Draft CD Cover: Audience Feedback

Research on Draft CD Cover
To enable me to design and create a CD cover that would truly promote my artists values and beliefs as well as successfully targeting an audience, I asked a group of students some questions that allowed me to gain some constructive criticisms to make better my front cover and also what I did correctly for the initial cover.

The initial responses to my draft front cover was that it looked more like a miniature piece of art rather than an actual CD front cover for promoting a band. Although the aesthetics were pleasing to look at, there was nothing that particularly promoted an unsigned band. Instead of having a range of patterns, there could be something more to promote the image of the band and that represent their values and beliefs. This, for instance, could be an image of the band themselves, that would show the audience who this new and upcoming band are. This could also allow potential fans to identify with the image of the band members which could draw more listeners into their music.

Another thing that was pointed out by a student, was that there is a lot going on in one single image which makes the image seem chaotic and unnecessarily cluttered. This led me on to think that although the final image looked cluttered, each individual pattern was distinct and unique and interesting, just as I wanted my band to be perceived, making them memorable. I decided that I didn't have to completely exclude these images but I could use them in other areas of the digipak that must be created as part of promoting the band. That way I can ensure that there will be more promotional features for the band on the front cover and can still keep the distinctive images without confining them all to one front cover.

I plan to include some sort of photograph of the band themselves in action, maybe whilst playing at a gig to gain enhanced realism and place the image on the initial green striped background there was. I have also decided to take the black and white checkered patterns out as they cause quite a lot of the clutter; there is a clash between the green stripes and the black and white checks.

Taking the time out to understand what other people thought about my creative ideas was extremely beneficial as it encouraged me to change certain things that may or may not have worked in promoting a brand new artist. Obtaining a different perspective on my ideas was very refreshing and it helped me understand what i really needed to do in order to efficiently promote and sell my band's music.

Moodboard for Draft Front Cover

The visual stimuli that aided the draft of my initial front cover design

Moodboard for Draft Front Cover

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Youth Subcultures: RAVER'S

Ravers

• Derived from aspects of the MOD's culture: white, working class citizens, suffering from the lack of job opportunities.
• Main goal was: to have fun whilst rebelling against authoritative institutions like the government.
• The raving subculture was first instigated in the late 1950's where singer Buddy Holly's 'Rave On' became a hit single in 1958.
• From the mid to late 80's, their music became more associated with electronic bands.
• At this time, acid house parties had re-branded the term 'rave ups'. 
• Many people in society including the government were strongly against the raver subculture as they were commonly associated with acid drug usage (LSD/hallucinogenics) .
• Rave parties had become likened to football matches by society. They were working class people of which the majority were devoted football fans whose values from football (hooliganism) were reflected through the rave parties. 
• Ravers wanted the ultimate desire for the feeling of being in a frenzy to be never-ending.

Youth Subcultures: The PUNK's

Punks

• Aim was to NOT look pretty. Instead they wanted to shock and rebel against mainstream expectations to be their 'own', individual identity
• Punks were white people from predominantly white countries.
• Unlike the MOD's who were 'part-time' rebels - that had normal jobs during the week - Punks were rebellious 24/7, the decision in becoming a Punk is a full-time commitment.
• Punks typically have piercings and tattoos with wild and vibrant hairstyles
• They greatly valued their music, which expressed all of their rebellious values and beliefs through the music lyrics.
• Punks also rejected religion and morality and embraced Nihilism, believing that life did not have any objective meaning
•  The Sex Pistols are a prime example of Punks through their music and more obviously; their band name. The mixture of sex and violence through weapons (guns) are extremely rebellious.

The Sex Pistols 'God Save the Queen'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtUH2YSFlVU

Youth Subcultures: The HIPPIES

Hippies

• Were typically middle class, white citizens from predominantly white countries
• They initially promoted peace and 'love-making'.
• Believed in the idea of 'free love' which meant that anyone could have sex with anyone and they also encouraged orgy's.
• Hippies are known for their meditation and neo-paganism where they take aspects of most religions and combine them to form one ultimate religion.
• They were known for consuming drugs like marijuana and LSD's, which they used to explore alternative states of consciousness.
• A traditional Hippy image would consist of denim and tie-dye clothing, beaded tops and long hair which they explained as being 'Ethnic' and clearly defy what was conventional at the time.
• Artists that were commonly associated with Hippies were The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix
• Hippies were always enthusiastic to questions society however not to the extreme attacks that the Punks later  displayed 

Jimi Hendrix - 'Voodoo Child'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW8u5Af0c6s

Youth Subcultures: The MOD's

 MOD's

• MOD's is the abbreviated version for the word 'Modernist's'.
• They originated in London and the South East of England. 
• MOD's were the working class British youth of the mid 1960's.
• The males typically wore neat suits with narrow trousers and pointed shoes.
• Female MOD's had darkened eyes and wore 'boyish'  clothes with short hair, to be deliberately androgynous.

• MOD's were normal working class people during the week but would go for weekends away to beaches where they could cause riots against others who weren't part of their in-group.
• Typical connotations of MOD men: Leather jackets and scooters.
• Typical connotations of MOD women: Miniskirts and 'boy-cut' hairstyles.
• There form of rebellion was against Rock, so they showed interest in Jazz, Soul and Dancehall music which were traditionally known as 'Black music'.

Musical Subcultures & Controversies

The Seventies and The Noughties

The music industry & audiences

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Pop Musical Subcultures Timeline

Questionnaire Conclusions

What I Found and Learnt From My Research


Big Question #1: Why Do We Enjoy Music

• When asked the question: 'why do you listen to music?', most, if not all participants gave responses which led me to believe that the main reason for listening to music, was escapism. Answers included things like blocking out certain thoughts and people, relaxing and forgetting certain things and occasionally to avoid boredom. All of these reasons suggest that people listen to music so that they can get away from something that is currently their in their lives and imagine being somewhere other than their current place. 
• We can also draw the conclusion that no matter what type of music a person prefers to listen to, the reasons are all very similar. I asked the question 'What type of music would you typically listen to?' and my results revealed that collectively an extensively wide range of music was listened to and enjoyed, from classical and gospel music, to Rock and Grime. So even though there are lots of different people, listening to lots of different types of music, all these musical genres are enjoyed for similar reasons. They provide a form of relaxation and escapism for each listener through different types of sounds.

Big Question #2: Does The Visual Image Supporting and Promoting an Artist, Influence its Audience?

• All of the participants within the questionnaire said that the visual image of an artist definitely has a great lot of input in the selling and promoting of an artist. This can be shown through the fact that every single person who took part in the questionnaire responded with a 'yes' when asked if an artist's image 'aids in the decision of buying into an artists music or not'. Therefore suggesting that the visual image an artists uses to portrays themselves is a big influence in promoting the music.
• I also found that about 50% of the participants felt that the image an artist they listen to conveys, strongly reflects their values and beliefs and in-turn influences the way the audience would like to be seen as for their values and beliefs. However this was much more common in teenagers and more specifically in young males. 

This research has helped me in planning my final digipak design, as I now understand that the main reason people enjoy music is due to the escapism factor and the type of escapism an artist's music has to offer. If my artist is a rapper, then I might convey this idea of a fantasy life of the rich and the famous that my audience may dream to obtain. However if my artist is a pop/rock band, I may choose to promote a type of escapism that promotes changes for the better of society. 

Furthermore I also now know that the physical appearance of an artist or their promotional image is a key element in selling an artist and their music. Without an attention-grabbing image that supports the values and beliefs of my artist, my artist may not be as successful in its feasibility as it would not be targeting its true target audience.   

The Enjoyment of Music and The Effect of a Visual Image

In order to understand first-hand, what consumers of music feel about aspects of the music industry, I conducted a survey of questionnaires. I gave the questionnaire to a range of people from different age groups to enable me to obtain widely generalisable results and accurate conclusions.
My questionnaire aims to focus on two main things: 1) Why, as consumers of music, we enjoy music and what uses and gratifications it fulfils, and 2) What effect the visual appearance of an artist has on their audience.

Music questionnaire

1. Are you:

Male

Female

2. Would you consider music as a fundamental or important aspect of your everyday life?

a) Yes

b) No

3. What music genre would you typically listen to?

………………………………………………………………………………..

4. Why do you listen to this type of music?

………………………………………………………………………………..

5. Do your friends have any influence on the music you listen to?

a) Yes

b) No

c) Somewhat

6. Do you feel that the image of the artists’ you listen to is reflected in your own appearance?

a) Yes

b) No

c) Some of the music does

7. Does this music ever have an influence on your emotions?

a) Yes

b) No

c) Sometimes

8. Do you listen to music for: (tick as many boxes as you wish)

a) The sound

b) The lyrics

c) Because you like the artist

d) Other (please specify)………………………………………………………………

9. If you had to choose, who would your favourite artist/band be?

……………………………………

10. Do you, in any way feel as though you identify with this artist/band and share their values and beliefs promoted in their music?

a) Yes

b) No

c) Somewhat

11. Does this influence the way you would prefer to be seen physically? (Clothing, Make-up, Accessories?)

a) Yes

b) No

c) Somewhat

How?

………………………………………………………………………………………......

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………….

12. Do you think that this artist’s/band’s values and beliefs are conveyed in through their visual image?

a) Yes

b) No

c) Sometimes

13. Do you think an artist’s overall image, aid’s the decision you make in liking a particular artist and buying into their music?

a) Definitely

b) Never

c) Mostly

d) Somewhat, but not much

How an Artist's Visual Image Can Change Over Time

The Changing Faces of Madonna

The Changing Faces Of Madonna

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Analysing CD Covers

Nicki Minaj 'Pink Friday'

In relation to Nicki Minaj's CD cover, a range of things are being conveyed, from her musical talents to her personality and image portrayal.

This overall idea, is a take on 'Alice in Wonderland' and the entire image is dominated by the colour pink. These are obvious contributions to the artist's personal preferences as she takes interest in the concept of 'Alice in Wonderland' and her magnificent adventures but manipulates the idea to fit in with her love for the colour pink; hence the subtle tribute within her album title: 'Pink Friday'!

Her facial expression conveys a weariness or a curious interest in something distance that we cannot see, just as the character of Alice would. Moreover, her baby pink, doll dress, silver bow and flawless face suggests that she is attempting to seem as innocent and perfect as fairytale characters are. However her fingerless gloves, her tattoo on her arm and the 'parental advisory' label suggests that as opposed to her visual representation, her music it not very innocent and fairytale-like as these assets convey a sense of rebellion and contradiction when placed in the same region as the fairytale-like scene. Nicki Minaj's tattoo can reflect where she is from or her upbringing which alongside her fingerless gloves, could suggest that she is in fact a real person in a fantasy land; Wonderland.

Overall, I think this CD cover in particular conveys a combination of both her music and the way she wishes to be portrayed alongside the music. She is a talented yet somewhat explicit rap artist, who has a pretty face and presents herself through a lady-like image, almost to contradict typical connotations of rap artists as trainer-wearing and tough-looking gangsters by appearing as this delicate and angelic young woman.

Analysing CD Covers

Jane's Addiction 'Nothing's Shocking'

In this case; first impressions are lasting ones. 'Nothing's Changed' is an extremely eye-grabbing front cover even though the image itself is in black and white. Our immediate response is shock, dismay and pure curiosity as to what this front cover could possibly mean.

The effect of the black and white image strongly emphasises the content of the front cover as opposed to vibrant and aesthetically pleasing colours. Furthermore as the artist's name is written in colour, it could enhance the importance of the artist's name and suggest that the meaning behind the name is of great importance. Like the fact that the 'A' in 'Addiction' is shaped very similar to a pentagram, which is commonly associated with witchcraft and other supernatural concepts, could portray the band's musical values and beliefs through their name.

The picture itself consists of two naked women joint at the shoulder and hip, sitting on a hovering rocking chair whilst their heads are on fire. The background is plain and bare, accentuating these naked women who look almost inanimate and as though they are blankly staring at something above the audiences view. The fact that their heads are on fire and the rocking chair is levitating, reinforces my earlier mentioned idea that there are supernatural and unnatural elements within their music. Furthermore, the fact that the album is called 'Nothing's Shocking' is quite satirical as everything the image conveys is shocking to the average person, which again allows us to understand the band's musical interest and general ideologies; to them, this image is relatively normal and possibly an everyday aspect of their lives. However to the audience, it is extremely outrageous and does not comprehend any logical sense. Therefore implying that their music within this album is similarly extreme and strange to an audience who doesn't know what their music is about, yet to those who share the values and beliefs of 'Jane's Addiction', this will be 'nothing shocking' and just another extract of musical entertainment for the band's loyal fans.

Jane's Addictions' song 'The Mountain Song', was band from being played on certain radio stations and television channels due to explicit exposure of indecent body images. However i managed to find a link to make a judgment for myself as to how extreme this video really was:

http://vodpod.com/watch/4458524-janes-addiction-mountain-song

Analysing CD Cover

Nirvana 'Nevermind'



At first glance, this front cover seems fairly calm and natural, through the shades of blue in the undisturbed water and what seems like a cute and innocent baby. Then after a second look we gain an entirely opposite perspective of the front cover; the image now radiates a vivid impression of the naked baby chasing after a Dollar note, that seems to be hanging off a fishing line.


After gazing at this image I now understand that it is not so calm and the baby is not innocent at all. In fact the entire front cover is very effective in conveying the corruption of the world. The baby is meant to symbolize nature and all things pure and innocent within the world. The money, on the other hand, is symbolic of the corruption of the world which corresponds to a famous Biblical quote: 'The love of money is the root of all evil'. The naked baby is looking at, and appears to be swimming towards the money which can signify the corruption of innocence within the world. The fact that the money is dangling from a fishing rod can further suggest that this money corruption is man-made and is a temptation to the world as someone must be at the other end of the fishing line. Just as bait hanging off a fishing line is tempting for a shark even though it may lead to their death, the money has now become a temptation for the innocent baby almost murdering his purity.


In relation to the band, Nirvana's values and beliefs are strongly reflected through this front cover as they were a band who expressed their hatred for society and their belief in how society has become corrupted through their music. Many of their songs, like 'The Man Who Sold the World' and 'In Bloom' reflect this idea of the world becoming a bad place that has altered this idea of innocence and nature into greed and lust.


Nirvana - 'The Man Who Sold The World'

The Music Industry Today

Music, Money and Independent Women Hip-Hop Honeys

This BBC THREE documentary revealed the 'behind-the-scenes' footage of Hip-Hop music videos and the female dancers that seem to make the video a real success. It shows just how much some women want this 'Hip Hop Honey' lifestyle and the extents to which they are willing to go to, in order to achieve this aspiration. I also gained a detailed understanding as to why these women wish to become 'Hip Hop Honeys' and managed to obtain a male perspective on these women.


One of the key reasons as to why most of the interviewed women chose their lifestyle as a 'Hip Hop Honey' was because they felt that by using their sexuality, they were exploiting males through their sexual desires, and in turn, empowering themselves as women by making money. This post-feminist (and arguably, manipulated) perspective, is reinforced by one of the interviewed 'Hip Hop Honey' wannabe's; twenty-three year old, single mum Shereece, whose interview greatly reflected these beliefs. Shereece explained that her desperate aim to break into the Hip Hop industry as a videogirl was her way of gaining confidence and liberation as a woman. She truly felt that in becoming a videogirl, she would be exploiting men through their weaknesses of sexual desire as she would've been making money from them. Shereece said that only on the surface would it seem as though women were being exploited and in reality the case was vice versa. For Shereece, obtaining a lifestyle like this would be a dream as she would be 'making money through exploiting men' and also would feel confident as a woman in being the object of sexual desire and pleasure for many males. However, is this really exemplary of the exploitation of men, or has this ideology been manipulated to fit the lifestyles of those who are being sexually exploited (women)? Is the only way for a woman to feel confident and liberated through the male libido and physical male attention?


As opposed to this, the documentary also proposed a conflicting argument suggesting that women are sexually objectified and expoilted through Hip Hop music videos. When twenty year old videogirl Tashie J attends a video shooting for a So Solid Crew song, the behind-the-scenes footage exposes us to a brutal truth, expressed by a member of the band: He bluntly explains that 'sexy girls can brainwash a male audience into liking even the most rubbish of songs'. This openly expressed opinion reinforces the idea of women being exploited through their sexuality as the music is only enjoyed for the exposure of a women's sexual assets. The documentary also reveals a harsh fact; very few video dancers get paid or even expect to get paid. So really, most of these women are making it seem okay for them to be exploited as they have no expectations of being paid for their service even though they are being sexualy exposed through music videos.


This leads nicely onto the view of  this sexual exploitation of women, negatively influencing young men in their attitudes and behaviours towards other women in society. The documentary presenter, takes the audience to the outside of a popular night club, where she asks some of the club-goers questions regarding male perpectives on women today, in relation to clubbing and their role in Hip Hop music videos. One male in particular said that women themselves 'immitate videogirls' in their dancing and overall behaviours, causing them to act as though they have little respect for themselves. This in turn causes the men to feel as though the women have little dignity and treat them with little respect and as 'slags', in the same ways that videogirls are. This again suggests that the female gender is being exploited rather than males, but also suggests that women are quite happy to be exploited in this sexual manner as many are reproducing the video girl image in clubs.


Ultimately, this documentary enlightened me in understanding both a male and female view of the representation of women in Hip Hop music videos. The male view of women in music videos as being nothing more than women with little respect for themselves, is an ideology that I can comprehend. However whether males are the ones being exploited for their libido as opposed to women is what I think is a negotiated understanding of the truth: Some women just won't admit to their own exploitation.

This documentary can benefit me when it comes to making decisions about my final project. More specifically, it can encourage me to think carefully about everything that I decide to involve in my music video for my promotional artist. It causes me to feel that their is a strong need for thought when creating a music video which later will be broadcasted on televsion, as a vast majority of the audience may create negotiated meanings of my music video in the same way that representations of videogirls have been negotiated and manipulated by through the perspective of both men and women. If I want little negotiated meaning beings interpreted, then I must ensure the messages conveyed are vivid and strong to any audience.

Akon's song 'I Wanna Love You' is a prime example of what could be interpreted in conveying both contradicting views. You be the judge:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJzF7H2e3Tw

Roles in the Music Industry: What Do These Guys Do?

Manager

The main person who takes care of almost every aspect of the artist/band’s career; from allocating and assigning the ideal producer, to the largely spanning financial issues. They take charge of daily promotional activities, tours, photo sessions, videos. In simple terms, all of the planning is done by the managers. And how everything planned today will be affected in the future. Everything must be broadened and planned to be effective in 5 years’ time by them.

A&R

These people book studio time, proof read credits, deal with administrative elements and occasionally have the opportunity of signing artists’. Their job is to ‘scout’ for new bands. They deal with mostly paper work (more so now in modern 21^st century society) and ensure all the right people are where they should be at all the right times. A&R’s can be creative but the way the industry has progressed it has declined in creativity. Instead they search the internet for potential successes nowadays.  An advantage would be that there is more leeway in signing more interesting artists in the UK than in comparison to the States; it is the next American Idol that is signed who reflects artists and music that is already selling. They also are important for the continuous nurturing of artists they’ve previously signed and tend to be the main figures who try to increase recording budgets for upcoming albums.

Producer

The producer is the key link between the record label’s desires and need and those of the artist, so they will combine both necessities to form one final product. They can be a member of the band, the person with the vision, the songwriter, a musical collaborator, and engineer with a technical background. They can even be someone who isn’t in the forefront but rather sits in the back and occasionally says something of great value. These days they are much more hands on now so they are expected to have background experiences in engineering, music and programming.

Engineer

They work very closely with producers and occasionally are the producers. They use their technical abilities and studio knowledge to translate and interpret a band or artists vision into a viable record. Their role involves recording every element of the song and then mixing them together to create a final masterpiece.

Promoter

These people are responsible for booking and planning gigs and venues for those gigs. They will find and hire agents to find who is touring when and where and then book in advance for their artist/band.  Mostly have the duty of factors like advertising, marketing and overall structure and programming of the entire night. They will always have the final say. They are responsible for entertainments licenses, budgeting issues, ticketing, sponsorship, gig production & staging, they also decide of the level of publicity they wish to have for each event, but mostly local ones. 

Booking Agent

These people have the responsibility of booking tours, festival acts, negotiating fees, developing and noticing unsigned acts. They enable artists to increase (however it is more common for unsigned acts to book gigs themselves. Booking agents take requests, sort travel and accommodation and decide the artist’s itinery. They need to know exactly what the artist or band wants and needs, they have to be very committed and devoted to their artist/band. Ultimately, they plan the artist or bands career, so they have to be fully understanding of the band and their aspirations and aims. They are life managers for the person or group as an artist in the music industry.

Tour Manager

These people ensure that the artist’s get to the right venue at the right time for a gig and will be held responsible for solving any personnel problems whilst on tour. This can involve anything from handling the press to the wellbeing of the artist or band members for the tour to dealing with and keeping to the budget

Plugger

This category divides into three sub-roles; TV plugger’s, radio plugger’s and online plugger’s. It’s fairly self-explanatory in the sense that TV plugger’s are concerned with getting the band played on television, onto interviews,  sessions and live performances and radio plugger’s have the duty of getting the artist’s music played on the radio. Similarly, online plugger’s are responsible for the promotion of the artist or band through means of websites and mobile phone companies.

Publisher

Part of their duty is to take care of the rights of the songwriters and composers. Their main purpose is to ensure that the songwriter gains royalties from the record. They can also help with the selling of songwriters songs to artists’ and potentially get them licensed for films and TV shows. Publishers who are further up in the industry hierarchy can also aid with the recording process for a band. They also collect all the money from that is made from radio play and also if a song is used in advertising, whenever it gets played the artist or band will receive a sum of money which the publisher will collect.