Music Video Magazine

Advertisements Analysis 

Typical conventions of a music advert

In order for a music advert to be successful to an audience, the majority of adverts will follow the typical conventions in order to ensure that the new content artists put out to their audiences is acknowledged. I have already done some research prior to analysing specific music adverts, from this researched I have gathered the typical conventions that are used by the majority of artists when advertising a new record/single. MASTHEAD/TITLE – It is important for an advert to display the main title of their album name/single name, as this is the most significant aspect to the poster, in addition by including the name of the album on the advert this will allow the audience to understand more about the new product of the artist. The masthead is usually the largest font on the advert due to its significance to the purpose of what the advert is advertising. With out the masthead the audience may find it difficult to purchase the new release. The mast head is usually placed in the middle or at the top of a music advert as this is where he audience will initially look. ARTIST NAME – A typical convention of a music advert is including the name of the artist. The artist name is usually placed at the top of the advert, this is significant as the audience are mostly likely to read the music advert from the top to the bottom. The artist name is usually presented in the format of the artists logo, this ensures that the branding of the artist is successful and branches out to the certain target audience of the artist. Conventionally the artist name will be larger with the alum name either directly below it or below the main image of the advert. The font used is important as it will attract the target audience. If an unattractive or unappealing font is used, people are less likely to look at the advert as a whole.MAIN IMAGE – It is important to consider a main image for a music magazine. The main image on the music advert is usually if not, always the same as the album cover so that it is easier for their fans to look for it in stores or online to ensure brand identityRELEASE DATE – The release date of the album will be on the music advert as the main reason for the music advert is to help promote the artists with their album. However, if there is not a specific date or month when the album is released then the music advert will usually say “Out Now”. RECORD LABEL LOGO – The record label is what the artist belongs to , therefore it is obvious that they would want to promote their brand along with the artist who they work with. Record label logos are usually found at the bottom bottom of the music advert, sometimes hardly noticeable . Information is essential on the music advert in order for the audience to discover when the album is released. Additional information such as hit songs which are included in the album are also key as it gives the audience an idea of what they can expect. Logos of where you can purchase the album is also helpful as anyone looking at the advert will know where they can buy the album form. Finally, a website to the artist/band should be included so the target audience can find out further information.

ARTIST NAME/LOGO

MAIN IMAGE

TITLE OF THE ALBUM/MASTHEAD

COPYRIGHT INFORMATIONWEB

ADDRESS

PREVIEW OF TRACKLIST

BACKGROUND COLOUR

ARTIST TITLE/LOGOThe name of the artist is presented at the top of the poster. This is so the audience will be able to recognise what the poster is advertising efficiently. The type of font used is significant as it presents the logo of the artist, which gives the artist a sense of individuality and identity, the audience will also be able to recognise the logo and understand that the poster is advertising a certain musician with a certain logo. The font of the logo is also very different to other fonts that are used on the poster, this makes it easier for the audience to understand what different pieces of texts portray. MAIN IMAGEThe main image presents the artist, ‘Florence’, in the centre of the poster. The main image relates to the text portrayed on the poster. It seems that the artist is laying in a bed fall of dying flowers, this may suggest a sense of loneliness and sadness, which may advertise a certain style of the musicians music, encouraging the niche target audience to be notified of the musicians new release. The main image is the largest image on the poster, suggesting the significance of the image. The woman is shown wearing a necklace of a pair of Lungs, this relates to the title of the poster making the poster more attractive and relatable to the audience. The low saturation and dark colour of the image suggests the genre of the music as indie and baroque pop style. The artist is shown looking away from the audience, presenting a humble character, this suggests the star image of the artist as egotistical. The mise en scene of the advert is dark and cynical. The raw image of the lung necklace suggests a darker tone to the genre of the artist, this makes the audience aware that the band is different and has an individual style compared to conventional pop stars. The artist is not shown in a sexual way, rather in a more artistic manner. The dark hair of the artist also portrays her lack of innocence and rebel like behaviour, her hair is presented as messy and undone suggesting that she does not care about how she is perceived by a wider target audience. This suggests that the advert is branching out to a niche target audience. This suggests that the advert does not conform to the male gaze, as the artist does not need to sell sex in order to sell their product. TEXT/TYPOGRAPHYThe text presented on the poster of the advert is resented in different sizes and fonts to portray the significance of each text. The name of the band is presented in the font of the logo of the band. This is one of the larger texts on the poster as it is the most significant. The font presents he branding of the band, the audience are more likely to recognise that the advert is promoting the band the font used for the logo will often be seen on the majority of the band’s career. Font logo creates a sense of identity for the artist, additionally making the branding and promotion of the band more successful. Other large texts include the name of the album the advert is promoting. LUNGS, is presented in all capitals, and a different font to the logo of the band, this suggests the difference, enabling the audience to clearly see which font presents the artist and which font presents the name of the band. The white fonts contrasts against the dark background of the poster, whilst also keeping a simple template of the poster. Smaller text is used for information, such as, preview of tracks, release date of album, format information, and web addresses. The smaller text is often crucial to the production and branding of the poster, the smaller text purpose is to inform the audience on information that they may need to know in order to purchase the album, font used is simple and readable. It is also important to note that the record label is usually featured on the bottom right hand corner of the magazine, this is due to the significance of record label to the advert.

RELEASE DATE

ARTIST NAME

INFORMATION WEB ADDRESS

MASTHEAD

ARTIST TITLE/LOGOMaximo Park have used their own logo/specialised font at the top of the advert, a typical convention of a music advert. The artists name is the second largest font on the page, the first being the name of the record the advert is advertising. The main title of the advert is distributed in the middle of the page as this is where the audience are more likely to focus on. All text is represented in a white font against a gold background. The font can be easily read by the audience, improving the branding of the advert improving the sales of the new record. Both of the main title and artist name are presented in the same colour and font, this creates a sense of relativeness and flow to the advert. The simple font of the main title suggests that the band are serious about their music that they produce. The colour scheme is simple yet exciting which will make the audience want to listen and purchase the album. MAIN IMAGEThe main image of the advert is both presented as the background and main image. This is a typical convention of music adverts, as it creates a professional overall look to the advert. The main image presents an image of a constellation, which subverts the typical conventions of a music advert as it does nit present the image of the artists. The album front cover is most likely to be demanding of audiences who are of an intellectual status, or an audience who recognise what a constellation is. The gold and bronze background connotes a sense of royalty and authority, which may connote the band status in the music industry. The band are not presented on the main image as they are not trying to sell their identity or star image. The band are simply selling their music to a niche target audience. By not presenting them selves on the cover of the advert this shows their confidence in their fans, the band are sure tat their target audience will enjoy the new music that they produce and that their album will be successful. By looking at the advert it is evident that the advert is advertising an indie/alternative rock record. The artwork of the advert will reach out and appeal to a niche target audience as the audience will recognise the image portrayed on the advert.TEXT/TYPOGRAPHYSmaller text is distributed at the bottom of the advert, as it provides extra information that the audience’s will need to know about the new record. The release date is presented as the third largest font of the advert, as this information is crucial for the artist to go out and purchase the album. The font used on the album is continuous however presented in different sizes. This is a typical convention of a music advert as this will make the advert appear more legitimate and real to the audience, potentially boosting sales of the record, whilst also making it obvious where to look for certain information on the advert.

MAIN IMAGE

ARTIST NAME

INFORMATION

MAST HEAD/MAIN TITLE

WEB ADDRESS

The main image of Lana Del Rey’s Born to die advert, there is only one character which is lana herself. She is directly addressing the camera and effectively her audience, which gives a stem vibe from Lana. Her simple yet effective image give her a classy look due to the way her hair is styled, this enables the ‘pop’ style to be questioned against her. She is presented as more of an indie artist, as a pop artist’s front cover is usually technologically enhanced with a computerised feel to the image. Female pop artists are usually presented in a sexual way to appeals to the male gaze. However there is a slight element of hyper reality as her face has been airbrushed and this is clear due to her flawless completion and dewy looking skin. Additionally, the outline around her hair looks too pristine whether it has been touched up on Photoshop. It is also unclear whether or not the artist has had a lot of product applied to her hair, the overall image of Lana looks hyper real but as is every other artists front cover of an advert. Her placid and innocent expression could indicate a contradiction with the album title, ‘Born to Die’ as she could possibly be waiting for the moment her death to become apparent. Narrative isn't specifically applicable to this image as the image doesn't’t nesseccarily tell a story about the artist, apart from the face that she has a vintage vibe and approach to the music itself. An element of vintage is present as she is presented wearing red lipstick and loose curls, giving a slight edge to her music. Lana Del Rey presents her self in a 1960’s way. The vintage aspect is continued through the mise en scene as a vintage and retro car is placed just out of the camera shot, but what is viable is that the photo presents the car as out-dated and vintage. Due to the vintage feel to the cover, it sets out Lana as separate from other artists and follow the lead of more indie artists that cater to a niche target audience. Her vintage and indie style will appeal to audiences who are attracted to the indie genre.The setting of the main image looks plain which could be the reason why it has been chosen as the main element that stands out is the artist, secondly looking at the background and the vintage car which connotes to her genre. The boldness of the blue sky allows the text to stand out against the blue sky and the white clouds in the back ground of the setting. However the blue shade of the sky could have been enhanced using the brightness and contrast to enable the text to stand out. The colour of the sky has been used again as the colour of the sky has been used again as the colour for the title album and is one of the main colours of the overall album. The most obvious iconography used on the front cover would be the vintage look and this would appeal to consumers who enjoy this style of music yet with a more modern aspect to it. Her overall appearance is rather vintage with the way her hair is styled and her clothing, giving off a classy feel yet some of her songs can be risqué and rather pop like considering the content, causing a binary opposition. It is also important to note that her icon has been manufactured and is portrayed to the audience in a certain way, this will make Lana seem superior and surreal to her target audience. Regarding the colour scheme for the main image, it is clear to see some evidence of identity due to the American flag and patriotic colour scheme, red white and blue. The text is large and spread across the top of the main image, in bold capital letter and it stands out from the background, allowing it to protrude through through the background and creating and impact. The text is seen is seen as informal as it is spaced out and taking up quite bit of area space on the main image which demands the audience’s attention. However, the text for the album title is smaller and has been made to fit where the area where Lana is distributed. The main colours of the album are re, white and blue as seen on the main image and through out the dig pack and album cover, this could show her national identity and be patriotic to her country, as the American flag is also featured in one of her videos. The advert presents her star mage and style which will appeal to a certain target audience. This advert in ways subverts the typical conventions of an advert due to the vintage and classy feel, however the branding techniques can be likened to the typical conventions used by pop stars.