Conventions of CD Covers in Depth

For the accilary task, I've decided to make a digipak for my song. This involves a cd cover, back and middle, so to help with my own, I've decided to analyse some Cd covers and find out their general conventions. When analysing the conventions of cd covers, you have to take in concideration certain points and these are the catorgories I have been focusing on:

GENRE
IMAGES
LETTERING AND FONT
AUDIENCE STYLING/ICONOGRAPHY

GENRE: Considering the genre of music that the CD belongs to, you must also consider the generic conventions of the CD cover itself:. You have to think about what conventions typically go on a cover in much detail. Aswell as looking at the front, you also have to consider how the front and the back are different and contain different sorts of information and why. On a shelf in a shop, people are attracted to the cover first, so that is the main attraction and focus, then turn it over to read the back. On the front cover, CD covers will typically have the artist or name of the band, the name of the album, an image and stickers (such as parental advisory, or announcing a particular well-known track), depending on the genre.

LETTERING/FONT SIZES AND STYLING: When thinking about lettering, you have to consider whether the lettering fits with the genre of music or design. For example, Marilyn Manson’s greatest hits CD uses gothic font to complement his style.

CHOSEN IMAGES: Here are what you have to consider when looking at imagery. What picture is on the cover? Is it a design or artwork? Is it a photograph of the artist? You have to look closely at the mise-en-scene. This includes colours, props, lighting, make-up and clothing, how the star is posed (eye contact, facial expressions etc). With chosing the colouring, youu have to consider the connotations along with these colours, and if they fit the mood you want. You also have to think about how the audience will react to the CD, and whether different people consider different meanings.

ICONOGRAPHY: When thinking about the iconography you want to interpret through your cd cover, you have to think about if the image of the artist is one you’d expect to see? For instance, Beyonce always has an image constructed on glamour and sex appeal whilst a punk band like My Chemical Romance tend to focus more on social issues to sell CDs. Do bands or artists have particular props, costumes, dress, fashions that are instantly recognisable? For instance, Eminem’s hair colour when it was blonde and outrageous. Some stars constantly go against their audience’s expectations, like Madonna. She changes the way she looks constantly to keep the audience interested and to keep herself fresh for the industry.

REPRESENTATION: When thinking about representation, you have to look at how bands or artists and the genre are represented and how the audience will react to that. For instance, hip-hop stars have been known for portraying guns, cars and gangsta images. Critics say this presents a negative image for young people to follow and also sets up stereotypes of black culture. This type of music has been criticised in portraying women as sexual stereotypes, and they are used as objects.

AUDIENCE: Audience is important, as you have to think about who exactly will buy this CD. Questions that could be considered are: Is it because they want escapism and pleasure, or to gain a sense of their own identity or feeling of belonging? Or are they buying it because they have been influenced by someone else?