.
2. The reason for this is that I like to listen to them in the car.
3. Not sure.
4. N/A.

Richard Paddon age 32

1. Yes I still buy CD's but not very often.
2. I buy CD's because I have a CD player that I use when the battery in my iPod is dead
3. My favourite album art is Dookie by Green Day
4. I like it because it is a memorable cover and the cartoon style reminds me of funny jigsaws I used to do when I was younger.

Here is a track from Dookie by Green Day called Longview.



Anonymous age 30

1. No I don't buy CD's.
2. The main reason is because it is easier access to music online.
3. My favourite album cover would be Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare.
4. This is because it is mysterious and though it looks scary and portrays nightmares it seems to give off a calm feeling.

Here the music video to Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare.

Dushi Nagarajan age 41

1. I do not buy CD's but my husband buys them.
2. When I have the CD's I like to listen to them in the car and to be able to put in a music system. I feel the quality of music is better when using a CD. 
3. My favourite album cover is Viswaroopam CD cover.
4. I like the hero on the cover of the album doing a Indian classical dance pose/action. The cover makes me want to dance like the hero. I also thought that it was elegant.

Here is Unnai Kaanadhu Naan one of the tracks which is in Viswaroopam.

Mrs Smith age 57

1. Yes I buy CD's.
2. I buy them because having the CD is more permanent - I don't have to worry about the computer crashing and losing everything. 
3. My favourite album covers are from the artists Pink Floyd / Led Zeppelin who made Dark Side of the Moon and Stairway to Heaven.
4. I feel both of these album arts are pieces of artwork.

She continued to say that...

Dark Side of the Moon is simple but striking.

Here is some music from the album Dark side of the Moon.

Stairway to Heaven is very detailed - you see something different each time. This can be seen as surreal. 

Here is a track from Stairway to Heaven.

Aleena Hussain age 13

1. I don't buy CD's.
2. This is because I can download them.
3. Not sure.
4. N/A

I decided to do the questionnaire myself to gain an extra result.

Isaac Harvey age 17

1. I do not buy any CD's.
2. One reason why I don't buy CD's is because after listening to a track a few times I get bored of it and move onto other types of music. Due to this it would be a waste of time to buy CD's so by doing it this way it saves money and space. Another reason is that I would rather listen to music on the internet thorough websites such as YouTube. I also download music onto my iPod.
3. My favourite album art is from Mika - The Boy Who Knew Too Much.
4. I don't exactly listen to their music but their album art  is eye catching  It's like every time you look at it you see something different. It is a very creative looking album art.

Here is all the tracks for The Boy Who Knew too Much in a nutshell.

 

By carrying out this particular research it has now influenced my decision making on my CD packaging/album art. From this research I have found out that the younger audience do not purchase CD's and prefer to listen to their chosen music online or download, this is mainly because of an easy access route to enjoy music. The older audience however, are very traditional and still buy their CD's. To grab the attention of all ages I am going to make sure that my CD cover is striking and memorable with the hope of attracting a wide range of listeners to buy the CD out in the shops instead of downloading. 

Album Cover Art Textual Detail pt 3

This is the last part looking in close detail of different album arts.

Nas - Stillmatic

Textual Detail

• Artist in orange tracksuit with lots of bling.
• Squatting on a graffitied wall.
• Pigeon next to him.
• City behind him.

What it tells us? Why is it effective?

• Links to black stereotypes of 'gangster' or gang image.
• Pigeon - could suggest run down place (vermin).
• Graffiti suggests run down area.
• Bright orange tracksuit could suggest stands out from the norm - stereotype - shown to look brighter than everything else, shows now in a better place.  Originally came from the street and poor side of town.
• City - looks glamorous whereas now he is on the other side.

Here is the intro to Nas's Stillmatic album.

Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking

Textual Detail

• Title - 'nothing shocking'
• Two women naked sitting in a rocking chair looks like fire coming from top of heads - siamese twins? - Not a sexual image - Weirdly erotic - Faces showing enduring pain.
• Black and white
• Artist name font - looks like it has been signed
• Rocking chair rocks side to side like cot - age related elderly/young.

What it tell us? Why is it effective?

• Title - irony - everything on cover is shocking
• Shocking imagery
• Music style - heavy metal? - Music can link to the fire coming from hair/head - hell/bad place
• Contradiction to title and cover
• Underground - we are extremely different from the norm.

Here is some of Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Special album.

From analysing all of these album arts I now know that I must make sure that it attracts the target audience. This is dependent on what type of genre it is and how the artist is portrayed. For example the album by deadmau5 - Right this Second links to house music by having a disco ball and the mouse looking happy. This album art is going to inspire me as it is linking to my specific genre of techno house music that I am doing. This will help me a lot as I will take most of these ideas on board.

 

Album Cover Art Textual Detail pt 2

This is the continuation of looking at close detail within different album arts.

deadmau5 - Right this second (from album 4x4=12)



Textual detail

• Black background.
• Mouse head looks like disco ball.
• Coloured gold.
• deadmau5 font gold.
• Title 'Right this second' in white.
• Minimalist design.

What does this tell us? Why is it effective?

• Links to house music.
• Disco ball - mouse looks happy suggests that you could enjoy the music.
• Live for the moment - links to the album title.
• Music could link to underground artist.
• linked - repeated notes in music.
• Artist wears mouse head when performing - effective way to market - iconic image.

Here is the music for deadmau5 - Right This Second.

Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday Roman Reloaded

Textual detail

• Background splashes of multicolours.
• Nicki Minaj's face painted yellow with bright pink lines over her eyes.
• Her hair pure blonde.

What does this tell us? Why is it effective?

• The album title 'Pink Friday Roman reloaded' links to her alter ego 'Roman' showing strong character.
• striking colour imagery links to where she's from - Trinidad (carnival colours).
• Tribal art on face - strips over eye.
• Barbie image - links to her blonde hair and font is pink in Barbie font.
• Exaggerated femininity - Barbie imagery.

Nicki Minaj - Whip it is one of the songs in her album.

U2 - War

Textual Detail

• Child's face with cut/bruised up.
• Font large and red.
• Serious looking face.
• Hands behind head.

What it tells us? Why is it effective?

• Red font could be linked to blood and violence. 
• Political meaning - having a child - linking into weapon training - child soldiers? 
• Ambiguous image.
• Child could be living in 'War' and finds it difficult.
• Could relate to age - things becoming harder?
• Child fighting with another boy?
• Band from Ireland - Song about British solders in Ireland.
• Political songs - Irish wanting British/English out of Ireland.
• Hands behind head could suggest getting arrested.
• Prisoner?
• Links to background of band.

Here is part of the U2 - War album 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'

Album Cover Art Textual Detail pt 1

In this post I shall be discussing different album arts which conveys different messages. These are the ones we looked at in more detail.

The Clash - London Calling

Grace Jones - Slave to the Rhythm

Nirvana - Nevermind

The Art of Album Covers

How will looking at other album covers help make my own Digipak design?
From doing this I will get:

• Inspirations.
• How to convey genre.
• How to convey values of an artist.
• Convey experience of the music - pre-digital browsing in record shops - albums were chosen on basis of cover art. 

When analysing album art the key things you should look at for are:

• Images.
• Fonts (and language used in album title).
• Colour scheme.
• Portrayal of artists (if featured).

The artwork can convey many different messages such as:

• Emotional response to the music (mood, atmosphere).
• Genre.
• Star image (values/beliefs).
• Intended audience.
• Uses and Gratifications the music/artist offers.
• Messages about Social groups.
• Ambiguous or intriguing imagery - could be interpreted a number of ways (so always make it interesting to look at). 
• Shocking - deliberately controversial to grab attention.
• Visually dense (lots of images, lots to look at).
• Minimalist - unusually sparse or empty. 

From learning all of this I shall take all into account when making my own.