Cheryl Cole - The Flood

           

I have analysed this music video on our group blog in a few bullet points but here is a more detailed analysis.

There are many indications with the different types of shots that links towards the song title 'The Flood'. For example the quick shots at the beginning of the video are like a 'flood' so it could suggest a relationship between the visuals and lyrics.

Showing multiple shots of the sea suggests that 'the flood' is closing in on her and that she cant escape. The lighting when we shots of Cheryl in the house is lighter to suggest that she is safe from the flood and that the light signifies hope.

At 1:06 hands seperate because of the flood. This can suggest that the flood was overpowering the relationship and so the relationship broke because of the the flood.

When Cheryl burns out the fire at 1:52, it suggests to me that she is burning out the relationship because the fire can signify the relationship and love, so when its blown out the fire and relationship is over.

The use of close ups of Cheryl through out the music video help create a narrative in terms of how she is feeling and we the audience may create our own narrative because of the emotions that are shown to us because of the close ups.

         

Westlife Album Cover Analysis

Westlife's first album was released in 1999 when they were young their album cover represents that. By just having a simple background, the bands name and their faces on the cover shows that they are selling the bands look as new and simple and to shows those who may not know who westlife are, who the members are.

As they became older and became a 'manband' their albums had to represent that. By having the guys in suits can suggest that they are appealing to more older fans as they dont just want the young teenage girls, but also the older ladies. The dim lighting and suits in my opinion represents them as a more sophisticated, dedicated group compared to their first album cover which was just thei faces to help them promote the band.




As the group became older, their image changed so their album cover had to present that.When Brian left the band in 2004, it changed the band as a group in the way they presented themselves as they now had to re-present themselves as a 4 not a 5-member group. Their cover for their 2005 album 'Face To Face' was close ups of the remaining group to suggest that its a new beginning for them as a band. Their facial expression on the cover suggests they are going to be strong and confident on being a 4-menber band.

The band announced they were splitting up in 2011 and so released their final album with their most memorable 'Greatest' hits. The cover represents them thinking and looking back on their career as they are leaning against a gate. The background is simple as its the band we the audience need to focus on.

Miley Cyrus Album Cover Analysis

Miley Cyrus album cover design has changed for every album she has released as for everyone she has grown up and so the album cover is what represents that.

This album cover was Mileys first album released in 2008, aged 16 which could suggest her fan base and audience for her album would be teenagers and younger children as they knew her from starring in Hannah Montana. The layout of this album cover is simple as it has the image of the artist, the name and the album title which are the iconic features of an album cover. The use of the silver star in the middle can suggest that she is a star herself. I think overall this album cover is effective as by just having the artist look towards the fan who will buy the album may make them seem as though Miley is looking at them directly and want a connection with her.
An album cover should signify the sort of genre of music that the album features and in my opinion the use of bright colours, an image of a star and the artist smiling can suggest that the album consists of pop music.

Within the album booklet there are images of miley to promote her and her style. This image to the right has her standing on music movers to suggest she is an arist who really does care about the music as she is also "singing" into the microphone. The colours are the same as the album cover which helps the continutey and simplicity of the album booklet e,g with the whites and red.

All album booklets include the songs and lyrics in them for the fan to sing along to the song so they are able to learn the song through singing along. We can see the use of stars which was used on the album cover to show continuety with the artwork.

As Miley has grown up so has her style of music and fans. Her latest album 'Cant Be Tamed' has a more rebelious, rauchy taste as she has grown up and acknowledged who she is as an artist. This album cover shows that as the way she is standing the outfit she is wearing as she is showing more skin to suggest that she is becoming her own person. The colour scheme of this album cover also shows her fans/audience how she has gone from the sweet, innocent girly style she was portrayed as when she started with disney to a more grown up, contraversal artist who knows what kind of music she wants to release.  As stated  in the first paragraph, an album cover reflects the type of music that will be on the album. From this album cover i can see that Miley has grown up and so maybe as she has grwon up she has become a more R&B, pop rock artist as the colours are more darker and the outfit is more older, which can attract the older audience.                                                                                

Michael Buble Website

http://www.michaelbuble.com/

The overall sense i get from first seeing this website is sophistication because the colours.

From the homepage i can see that everything from the tabs are on so it gives the fans a sense of what is on the website. Having his signiture in the background suggests its official and that maybe Michael had a say in what goes on the website and how its laid out.

Allowing fans to recieve email updates about Michael suggests a relationship between him and the fans because he wants his fans to know all the latest details such as signings, gigs etc.

The banner shows the fans whats on the website and allows them to choose what they want to go and do on the website. For example one fan may want to go onto the merchandise page where as another fan may want to look at the pictures. This gives the fans a variety.

Having a biography page on the website allows the fans to really get to know Michael if they dont know him that well. By allowing the fans to read about him, it gives the fans a sense of interaction and forming a relationship with them.








                                                                                                                 

Lawson Website

Lawson are a new band and have been touring with 'The Wanted' as their supporting act. As they are a new ban, their website is more simpler than other well known established artists. There website has influenced me on how we should create our website for Tia because she is also an upcoming artist.
http://lawsonofficial.tumblr.com/tagged/Ryan-Fletcher

Even though its simple, its effective because this banner is showing the name of the band, their logo and who is in the band. Having 2 of the members holding guitars can suggest that they are musicians as well as vocalists which is what we want Tia to be seen as.

Having an interactive part on the website to download their single will help them and their music develop. Allowing the fans to have it for FREE will also increase their popularity because if more people know that they can get a song without paying then they are likely to do it. Having the background of this banner be red highlights the name of the song, which is effective.

Having a recording on their website will help show their fans the type of band they are. It will show them who the lead singer is and which members play which instruments. This would increase their popularity because i think by watching the video the fans would see that they are doing it for the music and fans.

Having photos on the website allows the fans to see what the band has been up to and see them messing around.  Some of these images are from their music video so if fans look at them they are getting a sneak peak of what the video will be like. This will create anticipation for the fans as they want to watch the music video as soon as possible.

Having the social network account links on the website allows interaction between the band and the fans. By following them on twitter and liking them on facebook they are able to get the latest news as well as ask them questions.








                               

How Artists Market Themselves Using The Internet

YouTube and Twitter is how many unknown artists market themselves these days.

Rebecca marketed herself using the internet because she uploaded a music video to YouTube which received mixed reviews but it still resulted in word of mouth. She continued to make music video and upload them to YouTube so she could still be on top of receiving comments whether they were bad or good, because either way she was going to be talked about.

Justin Bieber is another artist that started out because of the internet. He also uploaded videos onto YouTube because those who were online and knew about him before he was signed kept asking him to sing more covers and upload them. He became a viral sensation which also led to word of mouth. He also has a twitter account that allows him to interact with his fans which help market his songs if he tells them to listen to a track or buy the album